Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Headphones Review

The Audio-Technica ATH-M20x have a simple and understated studio appeal that's a little bland but will work for some. They come in an all-black color scheme and share the same design as the Audio-Technica ATH-M30x, with slight differences on the back of the ear cups. They also resemble the higher-end Audio-Technica ATH-M50x but with a different metal frame that looks slightly cheaper.

The headphones are decently comfortable. They don't apply too much pressure to the head, and the large ear cups fit around most kinds of ears, but they're somewhat shallow in depth. However, the ear cups don't swivel like the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x or Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, making these headphones feel slightly stiff with less padding than their more upscale counterparts.

These headphones have mediocre breathability. This isn't unusual with closed-back over-ear headphones that don't promote airflow. Expect to experience some heat build-up throughout a listening session.

These aren't portable headphones. They don't fold into a more compact format or have swiveling ear cups that lay flat. They're cumbersome to carry around, occupy a lot of space in a backpack, and may not fit comfortably in a handbag. Their cable is also a little bulky and non-detachable, which can be frustrating when transporting these headphones. They also don't come with a case pouch.

The build quality is adequate. These headphones can handle a few drops without getting damaged and feel sufficiently dense. Unfortunately, their build quality feels cheaper and less durable than the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x and the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. The metal frame is thinner and exposes the audio cable connecting the ear cups. Unlike the higher-end models of the same design, this exposed cable makes the ATH-M20x more likely to get damaged by wear and tear.

These headphones aren't designed for use while doing sports and physical activity. They'll maintain their position during casual listening sessions and won't slip off as you tilt your head. However, they'll quickly fall off during high-intensity physical activity and aren't ideal for use in a gym or while running and jumping. Also, the cord isn't detachable and may yank the headphones off your head if it gets hooked on something.

• Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones
• 1/8" to 1/4" adapter

The sound profile is neutral leaning. For the most part, bass frequencies are conveyed with a slight emphasis, although the lowest notes are rolled off, meaning you hear less bass depth, or thump and rumble. Besides a dip where the high-bass meets low-mid, the mid-range is quite consistent, which suits most genres well. Still, that dip occurs where a lot of instruments reproduce. The treble frequencies suffer with dips and peaks, leading to vocals and instruments that take a hit. Fine details like articulation are veiled and less clear. Sibilants like cymbals are largely dulled.

Fit, positioning, and seal contribute to how you perceive frequency responses, and these headphones supply a predictably very good consistency. Pay attention to the over-ear seal to ensure all frequencies remain audibly consistent between wears.

Bass accuracy is great. The overemphasis in the mid-bass and high-bass ensures those frequencies can sound boomy. However, there's a low-bass roll-off below our target curve. As a result, your audio has audible, boomy bass, but it won't sound especially thumpy. For instance, fans of EDM and hip-hop might notice the lowest frequency thump is lacking.

Those looking for superb mid accuracy can expect it on the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x. Overall, the ATH-M20x headphones reproduce fundamentals like spoken word, sung vocals, and guitars in a true-to-life manner. There's a dip in the lowest mids, which can slightly reduce boominess.

The headphones struggle to reproduce treble with great accuracy. The headphones underemphasize key frequencies, contributing to a warmer, less clear treble sound than our target. Harmonics in vocals lack detail and clarity due to dips in the low-treble and mid-treble. The peak in the upper mid-treble leads to the uneven emphasis of high-pitched instrument harmonics and sibilants like hi-hats.

Mostly, these headphones follow their own sound profile with fair consistency. The peak through most of the bass range leads to a punchier, boomier sound, while the transition between high-bass and low-mid makes bass harmonics slightly thin compared to bass fundamentals. High-mids and (some) low-treble are emphasized so the highest notes of a guitar, for instance, will sound disproportionately loud and harsher compared to low notes on a guitar. The significant dip in low-treble to mid-treble means that details get lost. The peak in higher treble frequencies results in piercing harmonics, like crash cymbals.

The imaging is excellent. Generally, the Audio-Technica headphones we've tested exhibit consistent imaging results. Quality control appears solid, with similar performance exhibited in each driver, although this still inevitably varies from unit to unit. While the bass frequencies have some group delay, it's minor and doesn't contribute negatively to your listening experience. Our unit's L/R dynamic drivers are also well-matched in phase, amplitude, and frequency response, which ensures that sound objects like footsteps reproduce accurately.

As expected from closed-back headphones, the passive soundstage is middling. Audio sounds like it's coming from inside your head rather than outside of it.

The weighted harmonic distortion is good at moderate listening volumes. Low-bass and treble frequencies see some distortion spikes, but that won't be noticeable because it's well below 1%. At louder volumes, mid-range frequencies increase in the amount of distortion. Nevertheless, this won't significantly impact the purity of your audio signal.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The headphones exhibit overall poor noise isolation. They don't have active noise cancelling, and the passive isolation provided by the ear cups mainly reduces high-pitched environmental noise. They provide virtually no isolation in the bass range, and isolation only starts to kick in at the mids and higher. They block high-pitched noises like a fan whines better than a bus engine.

The majority of the leakage occurs across a relatively broad frequency range. The content of the leakage (lyrics, for example) may be understandable to the people around you at moderate to loud volumes.

These don't have any Bluetooth capability. For similar headphones with Bluetooth, consider the Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT.

The headphones come with a non-removable 10' (3.05m) long cable that terminates in a 1/8" (3.5mm) TRS headphone jack. You also get a 1/4" adapter. Unlike higher-tiered models like the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, you only get one hardwired cable, affecting long-term usability. For video content, you won't experience any latency with your audio.

These headphones are audio-only, so they're compatible with a PC when plugged into the computer's headphone output port. There are no additional controls or a microphone, so you'll need a standalone mic for calls and games.

These headphones only work with a hardwired connection and do not feature a microphone. They can only work via an analog output with PlayStation consoles; you'll need a separate microphone if you want to chat with teammates.

These headphones are audio-only with a hardwired connection. They connect via an analog output with Xbox consoles, but you'll need a separate microphone if you tend to play games with others.