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Member Reviews: Audio-Technica ATH-M50S

Positive Reviews

Lunatique

Excellent quality and value

Posted
By Lunatique

Pros: Excellent value, substantial sub-bass , non-fatiguing, neutral/accurate, folds for traveling

Cons: Pleather can get sweaty, rotating earcups annoying if you're not a DJ, soundstage could be bigger

The ATH-M50 is one of those rare products where the quality/price ratio really hits the sweet spot, and in fact is like a small miracle in the world of pro audio. When you get Grammy Award-winning audio engineers and producers like George Massenburg, Frank Filipetti, Al Schmitt...etc singing its praises publicly, you know it's got to be something special. The M50 pulls off the difficult balance of being neutral, accurate, and detailed while not causing listening fatigue, and that is one of the most important things to get right when it comes to any audio device. If the device hurts your ears with shrill or piercing treble, then no matter how "detailed and revealing" you think it is, you...
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andtobis

Impressive- ATH-M50s

Posted
By andtobis

Pros: Stylish, comfort, great sound, value, good quality

Cons: long cord, pressure may cause headaches or make your head hurt

This is a review by a person, with little headphone experience.  The best headphones I have had before these would have to be the v-moda bass freq. I've had the skullcandy crushers, and some other of $20 or less phones.  This is probably a review for those who are on this forum and are noobs, since their ears are probably not as developed and won't appreciate the gifts of a $500 pair of headphones(good ones). At first I considered the Monster Studios as they were probably the only pair of headphones that i had heard of due to advertising and huge stores, and since they had such a high price tag i thought they had to be amazing.  I did try them on and they sounded good at first, but...
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Negative Reviews

tribestros

Overhyped piece of junk

Posted
By tribestros

Pros: Nice highs and mids, comfortable

Cons: Terribly artificial bass, NOT "monitors" (that's why nobody uses them as monitors), laughable build quality

  There's always one.  Every good thing has a dissenter, and that's me.  The ATH-M50 cannot handle songs with lots of different lower frequencies going on at once because of the artificial bass extension.  For example, Nine Inch Nails' "Heresy" is a very challenging song to play on headphones; it sounds like crap on my car stereo because the subwoofer is confused on which notes to play, so too low of frequencies overpower what should be playing louder.  The M50s do the same on the FLAC version of it.  The impacts of the kick-drum are far quieter than the bass in the verses.  It's incredibly annoying.  The bass is so sloppy and uncontrolled. ...
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koolkat

Review based on a short audition.

Posted
By koolkat

Pros: Folds up, better build quality.

Cons: Uncomfortable, boring sound.

First and foremost, I didn't buy these. Put in bogus purchase dates or it won't let me submit.   It was a really short audition, roughly 15 minutes.  And this will be an equally short review.   In fifteen minutes I found out six good/bad things about the M50   1) Boring sound signature. 2) Very clampy head band. 3) Uncomfortable ear pads. 4) They are not as revealing as some say they are. 5) Loved the coiled cable. Very thick and solid. 6) collapsible, iirc.   I suppose point 2 and 3 aren't deal breakers since headphones do get more comfortable over time.   The M50 wasn't worth S$240. It surely didn't sound like $240 to...
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More Reviews

darkshyed

Great bang for your buck!

Posted
By darkshyed

Pros: Versatile, Strong build quality, Great Isolation, Price

Cons: A bit heavy for long term listening, Pads can make the side of your head sweat, takes some work to find it's sweat spot

I was looking for a great pair of over-ear's to use for work purposes. Did not want to go open back as sound leakage is a concern when sitting next to my co-workers. Did my research and came across these as well as the aiaiai tma-1 studios and I am not disappointed that I went with this set of cans. Sound stage could be more but for a closed back work set I cannot complain. I play through an Int'l Galaxy S3 rooted with the Siyah kernal which lets me tweak the built in Wolfson Micro WM1811 DAC, being that the M50's sound really great with an AMP I paired that with a FIIO E11 and it really turned this into a "FUN" to listen to pair of cans, If your looking for FLAT, PURE then these...
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attenuated 3db

Excellent introduction to high-end sound on low-end budget

Posted
By attenuated 3db

Pros: Crisp, clear detailed sound, with excellent (not excessive) bass

Cons: Not the most comfortable phone for extended listening.

After scouring the Head-Fi forums, and noticing that HeadRoom.com included the ATH-M50S in their "ten best" list with the next best headphone at a much higher price point, I pulled the trigger on these for $110 new from an eBay seller that was a large professional music equipment dealer (an excellent source for good prices on headphones apparently, because they carry the full manufacturer's line - including microphones - I have a pair of new Sennheiser 650s coming from another pro music audio dealer that I got for $319), and have been overjoyed with the ATH-50S coupled to a tiny NuForce uDac-2 HP ($99 headphone-only DAC-amp) ever since.   I am new to Head-Fi and...
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Madhawanm

Best Value for each Cent spend

Posted
By Madhawanm

Pros: + Good Clean Audio Quality + Good Bass response , +Good Highs and Mids for the price, + Good isolation, + great with Fiio E6, +Durable +Good Looks

Cons: -Comfort, - A bit too bright, -Bass muffled without use of Amp,

        When I heard them first, I was dejected and fuming at my decision, Now, After apprx. 50 Hours of burn in , I thank my self that i didn't return them back.   Let's start with the outside first-   Looks- Now, I don't know why some people describe them as plain-jane looking or being too introvert/somber . I got my hands on the Limited edition and let me tell you, They are as outwards as any others, having said that, They still maintain a non flashy demeanor (Unlike Beats). The limited edition beautifly franksteins an unique combination of Silvery white with a hint of  blue tint making them attractive and fresh.  ...
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Agony

ATH-M50s Review

Posted
By Agony

Pros: Mids sound great, doesn't require an amp, balanced sound.

