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Member Reviews: Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Studio Monitor Headphones

Positive Reviews

alvincapalad

Hands-down the best all-around headphones

Posted
By alvincapalad

Pros: Pristine sound quality, Great build, Price, Versatile

Cons: Heavy clamp, but you'll get use to it

Dr. Dre like this   This is probably the most recommended headphones in the audiophile world. The Audio-Technica is an instant classic, the value for its price is simply unbeatable. Its versatility? A chameleon of headphones. Classical, club, dance, pop, reggae, rock, techno? name it, and this set of cans can play it.   Overall its value is 5 of 5. I would gladly pay $250 for them.   Audio Quality: Lows: The bass is punchy, but just about right. It's is not overwhelming, it doesn't make the mids and highs muddy. The balance is just perfect. Very natural bass. Mids: a little recessed, but also positive in a way, they're not going to...
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Negative Reviews

Shogunner

They were my first decent cans, and I wanted to like them, but it just didn't happen.

Posted
By Shogunner

Pros: Very pretty, does some new genres like indie rock well.

Cons: Fatiguing, Uncomfortable, Terrible bang for your buck

These cans were decent, back when they were just above 100 bucks. They've inflated to 160 and that's just ridiculous. There is better in this price range. The SRH840's for example on eBay for 120~ bucks new, does everything better than these cans. The M50's have really punchy bass, and extremely stringent highs, they're very loose in the low end, and their mids are recessed. That combination makes for a fatally tiring listening experience. The pads are pleather and terribly uncomfortable, whilst having an almost starchy texture to them. The headband clamps onto larger heads and lacks decent padding underneath. These phones are also terrible in regards to any soundstage at all, which...
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More Reviews

defrenchguy

ATH-M50 coiled w/ Shure 440 for comparison

Posted
By defrenchguy

Pros: Decent "punch" for certain music/awesome DJ set/VERY COMFY

Cons: Muffled sound/ not very "musical"

First things first...I was expecting WAY better sound than this after having read over 30 reviews from all over on these phones....I would say the "warm" sound people speak of is the most prominent "feature" the M50's have.   Taking the M50's off and then putting on my Shure 440's made is seem like a curtain was lifted off of the music and can finally clearly hear the details the music has to offer. I find myself searching and looking for details while I wear the M50's, and can simply listen and hear all the music when I wear the 440's. Using bass testing FLAC files on my Xonar sound card (192k/24bit & amped), the M50's do have some nice qualities in the mid-lowish...
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brgavino

Worthy step into audiophilia?

Posted
By brgavino
I'm going to try to structure this review as a series (Day 1, Week 1, Week 2), to gauge the headphones performance over time. I'm not an audiophile, but will try to be as descriptive as possible.   Here's the frame of reference: This set of headphones was an upgrade from a Sony MDR-V150 set (that had multiple breaks in the top frame), and is used primarily for listening in a office environment to streamed music.   Initial, non-audio quality impressions: The headphones are SOLID. No part of this 'phone feels cheap. The ear cup padding feels soft enough, as does the padding on the top of the set (that rests on your head). The cord (coiled in this model) seems stretchy...
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bcasey25raptor

Best under $150, Really?

Posted
By bcasey25raptor

Pros: Build quality, non-revealing, fun, bass, highs

Cons: mids, comfort, Price

(disclaimer: My rating scale is based off of what i paid for the headphones not msrp, Review is based off of what i think of them compared to their respective $150 price point)          Ah the all mighty hyped best under $150 giant killers the m50s. Every noobs first step into audiophilia, and to many their last. Why is this such a popular headphone amongst noobs and the most recommended headphone on head-fi? I honestly don't know. There is nothing special about these headphones and they are far from giant killers beating out headphones 2x their price. I would be hesitant to pay the $150 they go for nowadays but for $96 dollars i feel they are...
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ytisawfulnow

Great sound, horrible comfort

Posted
By ytisawfulnow

Pros: Excellent sound, hardly any leakage, don't require to be amped, coiled cable, low price

Cons: Uncomfortable, require a lot of burn in for best sound

It seemed these were the perfect headphones which met my expectations perfectly when i first got them, great sound, not too muddy, decent bass response without being too boomy or out of control, don't require to be amped (not even on my $30 logitech computer speakers)  hardly any sound leakage, some passive noise cancelling... they seemed perfect! too good to be true. After i wore them for about a minute i already started to notice excessive discomfort these are without a doubt the most uncomfortable headphones i've ever worn, whoever has said something positive about the comfort for these probably hasn't worn them for more than 5 minutes, where do i begin? oh yeah they have a...
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jto168

Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Review

Posted
By jto168

Pros: Great All Arounder!

