Audio-Technica celebrates 50 years of headphones-making with the open-back ATH-ADX3000

Audio-Technica ATH-ADX3000 headphones on white background

(Image credit: Audio-Technica)

Audio-Technica is celebrating 50 years since its first headphones launch (the AT-700 series in 1974) and to mark this golden anniversary, the Japanese brand has released the ATH-ADX3000 open-back headphones.

The model is based on the reference open-back ATH-ADX5000 released back in 2017, but it sports a more modest price tag compared with the premium headphones' £1900 / $1999 billing. With the ADX3000 costing £859 / $999, it's a surprisingly restrained celebration of the brand's history in headphone making.

The new ADX3000 model is similar in style and design to its bigger brother: large over-ears with adjustable band, plush velour earpads and a honeycombed-punched grille that exposes the drivers.

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Each pair of these new headphones has been assembled and tested by Audio-Technica's skilled engineers in Tokyo, and is built with components that are made in-house. The magnesium alloy frame offers a rigid but lightweight design (it weighs 257g), making the headphones more comfortable to wear for longer listening sessions.

close up of grilles on Audio-Technica ATH-ADX3000 headphones — (Image credit: Audio-Technica)

Audio-Technica claims the ATH-ADX3000 "offer a natural and authentic soundstage, allowing users to experience audio in its purest form".

The fully open-back design and high-quality "exposed" drivers are instrumental in achieving this performance. The 58mm integrated drivers combine the tungsten-coated diaphragm, voice coil, baffle and magnet all into one single unit, to reduce unwanted vibrations. This design, also derived from its more premium brother, allows for unrestricted airflow and better full-range reproduction of the frequencies without any distortion or artificial resonances.

According to lead engineer Hiromichi Ozawa: “Our engineers worked hard to achieve frequencies that are not easy to obtain with natural airflow. Our expertise in driver technology has influenced our approach to open-back headphones, enabling us to ensure the diaphragm moves with the purest motion.”

Audio-Technica ATH-ADX3000 headphones in silver carry case — (Image credit: Audio-Technica)

The new headphones will arrive in a special protective carry case (pictured above), along with a 3m detachable cable ending in a 6.3mm headphone jack.

The new Audio-Technica ATH-ADX3000 headphones are available from today and are yours for £859 / €999.

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Kashfia is the Hi-Fi and Audio Editor of What Hi-Fi? and first joined the brand 13 years ago. During her time in the consumer tech industry, she has reviewed hundreds of products (including speakers, amplifiers, turntables and headphones), been to countless trade shows across the world and fallen in love with hi-fi kit much bigger than her. In her spare time, Kash can be found tending to an ever-growing houseplant collection and shooing her cat Jolene away from spinning records.