Audio-Technica ATH-ADX3000 Review

Design

• Open-backed design
• Detachable cable
• Hard case

The ATH-ADX3000 are open-backed and designed for home listening than taking them outside. That means they will leak sound but you’ll also be aware of what’s around you too – unlike closed-back cans, you’re not closed off from the world around you.

You’ll notice the honeycomb design of the earcups, which is intended to prevent “undesirable air pressure loss”, with the reveal of the drivers inside also intended to aid the unrestricted flow of air

They’re very lightweight due to the Magnesium alloy frame Audio-Technica employs, which it claims results in a rigid and lightweight construction.

At 257g, there are wireless headphones that, on paper, weigh less, but the ATH-ADX3000 almost feel as if they’re floating on my head. All I could feel was the touch of the frame – I couldn’t even feel the headband that much. Unobtrusive is the word I’d use to describe the headphones – they don’t get in the way of what you’re listening to.

The clamping force doesn’t feel tight but neither is it particularly loose. There’s enough force to keep it pressed against your temple, but the lightness of the frame means you can wear these headphones over longer periods. Having worn these headphones over several sessions, I didn’t experience discomfort.

The headband is adjustable if you need to make it tighter or looser; the velour earpads offer a plush sense of comfort around the ears (they are replaceable too).

You (thankfully) have a 3m detachable balanced cable with A2DC connection instead of MMCX. This is to reduce noise and dropouts from the cable rotating. A slight irritation, however, is that the cable terminates in a 6.3mm connection, and as far as I can see, there’s no 3.5mm adapter provided. Each pair comes in a hard carry case.

Specification

• 58mm driver
• Wide frequency response
• 50 ohms impedance

The drivers are large – 58mm drivers – the same size as in the ADX7000 and bigger than the 40mm in the budget-priced R30x. The impedance is 50 ohms, so these can still be driven by mobile devices but for a better performance, you may want to consider a DAC or a headphone amplifier.

Frequency response covers 5Hz to 45,000Hz, which is large considering the spectrum of human hearing (at the best of times) covers 20Hz to 20,000Hz. You won’t need superhuman hearing for these headphones but in cases such as these, the headphones can take in the signal and give you a representation of highs that are brighter and extended bass that hits harder and deeper.

The sensitivity is 98dB, which is in the middle of high and low; so don’t expect these headphones to be need too much adjustment by being too quiet or getting too loud.

Sound Quality

• Natural, open soundstage
• A little light on bass
• Transparent vocals

I used the ATH-ADX3000 with my laptop, a Chord Mojo 2 DAC and Cambridge Audio CXA61, and it sounded very good with all of them, though the quality of the sound improved with the nature of the kit.

Across all sources the ATH-ADX3000 delivers a presentation that’s airy and natural sounding, with vocals that are impressively transparent in tone. The stereo image created is a clear and detailed one, the soundstage is impressively wide with the open-backed soundstage.

A play of Sabrina Carpenter’s Manchild on Qobuz (through my laptop) and it’s an expansive sound with plenty of size and scale to it, bass that’s weighty but not overboard, and vocals with clarity and natural. The organisation of instruments and vocals in the soundstage is terrific.

Compared to a pair of the Focal Bathys MG in their wired DAC mode and the ATH-ADX3000 sound better with Phoebe Bridgers’ Garden Song. Better detail, better sense of naturalism, a more transparent take with vocals which came across with more nuance, finesse and fidelity. The Audio-Technica sport an uncoloured, neutral tone and a sound I could listen to for hours – it’s a very comfortable sound to listen to.

Listening through a laptop with a 3.5mm adapter, I find the headphones don’t deliver quite as strong or as firm a hand as I’d with the low frequencies, but this more to do with the laptop than the headphones themselves, as adding a Chord Mojo 2 DAC into the mix brings an extra element of finesse to the soundstage, adding more depth while also drawing out more clarity and detail from music on Tidal and Qobuz.

Highs are bright and varied, there’s a naturalism to how these headphones convey music that’s consistent with all the devices I use with it. There’s dynamism, there’s energy, and a track such as Gerald Clayton’s Rejuvenation Agenda feels like the live recording it should be. It makes listening through the laptop something of a letdown, as good as it was, because you’re missing out on that greater sense of expression and fidelity. Using a DAC with these headphones is a must.

A switch to the Cambridge Audio CXA61 with a CXN streamer as the source and the headphones’ balanced and measured approach to music continues, delivering all I’ve mentioned above: insight, clarity, high levels of detail and definition along with spaciousness and naturalism.

Tracks are well-judged, from bright and well-shaped highs to clear and punchy lows; tracks with slow or fast tempo, it’s a balance and a measure of tone that works across a variety of genres, from Shaboozey’s A Bar Song, Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun to Billie Eillish’s Wildflower

To circle back to the low frequencies, this is an open-backed pair, so bass wouldn’t hit as hard or with as much depth as a sealed closed-back pair. But the ATH-ADX3000 is never one-note in describing the lows – there’s always a sense of control, clarity and detail with the bass that surpasses a wireless pair. I’d want more power and more depth because with Massive Attack’s Angel, Roots Manuva’s Witness (1 Hope) or Hensonn’s Sahara, the low frequencies sound reserve and a touch light.

Regardless, the ATH-ADX3000 deliver such control, such naturalism and such a comfortable sound that the absence of deep bass doesn’t feel like an issue. These are a high quality pair of wired open-backed headphones.

Should you buy it?