• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Audio Technica ATHM50 opinions??

K

Kulith

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
259
They retail for $150+ and they are on sale now for $89 which puts them right in my price range.

Any opinions on these? I was considering the AD700's but I can't do open headphones...

They don't seem to be very popular

I should note I want them for gaming and music (heavy metal)
 
Last edited:
The M50's are quite a popular budget headphone on head-fi with a nice bass response. They should be fine for gaming. I honestly don't think you will be disappointed.
 
I have had my ATH-A700 for a couple of years now and they sound spot on. They also keep my ears from getting cold in the winter. :D And their customer service was great when I needed new pads last week. They sent them free with no questions. Got them in two days.
 
I've got the AD700's and they sound amazing. Very superb soundstage and clarity. They sound fantastic for movies and games because of the openback, and they sound very good with music. If you prefer that extra "kick" in your tunes I would opt for the m50's. I haven't heard them but from what I hear they have all the advantages of the AD700's but with harder hitting bass.

If you want to experience either one to the fullest in music they'll need an amp.

I'm also grabbing the M50's this week :D For the price you are spot on. For rock music you will also want to look into Grado's
 
So it's between the ATHM50 and the A700's...

God I hate having to make decisions
 
tisb0b said:
The M50's are quite a popular budget headphone on head-fi with a nice bass response. They should be fine for gaming. I honestly don't think you will be disappointed.
Click to expand...

I have a pair of ATH-M50 and they sound good but for about the same money the newish Shure 840's are better in every way. Bought 840 based on headfi opinions 2 weeks back and for what they cost I am quite impressed. If comfort is a priority then do not buy ATH-M50, the Shure 840 are far more comfy and they even throw in a second set of ear pads and the cable is detachable too.
 
Udo said:
I have a pair of ATH-M50 and they sound good but for about the same money the newish Shure 840's are better in every way. Bought 840 based on headfi opinions 2 weeks back and for what they cost I am quite impressed. If comfort is a priority then do not buy ATH-M50, the Shure 840 are far more comfy and they even throw in a second set of ear pads and the cable is detachable too.
Click to expand...

Really? Could you go into more detail? Soundstage, clarity, bass, etc? :)
 
Sure, go read the reviews at headfi. :)

Ok, bass is warm sounding and fairly strong, good detail on top end but not sibilant. They are closed design so don't have soundstage of my beyerdynamic DT990pro but it is still decent. Clarity is good on all my headphones so can't say which is better in that regard. Overall sound I would describe as smooth. ATH-M50 are good too but bass is less smooth (bit punchier though) and a tad brighter sounding top end. Both M50 and 840 are easy to drive.
 
i have only listened to the AD700 and the A700
i have the A700 now and they are both great for gaming. The Ad700 i think have the best soundstage for gaming but the problem with them is that people can hear everything you are listening to and they are very loud. I had to switch to the A700 which are closed and block out alot of sound and have abit more bass. The A700 has a really great sound stage for a closed pair. I would prefer the A700 or the M50 because they block out alot of sound and are extremely comfortable. I think they would make a good gaming headphone
 
M50 are not very comfortable, they have tight clamping force and small-ish ear cups for a circumaural headphone, padding is weak too. Seriously, trust me. SHURE 840 are far more comfortable. If you go to headfi.org you will see the owner of the site (Jude) reviewed the Shure 840 and he said they have the best soundstage of any closed headphone he has heard before. I don't know if that is true but that is what he said. He mentioned that because he said he generally is not a fan of closed headphones but he said he liked the 840 because they don't really sound like a closed headphone. They are good and probably the best new kid on the block headphone at that price point.
 
Maybe it's because I'm small (5'6") but the M50s are really damn comfy, even with glasses. Not as "light" as the AD700s, but I wear tehm all of the time with minimal issues. The sound is great, and a lot more flat response than the AD700 (imho). Soundstage isn't bad, but could be larger. It definitely sounds like a closed pair of headphones. Sound isolation is pretty decent. I definitely think I got my money's worth buying these cans, and would recommend them. But as with everything else, best is to try before you buy.

