I know I’ve said this before, but I really like the Audio-Technica ATH-SR50BT’s.
I think they don’t get nearly as much love as they deserve and if it weren’t for their
crapy touch pads I think they’d be the best $200 headphones on the market right now.
So out of sheer curiosity I thought I should also check out the SR50BT’s little brothers,
the ATH-SR30BT’s.
And over all, I think Audio-Technica has another winner right here.
Now the Audio-Technica ATH-SR30BT’s which I’ve dubbed the Sir30’s retail for $100
which is is half of what the Audio-Technica ATH-SR50BT’s AKA the Sir50’s retail for.
Now unlike the Sir50’s, the Sir30’s don’t have any active noise cancellation, there’s
no transparency modes, and they don’t have a touch pad which I personally consider to
be a good thing.
The Sir30’s are all about just enjoying your music.
But if you want to pick either of these headphones up I’ll have them linked down below and
if you want to learn more about the SR50BT’s please check out their full review by clicking
on the I icon in the top right.
As always, first we’re going to talk about what comes in the box and unfortunately there
isn’t a lot to talk about.
Obviously you get the headphones which can be both collapsed or laid down flat and they’re
very light weight weighing in at just 193 grams.
Now even though these headphones are very light weight and just cost 100 bucks their
build quality is actually very impressive relative to their price.
Now they’re using a slightly less premium feeling plastic and leatherette compared to
the Sir50’s but when you flex the headband they’re essentially silent and when you
swivel the their ear cups theres very little friction.
Honestly I think the Sir30’s put other headphones like the Sony WH-Ch700N which are another
pair of $200 headphones that I like to shame when it comes to build quality.
Now the Sir30’s also come included with a micro USB cable for charging.
Now yeah its unfortunate that these headphones don’t come with a USB C port, but thanks
to their 70 hour battery life you’re not going to have to constantly plug them in.
And thats everything that comes included in the box.
These headphones don’t come included with an audio cable cause they don’t have a an
audio jack and they don’t come included with any sort of carrying pouch.
But if you plan on constantly commuting with these headphones I highly advise you invest
in a hardshell carrying case.
But I wanna take a moment to expand on not having an audio jack on these headphones.
For people like myself, having an audio jack on their headphones is very important.
Now these headphones are rocking bluetooth 5.0 and they have both AAC and SBC support.
But unfortunately they don’t have any APTX support.
But whenever I watch any videos or movies on an android device theres zero latency,
and when ever I watch Netflix on my iPhone or apple computers there’s also zero latency.
Which is good.
But I did notice there was a slight latency when ever watching youtube videos with either
of my apple devices.
But over all these headphones are good for watching videos and the lack of an audio jack
on these headphones shouldn’t be a huge deal.
But it is something to keep in mind.
But now, let’s talk about fit.
Like I’ve mentioned in other videos, fit is perhaps the most important thing to consider
when choosing a pair of headphones.
If they don’t fit well, you’re not going to want to use them.
I know there are other Sub $100 over ear headphones out there like the Taotronics BH060 but I
personally cant recommend them due to their very poor fit.
They apply a lot of pressure on the top portion of your ear.
Which is both uncomfortable and annoying.
But thats not the case with the Sir30’s.
When I first saw them I assumed they were on ear headphones, but they’re actually
over ear headphones.
Now their ear cups aren’t super spacious but if you have average sized ears like me
or small ears they’ll fit just fit.
They also have a snug fit, but it's not uncomfortable.
So I say these headphones are big head approved.
Now when it comes to actually listening to music with these headphones just like the
Sir50’s the Sir30’s have a neutral sound signature.
But the instrument separation and sound stage on the Sir30’s aren’t as good or as wide
as their older brothers the Sir50’s.
So yes, the Sir50’s do sound noticeably better than the Sir30’s.
But in general the Sir30’s do have deep resonating bass that doesn’t bottom out
or over power the rest of the song, the mids are well defined and the highs never get tinny.
But just so that there isn’t any confusion, these headphones don’t have an adjust able
EQ and they also don’t connect to Audio-Technica’s Connect App.
So if you really want to change the Sir30’s sound signature you’re going to have to
use a third party app.
And when it comes to controlling you music on the Sir30’s like I mentioned earlier
they have physical buttons.
Which I personally prefer over the hard to use touchpad found on the Sir50.
Obviously with these buttons you can adjust the volume, play or pause your music, or skip
through it.
And thanks to their layout these buttons are very easy to find and tell apart.
My only grip with them is that they can feel a little mushy nut they still technically
click.
And finally heres the microphone test.
And unfortunately, just like a lot of other headphones the microphone on these headphones
isn’t that great for phone calls.
But this audio clip is being recorded by the microphone found on the Audio-Technica ATH-SR30BT’s
so you can be the judge of that.
But over all, I am a fan of the Audio-Technica ATH-SR30BT’s.
I think they’re great 100 dollar headphones that get everything that they need to get
right, right.
These are over ear headphones that fit well, are very light weight and have very descent
build quality for their price.
Although they don’t sound as good as the SR50BT’s they have a very pleasant neutral
sound signature which should play nice with almost every genre of music.
Even though these headphones don’t have an audio jack which was obviously a cost saving
measure… due to their stable and low latency wireless connection they’re perfectly fine
for watching videos or movies on your phone or computer.
For a hundred bucks I’d feel comfortable picking them up, but if they go on sale then
I would defiantly recommend jumping on them.