Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Headphones

If you were ever in the market for a pair of nice over-ear headphones, you've definitely come across Audio-Technica's M-Series professional monitoring headphones (M20x/M30x/M40x/M50x/M60x/M70x). For many years, they have been a reliable go-to choice in their respective price categories, offering decent build quality, great comfort, and above-average audio performance. This isn't the first time I have had the opportunity to enjoy the ATH-M20x, the least expensive model in this product lineup, but never before did I get a chance to actually share my thoughts on it, so I was very happy to find it inside the Audio-Technica Creator Pack. When bought separately, this fine pair of headphones will set you back a mere $50, which is definitely worth it even if you aren't interested in the rest of the Creator Pack.

Closer Examination, Build Quality, and Comfort

The Audio-Technica ATH-M20x is almost entirely made out of plastic, with a metal inner headband connecting the ear cups. They don't look or feel expensive, which they're not. What you're not getting in luxurious build materials, Audio-Technica gives back in sound quality, which I'll get to in a moment. The matte back ear cups have an engraved Audio-Technica logo. They're not prone to getting dirty, so there's no need to clean them more than usual; i.e., never.


The earcups may be rotated nearly 180°. They also swiveled slightly. The entire frame is exceptionally flexible, although I wouldn't really go overboard as the plastic does creak occasionally, just to remind you that you're handling a $50 pair of headphones after all. With usual home and office use, these should last for years; their ear pads will likely wear out before anything happens to the frame. If that happens, you can simply replace them. With that in mind, overall build quality is decent, completely in line with the price.


The height can be adjusted by sliding the ear cups up and down the metal headband rails. The sliding mechanism isn't of the "clicky" kind, but stays exactly where you set it regardless.


The left and right channels are marked on the inner side of the headband, or simply remember that the irremovable cable comes out the left ear cup.


The headband is entirely covered in pleather. Audio-Technica's logo and name are painted on the outside, while the inner part of it is decently padded.


The pleather-covered ear pads do a good job of surrounding the ears. They can be replaced with a different pair if you want. Because of the popularity of the ATH-M20x, replacement ear pads of various types are widely available. Comfortable ear pads combined with a nicely adjusted clamping force and the low weight result in good overall wearing comfort. Since the pleather ear pads seal tightly, do expect some heat to build up over longer gaming or music listening sessions.


The rubberized cable is 3 m long. Unfortunately, it cannot be detached, which is an obvious drawback, but it feels as though it can take some serious abuse, so I don't perceive this as a weak point of the ATH-M20x. The cable terminates in a standard 3.5-mm audio plug with a removable 1/4" audio jack adapter preinstalled.

Sound Quality

Audio-Technica's M-Series professional monitor headphone lineup is best known for its neutral sound reproduction. Don't confuse neutral with boring, though—it only means they strove for a sound signature without significant coloration (without adding or subtracting anything from it), whether for better or worse.


The ATH-M20x is equipped with a pair of 40-mm dynamic speaker drivers. According to the manufacturer, these have been tuned for enhanced low-frequency performance, as well as studio tracking and mixing. Their specified frequency response ranges from 15 to 20,000 Hz, and their sensitivity is 96 dB, which means they're quite easy to drive. While even a smartphone can serve as a viable source for the ATH-M20x, you do want to connect it to a decent integrated or external sound card. You can, of course, also connect it directly to the ATR2500x-USB microphone included as a part of the Audio-Technica Creator Pack. That way, you can use it for lag-free, direct microphone monitoring.

Considering the modest $50 price tag, the ATH-M20x sounds pretty great. It's tonally very pleasant, with a slightly boosted mid-bass region (60–100 Hz), balanced mid-range, and a dip in the 5,000–6,000 Hz frequency range. The latter makes it sound a bit congested and muffled; thankfully, the built-in speaker drivers respond well to equalization, so it's an easy fix if your sound card offers an equalizer. The aforementioned bass boost is only slight. The ATH-M20x is by no means a bass monster, although this too is something you can adjust with equalization: I was able to push the lower frequencies by as much as +9 dB without distorting the speaker drivers.

All of this gives you a lot of flexibility to tune the ATH-M20x to your liking. The ATH-M20x almost feels like a blank canvas you can edit to your liking. Even if you don't touch the equalizer at all, you're still getting a clean, detailed, snappy-sounding pair of headphones. For $50, it's really hard to expect more than the ATH-M20x has to offer.

The passive noise isolation is very good. I'm aware that some users and reviewers complain about sound leakage, but I didn't run into such issues. The ear pads formed a great seal with the sides of my head, so I felt pretty nicely isolated from my surroundings.