These hard-wired headphones are expensive, but given the right high-end source material the sound is wondrous
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 Verdict
Reasons to buy+Direct, dynamic and information-rich sound+Acable for every eventuality+Light and comfortableReasons to avoid-Revealing no matter if that’s a good or bad thing-Need a similarly capable source-Some very decent alternatives
Reasons to buy+Direct, dynamic and information-rich sound+Acable for every eventuality+Light and comfortable
Direct, dynamic and information-rich sound
Acable for every eventuality
Light and comfortable
Reasons to avoid-Revealing no matter if that’s a good or bad thing-Need a similarly capable source-Some very decent alternatives
Revealing no matter if that’s a good or bad thing
Need a similarly capable source
Some very decent alternatives
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Since then Austrian Audio has established itself as a genuine force in makingthe best wired headphones, but beyond making other great-value consumer-focused headphones, the brand is also in the pro audio microphones market.
Which brings us to now, 2024, the year when Austrian Audio has decided to bring the fight to the high-end headphones market where the likes of Audeze, Grado and Sennheiser typically hold sway. The product that’s supposed to crash the party? That’ll be Austrain Audio’s The Composer.
Austrian Audio The Composer: Price & Availability
Today’s best Austrian Audio The Composer dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Austrian Audio The Composer dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Austrian Audio The Composer deals
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price information
No price information
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Looks like a lot of money when it’s written down, doesn’t it? But that doesn’t mean you’re short of alternatives if you want to spend this sort of money on some wired over-ear headphones, far from it. Frankly, The Composer has it all to do…
Austrian Audio The Composer review: Features & What’s New?
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Because The Composer are hard-wired, over-ear, open-backed headphones, they’re not exactly what you’d describe as ‘feature-rich’. But never fear - the few features they do have are thoroughly fit for purpose.
For instance, the headphones are supplied in a big, padded wooden box with three cables inside. As well as a 3m length that terminates in your standard 3.5mm jack (with 6.3mm adapter), there’s also a 3m length with a four-pin XLR termination, and a 1.3m cable that finishes with a 4.4mm Pentacon connector. So every realistic eventuality is catered for.
The headphone-end of each cable is split into two. Each earcup is wired, and uses a proprietary two-pin banana plug joined to the suspension frame. It’s a robust, secure arrangement.
The cable ultimately feeds a pair of 49mm full-range dynamic drivers. The diaphragm of each driver is coated in diamond-like carbon (DLC), which combines stiffness with lightness and responsiveness in a very useful manner. Austrian Audio reckons the frequency response from this arrangement is an ultra-deep 5Hz to an extremely high 44kHz.
Austrian Audio The Composer review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Their frequency response, from the top of the range to the bottom, is beautifully balanced and even. Their tonality, no matter if you ask them to play some orchestral music or some walloping EDM, is neutral and natural. And their ability to peer deep into even the most complex, busy mixes and return with an absolute stack of information, with even the finest and most transient details, is little short of remarkable.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The soundstage The Composer is capable of generating is expansive and brilliantly controlled. There’s plenty of space for every element of recording to operate securely, and the headphones give just as much weighting to silences and absences as they do to actual occurrences - and the result is a presentation that’s confident and convincing every time. And even though the Austrian Audio can separate out even the most complicated, element-heavy recordings, it’s able to unify every individual strand into a convincing whole; a singularity.
So yes, if you want The Composer to sound anything less than utterly assured and winningly musical, about all you can do is give them some nasty 320kbps MP3 files to deal with. These Austrian Audio headphones don’t suffer this sort of nonsense gladly - but in every other respect they’re endlessly listenable and enjoyable. Just as well they stay comfortable for hour after hour, then.
Austrian Audio The Composer review: Design & Usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
There’s nothing groundbreaking in the design of The Composer, but that’s not the same as saying that no thought has gone into them.
For instance, there’s plenty of adjustability here. The headband is a two-tier arrangement - the inner part is a lightweight pleather-and-mesh arrangement that rests on your head and can be adjusted using the sliders on each side of the slender aluminium outer part that keeps the headphones in position. The yokes are made of more slim aluminium, and articulate forwards and backwards as well as allowing the earcups to fold flat. The earcups can be tilted through four different positions, too, using a clicky mechanism. Which means there should be no difficulty getting comfortable inside these headphones.
Overall, the look here is sleek - and an all-in weight of just 385g strongly hints at enduring comfort.
Austrian Audio The Composer review: Verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Yes, The Composer have certain requirements regarding partnering equipment and the quality of the recordings you put through them - but do the right thing and these Austrian Audio headphones are a brilliantly rewarding listen.
Also consider
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
This case turns your iPhone or Android phone into an e-reader, but there’s a catchActually, there are a couple…
Actually, there are a couple…
Traeger’s new Woodridge pellet barbecues have got me excited for grilling seasonTraeger debuts three new wood pellet grills
Traeger debuts three new wood pellet grills
How to watch the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct and what to expectWe should get a deep dive and more details on the Switch 2 in April
We should get a deep dive and more details on the Switch 2 in April
