Philips Citiscape Uptown vs. ATH M50s

The ATH-M50 are a comfortable headphone, but at the same time they are a little heavy. The ear pads can make your ears sweaty since they are made of fake leather. They have nice noise isolation at moderate to high listening volume, and noise leakage is minimal. I don't want to comment on sound quality, as these headphones aren't really my style (rock/metal/alternative/acoustic genres). The emphasized bass allows for good drum reproduction, the treble isn't sparkly... but not bright either, and the mid range is slightly recessed. The sound stage isn't bad, and makes up for average imaging qualities. They are a good headphone for electronic music or dubstep in my opinion. The closed back does develop quite a bit of sound pressure on the ear though. Build quality is excellent. I've never used the Philips so I can't help there.

Edited by ToddTheMetalGod - 1/6/13 at 9:17pm

I didn't really make that clear, I meant the bass adds to the pressure build up inside the closed can. Like at high listening volumes it sort of feels like being a couple of meters underwater. Not sound wise, but the sensation on the ear drum. And no problem.

Uptown was significantly more comfortable to me. Both headphones can take a beating. I actually preferred the sound of the Uptowns to the M50, but YMMV there.

For extended periods of use, I'd go for the Uptowns and never look back. That they are cheaper is just the icing on the cake. (:

l have not heard the ATH-M50s. I do, however, own the Uptowns. I can vouch for their comfort; I can wear these for hours on end with no significant discomfort. They seal pretty much everything from the outside, and do so quite well even without music playing. They apparently using something they call a "Music Seal," which is designed to seal all music inside and not leak anything out. I haven't received any complaints so far or people noticing when I'm listening to music. 

 

I like to keep the in-line volume gain (The volume control isn't a standard increase/decrease) as close to the middle as I can, but you sort of need to increase the gain to maximum if you are using a portable device with no other source of power. They do not come with a case, so you would have to throw these into your backpack without anything protecting them. They do have a standard length cable unlike the M50s however.

 

The sound doesn't blow my pants off, but I'd say it's worth the 65 bucks I paid. I've heard some people say that they prefer them over the M50s though.

 

Would I ever take mine outside? Probably not. They're a bit to large for me to want to do so, but then again I personally only take IEMs outside the home. 

Really? They were so uncomfortable for me, even after much stretching. 

 

I think you should get the uptowns.

I agree the ATH-M50 are kind of a pain to use for portability even though it comes with a travel bag. I've seen the box of the Uptown and they seem to be designed for portability, so I think they're a much better choice for you.

The M50's are quite tight, too tight for me.

You have to remember that the tightness keeps the seal strong, that way the bass is better and there is more noise isolation. I agree though the clamping force is a bit much especially for long usage.

I've never understood asking others about the comfort level of headphones. No two heads are exactly the same, what one person considers the perfect amount of comfort, someone else will find unwearable. The only way to truly know if a headphone is comfortable is to try it on.

 

While I agree in that only first-hand experience will truly reveal how comfortable a headphone is for a given person, it doesn't hurt for other people to give impressions of why they find certain headphones more or less comfortable.

 

For me, I've found that two of the big factors that make comfort vary for me, besides earpad type, are the size of the earcups and the overall clamping force. Bigger earcups reduce the chance that the earpads touch your earlobe, but does make for a more unwieldy headphone and could potentially apply the earpad pressure on more sensitive parts of the head. Lighter clamping force is more comfortable, but brings the risk that the headphones will fall off if you shake your head around too quickly or anything like that.

 

Funny thing is, one's impressions of headphone comfort can change over time. I initially thought the Uptown had too much clamping force for my liking, but it doesn't feel all that bad after a month or so...