Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, Black (AUD ATHM20X)

I had a cheap set of headphones and recently got into voiceover/audiobook narration, but then the headphones broke. I'd already been thinking I needed better ones, but this forced my hand. I already had an AudioTechnica microphone and loved it, so I thought, why not get AT headphones? I hesitated a bit when I saw how much less they cost compared to some higher-priced famn dancy ones, but my experience with the mic persuaded me to click "buy now".Boy, am I glad I did. These are some nice ones. They fit great on my head. Very comfortable. They seal very nicely around my ears -- combine that with the great sound quality, and I'm very happy with them. They'll definitely be very useful for my work.If you don't have a ton of money to shell out for headphones, but still want quality, go with these bad boys.

The Audio-Technica ATH-M20x headphones offer impressive sound quality for their price range. The audio is clear and well-balanced, making them great for casual listening and basic studio monitoring. Comfort is a standout feature—the ear pads are soft, and the lightweight design makes them easy to wear for long sessions without discomfort. The build quality feels sturdy, though the non-detachable cable is a minor downside. Overall, if you're looking for affordable, reliable studio headphones with good comfort and sound, these are a great choice.

UPDATE, BUILD QUALITY:Well, I'll be damned, its been exactly a year since I wrote this. It was pure luck that I checked my reviews today.Anyway, build quality.The M20xs I bought a year ago are still going strong, and I use them constantly when I am not on my computer. The cable is fine, the gold plating has worn off of the plug (that's normal after a lot of use), and the plastic doesn't appear to be worn. If I cleaned this thing very well, it would look brand new. However, not everything is in perfect condition, and that would be the padding.I started to notice after a while that the earcups were starting to feel harder and harder. As a sanity check, I took a look at my dad's m50xs to see if they were still soft, and they were (he doesn't use them that much anymore). I looked into it, and apparently, the fake rubber-leather stuff Audio Technica uses in their earcups slowly deteriorates over time by getting harder and eventually cracking due to the stress of cushioning. This is a result of constant contact with body oils (this is why my dad's pair is still soft). Thankfully, these are replaceable, but they are $25 for a pair, which is quite a bit. I got these headphones for $30 dollars while they were on sale, for perspective. There is also the chance that they use some cheaper earcups in the m20xs, which wouldn't surprise me. In which case, the replacement earcups for the m50xs could be considered an upgrade.What is more worrisome is the headband. Unlike the m50xs, which have a higher quality rubber on the headband, the headband on the m20xs is made out of the same material the earcups are. You can't replace it. Although its unlikely that the headband will get severely damaged from cracking since it doesn't exactly cushion, I can still see some dents in mine that don't go away.Other than that, these are still my favorite general purpose headphones, and I still recommend them. I'm on the edge of replacing the earcups though. If it does break at some point, I might aim for the m40xs due to the shorter cable options, better build quality/materials, and better sound. I'll give it two more years and see what happens to them.REVIEW:So, I have never been wealthy enough to own a good pair of headphones. Hearing about the constant praise of Audio-Technica, I decided to pick of their budget pair of monitors, the ATH-M20x. My father has a pair of their M40x or 50x, but I am pretty much not allowed to touch them. That's why I can't say which ones they are.As perspective and for comparison, the main headphones I used before these were the Sol-Republic v8 tracks, and I use a Logitech G230 gaming headset currently for my desktop.The song I tested between these headphones was Ocean Man by Ween, because of the formidable range in pitch. I also remembered the song the day I did this, so it was a bit nostalgic for me to listen to it again.SOUND QUALITY:Now, the first thing that struck me with these headphones was that the bass was much less compared to the other headphones. Now, this isn't a bad thing, because it let me focus on the other tracks in the song, such as the guitar and percussion, which became much brighter. This made the song sound much clearer than my other headphones, which lacked a little in mids and highs. My Sols overall had much more bass, but the rest of the frequencies seemed filtered out because of it. It's mostly the same story with my g230s, but the highs are much better than the sols. Realizing