In the past, I have reviewed several different headsets. I always cover their practical uses, and also how close they come to sounding to the studio mics I use and have reviewed in the past. So far, they have been very practical without coming close to matching the quality of the studio mics, at least not without heavy equalization. Let’s see how much closer the ATH-AG1x gets, and how well it isolates, among other factors. You’ll hear several test recordings done through several different preamp/A-to-D converters, and an “unfair” comparison with the BP40, which is also from Audio-Technica.

Recommended and alternative applications

Although Audio-Technica markets the under US$250 street-priced ATH-AG1x for “gaming”, this isn’t the first time I have tested a headset not marketed for broadcast for audiovisual production. You may recall that in the past, I have tested both Plantronics and Sennheiser models. See these related article reviews:

• Review: Plantronics accidentally enters broadcast headset market
• An unfair yet justifiable mic comparison: AT2005USB versus Plantronics .Audio 326
• Review: Sennheiser PC-8 digital mic/headset with 48 kHz sampling

This doesn’t count the Audio Technica BPHS1 broadcast headset with dynamic mic: review + comparison from 2012, which remains as a current and popular model.

If the sound and isolation are good, the ATH-AG1x could be used for broadcasting or webinars, when connected appropriately, which I’ll cover ahead in this article.

Published specs

Here are the published specs, edited and commented:

Headphone type: closed-back dynamic
Headphone driver diameter: 53 mm
Headphone frequency response: 5–35,000 Hz
Maximum input power: 1,000 mW
Headphone sensitivity 100 dB/mW
Headphone impedance: 50 ohms
Weight: 320 grams (11.3 ounces), without cable

Cable: 1.2 meter (3.9 feet) with volume/locking mute switch (shown above)

Connector: 3.5 mm (1/8″) gold-plated stereo mini-plug (4 pole TRRS, see TS/TRS/TRRS/TRRRS: Combating the misconnection epidemic). Also includes extension with adapts it to separate 3.5 mm TRS stereo for headphone and mono-wired 3.5 mm TRS for the microphone.
Microphone type: condenser
Microphone sensitivity: -41 dB (0 dB=1 V/Pa, 1 kHz)
Microphone frequency response: 100–12,000 Hz
Microphone polar pattern: supercardioid (Should be very isolating, both from the pattern itself and from the signal-to-noise gained by the proximity to the mouth compared with any background sound.)
Included accessories:

• 2.0 m (6.6′) extension cable
• adapter (explained above); windscreen

Not balanced, but…

The microphone in the ATH-AG1x is not balanced, which means that, unlike a balanced connection, its cable can be subject to EMI (electromagnetic interference) and RFI (radio frequency interference). However, as I have covered in prior articles, that is okay if the cable from the mic to the preamp is kept extremely short. As a result, if you need connect to separate 3.5 mm connections (like the one provided with the included —but long— extension/adapter) outside of a controlled and previously tested environment, I would use a much shorter adapter, which are available on the market at very low prices, like this one for under US$7.

Initial tests with “free” or inexpensive preamps/A-to-D converters

In this first section of tests, we’ll see how the ATH-AG1x sounds using “free” (i.e. built-in) or inexpensive preamps/A-to-D (analog to digital) converters. All tests were done using the 48 kHz sampling rate, the standard for audio for video production and distribution. All were done with the included windscreen installed on the ATH-AG1x’s microphone. All were normalized to 16 LUFS. (I first covered the concept of LUFS, or Loudness units relative to Full Scale, in Meet the Hindenburg family of audio production/editing tools.) Except when specifically mentioned, no equalization or compression was applied.

This time, I have decided to skip SoundCloud and its MP3 encoding. I am exclusively publishing WAV files, which I have embedded using the HTML5 audio player code. My understanding is that you’ll be able to play the files in the latest versions of all popular modern browsers, in alphabetical order: Chrome, Edge (which is Microsoft’s replacement for Internet Explorer), Firefox, Opera and Safari. If you only have Internet Explorer in your computer, either download one of the others or go visit a friend who has one of the other browsers installed and updated.

Test with “free” built-in preamp/A-to-D in Apple MacBook Air 11″ (mid 2013)

Above is the flat version.

Above is the version “sweetened” with Hindenburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler equalization.

Test with “free” built-in preamp/A-to-D in Nexus 6 Android phone

Above is the flat version.

Above is the version “sweetened” with Hindenburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler equalization.

Test with inexpensive Audio-Technica ATR2USB preamp/A-to-D

Above is the flat version.

Above is the version “sweetened” with Hindenburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler equalization.

The ATR2USB preamplifier/A-to-D converter from Audio-Technica costs under US$12. It supports 48 kHz at 16-bit.

In the upcoming section, there are test recordings with a higher-end preamp/A-to-D converter.

Tests with a higher-end preamp/A-to-D converter, plus an “unfair” comparison

First test with Andrea Electronics C1-1021450-1 model USB-SA-1

Above is the flat version.

Above is the version “sweetened” with Hindenburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler equalization.

The Andrea Electronics C1-1021450-1 model USB-SA-1 costs under US$35 and offers the 48 kHz sampling rate together. Although the C1-1021450-1 model USB-SA-1 from Andrea Electronics is still quite inexpensive, it costs about three times the current price of the ATR2USB from Audio-Technica covered in the prior section. Some of you may be familiar with preamps/A-to-D converters that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars (many of which I have covered or reviewed). However, most of those wouldn’t be compatible with the ATH-AG1x headset, since the ATH-AG1x’s microphone requires bias voltage (aka plugin power), while the very expensive preamps/A-to-D converters offer phantom power. According to the manufacturer, “Andrea’s PureAudio USB-SA with patented noise reduction technology eliminates noise problems as it utilizes high quality digital circuitry and has state of the art noise reduction algorithm software.”

Unfair simultaneous comparison with the BP40

If you are unfamiliar with the BP40 from Audio Technica, here is a link to my review.

ATH-AG1x with USB-AS-1, unfairly compared with the BP40

Above is the flat version.

Above is the version “sweetened” with Hindenburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler equalization.

Simultaneous BP40 recording via the preamp/A-to-D converter built into the Sound Advice MixPre-D

I first covered the MixPre-D in this article in 2014.

Above is the flat version.

Above is the version “sweetened” with Hindenburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler equalization.

How does it sound to you?

As in the past, the Hindeneburg Journalist Pro’s automatic Voice Profiler has done an amazing job improving a smaller microphone, especially when used with lower-end preamp/A-to-D converters. To my ear, it seems that the higher we get with the mic and the preamp/A-to-D converter, the less effect it has on the sound. This is logical

How does it sound to you? How does it isolate in your opinion? Feel free to write comments below.

Build quality and comfort

The build quality is superb. Although some others find that the ATH-AG1x is too loose of a fit, for me it fit perfectly and did not tend to sag. I suppose it depends upon the size of your head.

I find the ATH-AG1x to be the most comfortable headphone or headset I have ever tried, but that didn’t make me to take it off as soon as possible after finishing with whatever I am doing. Just like a winter cap, I remove it when I get inside a building, I take off headsets after I don’t have to have them on my head anymore.

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FTC disclosure

No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs.

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