Audio-Technica ATH-R30x

Affordable open-backs that punch above their price tag in more ways than one

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

That light weight is largely 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. The chief benefit of this is typically a clearer and more open and dynamically expressive sound.

The ATH-R30x's perfectly circular earcups sport a flat, honeycomb aluminium mesh, through which you can see the Audio-Technica logo-branded outer driver structure and hear the sound being fired away from the ear. On a leakage scale between a dripping tap and a full-on water pipe burst, they sit closer to the latter. At normal listening levels, someone sitting across the room will quite likely be able to tune into their inner Shazam and detect the song you're listening to.