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Just received my ATH M50's. Why do they sound just like my $40 headphones?

post #1 of 51
2/6/12 at 12:41pm
Thread Starter 

First off, I am no expert on headphones. I was weary about paying $140 for headphones. But from all the five star reviews I was expecting to be blown away. I really just wanted a set that sounded better than the Beats (was getting tired of my cousin hyping them so much), so I spent a LONG time reading reviews and comparing a lot of different headphones. I am not a bass-head, but people said these are supposed to offer a slight dose of it. Just not what I was expecting at all. I did a comparison with my $40 Sony MDR XB300 and they sounded just as good as this $140 pair. Everyone said that these sound just find without an amp (I chose not to buy one because it kills the portability). Using these on my computer now... I was just hoping that all my electronic music would sound noticeably better. 

 

Almost positive they are not fakes, as I bought them directly from Amazon (who bought theirs from a authorized seller listed on the audio-technica site) and not from a user. Was in a well packaged white box, and they seem to be very high quality, build wise. I have probably bought a hundred items from Amazon, and they never let me down. 

 

Do these just need burning in? Maybe my music collection is bad quality? If so, is there a site that streams 320 bitrate music so I can compare?

I REALLY want to like these, as I just spent $140! That is quite a bit for a college student. :/ I am hoping that I am just doing something wrong. 


Edited by lschell - 2/6/12 at 12:43pm
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post #2 of 51
2/6/12 at 12:46pm
You could just be one of those people that can't really differentiate sounds all that well. As much as I love my D7K, It's not a magical difference from the M50 at first listen. You have to get used to the sound, learn to hear differences, and if anything, get other headphones to compare.

The XB300 sounds like pure garbage compared to the M50, so your hearing must be compromised quite heavily to not notice it.
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post #3 of 51
2/6/12 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy View Post

You could just be one of those people that can't really differentiate sounds all that well. As much as I love my D7K, It's not a magical difference from the M50 at first listen. You have to get used to the sound, learn to hear differences, and if anything, get other headphones to compare.
The XB300 sounds like pure garbage compared to the M50, so your hearing must be compromised quite heavily to not notice it.


Maybe its that then. :/

I always was told I had good hearing whenever I got my ears checked. Never was one to listen to blaired music. Do you know of any place I could listen to high quality music?

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post #4 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:01pm

Yeah, this is quite strange. Your M50s should definitely be a noticeable upgrade from the XB300s. But you do touch on a couple of possible reasons which should be explored, all having to do with the source.

 

  • Which computer are you using? It's possible it has a bad quality DAC, bad isolation, low power amp, etc.
  • What genres of music are you listening to? Some generes make it easier to identify quality differences, others not so much.
  • What's the bitrate of your tracks? The lower the bitrate the harder it is to differentiate the nuances of the frequency response of the headphones—because they're simply not being reproduced. There differences are quite noticeable between 128, 192, 256, 320 kbps and up (lossless).

 

Basically, the only way to really be able to compare the quality of the sound between headphones is to have that quality in the output in the first place. You may not need the best quality, but at least some quality is crucial. Give tweaking your source a try and then make a judgement. Also, pay close attention to particular parts of a song; close your eyes and try to focus on the instruments.

 

Lastly, what Mad Lust Envy alluded to may be true: some people just can't detect such differences.

 

Good luck.

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post #5 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:04pm
Yeah, the source may be horrible too. Onboard soundcards may be noisy and distort sounds quite badly. It may also have a too high output impedance that alters the frequency of the M50s, making them sound bloated, and muddy.

Also, for the love of anything good, don't use any equalizer for more bass, etc. Listen to your headphones with a perfectly flat equalizer, no bass booster or anything.
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post #6 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:06pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by lschell View Post

Do you know of any place I could listen to high quality music?

 

Spotify offers a higher bitrate option if you pay. You can also download a free high resolution audio sample album from HDTracks: http://bit.ly/yZji9C

 

Or just buy a CD.