this, I finally figured out why I couldn't hear footsteps very well in the game Counter Strike Global Offensive, which encourages me to buy another pair of the M20x for my desktop, as well as a mic. The only real issue I have with the M20x at this point is that I cannot hear bass drums very well if they aren't mixed loud enough, which is disappointing, as percussion is one of the most important factors in music to me. Overall, these have generally amazing performance in the audio range, despite the bass seeming only a tad bit weaker than it should be. If they boosted up a tiny bit, I would be satisfied. Not worth to take a star off however, especially for the price.Another thing to note is that these headphones are higher in impedance than normal, so I have to near max out my volume on my phone to get somewhere acceptable to me. This isn't a problem, but I'm afraid I may get some distortion in some songs. This is also sad, as I use a separate Creative Zen audio player for my high quality CD rips, which don't go as loud as my phone, making it essentially useless. They also don't really like to plug into my phone with the case on, so I have to jam it in the jack and hope it doesn't spring out. This is along with the other problem with my audio jack, which is that they always think I'm using an inline mic unless I unplug and re-plug and hope they see them as regular headphones. If it doesn't, then bumping the cord can cause google to start voice detecting, which is very annoying, as well as randomly pausing and playing a song. To reinforce it, this is a problem with my PHONE, not the plug. This is more of a me problem, however, they still have issues being plugged into a phone with a case. Making the end coned and the adapter it comes with internally coned would solve this problem.BUILD QUALITY:Now, one of main reasons why I bought a g230 was because they are very well built, and could take multiple falls off of my desk. Same goes for the Sols, which are pretty much designed like a tank due to the super strong headband and hard but not brittle plastic. The M20x however, seems like it would need a bit more care with the headband, since it is not topped with plastic. I usually just throw my Sols into my backpack everyday, because it can handle it. These will need a bit of extra attention to not tear up the foam on the headband. I tried buying a hard case from Caseling, but the description lied to me and said that these headphones would fit. They didn't, and now I have to return it as soon as possible to get my 13 bucks back. They do fit my dad's well though because they fold, and is a pretty good case. Otherwise, the ABS plastic is nice on the drivers making them strong, and the headband has spring steel metal in it. There are no visible defects anywhere, not even unmixed plastics or rough spots on the foam. This is fairly impressive for a product made in Taiwan. Another thing I would have liked would be to color the logo inset on the sides of the drivers, it would make it easier to see. I assume this is to differentiate different models.Now, the cord I have a bit of an issue with. The cord itself is very nice; it's well insulated and flexible. The jack is nice too, it appears gold plated and has a nice bend protector. The issue I have is that it's way to freaking long, at a staggering 3 meters. This may be a good thing for some people, but I am going to be walking around with these. I have to coil up the wire (thank god for that insulation) and put a cable management strip on it to shorten it. Now, there is a good 4 inch diameter coil in my pocket that is 1/2 an inch thick, and is VERY annoying. If they could have at least shortened it to maybe 1 meter, I would not be writing this. This is worth a star for me, so off it goes. Despite this, the cable has to be one of the best impeding headphone cables I have encountered, keeping out eddy currents very well, which would cause distortion with the huge coil I have to lug around. A good way to test if a cable is well insulated or not is to try and use the cable as a stylus on a touch screen. If the screen reacts in any way while playing music, the cable has failed the test. No matter how I tried, looping it, squishing it against the screen, it would not be detected. That is a good sign for a good cable, as no electrical fields are going through that thing. As a solution to the coil, I may do some research on the internals of the cord, and shorten it myself. If you are also hateful of this issue, the better ATH models have interchangeable cables that can be much shorter. To me, it isn't worth it to pay 30 to 40 extra dollars for that feature.COMFORT:So, my g230s are a very comfortable pair of headphones for me to wear, as they are over ears. My Sols on the other hand are on ear, which was a huge issue to me when I bought them. It's not that they were uncomfortable, but it was