You must remember that last year, Augustian Audio launched a wired entry headset Hi-X15, and at the beginning of this year, Aoshisheng continued to work hard to launch its first Bluetooth monitoring headset, so will this Hi-X25BT be just a wireless Bluetooth version of X15?
Today, through my actual experience, I will find out the answer for you.
About The Augustrian Audio, a little bit. This is a traditional professional audio manufacturer from Austria, and its professional ability is very strong. Its predecessor was AKG's Austrian headquarters, but after the acquisition of Samsung, the responsibility of inheriting Aochan Audio fell on the Aoshisheng brand. In addition to headphones, Aoshi Sound is still producing world-class professional recording equipment.
A first look
Austrian Auido Hi-X25BT is a closed-loop bluetooth headset, a portable headset that can be used for professional audio work or wireless daily use, which is a combination of wired monitoring sound quality and wireless Bluetooth. In terms of sound, the Hi-X25BT delivers sound accurately over a wide frequency range through its Hi-X (High Excursion) technology.
Unbox
When you first get the Hi-X25BT package, you can feel the familiar taste of Othonic, packaged in a black eco-friendly carton with a red magic band. As simple as ever (plain). Open the package to see the headphones, but unlike before, the two large ear cups are covered with two transparent plastic boxes, and the entire headphones are embedded in the paper slot to prevent them from being damaged during transport and preventing scratches. The box also includes a portable drawstring carry bag and a quick start guide, warranty card and AA-marked stickers. In addition, due to the relationship between Bluetooth headsets, the accessory also includes a variety of cables - USB-C to USB-A adapter, USB-C cable, USB-C to 3.5mm, 3.5mm to 6.2mm plug.
From the perspective of accessories, the practicality is still very strong, basically covering the mainstream connection methods currently on the market. From the perspective of the cable matching, the headset should be wired and wireless, digital and analog all-round access. This is indeed a little bit of anticipation!
Exterior design
Compared with the design of the Hi-X25BT and its predecessor Hi-X15, it cannot be said to be irrelevant, but can only be said to be exactly the same (mistaken)
The image above is Hi-X15 and the bottom is Hi-X25BT
If there's a difference, the Hi-X25BT's decorative color has been replaced by black instead of the silver block on the X15, but the eye-catching crimson metal frame of the fork is still the same. From this point of view, the black and red color scheme makes the headphones look more elegant and modern.
As a Bluetooth headset, the X25's control functions are integrated into the right ear cups. The bottom of the earcups contains an on/off and pairing button, Type-C jack, microphone hole and 2 LED indicators (for pairing status and battery indication, respectively). The commonly used audio control function uses a touch method and is integrated into the earcup shell on the right side.
The head beam should be a metal core covered with soft leather material, but it is not removable and replaceable. The ear cushions, as always, inherit the style of Augustrian Audio's high-rebound large ear cups.
Audio technology
With a unit diameter of 44 mm, the Hi-X25BT driver is widely used in various models of monitor headphones introduced by Augustrian Audio in the last two years. From the open-ended flagship Hi-X65, which is more than 3k, down to the entry-level model X15. According to the official introduction, the drive unit has built-in High Excursion technology and uses a ring system composed of a particularly powerful rubidium magnet (1 Tesla magnetic flux). The system, combined with a lightweight aluminium voice coil, enables particularly good bass reproduction and large diaphragm shifts.
In wired mode, the headphones have a low-impedance level of only 25 ohms, which means that basically any digital product you have on hand can easily propel the headphones. This includes devices such as MP3s, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets.
In addition, the headphone parameter display reproduces audio from 12 Hz to 24 kHz. In my actual experience, the X25 is also really capable of easily reproducing subwoofers as well as UHF music.
In the Bluetooth wireless transmission mode, the headset itself provides a version of Bluetooth 5.0, which can achieve high data transmission rates. However, it is a slight pity that the mobile device can only work in the standard SBC mode as an audio codec. If you can support AptX codec or AAC, I believe that the practicality of Bluetooth can be further improved. However, the headphones last up to 30 hours in wireless mode, which is still good.