Just note, these needed hardcore breaking in. They sounded like as for the first 24h. I had to wrap the headphones in a blanket, and have them playing at a really loud volume for 12+ hours straight for them to sound any good. Just a headsup.
 
Oh man I just saw my post, and the thing looks like ass thanks to my choppy paragraphing. Sorry, mates. I'd go back and edit, but OH GOD FLUID MECHANICS EVERYWHERE OH GOD ITS ALL OVER ME OH MAN THAT'S GROSS I GOT REYNOLD'S NUMBER UP MY NOSE AND KINEMATIC VISCOSITY DOWN MY PANTS GOD DAMN.

Udo said:
M50 are not very comfortable, they have tight clamping force and small-ish ear cups for a circumaural headphone, padding is weak too. Seriously, trust me. SHURE 840 are far more comfortable. If you go to headfi.org you will see the owner of the site (Jude) reviewed the Shure 840 and he said they have the best soundstage of any closed headphone he has heard before. I don't know if that is true but that is what he said. He mentioned that because he said he generally is not a fan of closed headphones but he said he liked the 840 because they don't really sound like a closed headphone. They are good and probably the best new kid on the block headphone at that price point.
Click to expand...

You can get the M50 for cheaper than the 840, and both are significantly superior to the 440 (which is incredibly uncomfortable due to the shallow earpads and hard plastic grill).

I found the 840 to be much more neutral than the M50. The M50 on my head right now is bassier than the A700 by an order of magnitude (exaggeration), and I think the sound stage is smaller. As far as sound stage goes, I think the A700 is pretty good already, especially for a closed can.

Comfort, of course, is not on the same level is the A700 or any of the Audio Technica designs with the 3D Wing. The clamping force isn't significant for me, but I don't exactly have a huge head either. If you're 6'4" and play handegg/tackleball/American football, they might not be the best choice for you. The earpads are much smaller and so is the hole for your ears. The hole itself is 2.5"x2", with a 2cm wide pad. You can see the shape in pictures. The pads aren't exceptionally thick, but they're enough even for my sideways-sticking ears. The material is what I believe to be a nice, soft pleather, that feels durable enough to be poked at by glasses. The top of the headband is "padded" but not sufficiently so; if you wear the headphones tight to your head, you'll feel it pressing on you up at the top. The cups get kind of hot but that might be the clothes I'm wearing combined with the weather here starting to warm up (since February actually). Isolation is pretty standard, and better than the A700 due to the tighter clamp. Leakage is minimal. The cool thing is that you can press the ear pads together, and that'll pretty much block any sound coming out.

In comparison, the 3D wing design has a large, spacious, and thick earpad, combined with little clamping force, and the padded pads at the top are just enough to keep the headphones on your head.

The M50 comes with a leatherette bag, and a screw on 1/4" adapter. The strain relief is a 1" long spring around the jack and is highly effective, I feel. My version is the coiled version, with an 5 ft cord (approx) that stretches up to 10 feet (by specs). The M50 can fold up to be shoved into that bag, and is on par in terms of compactness with most DJ phones that fold up (SRH840). The 840 does come with replacement ear pads and cable, on top of the bag and 1/4" adapter. Some say that the SRH840 offers little difference between the 440 other than comfort and nicer pads (all we know is that it's called the Stig).

The Shures typically go for about $150 USD. The M50s can be had for $90USD. Shipped to Canada, it was $110 CAD, plus another $16 in customs fee. Those wankers.

Keep in mind everything below is first impressions; I haven't had time to go between my A700s, MS1s, and assorted earphones (particularly the RE0) in depth nor between my sources. All music was at normal listening levels and roughly volume matched. Roughly.

