Audio-Technica makes a lot of headphones. Some are designed for professional studios. Others are made for mixing, casual listening, wireless use, or people buying their first serious pair of headphones.
That variety is great until you actually have to choose one.
Should you buy the famous ATH-M50x? Is the cheaper ATH-M40x good enough? What if you need open-back headphones for mixing instead of closed-back headphones for recording? The right answer depends on how you’re going to use them.
For most people, the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x remains the easiest place to start. But it isn’t automatically the best model for every situation.
What is the Best Audio-Technica Headphones?
Here are some of the best Audio-Technica headphones and what each one does best.
1. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x – Best Overall
The ATH-M50x is probably Audio-Technica’s most recognizable professional headphone. There’s a good reason for that.
It combines a closed-back design, relatively easy-to-drive impedance, detachable cables, swiveling earcups, and a sound that’s useful for recording while still being enjoyable for everyday listening.
The ATH-M50x uses 45 mm drivers and has a frequency response of 15 Hz to 28 kHz. Its impedance is 38 ohms, so you don’t necessarily need a powerful dedicated headphone amplifier.
The closed-back design also helps isolate you from outside sounds and reduces the amount of audio escaping from the earcups. That’s particularly useful when recording.
Imagine you’re recording vocals while listening to a backing track. If your headphones leak badly, your microphone may pick up that music.
The M50x helps reduce that problem. You also get three detachable cables, including straight and coiled options.
If you want one Audio-Technica headphone for recording, podcasting, editing, and general listening, this is the model I’d look at first.
Best for: Recording, home studios, podcasting, editing, and everyday listening.
2. Audio-Technica ATH-M40x – Best Value
The ATH-M40x doesn’t get as much attention as the M50x, but it may actually be the smarter purchase for some people. It’s a closed-back professional monitoring headphone with 40 mm drivers.
Audio-Technica describes the M40x as being tuned flat for accurate monitoring across its frequency range.
That’s important for studio work. You don’t necessarily want headphones that make everything sound more exciting.
You want to hear what’s actually in the recording. If there’s too much bass, you want to notice it. If the vocals are too bright, you want to hear that too.
The M40x has a 15 Hz to 24 kHz frequency response and a 35-ohm impedance. It also includes detachable straight and coiled cables.
Like the M50x, the earcups swivel 90 degrees. The biggest attraction is value. If your main goal is monitoring and editing rather than casual bass-heavy listening, the M40x deserves serious consideration.
Best for: Budget-conscious studio users, editing, and monitoring.
3. Audio-Technica ATH-R70xa – Best for Mixing
Recording and mixing don’t always require the same type of headphone. For recording, closed-back headphones make sense because they reduce sound leakage. For critical mixing, open-back headphones become more interesting.
The ATH-R70xa is Audio-Technica’s flagship professional open-back reference model.
The open design allows air and sound to move through the earcups rather than trapping everything inside.
This can create a more spacious and natural presentation. That’s useful when you’re trying to judge stereo positioning.
The tradeoff is isolation. People nearby can hear what you’re listening to, and you’ll hear what’s happening around you. That makes the R70xa a poor choice for recording directly in front of a sensitive microphone.
For mixing and mastering in a quiet room, however, it’s one of Audio-Technica’s most serious professional options.
Best for: Professional mixing, mastering, and critical listening.
4. Audio-Technica ATH-R50x – Best Open-Back Value
You don’t necessarily need to jump straight to the flagship R70xa to get an open-back Audio-Technica headphone. The ATH-R50x provides a more accessible option. It’s a professional open-back reference headphone with 45 mm drivers.
Audio-Technica designed it to provide an expansive soundstage with accurate midrange and extended bass. It also weighs only around 207 grams without the cable.
That matters. Mixing sessions can last hours. A heavy headphone may feel perfectly comfortable when you first put it on and become annoying three hours later.
The lightweight design makes the R50x particularly attractive for long editing and mixing sessions.
If you’re specifically looking for an Audio-Technica headphone for mixing rather than recording, I’d consider the R50x before automatically buying an M-Series model.
Best for: Mixing, mastering, home studios, and critical listening.
5. Audio-Technica ATH-M20x – Best for Beginners
Maybe you’re building your first studio and don’t have much money left for headphones. That’s normal.
You’ve already bought a microphone. Then an audio interface. Then an XLR cable. Then a microphone stand. Suddenly another $150 or $300 for headphones doesn’t sound very attractive.
The ATH-M20x is Audio-Technica’s entry-level professional monitoring option. It’s a closed-back over-ear headphone designed around studio monitoring.
For beginners, that closed construction is particularly useful. You can wear the headphones while recording vocals or a podcast without creating the type of leakage you’d get from open-back headphones.
The M20x won’t give you every feature of the M50x. But that’s not really the point. It provides an affordable way to get proper wired monitoring into your recording setup.
Best for: Beginners, first home studios, and budget podcast setups.