because of an odd problem I have with my right ear. My ear canals are extremely small, so I can't use earbuds, which is really my main reason of buying full on headphones. In this case, the Sols would squeeze my right ear shut! There would be no music to my right ear unless I physically held the driver, and stretched my ear a bit. Now, the M20x are also over ear, so that's great for me. It's actually the main reason why I bought these, I wanted a nice pair of over ears that would not impede my hearing. Not only this, I would say they fit even better than my g230s due to the many degrees of freedom, so I am extremely happy here. My issue was solved due to these headphones. The actual foam the headphones use is nice, definitely on the drivers. The headband foam on top is durable and a bit stiff, but not noticeable. The bottom foam seems the same as the drivers, so no problem there. All of the foam seems to be wrapped in a thin fake leather material, and it feels nice. My g230s are just wrapped in perforated fabric, which makes it a tad itchy.MY OWN JUDGEMENT:Now, because I like nice things, I want it obvious what I'm using is nice and worth it. I like to make a statement, so I buy things that fall under these categories:1. Looks cool2. Does it's job well3. Lasts a long timeSo, for it looking cool, I would say "eh." As I previously stated, the logo isn't painted in, so they just look like headphones from afar. My Sols on the other hand, look 100% sweet, with it's circular drivers, solid looking headband, minimalist logo, and shiny plating (that wore off around the edges of the drivers, sadly). These don't have that aesthetic I'm looking for, but they do look like monitors, which kind of makes up for it. To me, they just look intermediate, not pro.For doing the job well, that is a definite yes. The cool factor to me can immediately be vetoed in the case that something works like a well oiled machine. This is that case. They just sound good, and anyone who would borrow these would tell. My sols aren't that good sounding, and my g230 is okay, so these are technically the best headphones I own at the moment. A case where this wouldn't be true would be Beats by Dre. Yes, the headphones look very nice, iconic even. Despite this, they pretty much are just a step up from those 5 dollar Koss headphones you buy at drug stores when you have nothing else to use (those headphones are very good for the price though, so I like them for that).I don't know for certain yet if these will last a long time. This is another factor that directly goes with doing the job well, as having these factors multiply each other makes for a godly product. My Sols and g230s definitely fall under this category, as they have both lasted me 2 years. The Sols are almost done for, however, as the right driver's plastic cone buzzes on certain frequencies. The g230s look literally brand new and haven't degraded audio wise, so they have served me well, and will keep doing so. Beats by Dre also do not fall under this factor, as they must be treated like kings, or either they will shatter the moment you look at them (an anecdote from a friend). Because it misses the two most important factors, Beats headphones are useless to me, especially with the price they ask for. I will have to live with the M20xs for a while to see how well they do with this factor, and I am predicting another strong yes. And even if they only last me a couple months, they are still only $30, an amazing price for what these headphones are. One thing I realized that may break them is extending the drivers over and over again. The metal tracks that are attached to them go in and out of the headband, and you can feel them moving inside through the foam. You can even pinch it and make it really hard to move it (annoying sometimes), which means they aren't encased in anything. This leads me to predict that at some point, they will poke through the band. Because of this, I will not shorten them every time I stow them away. Someone posted a picture that looked like this happened to them, so I will watch out.OVERALL:These are an amazing pair of headphones that meet many of my quality standards, as I am a bit of a snob. They sound great, but bass drums can be too quiet or hard to distinguish. They are made very well, despite the freaking long cable and too thick of an end for the jack. They are very comfortable, and solved the issues I had with other headphones I owned. They succeed my personal checklist, but I will need to test for durability. So, as a final statement: if you are on a budget and want nice over ears for sitting down and listening to music, pick up a pair of ATH-M20X headphones. If you have more money, shoot for the M40x or m50x if you want to walk around or need better quality. I am pretty satisfied despite my current situation, so I hope you can enjoy these headphones more than me.

