Austrian Audio Hi-X60

I have NEVER had more comfortable headphones in my life, and I've worn many. They are on the heavier side (more on that later), but they do not feel like it.

Even after 8+ hours of constant use my ears do not sweat and temples of my glasses do not feel uncomfortable, at all.

Sound quality is very VERY detailed, you can hear every smallest little thing and it seems there's very little cross modulation of frequencies, and even though the frequency response isn't completely flat, one can make very accurate mixing decisions. And if you need them to be more flat, you can just put very small shelf on the top end that brings higher frequencies down a tad (1-2dB or so). Bottom end is solid without being at all hyped. It's all very well balanced and they can be used for real work.

They're really easy to drive, even weakest of headphone outputs can make them loud and using a proper amplifier, you even need to put some attenuation on the input side to get proper adjustment range, this could be a negative to someone, but in my environment, it hasn't been an issue yet.

The build quality is very high, they're almost completely made of metal (aluminum) and there's no plastic in any part that takes constant abuse, like hinges and ear cups. All the foam is replaceable and even the memory foam on the headband is attached with Velcro for easy replacement or even removal if you prefer it that way.

Attenuation of outside noise is high and attenuation of cable noise is quite adequate.

Only "negative" I can imagine is, that they do not come with a carrying case to protect your investment, but ~20€ for one isn't much and the carry case is of good quality.

I wish Austrian Audio would bring the locking 2.5mm connector available as a DIY part so one can create their own compatible cables for situations where the available ones are not enough (extra long, coiled etc.)

The connector isn't unobtainable, but it's not common either.And in a pinch, you can fit just bare 2.5mm connector without locking mechanism and it'll work just fine.

Overall, very high end headphones and considering everything, price is reasonable.

As long as Austrian Audio keeps the spare parts available for the decades to come, these will be a forever investment for one's studio and even for just enjoying music.

These headphones give the illusion of a remarkably detailed sound. While one can clearly separate instruments from one another, it comes at the price of having a coloration (or a frequency bump). This becomes obvious with some instruments - the timbre reproduction is somewhat inaccurate occasionally. I don't like that and suspect it might lead to wrong decisions when applying EQ and / or saturation. Low frequencies are a little shy. The overall impression I got didn't meet my expectations based on reviews and price point so I chose a different model and will return those.

Austrian Audio is a fairly new company, but it's run from the ex AKG Headquarters by ex AKG staff who got laid off when Samsung closed down the Vienna branch of AKG. The Hi-X60 is the closed back version of the Hi-X65.
Looking for a pair of headphones to complement my Sennheiser HD650, I was looking for a closed back that can be driven off a mobile device without an amp.
I really value comfort since I often wear headphones for hours. I value quality since I like to stick to a pair once I got used to it, my Sennheisers have been with me for more than a decade by now.
I mainly use these for tracking instruments, listening to mixes, playing at home (guitar, bass, e-drums) and for FOH work.

I did try the classics: AKG K371, Beyerdynamic DT770, Shure 840A, Sennheiser HD-300 Pro, Audio Technica ATH-M50x, Sony 7506 and more.
The comfort was great on the Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser headphones, but I could not work with the sound. The Sennheisers did emphasize the high mids and lacked bass, the Beyerdynamics lacked mids.
The Audio Technica, Shure and Sony were very uncomfortable to wear for more than a few minutes.
The AKG had a sound signature I could not understand.

Enter the Austrian Audio Hi-X60.
The Bass is a little under the HD650, but the phones are capable of better sub bass and when you EQ them, they take bass well. It sounds tight and dry. The mids are pretty much all present with no emphasis on anything. The treble is very precise, but when you're used to the warm signature of the 650, these can sound harsh. The detail, however, is amazing. Separation of instruments is pretty easy, and you can really concentrate on single bits of a full track. The sound stage is somewhere between a good closed back and a good open back. It's wider than it has any right to be.
Isolation is top, both ways. The ear cups and head band are smooth, faux leather with pretty good memory foam inside. It's the stuff that takes a while to expand when you push it in.
They fold up for transport and come with two cables.

I am a very picky person when it comes to headphones and I am super happy with these.

My two wishes would have been to include the carrying case (not unreasonable at this price) and a coiled cable.