Audio-Technica ATH-R30x review

Mass is a double-edged sword in the audio world. Circumstances very much dependent, weight can be beneficial – adding it to record players and speaker stands can help dampen unwanted, sound-affecting vibrations, for example. Or it can be less desirable, as is the case with speaker driver cones, as lighter materials are typically optimal for faster cone movement and response.

With headphones, however, low mass is, on the whole, valuable – not only for the driver cone as it pertains to performance, but also the entire build when it comes to comfort levels.

With the new Audio-Technica ATH-R30x entry-level model in its open-back R-Series, Audio-Technica has produced a headphone that weighs just 210g – lighter than a large apple or a box of 80 teabags. Thankfully, they are significantly more comfortable to have on your head than either – and many budget headphones we have come across, for that matter.

Design

That light weight is predominantly down to the ATH-R30x’s open-back nature. With such designs, there is no solid enclosure behind the driver (just a perforated or otherwise unsealed earcup), allowing sound to be fired both towards and away from the listener’s ears.

As you can read all about in our open-back vs closed-back headphone comparison, the benefit, apart from the omission of that inherently weighty solid enclosure, is typically a clearer and more open and dynamically expressive sound.

In the case of the ATH-R30x, the perfectly circular earcups sport a flat, honeycomb aluminium mesh, through which you can see the Audio-Technica logo-branded outer driver structure and, indeed, hear the sound being fired away from the ear.

On a leakage scale between a dripping water tap and a full-on water pipe burst, they sit somewhat closer towards the latter – at normal listening levels, someone sitting across the room will likely be able to tune into their inner Shazam and detect the song you’re listening to.

That metal mesh defines the headphones’ distinctly business-like look, which is emphasised by a no-frills metal headband and adjustment slider, while the pleather and felt headrest beneath it and the soft, cushiony velour earpads give the overall aesthetic a friendlier edge. Together, the build is impressive in the context of wired headphones that cost £85 / $109 / AU$219, or even slightly more.

We like that the earpads and headrest can be easily removed and replaced, with the latter also handily adjustable courtesy of its velcro fastening and the laddered slots on the headband it attaches to. Perhaps the only reminder of the ATH-R30x’s modest billing is the fixed nature of the 3m-long cable that connects to each earcup.

The lightweight construction and the soft materials that are in contact with your head make for a highly comfortable, undemanding fit that many will get on with all day long. Sure, the headband is one of the thinnest you’ll see, but the headphones are so light that it more than suffices in relieving any pressure exerted on the top of your head.

That said, some of our reviewers found that the 4.5cm diameter of the earpads’ inner holes was too small to fully encase their lugs, causing a bit of discomfort after a few hours of wear.

Sound

Audio-Technica clearly envisages multi-hour (9-to-5?) usage, too, having primarily designed its ATH-R30x for, according to the company’s website literature, “an array of critical-listening tasks, from professional mixing and mastering to home studio production and content creation”. They are, of course, just as suitable for casual home listening, though their sonic character does fit the ‘studio sound’ brief.

Plugging the ATH-R30x’s 3.5mm jack into our desktop DAC via the included 6.3mm adaptor and loading up Of Monsters And Men’s Fruit Bat, we are immediately met by an open, spacious and controlled presentation, bristling with crisp detail from top to bottom.

The depth of the soundstage and its deliberate, precise manner invite analysis of the music – it’s easy to tune into the piano melody, lead vocal and guitar and violin backdrop, both individually and simultaneously. Even as the harmonising vocal, swell of strings and horns see the chorus take flight, the headphones take the dense instrumentation in their stride, never feeling congested or flustered.

Open-back headphones are very rarely going to bludgeon you with bass – the solid enclosures of closed-back designs encourage sonic muscularity, particularly in the low end – but, pleasingly, the R30x don’t stroke you with it either.

Over to SBTRKT’s Trials Of The Past, and you get the impression (if not the peak impact) of the sub-bass undertow, while the crisp beats in the upper bass regions are keenly delivered – taut, agile and defined.

It’s an impressively mature sound at this price level, even if we do feel there is scope for a final layer of cleanliness and polish. Higher on our wishlist, however, is greater musical cohesiveness, an imperfection the Grado SR80x (£99 / $125 / AU$199) are all too keen to highlight.

Through the Grado open-back on-ears, the SBTRKT track is more musically compelling, the various synth lines tightly sewn together to better communicate the electronica’s raw pop energy. While they don’t possess the Audio-Technicas’ expansive, easy listening talents, opting instead for a more direct, upfront approach, they also put their toe in front where midrange insight and speed are concerned.

The listener can grab onto those synth bubbles and, in the aforementioned Of Monsters And Men track, hang onto the emotion of Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir’s vocal delivery that bit more.

Verdict

While first impressions of the Audio-Technica ATH-R30x were all about the surprisingly lightweight, well-made construction of such an affordable headphone, the lasting one also concerns the sonic value on offer here, particularly for those who favour detail retrieval and coherent organisation and don’t require the last word in musicality. Anyone who is transitioning from, or predominantly used to, wireless listening may be particularly surprised by the headphones’ clarity, openness and precision.

Looking for comfortable, affordable and sonically sophisticated wired headphones, whether that be for professional mixing or leisurely listening? The ATH-R30x could be an ideal first stepping stone on your path to personal audio nirvana.

Review published: 7th November 2025

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 5
• Comfort 4

MORE:

Read our review of the Grado SR80x

Also consider the Austrian Audio Hi-X15

Best wired headphones: the 7 top pairs tested by our review experts