So I got these yesterday, and I know I am not going to keep them for long (more on that later) so I want to get this review in ASAP. First off, while I know what I like & I can recognize quality, I am definitely NOT an audiophile, so I'm not going to try & tell you in TECHNICAL terms why these headphones are so great, but I can give a layman's perspective. Also, I am going to do a lot of comparing to the Samson SR850's I just bought AND my standby Koss PortaPros (which I compared the Samson's to in my review of them) Anyway, lets get started.First of all the looks of these. My 13 year old daughter unboxed them while I was at work & immediately exclaimed "These are NICE !" With that, she put them on, plugged in her iPod Touch & didn't take them off until I got home several hours later. This from a kid who's favorite headphones are a purple pair of Knockoff Beats I bought at a flea market. They are MUCH better looking than the Samsons. The earcups are smaller & lower profile, and the headband is covered in a stylish black leatherette. There is a LARGE AudioTechnica logo across the top of them, but who's going to be looking at the top of your head ?As far as comfort goes, they are very comfortable, They are much lighter than the Samson's, and as I said smaller. The ear pads are suitably soft & covered in the same leather like material as the headband. And while I doubt you could lie on your side comfortably with them on, they would be MORE comfortable than the Samson's in that position.As for build quality, they are REALLY light, which worries me a bit, but they seem very solid. The main structure is definitely metal and the wires are thick & well covered. The plugs also look a step up from your average headphone connector. While I am sure my kids would manage to break them eventually, I think they would last longer than your average headphone. And with me, they will be just fine.Finally, lets talk sound. They sound AWESOME ! Really awesome. Much better than headphones at this price should sound. When I listened to the Samson's the first time I knew they sounded better than my Koss' ... but not by a lot. These are OBVIOUSLY better. The bass response is better, and everything else is CRYSTAL CLEAR ! Just stunning. That being said, they are not as loud as the Samson's which kinda surprised me since they are smaller & closed back. But because of the better bass & improvements across the full range of sound, I would definitely put these ahead of the Samson's AND the Koss' & I am sure ANYONE who heard them all side by side by side would agree.Now there are a few negatives. Like I said they are smaller & Lighter than the Samson's. And I was looking for something LARGER ... so in that respect, they are going away from what I was looking for. And I still am surprised the Samsons are slightly louder. With the bigger size they should need more power to drive them properly. But since the M20's have less sound leak than the SR850's, this is really a non-issue.And while they are very comfortable, after wearing them for a short time its clear that my ears are sweating in the M20's where they were not in the SR850's. Again, it may be because the latter are semi-open, but I think its because of the cloth covering on the SR850's pads AND because they are bigger.Overall, even with the negatives, I would recommend these over the Samson SR850's w/o question. But, if that extra $15.00 means a lot to you, the Samson's are still an EXCELLENT Choice. And they will probably be my choice, since once my son HEARS these. he will be wanting to trade me the Samson's for them.UPDATE: I have had these for just about 36 hours & I just had a perfect stranger come up to me & ask me if I liked them.l He obviously knew a lot more about headphones than I do & has much better equipment (a $170 pair of BeyerDynamics) but he was impressed with these especially at the price.UPDATE to the UPDATE: I recently bought a Fiio E6 Headphone Amp & when my son comes home from College, I will try these out with the Amp. Considering how much they improved my Samson SR850's (I would put that combination AHEAD of these now) I am sure they will sound even more awesome. However, I will NOT be buying that Amp for my son. If he wants one, he can buy it himself.IN RESPONSE TO .... the two questions .... First off the Amp improves the M20's as much as it improves the Samson SR850's. The sound is cleaner, and I prefer using the degraded setting on the amp with increased volume on my source on these as well.Second, as I said without the amp, these sound nearly as good as the Samson's WITH the amp. So I feel I have done enough for my son in that respect. If he wants to UP the quality with the amp, that's his choice. Just because I am not paying for it, doesn't represent my feeling for him one way or another. Of maybe it does. Either way I feel secure in my role as a parent & the opinion of one crank won't affect that.