The Arranger by Austrian Audio: Reference Sound in Style

Following its Can Jam debut, the Arranger by Austrian Audio has made its way to Audio46. I was lucky to get a small taste of it at the convention, but since I have had more time to sit with the headphone and give my impressions. For $1,299, the Arranger sits at a competitive price point for premium reference headphones. Will this headphone take the place of some other top performers? This review will dive into all the details and see if it will make audiophiles "re-arrange" their own setups. 

Before we get into all the sonic qualities of this headphone, we first have to look at the physical qualities of this headphone. I was a big fan of the build of the Arranger, starting with the overall look. Other Austrian Audio pieces have taken to darker aesthetics, but the Arranger comes in with a beige and brown color palette instead. It is reminiscent of the 70s style, with vertical stripes on the ear cups and the felted textures layering against the metal. It is very pleasing to eye, which is already positive points for the new headphone. 

The Arranger is particularly lightweight, so it was easy to wear the headphones for long periods of time. I could see this being worn for long mixing sessions or just for casual listening, so it's good that this won't give you fatigue until many hours after you wear it. In addition, the earcups are soft and large enough to fit smoothly over the ear. They were a bit stiff coming right out of the box, but over time they start to soften up a bit and become even more plush. Luckily, if the earpads ever start to wear down over time, you can easily replace them as well as the headband to extend the Arranger's life in your setup.  

• Frequency range: 5Hz - 30 kHz
• Sensitivity: 110dBspl/V
• Design: Open-Back Over-Ear
• THD (@1kHz): <0,1%
• Impedance: 25Ω
• Input Power: 155mW
• Dimensions: 200 x 175 x 85 mm
• Weight (without cable): 320g

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

Onto the listening! When I first listened to the Arranger, I was in a crowded showroom at Can Jam NYC, and I felt I couldn't truly appreciate all the sound profile had to offer. In a quieter, more controlled environment, the color and detail of the Arranger was shown. The soundstage itself isn't as wide as you would think, but the semi-open design does a good job of immersing you in the listening without compromising on the sound quality or space. The spatial imaging in the Arranger is very good, as I was able to easily place large orchestras and instrumental ensembles with ease throughout my listening. Everything was very close and didn't sound too far away, despite having many layers that did build backwards. 

The Arranger's sound signature is balanced overall, fairly neutral and natural in every frequency range. As mentioned before, it leans on the more intimate side as opposed to open, despite it being an open-back headphone. The Arranger is a sensitive headphone and quite easy to drive, so you can reach higher volumes faster and with greater ease. You won't need an overly powerful amplifier to drive these, but having one will definitely help open up the soundstage a bit more and increase the immersive element. 

BASS FREQUENCIES

The Arranger has a very present bass response, one that is surprising for an open-back headphone. It has a thick body that is punchy in more driving genres and relaxed for mellower tracks. I was a big fan of the foundation this set up for a lot of my favorite tracks, and how it created another layer of dimension to a lot of tracks. The bass was not muddy or muffled at any point, and instead stayed colorful with detail to make elements distinguishable. The bass extension into the sub-bass was smooth, and while the rumble of that section wasn't as present, it didn't overpower any other elements in the signature. It made for a nice balance to get a solid low end while not compromising on other elements.

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange in the Arranger pulls forward to highlight vocals and other melodic instruments like strings or piano. Jazz arrangements were good in highlighting layers of instrumentation, and it didn't feel like any one instrument was fighting for a spot in the front. Each instrument in the Arranger was featured had its own space to live without interfering with the others. The flow between elements was seamless and smooth overall, so you could appreciate each instrument for its texture and timbre. The depth of the sound signature was easily noticeable in this range, in the way that all the instruments were able to have their own space in the many layers that expanded backwards. 

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

To round out the signature, the Arranger presents a treble response that is sharp and precise. The top end is sharp and detailed, making sure all the minute elements of the sound come out. It aids to the intimate nature of the sound signature, where you can capture the smaller nuances of the instruments with ease. You are definitely able to notice all the elements in tracks, including small pieces ear candy made in post-production or larger reverberations. When I first was testing the Arranger, I found the top end to be a bit sibilant and overly sharp for some strings and female vocals. As the headphone got burned in a bit more, you could hear those elements relax and it was smooth listening from then on out. 

The other headphone by Austrian Audio that often gets talked about is called the Composer. The Composer has made waves of being a flagship reference headphone, so how does the Arranger even compete? The Arranger comes in at nearly half the price, which is already an attractive selling point for the new headphone. You get slightly different fits and comfort between the two, so even if sound isn't a factor, the fit very well may be. Austrian Audio also updated their cable connections to be a proprietary 3.5mm locking termination into the Arranger headphones as opposed to dual banana plugs on the Composer. 

Sonically, the headphones do have some similarities. They are both praised for their reference sound, giving instruments their natural and honest timbres as opposed to overly processed and synthetic. The Composer sounds more open than the Arranger, offering a wider stage for the instruments to be placed. There is more distinct separation in the Composer, while the Arranger is a bit more closed in. The sound is more cohesive and flows between elements more closely together. I found the Arranger to be great for finding finer details in your listening since the profile was more intimate, and the Composer better for overall imaging to analyze your tracks as a whole. 

Overall, the Austrian Audio Arranger has certainly impressed in its class. The intimate soundstage leaves no leaf unturned, showing detail and texture with ease in every genre. The soundstage may leave more to be desired, but for analytical listening and really tuning the specific instruments of your track, the Arranger will definitely get you the sound you are looking for. It is a great piece of equipment for any mixing engineer, but casual listeners and audiophiles alike can definitely find pleasure in its smooth sound signature for easy listening. 

You can get the Austrian Audio Arranger at Audio46 today.