Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT Professional Wireless Bluetooth Closed-Back Over-Ear Headphones

Sadly a few weeks ago my trusty AKG N60NC headphones broke. This left me in a tricky situation because I knew it was highly likely I would need to look elsewhere for my next set of headphones due to Samsung’s acquirement of Harman back in 2017 causing a change of direction for the company. I like to see myself as someone who shows brand loyalty when I find a company that I believe make very high-quality products for a reasonable price. After a little research around the internet, I found out that a few of AKG’s management & engineers had formed a new company called Austrian Audio, which intrigued me to look deeper at their headphones.I was looking for some headphones on a budget of £150, and when I found the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT headphones, after reading some reviews on them, I knew I had to give them a try, so I did. For me in a pair of headphones there are four main factors in what decides whether they are good or not so good, build quality, comfort, features and obviously sound quality.Build Quality 4/5At this price range sadly the build quality around this market is not the best, normally involves a lot of plastic, and although this is still the case with the Hi-X25BT the frame inside is metal which makes the headphones feel well made. I love the look and feel of the headphones and I see them lasting a long while.Comfort 5/5This was the one downfall of my previous headphones (AKG N60NC), after a couple of hours, I would start to feel a little pressure right in the middle of the top of my head where the band rested. However, with these headphones, I can happily say they are the most comfortable headphones I have ever owned. They are not extremely heavy which makes them feel light on the head. I can easily wear these for hours with no discomfort.Features 4/5The headphones come with the obvious Bluetooth so you can easily connect them to any device that supports Bluetooth. The set-up process was easy, and they automatically connect back to your device when you turn them on. Austrian Audio also say you should get up to 30 hours of battery life, and although I have not owned or used them long enough to confirm this, I can say I have got some decent battery life from them (Been using them for at least 15 hours and not charged them yet). You can also use the headphones with the USB-C to 3.5 Jack wire included in the box if you desire. A downfall for most will be the fact that the headphones do not support ANC (Active Noise Cancellation). This wasn’t such a big issue for me as I never intend to take these headphones out of the house or use them around overly noisy environments, but I know many people will be put off by Austrian Audio’s decision to exclude this feature. Saying that though they are over-ear headphones, so they do cut out a small amount of outside noise, which is good enough for me. Lastly, the headphones do offer ways of controlling your music (volume, pause, play etc.) and I believe they have implemented these features into their headphones great, but I do find the controls a little sensitive to the touch. I have a fair few times accidentally paused my music when trying to rearrange the headphones. I have overtime got used to this and do it far less, but it was something that bothered me for a while.Sound Quality 5/5This is obviously the most important factor of any headphones you buy, and I am pleased to say they do not disappoint. These headphones are by far the best sounding headphones I have personally owned. They sound a lot better than the AKG N60NC’s that I highly rated. When I listen to vocals, casual talking or music, everything sounds so crisp and clear, also acoustics sound incredibly vibrant. Most companies these days also tend to put too much bass into their headsets, which I am not a massive fan of. Austrian Audio on the other hand I think have balanced the bass very well, you know it is there, but it isn’t booming too much. I wasn’t expecting the headphones to sound as good as they do, even a family relative believes these headphones sound better than his headphones which were almost double the price!ConclusionI imagine you can get much better headphones if you are willing to spend a lot more money, but for £150, unless you need/want ANC, you cannot go wrong buying these headphones. For the price, they offer great build quality, comfortable listening and truly amazing sound quality. I highly recommend them!

Very comfortable, crisp and clear set of headphones . Listening through an equalizer app on android to tweak the sound to a more personal preference.Fleetwood Mac - Rumours just comes alive.You get a more definite spacial sound than earbuds with these over ear headphones.You don't really need ANC as when the music is on, you can't hear much of the outside world anyway.

Bought this instead of Grado product which I sent back. Difference is chalk n cheese to be honest. Excellent sound (the only reason for buying hifi quality headphones ) great build quality and super comfortable. Can be used wired via included cable (a bit short but not a deal breaker) or wireless via Bluetooth. Tried out using Tidal music track via both mobile phone wirelessly and wired straight into my Arcam Amplifier. No complaints here!

I chose the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT's because the Audiotechnica M50xBTs were sold out absolutely everywhere. Also my 2nd and 3rd choice of headphones were not available.I read the story that Austrian Audio was created by ex-AKG people. I had the AKG K67's about 6 years ago. Sounded great, made me enjoy genres of music I couldn't before.And then, tiny peaces of plastic started coming off, less than 6 months in. At around 6 month mark, the middle of the headphone headband split in half. It just broke in the middle, making the headphones unusable (unless you're one of those DJs that mix with one phone held to an ear).Fast forward to now and me giving Austrian Audio a chance, because all my other choices were not available. I thought - maybe that's why they left AKG. They engineered good sounding kit, that was of bad quality because of cheap plastic used and pennies saved on structure.And then, after 36 days of use, one of the plastic hinges on my Hi-X25BT's developed a crack. I would have guessed another week - another week at most, before the hinge just split into multiple peaces!Thank god for Amazon's straightforward and hassle-free refund process.I will never EVER consider anything AKG or Austrian Audio again and will urge anyone I now not to either! Two headphones, under 2 different branding, 6 YEARS APART - same cheap thin plastic that doesn't even survive a year of use.Obviously, because these are not the cheapest headphones I've owned, I have been handling them with extreme care - all for nothing, they got broken by gravity itself.(Oh yeah - the touch controls are garbage!)It doesn't even matter how they sound or feel, because they don't survive BASIC usage!!!

Good sound but only uses lowest standard for bluetooth transmission - SBC. No aptx, LDAC. This means the music is getting transmitted in low quality even though headphones sound good. Why wouldn't you upgrade your codec and make these headphones UPTO the industry standards??? It literally as easy as changing the chip. Also no app to disable touch buttons or remap anything. Overall, good sounding (not amazing) headphones with a lot more potential, but lacking the software.