Cons: Bass isn't as punchy as I wanted, trebles get a bit trilly and sharp at high volumes, needs 40+ hours of burn-in.

I know there are too many reviews for these cans, but I thought I should put out my 2 cents. Keep in mind these are my first set of "real" headphones, as before this, the highest I shelled out was $79 for a set of Astro IEMs, which no one here has probably heard of. Anyway, let's begin.   Design These just look amazing. They're slick, and the circular metal ring on each of the earcups looks great and adds that "expensive" look. I wouldn't mind being caught wearing these in public, and they look better than Beats, at least in my opinion. The DJ articulation is nice, as I DJ at a lot of school events. The only flaw with the design is the huge Audio-Technica written on the band....
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Danchou

Excellent closed cans

Posted
By Danchou

Pros: Sound- and build quality, value, looks, soundstage and imaging (for a closed can)

Cons: pleather gets sweaty, some beats/ drums are overpresent

Overall: The ATH-M50 is a well built, beatiful HP. It has swivel earcups and comfortable high quality pleather pads. It comes in big white box with a leather bag and a 6,3 mm jack. (ATH-M50 and ATH-M50S are the same HP. M50s has straight(S) cable, M50 has coiled. Sound: The ATH-M50 sound great out of the box, but started to shine after ~50 hours of burn in. They sound detailed, refined and balanced, with a strong but controlled bass. The biggest quality of the M50s is, that they don't really do anything wrong. They performed pretty good with evrything I threw at them, and their sonic performance is outstanding in this price class. I think it is hard to dislike them at all, but...
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Vonx

A great starter headphone, with querks

Posted
By Vonx

Pros: Inexpendable value, dynamic, great feel and look, decent sound

Cons: Shrill highs at high volume, can distort, mids recessed, muddy and slow, weak sound stage

Before i get on to the sound, I will give you a summerized box reaction. Looking at these through the plastic box, they have an almost ikea asthetic about them, sort of a minimal hipster look. They have a funky way of sitting in the box and i couldnt help but hope they didnt sound as minimal as the looked through the box. However, as soon as i pulled them out and felt them in my hand and got a better look, i almost soiled myself. The headband and pleather pads are just about some of the comfiest things ive ever put my hands on. They just looked like they were MEANT to be worn and loved.   After seeing them in a 360 degree view, they just looked beautiful. Pictures do not do...
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mattphones

Exceptional Value

Posted
By mattphones

Pros: Price, Sound, Comfort, Quality. Loud.

Cons: can fatigue some when worn longer than 5 hours.

Nothing to add off of other reviews. Simply the best headphone purchase dollar for feature that Ive ever made. 
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BLACKENEDPLAGUE

n00b metalhead's first venture in audiophilism

Posted
By BLACKENEDPLAGUE

Pros: Sound good overall, looks good

Cons: Tight fit, uber long cord, has a muddy tone, the closed design and leather pads induce sweating

Okay I'm not going to fill this area with a bunch of BS terms I'm just going to say it straight up.   I bought the headphones from a really nice used shop locally, and I was told they were pretty decent. Upon first applying them to the not forehead (because that would be retarded behavior), I noticed the isolation was quite impressive. The guy that worked there was talking but I couldn't hear a damned thing he was saying. The song I tested it with was King Crimson's "Epitaph." The power they gave off was very nice and despite what the assistant said, the bass was of a great level, not too high and not too low. When I got home I listened to American IV by Johnny cash and let me...
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azoapes

Great headphones with great sound and minor cons

Posted
By azoapes

Pros: Great sound, good enough for mixing. Very isolated. The weight and design gives a quality impression.

Cons: The treble is a bit sharp, even after the 40 h warmup. Long sessions will create spot pressure on the top of your head.

My title, pros and cons sums it up rather well. Do NOT forget to warm these babies up for at least 30 h. They will change a lot in character, the first experience might be horrible, whilst after 40 h you love them.   It should be added that the treble sensitivity of your ears will affect your liking of these. Very demanding ears have listened to these and come to totally different conclusions. So listen to these at your local store before buying, your ears might not like the intense treble.
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1eye1derweasil

Good, very good in fact

Posted
By 1eye1derweasil

Pros: Sound and build quality

Cons: Nothing glaring

First off, this was my first real headphone, coming from 40$< consumer Sennheiser/Sonys   Since then I've listened to many others, and these are still great in my mind   BUILD   high quality, durable, and comfy    Cable is great, and they look good...wish they had more color schemes though (black is boring), these are a really attractive can   SOUND   Fairly neutral, with a slight bass emphasis, not boomy or sloppy, but not as tight as it could be. However, tightens up when properly amped (used the schiit Asgard). Still, sound fine unamped.    These are monitors, not supposed to be super colored sound, however...
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Where to Buy It

HeadroomAudio-Technica ATH-M50S at Headroom$169.00See It »
Amazon.comAudio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones with Coiled Cable at Amazon.comToo low to displaySee It »
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