In a season when so much of making sound has moved into screens and presets, a Slovenian company has put forward an open-back headphone it hopes will tell mixing engineers the truth about what they hear. OLLO Audio's X2, handmade and individually measured, is pitched at people who make decisions measured in single decibels, and it arrives as a promise of honesty more than a proven fact. Whether that promise holds will be settled not by the maker's own words but by the ears of those who test it over time.
OLLO Audio X2 Pushes Its Reference Headphones Further With Beryllium Drivers and Per-Unit Calibration
Making 1 dB decisions on a headphone with 3 dB tolerances makes little sense
Mark
Why does a headphone launch matter to anyone outside mixing studios?
Mimi
It doesn't much, but inside studios the idea is interesting: every pair gets measured, and the buyer gets that measurement data to correct for the unit's own quirks.
Mark
So calibration is the real story, not the beryllium.
Mimi
That's how OLLO frames it. The argument is that 1 dB decisions need a tool with tolerances tighter than 3 dB.
Luke
Careful, though. The 3 dB figure is OLLO's framing of the problem, not a measured claim about any named product.
Mark
And the beryllium claims about speed and precision?
Luke
Those are the manufacturer's explanation. The release gives specs, like plus or minus 1 dB from 8 Hz to 22 kHz, but no independent testing backs them.
Mimi
The repairability is more concrete. Spare parts for every component, even the walnut body, and a five-year warranty.
Luke
Still a promise, though. How long parts stay available is something only time will show.
Mark
What about Matteo Marciano's endorsement?
Luke
It's a credible name with a long credit list, but it's a single testimonial included in promotional material. It isn't a review.
Mimi
So the fair reading is an interesting design with claims awaiting outside verification.
The Pulse
- Mixing engineers chase decisions as small as one decibel, yet their headphones often carry tolerances of three.
- OLLO's X2 arrives with a beryllium-coated driver and a claim that transients and fine EQ moves finally become audible.
- Each unit is measured on its own, and its calibration data can be loaded into plugins or DSP interfaces to correct the sound.
- The launch rests on the maker's own material and a single endorsement, with no independent testing and no price yet.
- Reviewers' hands-on verdicts will decide whether the X2 is a sonic microscope or simply another premium pair.
In a season when so much of making sound has moved into screens and presets, a Slovenian company has put forward an open-back headphone it hopes will tell mixing engineers the truth about what they hear. OLLO Audio's X2, handmade and individually measured, is pitched at people who make decisions measured in single decibels, and it arrives as a promise of honesty more than a proven fact. Whether that promise holds will be settled not by the maker's own words but by the ears of those who test it over time.
OLLO Audio has released the X2, an open-back studio reference headphone built by hand in Slovenia for mixing engineers who work in steps as small as a single decibel. It is presented as a successor to the X1, keeping the promise of flat, honest sound while adding a new driver, a new calibration plugin and a sturdier build.
The centerpiece is a 50 mm dynamic driver with a membrane coated in beryllium. The company argues that this stiffer material responds faster and more precisely, so transients come through cleaner and a 1 dB change in EQ or gain reduction can actually be heard. OLLO calls the X2 a sonic microscope.
The larger shift is calibration. Every pair is measured individually, and the buyer receives the human-readable data for that specific unit, usable with the included USC plugin, third-party tools, or a DSP-equipped audio interface. The reasoning is simple: fine decisions make little sense on a headphone with 3 dB of variation.
Repairability is also central. Every part, from the headband and pads to the drivers and wooden housings, is sold as a spare, and a five-year limited warranty backs the design. The only outside voice is producer and mixer Matteo Marciano, who says the X2 shows what is actually there and is brutally honest, which he values in headphones he uses daily.
The claims remain the manufacturer's own. No independent measurements, comparisons or price have been published, so the X2's standing against the X1 and its rivals will depend on reviewers who put it through their own tests.
OLLO Audio has released the X2, an open-back, over-ear studio reference headphone built by hand in Slovenia and pitched at mixing engineers who work in steps as small as a single decibel. The company describes it as a follow-up to the X1 that keeps the same promise of flat, honest sound, with a new driver, a new calibration plugin and a sturdier build.
The driver is the centerpiece. It is a 50 mm dynamic unit with a neodymium magnet and a membrane coated in beryllium, applied by physical vapor deposition over a PET and polyurethane base. OLLO says beryllium is far stiffer than conventional membrane materials, so the driver responds faster and more precisely. In the company's account, transients land cleaner, and a 1 dB move in EQ or gain reduction becomes audible rather than guessed at. It calls the X2 a sonic microscope.
The larger change, by OLLO's telling, is calibration. Every X2 is measured individually, and the buyer receives the open, human-readable data for that specific pair. It can be used with the included USC plugin, with third-party tools such as Realphones, SonarWorks and Waves Nx, or directly on an audio interface that has DSP built in. The company's reasoning is that making 1 dB decisions on a headphone with 3 dB tolerances makes little sense, so the tool should be as precise as the decisions made with it.
The published specifications give the frequency response as 8 Hz to 22 kHz, measured with a one-third octave sweep to within plus or minus 1 dB. Sensitivity is 108 dB SPL at 0 dBu input, and impedance is 32 ohms, which OLLO says suits all devices. Total harmonic distortion is listed as under 0.157 percent and under 0.053 percent at 85 dB SPL and 1 kHz.
The physical build is American walnut housings, a stainless steel and silicone headband, and ear pads of acoustic foam with perforated artificial leather and velour. The cable is detachable with XLR connectors and can be replaced by the user.
Repairability is a stated principle. Every component, including the headband, pads, cable, drivers and the wooden body, is sold as a spare part, and the company says there are no glued dead ends. It argues that a studio's reference headphones should last as long as the studio. A five-year limited warranty covers the X2.
The only outside voice in the announcement is Matteo Marciano, a producer, engineer and mixer whose credits include John Wick, Pitch Perfect, 2Cellos, Anna Kendrick, Idina Menzel, Disney, Netflix and DreamWorks. He says the X2 does not flatter a mix but shows what is actually there, and that it does not make a mix sound better but gives the precision to improve it yourself. He called the headphones brutally honest, which he says is what he wants from the pair he mixes on every day.
The account comes from the manufacturer's own launch material, with one endorsement. No independent measurements or comparative testing are included, and no price is given. How the X2's claims hold up against the X1 and its rivals will have to come from reviewers who test it themselves.
Notable Quotes
The X2 doesn't make your mix sound better; it gives you the precision to make it better yourself, and I found it brutally honest.— Matteo Marciano, producer, engineer and mixer (paraphrased)
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