Cons: Minor Setbecks. Keyword: Minor

Impressions/Mini-review after 1 Month of usage   Sources: PC, Laptop, A/V Receiver, iPod Video 5.5G (30GB) Amps: Fiio E7, A/V Receiver Other headphones: Sennhesier HD 555 Files: FLAC, MP3 320 CBR, CD   After about one month with the M50, I can say I am satisifed and impressed with its sound.   Like others have stated, these are not the be all and end all of headphones. You could even say they are FOTM, much like the Sennheiser HD 555 were back in its heyday, but the M50 is a very solid headphone considering its price point and sound output.   Here are some positivies:   - Good bass response: the bass extends...
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Runefox

Great value

Posted
By Runefox

Pros: Good audio quality, good isolation, heavy duty cable and connector, very accurate, collapsible for storage

Cons: Uncomfortable over long sessions, leatherette cracks over time

Ah, the Audio Technica ATH-M50's. These guys have been reviewed to death and praised to high heaven. They were also my first foray into the audiophile category, and overall, I'd say I've been very satisfied with them.   The audio quality is amazing for the price, though it excels at nothing in particular; In fact, that seems to be their main goal as monitors. They provide an accurate, relatively 'flat' sound stage and frequency response, and in doing so aren't actually very 'fun' to listen to for extended periods of time. There isn't really much that can be said about them that hasn't already in this respect, and by no means am I knocking them for prioritizing accuracy over fun...
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pileman

ATH-M50 Studio Monitor Headphones, great for portable use

Posted
By pileman

Pros: Good isolation, good midrange, quite nice soundstage for a closed back headphone, price/performance, sturdy, rotating cups, great looks? , portable

Cons: Heavy non detachable cable, horrible earpads, high clamping pressure, muffled and overemphasised bass, metallic treble

The ATH-M50 headphones are one of the most recommended headphones on the Internet. Sure they do sound quite good as for a 200$ headphone, but there are far better sounding headphones in the same price range. In my opinion coiled cable headphone version is more bulky than the straight cable version and adds an unnecessary weight. I have both versions of these headphones and I can say that the straight cable version is much much nicer.   Sound: Bass: bass is overemphasised, muffled, loose I would rate it 6/10 and use EQ to bring it down a bit. Midrange: the midrange is very nice when bass is EQ'd down, I would rate midrange 9.5/10. Treble: treble has poor detail, quite...
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satoukaito

Great for everything, best at none...

Posted
By satoukaito

Pros: They can handle any genre thrown at them acceptably well. Also amazing for recording voice acting.

Cons: They are not the best at anything. They lack specialisation.

I originally bought these exclusively to catch more finite details with my voice acting and they did not disappoint at all. They handled the studio scene extremely well. They were very unforgiving to even the slightest falter in my voice. After I finished recording, I decided to try them out as just a regular fashion accessory pair of headphones. I got many comments from people. The design matches nearly every outfit I own very well. Also, the thick padding makes incredible ear warmers! But enough about useless blurbs. The audio is excellent for casual listening of random things on my phone. It handles the electronic pop sounds of Caramel Pop incredibly! However, the headphones make the...
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JGrignon

Average Consumer; Amazing Headphones for Value

Posted
By JGrignon

Pros: SQ, Build Q., Value, Warmth of Sound

Cons: Long Cord, Somewhat Tight on Head, Harsh at mid-high volumes

I am just starting out my life as an Audiophile so I don't know much about how headphones should sound. However, comparing these "cans" to Monster Beats Pros I can def. say that these sound amazing. I was given a pair of Beats Pros for Christmas two years ago and I was extremely happy to get them. They look out-of-this-world, however ... the more I listened to them the more I found myself wanting more. Perhaps they are better for Rap, but for my collection, consisting of AC/DC, Floyd, Yes, Dream Theater, Nightwish, Disturbed etc. it just wasn't bringing what I wanted to the table. Everything seemed muffled by the overpowering bass. So I decided to get these Audio-Technica headphones...
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Where to Buy It

Amazon.comAudio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones with Coiled Cable at Amazon.comToo low to displaySee It »
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