Austrian Audio Hi-X65 open-back announced

[thewas]

https://headphonedatabase.com/oratory/headphones?ids=344

Better than I had expected compared to the Oratory Hifi target, having as most significant deviation only a 5 dB presence dip around 1.5 kHz, so a bit the opposite of many Stax Lambda models.

 

[Carlo2AC]

No, it's certainly not a "new toy syndrome". I'd suggest looking at Keith Howard's and oratory's measurements (just google for it). Also what I'm hearing seems to match with other respected studio guys' reviews. It think people are starting to get insanely obsessed with Harman's target curve but I'm not entirely sure that it works for studio work.

It certainly sounds like it they way you are describing it and your response is just my ears agree with Y and X,
I didn't mention Harman anywhere on my post, pardon me if i sounded rude..the X55 was one of the most awkward phones i've owned that i bought because of the "hype"

 

[MikeJ]

I think we're talking about Hi-X65, don't we? Hi-X55's freq response looks strange to me. I've decided to buy the 65's when I saw some measurements, supported partially by some respected studio engineers' subjective reviews. For me personally, Hi-X65 is my new favourite headphone.

 

[JJB70]

The -65 has a more conventional tuning, the -55 tuning looks odd by audiophile standards but is very good for what it was intended for.

 

[Hark01]

A first thing to note is that I've tried (and measured) several of them because of various QC issues.

Really unpleasantly surprised with the QC issues. Was hoping that Austrian Audio will bring us back to the times of serious QC. Headphones do look really robust, pity about presence of such issues.

Luck would have it I've been regularly measuring headphones with the exact same protocol around once a week in an effort to gather data en masse, and pulling all my X65's measurements done with the blocked ear canal mics highlighted a pretty significant issue : these may have one of the worst cases of "pads break-in" I've experienced yet.

Also, unpleasant surprise. Don't recall such issues with the old AKG pads. (And one model I have is about 40 years old.) Sennheiser HD6 series was critiqued for inconsistent pads, but seems they made some progress with the newest pad changes.

Pity for the issues, because this model seems to me currently as maybe the most interesting in the price bracket. New, highly resolving driver, solidly tuned coupled with robust, quality designed build. Hopefully they'll upped the QC.

Pad shape seem somewhat atypical, not sure if there is possibility for pad swap with some aftermarket pad?

 

[JJB70]

In fairness my -55 has had zero quality issues and is very solid. However, it will be interesting to see how the pleather bits last in a warm and humid climate.

 

[Chyżwar]

My friend just bought the Hi-X65 (for mixing and mastering). He says it's one of the best headphones , regardless of price. Haven't heard these yet, but I'm very curious.

 

[MayaTlab]

Sennheiser HD6 series was critiqued for inconsistent pads, but seems they made some progress with the newest pad changes.

I wouldn't make a direct comparison between the two. The HD6 series pads deteriorate but I didn't get the feeling that they "broke in" that much during the first few weeks. I haven't measured my HD650 with Sennheiser's stock pads with quite the same regularity and with the exact same process each time, but I'm skeptical that they'd change that much in such a short amount of time.

Pad shape seem somewhat atypical, not sure if there is possibility for pad swap with some aftermarket pad?

Unlikely given the pad retention mechanism (cf. photo previous page).

 

[Ilkless]

Better than I had expected compared to the Oratory Hifi target, having as most significant deviation only a 5 dB presence dip around 1.5 kHz, so a bit the opposite of many Stax Lambda models.

That is very nice, the Stax "ethereal" signature from the 1-1.5kHz peak wore on me after a while. Glad they cleaned up the act from the closed ones.

 

[Hark01]

I wouldn't make a direct comparison between the two. The HD6 series pads deteriorate but I didn't get the feeling that they "broke in" that much during the first few weeks. I haven't measured my HD650 with Sennheiser's stock pads with quite the same regularity and with the exact same process each time, but I'm skeptical that they'd change that much in such a short amount of time.

In the hope that mechanical issues was just an unlucky sample, the pad issue seems the biggest one. Did you contact Austrian Audio about the issue?

The options seems to me:
a) AA make a new revision of more stable pads
b) pads stabilize after some time and oratory1990 make new measurement with worn pads

Surprised that AA didn't test the pads better.

 

[Hark01]

@MayaTlab : How is the current situation with the pads? Did they stabilise? Did you manage to derive a stabile EQ?

 

[MayaTlab]

@MayaTlab : How is the current situation with the pads? Did they stabilise? Did you manage to derive a stabile EQ?