Electronica Rock:

The M50 has more bass than I expected; only a bit less than a pair of Westone 3s. Where the A700 was punchy but lighter without a lot of the boom, the M50 has a bit of both, and might overwhelm anybody but a bass head on heavy bass electronica. On one particular song with a heavy bass line, it feels like I'm standing next to those idiots with the Civics and a pair of 12" subwoofers in the trunk. With the trunk lid open. However, songs with a more moderate bass line sound just fine where the bass doesn't intrude (too much?) into the mids. Bass drums have a much more defining thump to them now, whereas with the A700 I'd hear a little "bmp". Bass guitar is easier to pick out now, but I find it can be mixed up with the bass drum depending on the song.

For some reason, the Auzentech Prelude was incredibly bassy on some songs. It wasn't so bad with the Clip or D2 Boa.

The mids are forward of the A700, which puts them to about normal if only a
little recessed. This makes it good for rock songs involving vocals, and guitars are a bit better. This doesn't affect electronica, I feel, as much. This section is a bit short because I haven't got much to comment here, as I feel mids are so varied it's hard to know what to compare it to.

Highs aren't as sharp as the A700s, which keeps the M50s away from what I like to call the sibilance point, where poorly mastered music likes to tear at your ears. Not that they can't; I've got a few songs where sh and ch sounds sound sharp, but not nearly as bad as on the A700. As a result, however, the cymbals aren't as clear in some songs.

Classical: Shamisen, Violin, Cello, Oboe concertos. No large scale pieces.

The first thing I'd like to note is that the Prelude made Vivaldi's Cello Concert in A minor 1 Allegro (RV420) sound incredibly bassy.

Now that I'm on my D2 Boa, it's no where near as bad. The cello is much louder on the M50 than the A700, and while it's nice to hear more, I'm not sure how accurate that is. On cello concertos, it's a little disconcerting, but on other concertos, it's nice to have the cello louder because I feel it lends to a greater sense of space which partially makes up for that loss of soundstage.

Violins stand forward much more than compared to A700 where you'd hear them, but upon hearing a headphone with forward mids, you could tell the A700 was lacking in the mids. I don't think the M50 is any where near the AKG K271 in terms of mids though. When I demoed a pair, the first thing that struck me was how the mids were so forward and the violins sang. However, when I demoed them, I had yet to hear a pair of M50s. Oboe, like the violin, becomes more forward and pronounced.

I don't really have anything that has highs in the classical/baroque genre.

In conclusion, the M50 is a fitting choice for studio work (which it is designed for) and for casual listening not for its neutrality, because it isn't, but for its naturalness, which is what I like to look for in headphones. I'm not exactly a bass head, but I'm not those hard wired neutral-seekers Head-Fi tends to breed. I just want a natural sound, and neutral is not that. If there's one complaint, it's that the bass is a little boomy for my tastes, and I'd like to tone that down a notch and add back some punch.

If you want a more detailed review with pictures, too bad. I might write one up in the summer along with my other headphones, especially if I build my Gamma1/CK2III. You'll probably find it on Head-Fi if I do write it. I'm considering cross posting this post to Head-Fi as well.
 
Thank you very much :D

I'll look more into the Shure 840's and the A700's then. Also, some people suggested Grado's and MS1's so I'll look into them, but it looks like the m50's are out.
 
I am 6'3" so do have larger head than most. I paid more than you for M50 too because I bought them long before the recent price drop. M50 and Shure 840 cost the same for me and taking that into consideration I consider the 840 a better headphone. If the price is only $90.00 for M50 now then that would change my opinion a bit but still like 840 better overall.

Friend of mine briefly listened to my M50 and 840 and he liked the 840 better too and described them as smooth. He said the M50 were almost harsh on the top end but I disagree with that assessment and it's probably because he plays headphones so fucking loud he can't hear shit anymore.
 
Last edited:
I don't know how I feel about the M50s. They have a highly detailed sound, but are very colored. Audio Technica specializes in Pop and Rock, along with sports broadcast. For your use, you would probably be happy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top