Review Audio Technica - ATH-M20x Headphone | Mobile Accessories

My search for an ideal professional grade Studio quality headphones finally came to an end,post my purchase of the Audio Technica ATH M20X. When my existing Philips and SkullCandy headphone began to wear out, splurging on this 3000rs headphone seemed to be the most ideal thing to do

The below review is posted after using it extensively for more than a month, every day and passed the burn-in period
Costing Rs.3000 , this is one of the best choices for a over the ear headphone in the 50$ segment and definitely great value for money. Audio Technica may have other cheaper models in the sub 1500Rs segment offering much lower quality and prone to criticism of their brand. But with the M20X , they have hit it right on target and delivers superior quality of music, that's probably heard only in very expensive premium headphones costing 10K+, such as Beats, Sennheiser and JVC.

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The other 2 variants in the ATH MX series apart from the M20X include the M30X(Rs.4000 ~ 60USD) and the M50X(Rs.10,000 ~ 150USD). These two variants offer far higher resistance and nearly double the power input of M20X. Sensitivity and frequency response however remains almost identical to all three variants and so do the appearance

The M20X offers the most ideal mix of bass and treble naturally and doesn't require any advanced equalizers to fine tune the audio. The sound output is crystal clear and you can get to hear those special instruments chirping away in the background very clearly. The songs are not distorted by extra punchy bass but at the same time it reproduces the sound effects quite vividly, including the intended bass available in many tracks
Not just songs, but this can be a great choice for watching movies in laptops as well. The flatness in the audio with support for almost all frequency ranges. I played a wide genre of songs in different languages and till now yet to find a track that wasn't justified by the Audio Technica M20X. Even if the track was just 256-320KBS and not necessarily a FLAC/Lossless WAV format, it played it with perfection

The noise isolation was 100% as it complete encompasses your ear and makes you forget the world completely. However person next to you can slightly overhear you if the volume is kept at a slightly higher level


Other Alternatives :
The only 2 other choices that is often considered,in this price range includes the Sony MDR-XB450  and BeyerDynamic.

•  Sony MDR XB450 costs around 2000 and is strictly marketed for "Bass heads" and offers the extra punchy bass along with an excellent depth of quality. But its definitely not for the average music listener or the "purists", who expects to listen the raw version of the song without being distorted by extra high sounding bass. 
• BeyerDynamic costing almost similar to the ATH M20X at around 3K INR, it offers a decent alternative to Audio Technica. With similar open back design, swivelling ear cups, Beyerdynamic is modelled along the lines of the former,with similar frequency response and slightly higher bass. 

However, when faced with a choice I'd stricly go for the Audio Technica, primarily because of its military grade quality in both the ear piece as well as its thick insulation cable that stretches to nearly 2-3m. The popularity of the Audio Technica brand among musicians, primarily for studio monitoring purposes thanks to its pure crystal clear sound output, can be a great factor while choosing this headphone
Summary
Pros:

• Outstanding clarity and purity of sound
• Military grade encasing of the 3M Chord with neodymium magnet
• Pricing is quite optimal at the 3K (and definitely offers quality that of a 10K Rs. headphone)
• Best Studio Monitor Headphone in the market
• 100% Sound Isolation
• Also contains an additional 6.5MM jack to connect to Amps

• Cons:
• Not foldable and can be quite bulky while travelling.
• Not ideal for jogging/walking (but of course these are meant to be for home use/studio use)
• Can become slightly difficult while listening to it for a stretch ( better to take a few minutes break now and then )

Verdict : Definite buy !!