Hi, I've put my weekly measurements on hold for now as I've reached a point where it's evident that my DIY probe and blocked ear canal entrance mics have limitations I'd like to get past, so I've been spending most of my time making a new probe. I'll definitely resume doing them once that's done and I really hope that the X65 will get to a stable point as I find them supremely enjoyable post EQ .

 

[Ufasas]

so they made a better headphone than akg702?

 

[thewas]

so they made a better headphone than akg702?

Both get the same Harman score according to the Oratory measurements

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

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AKG K702.pdf

Shared with Dropbox

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without EQ I would probably go for the X65 as its 1,5 kHz dip would annoy me less than the two mid/high peaks of the K702, plus its deep bass doesn't drop as much.

 

[Hark01]

Hi, I've put my weekly measurements on hold for now as I've reached a point where it's evident that my DIY probe and blocked ear canal entrance mics have limitations I'd like to get past, so I've been spending most of my time making a new probe. I'll definitely resume doing them once that's done and I really hope that the X65 will get to a stable point as I find them supremely enjoyable post EQ .

How is progress with the new probe? Did you make some new measurements?

 

[Firefly00]

Yep but they got an awful lot of things right as well. In an age when some HP companies are still struggling to understand that swivelling cups shouldn't been seen as a polite proposition but a fundamental aspect of what makes a great pair of headphones, constantly try to reinvent the wheel by re-imagining the yoke mechanism (and invariably fail in the process), or ship HPs with cables with no relief (*cough* Hifiman *cough*), the Hi-X65 is a breath of fresh air IMO. Other than some small tolerancing niggles, so far I think I only have one gripe with their design, it's that the earcup packaging + pad design doesn't provide enough space at the rear for my ear lobes (not enough depth at the rear once mounted on my head + the pads are compressed). It's one of my favourite HP designs I've seen in a while.

They sound atrocious without EQ and I would have found them very difficult to EQ without some additional tricks I've added to my "EQ assist toolbox" this year but I have a feeling that the fundamentals may be there for a pretty neatly EQable pair of HPs in the end and that I'll keep them long term.

I like the DCA yoke and swivel-less design. Everything is driven off the wire headband with just one “hinge” where the yoke meets the cup.

it satisfies my minimalist taste

 

[MayaTlab]

How is progress with the new probe? Did you make some new measurements?

Not good enough. The goal is to make it easy and comfortable to perform measurements on a weekly basis for a few months so stability over time of the construction is important (and also my capacity to check whether or not the required compensation drifts over time, I've made a small rig to that effect). I also would prefer to get a better idea of the accuracy of the relative measurements I'm getting in the 2-4kHz region before going for it by comparing various mics with each others. While I already know that blocked ear canal measurements may introduce errors in that region, I don't know whether or not the probe is more accurate than other open ear canal measurements.
I still make occasional measurements with the existing mics but not of the kind that would allow to track how the Hi-X65's pads evolve over time.

I like the DCA yoke and swivel-less design. Everything is driven off the wire headband with just one “hinge” where the yoke meets the cup.

I have no experience with DCA's designs but with somewhat similar swivel-less designs relying on the headband's wires to do the work the problem I'm facing is that the wires produce a slight resistance vs. a freely moving swivel design, that's occasionally been enough for me to encounter sealing issues (which seem to be fatal to DCA headphones).
But it's possible that it's indeed a non-issue for DCA's implementation, IDK.

 

[Ilkless]

How are the pads like? Closer to nice protein leather earpads from Dan Clark/Audeze, or more mid-fi Audio-Technica plasticky pleather? Worried they are the latter even though I'm very interested otherwise.

 

[MayaTlab]

How are the pads like? Closer to nice protein leather earpads from Dan Clark/Audeze, or more mid-fi Audio-Technica plasticky pleather? Worried they are the latter even though I'm very interested otherwise.

In terms of how the pleather feels, they're among the most pleasant pleather pads I've tried so far (I also quite like Bose's latest pads for the 700/QC45 if that's a useful comparison point for you).
No idea about how durable the pleather actually is.

 

[Ilkless]

In terms of how the pleather feels, they're among the most pleasant pleather pads I've tried so far (I also quite like Bose's latest pads for the 700/QC45 if that's a useful comparison point for you).
No idea about how durable the pleather actually is.

That's encouraging - it took me moving up to Audeze and Dan Clark stuff to find pads that felt actually pleasurable. Stuff like the Beyer DT-series and mid-range Audio-Technica almost drove me away from headphones with dry, sweaty, cardboard/rubbery texture, cracking, flaking and lack of cushioning. The FR and distortion looks promising, and a bit less delicate-feeling than my DCAs.