6. Audio-Technica ATH-M30x – Best Budget Upgrade
The ATH-M30x sits between the M20x and M40x. That’s a useful position. Maybe you don’t want the cheapest option, but you also don’t need to spend M50x money. The M30x is still a closed-back professional monitoring headphone.
That makes it useful for tracking vocals, recording podcasts, editing, and general home-studio work.
It’s also collapsible, which makes it easier to carry around than some full-size studio headphones. For someone building a portable recording kit, that’s worth considering.
The M30x makes the most sense when you find it at a price comfortably below the M40x. If the price difference is tiny, I’d probably move up to the M40x. But as an affordable middle-ground option, the M30x is easy to understand.
Best for: Portable recording and affordable home studios.
7. Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 – Best Wireless Audio-Technica Headphones
What if you love the idea of the M50x but don’t want to deal with a cable every time you listen to music? That’s where the ATH-M50xBT2 comes in. It’s essentially designed to bring the M50x experience into a wireless format.
Audio-Technica uses 45 mm drivers and includes Bluetooth connectivity, a low-latency mode, multipoint pairing, and support for codecs including LDAC and AAC.
Battery life is rated at up to 50 hours. There’s also rapid charging. A 10-minute charge can provide up to three hours of use. The important thing is that you’re not completely dependent on Bluetooth.
Audio-Technica includes a cable for optional wired listening. That’s useful when the battery runs out or when you want a traditional wired connection. For serious studio monitoring, I’d still buy the normal wired M50x.
But for someone who wants one Audio-Technica headphone for commuting, music, video, and occasional wired use, the M50xBT2 is much more convenient.
Best for: Wireless everyday listening and M50x fans who want Bluetooth.
8. Audio-Technica ATH-M70x – Best Closed-Back Professional Option
The ATH-M70x sits above the M50x in Audio-Technica’s professional M-Series. It’s designed more directly around critical professional monitoring.
That makes it interesting for engineers who need the isolation of a closed-back headphone but want something positioned above the M50x. Closed-back headphones remain valuable even in professional studios.
A mixing engineer might prefer open-back headphones for certain decisions, but musicians recording in the same room as microphones need isolation.
The M70x provides that closed design while targeting more demanding monitoring applications. For most beginners, it’s unnecessary. The M50x or M40x provides better value.
But if you’re building a serious professional recording setup and specifically need a higher-end closed-back Audio-Technica model, the M70x is worth considering.
Best for: Professional monitoring and studio recording.
ATH-M50x vs ATH-M40x: Which Is Better?
This is probably the most common Audio-Technica headphone comparison. The M50x has larger 45 mm drivers, while the M40x uses 40 mm drivers. The M50x also has a slightly wider specified frequency range. But don’t choose based only on specifications.
The M40x is designed around relatively flat monitoring, which can make it attractive for studio work.
The M50x has become the more popular all-around choice because it works well for recording while also providing a sound many people enjoy for normal music listening.
If you’re primarily editing and monitoring, I’d seriously consider the M40x. If you want one pair for studio work and entertainment, I’d choose the M50x.
Open-Back vs Closed-Back Audio-Technica Headphones
This distinction is more important than many specifications. Closed-back models include headphones such as the M20x, M40x, M50x, and M70x. They’re better at isolating your ears and preventing sound from escaping. That makes them excellent for recording.
Open-back models such as the R50x and R70xa allow sound to pass through the earcups. You get less isolation but a more spacious presentation. That’s why open-back headphones are attractive for mixing and mastering.
Which Audio-Technica Headphones Should You Buy?
For most people, my recommendation is simple: Buy the ATH-M50x. It offers the best balance between studio usefulness, isolation, portability, durability, and everyday listening. If you want something cheaper and more monitoring-focused, choose the ATH-M40x.
For beginners, look at the ATH-M20x. For wireless listening, choose the ATH-M50xBT2.
And if mixing and mastering are your priorities, skip the closed-back M-Series and consider the ATH-R50x or ATH-R70xa instead.
Final Thoughts
Audio-Technica doesn’t make one headphone that’s best at everything. That’s why understanding the product lineup is more useful than simply choosing the most expensive model. The M-Series is the natural place to look when you need closed-back monitoring.
These headphones make sense for recording vocals, tracking instruments, podcasting, DJ monitoring, and situations where sound isolation matters. The R-Series takes a different approach.
Its open-back design is better suited to mixing, mastering, and critical listening in quiet environments.
For most people, the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x is still the best overall choice. Its 45 mm drivers, 38-ohm impedance, closed-back construction, swiveling earcups, and three included detachable cables create an extremely versatile package.
But don’t automatically buy it because it’s popular. If you’re mainly mixing, the R50x or R70xa may be the smarter choice.
If you’re building your first studio on a limited budget, the M20x may be all you need. The best Audio-Technica headphones are ultimately the ones that match the job you’re actually doing.