Sound Summary
The HI-X20 is a bright-warm headphone with an incisive and clinical mid and upper-treble, with sharper transients and note definition north of neutral. It’s a W-shaped sound signature with distinct peaks and troughs, with a fairly natural midrange, with some strange timbral quirks mired by a scooped-out lower-midrange.
Resolution-wise, the HI-X20 is shockingly good (is this really $200?) thanks to its highly resolving excursive drivers that compress so quickly. Its PRAT rivals planar-magnetic headphones, with snappy attack and a satisfyingly flat ‘sub-bass’ elevation for a palpable punch that dissipates quickly after impact.
Everything is highly revealing. Maybe too revealing, with poorer recordings presenting as abrasive thanks to an untamed treble presentation that doesn’t quite rein it in.
Bass
The HI-X20’s bass is a reserved affair, with a gently contoured sub-bass dominant shelf. Tangibly, it’s tactile and snappy in terms of attack/decay. It doesn’t linger around very long, exhibiting a satisfying texture and tone that never draws too much attention to itself.
For genres such as speed metal, kick drums are explosively fast, but it isn’t simply a byproduct of volume. At lower volumes, the bass regions are present but may be too modest for drum-and-bass-centric genres. For bassheads, frankly, this could be downright anaemic or ‘vanilla’ for their tonal preferences.
The downside is that the lack of mid-bass definition is the dearth in satisfying slam that is expected of a dynamic driver-powered headphone. However, given how an egregious amount of mid-bass amplitude interferes with the timbre or realism of voicings and instruments in the upper-midrange, this tuning is sensible for its monitoring purpose.
Midrange
The HI-X20’s midrange is apparent in its proclivity for the centre-to-upper midrange. Note strikes are linear, bolstered by sharp transients and an unvarnished attack. Interestingly, its older sibling, the HI-X15, received similar complaints about problems related to timbre thanks to a thin note-weight and an overzealous upper-midrange, exacerbating tonal aberrations and, in some instances, unbearable sibilance.
To be honest, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. The HI-X20 has a resolute clarity, eking out a voluminous amount of micro-detail, where odd-harmonics are sculpted cleanly. However, this is indeed an unforgiving headphone that will artificially highlight recording quirks or dynamically-compressed music ‘as it is’. Timbrally, the suckout in the lower-midrange creates a strange well of timbre-related issues, with a coarser and harsher edge that doesn’t feel all that right.
In a studio environment, this is a Swiss-Army Knife for unearthing hidden details. In a consumer-listening environment, this might not be a fun listen.
Treble
The HI-X20 is a bright headphone with an upper-treble front. The lower-treble is forward, snappy and aggressive. But it’s nowhere near as sparkly or shimmery as it travels up the treble ladder. Cymbals resonate in the air with brilliance and energy, and string instruments (i.e. violins) with gusto and verve. And yes, it can be a painful listen with extreme hissiness on bad masterings.
In terms of decay, the HI-X20’s excursive drivers are closing in on the gap with planar-magnetic headphones. The upper-air region is fast. Really fast. Snare drum strikes pack a lot of energy upfront, before dissipating rapidly. Overall, this is the headphones’ Achilles heel and strength, depending on what you’re looking for.
Keep in mind that this headphone was originally conceived for use in a studio.
Soundstage and imaging
The HI-X20, as a closed-back headphone where the chamber on each side sits so closely to the ear, exhibits average headroom width commensurate with its $200 price tag. It’s an intimate affair, with average L-R lateral width that doesn’t extend too far from the ears as a point of reference, but it’s good enough spatially for identifying the distance between specific cues.
This is where the HI-X20’s excursive drivers help to compensate for the constrained width with their resolving character. Because of how airy it is, the boosted upper-treble bolsters the perception of perceived space between instruments and voicings. Unimpeded by a bombastic mid-bass, everything sounds more pronounced and effortlessly picked up on.
Turn to the next page for Synergy, A Brief Comparison, and Conclusive Remarks