 

 

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post #7 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 

I appreciate the responses! I tried using these on my girlfriends home computer which has a sound card a few steps above the integrated kind. 

Pretty sure I started to notice differences. Still not as much as I hoped, but definitely an improvement. *sigh*.. my cousin will still be gloating about his beats. 

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post #8 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lschell View Post



Maybe its that then. :/

I always was told I had good hearing whenever I got my ears checked. Never was one to listen to blaired music. Do you know of any place I could listen to high quality music?



Grab a few CD's, you have to have access to at least a couple. Though I would still recommend spending as much time as you can with the M50's. Time helps your brain acclimate to the new sound signature and really helps you be able to really see what the headphones are like. Usually the first time I listen to a new pair of headphones I am very unimpressed, it takes time for me to really get into them.

 

Also, headphones are pretty different depending on the genre. The XB's probably have very strong bass, while the M50's you have are probably the new ones, which are more balanced than they originally were. They used to be bassier headphones, and if all you like is bass, you may not really even notice or care about any other parts of the spectrum (no matter how much better they may be on the M50's), and may only be comparing the bass. *Though*, preferences can be changed with headphones, meaning if you use the M50's a lot, you may begin to prefer a less bass-heavy sound signature. It's what happened to me when I went from my Pro 750's to my D7000's. I acclimated to less bass and the ultrasones became boomy and a bit flabby in comparison, even though I preferred the Ultrasone bass when I first got my Denons.

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post #9 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:17pm
http://ocremix.org/albums/?&offset=0&sort=

A bunch of OC Remix ALbums, FLACs in those albums.

They are free as they are video game remix albums.

two personal faves:

http://ocremix.org/album/1/final-fantasy-vii-voices-of-the-lifestream

http://ocremix.org/album/15/humans-plus-gears-xenogears-remixed

The prolific remixers know how to mix their music possibly better than most major labels.

If you have never heard video game remixes, please don't assume anything. They can blow the pants out of most 'real' music.
Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 2/6/12 at 1:20pm
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post #10 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:21pm

It's probably worth giving them 50-100 hours burn in. Seems to be the generally accepted thing to do with these and according to numerous reviews it drastically increases sound quality.

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post #11 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks mad lust! 

I actually am an avid video game music listener, but was too ashamed to admit it. I will try out that site!

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post #12 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:26pm
You never heard of OCRemix? Hahaha, prepare to spend many days sifting through all the awesome tracks. XD

On the remix site itself, all the songs are mostly in 160-192kbps (really well mastered however), but the albums pretty much always have FLACs.
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post #13 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:34pm

http://i40.tinypic.com/wcmpf4.jpg

(sorry for the epic "soundcard" - will get the Asus Xonar D1 soon)

 

 

Nothing wrong with Equalizing imo.

I love my new Denons with that Equalizer for Bass heavy Genres like dubstep.

 

The highs stay clear without being harsh.

Mids might be recessed, but i actually love the sound. 

Lows go deep, slight impact, not too much - but it's really controlled and smooth.

 

 

I just love listen to them.

 

 

My Steelseries Siberia v2 won't match the quality of the Denons at all.

Though i have to say (being honest) the Siberia v2 which is a gaming headset sounded better than the Sony XB 1000, lol

 

 

 

I would say from my small experiance i got last weeks that:

 

- get high quality tracks

- a good amp (like the FiiO e9) works wonders, really

- use some EQ -> i just think quality headphones won't give "basshead-like" bass without EQin -> if they do like the XB500, you just get bad mids / highs

 

 

 

 

 

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post #14 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:36pm
What I'm referring to equalizing is that he CAN'T gauge a headphone's performance based off his EQ settings. You should be judging headphones as they are MADE to sound first, before going all EQ-crazy.
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post #15 of 51
2/6/12 at 1:40pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by lschell View Post

Thanks mad lust! 

I actually am an avid video game music listener, but was too ashamed to admit it. I will try out that site!



Video game soundtracks are fantastic, no need to hide it!

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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Just received my ATH M50's. Why do they sound just like my $40 headphones?