Wearing experience
That's right, it's a familiar recipe for O's, with a large L and an R each on the protective mesh of soft earcups with memory foam to indicate the left and right of the headphones. This allows users to easily identify directions without brains. The ear cups are slightly inclined forward, and the oval wide ear cups are perfect for the ears. The ear cups can also swing back and forth at small angles to further achieve a good fit. Due to the adjustment of the length of the head beam, the headphones can be kept in the current adjustment position even after the headphones are removed. Therefore, the wearing feeling of this headset is really super comfortable. In addition, the headphones weigh about 270g without wiring, which will not aggravate the wearing feeling.
Folding, because of this, I believe that users who have used over-the-top ear cup headphones have a deep understanding. If the earcups don't fold, then in order to protect the headphones, you also have to carry a large box on your back when you go out. The Hi-X25BT, on the other hand, has a hinge design where the headphones can be folded up and transported in the included bag to save space.
Wired or wireless listening
A special design to mention is that this Hi-X25BT headphones can listen to music through Bluetooth while charging (Type-C interface). From a practical point of view, it is possible to meet the needs of users to use the headset 24/7 without interruption. But what's slightly weird is that it's like wireless listening in a wired state
。 Is this wireless? Or wireless? Or wireless?
The audio control of the headphones mentioned earlier is integrated in the ear cups and uses a touch mode. Various commands can be given here using the electric gesture control, including pause/play, volume and track adjustment, etc. In addition, there will also be voice feedback in the headset to confirm the change in status, or you can long press to summon the "normal" voice assistant. It's important to complain that the touch method may be mistouched, especially when you wear or take off the headset. The sound delay in the Bluetooth state is acceptable, and after a simple trial of the king, basically did not encounter the situation that the sound and painting were not synchronized.
For those who prefer to connect by wire, the Ossonic Hi-X25BT is also very considerate. The included additional cable can be easily connected to the USB-C interface, such as the Type-C on laptops and desktops has now become standard, plugged in can be used, can also be charged at the same time, and the 3.5mm hole is as good to use. Of course, if you connect with 3.5mm, the headphones are not charging. In the above parts, if you have used Aoshisheng's Hi-X15 headphones, you will find that in addition to the Bluetooth connection and control parts, X25 and X15 are several - hu - none - poor, familiar recipes!
Sound evaluation, is that still not a familiar taste?
Overall, the Hi-X25BT has the same deep mid-bass sound as the Hi-X15. But the Hi-X25BT seems to have a more mellow sound. It's also due to the fact that the bass part of the Hi-X25BT sound takes up a little more space than I wanted. The subwoofer part also sounds more pronounced in this model (illusion?). ）。 In addition, there is a slight improvement in the midrange part, perhaps to ensure the need for voice call clarity of Bluetooth headsets? Maybe that's a good thing, because Bluetooth headphones are usually not just used to listen to music, but also to watch movies or output fire for teammates, and the clarity of the voice signal can be slightly improved in these scenarios. But these changes do not cause a "hissing" sound. It still sounds great on the tweeter, and in the ultra-high range, it is also more open and transparent than other Bluetooth headphones in this price range.
Although the sound image in wired mode is almost the same as the sound image in wireless connection in general, you can still distinguish the bass part better when connected by wired, and it seems that the bass part is better than that in Bluetooth mode. By the way, the playback in wired mode is a bit quieter than bluetooth transmission. Although its wide ear cups can be very good at attenuation of external noise, forming a physical noise reduction effect.
Experience summary
Overall, the Hi-X25BT should be intended for those with limited budgets, or who have monitoring needs and wireless usage needs. The fine resolution and high wearing comfort of monitoring in wired mode are still unmatched by most Bluetooth headsets. The ability of Bluetooth wireless transmission can also add value for money experience for users.
In addition to the wide range of frequency responses, we were also impressed by the Hi-X25BT's multi-user adaptability and long battery life. In terms of sound quality, the relative emphasis on the mid-frequency part is a matter of benevolence and wisdom. The sound of the Hi-X25BT in Bluetooth mode seems to be slightly compressed in the bass, but the overall sound is also slightly warmer.
As for the touch controls, this helps keep the headset clean and improves its appearance, but it may take some time for the user to get used to it. All in all, the Hi-X25BT is still a high-quality, cost-effective, wireless monitoring headset worth buying!