no, not amping them. Definitely not all in my head. I sat there making extreme OCD comparisons for a long time. When I wore them backwards, that confirmed it for me, as the louder ear was now reversed.    unauthorized dealer pair was from "Carolinas"  authorized dealer pair was from "Sonic...

Given that both pairs I bought from amazon had such a long return policy, I had a long time to sit and compare them. I've finally made the annoying decision to return the ones that were from an authorized dealer. So i'm keeping the ones from an UNauthorized dealer, which means audio-technica...

Thanks. That's good to know.

Any suggestions on a good amp for these? One that would bring the best out of the m50s, without buying more than I need

yes, my second pair was bought from Sonic Electronix Inc. Which is on that list. I've already come to the conclusion that both pairs were real. I'm just an anomaly like someone said a page back

ya thanks. I actually saw that article back when I got the first pair.

original pair was bought from amazon.com. Not exactly a place where cheapos buy things. I was unaware of the whole authorized/unauthorized dealer thing at the time

Yeah I think the issue is that i'm just a floor speaker guy at heart. I somehow expected cans to be as "fun" as floor speakers, but with extra clarity. (comparing these to a pair of Bowers/Wilkins loudspeakers.) The only reason i looked into cans is because i still live with my parents...

yep. I don't know why. The thing is only like 5 years old and the headphone jack has never been used.     I do notice a much bigger difference between the earpods and m50s after using the m50s for a week (one month return policy). I guess all the hype over them lead me to assume that going...

Got the second pair earlier today. They were real all along

yes i would listen to about 20 seconds of a song with one headphone, then switch headphones and start again from the same point in the song. Even adjusted the volumes each time because the m50's were quieter than the earpods at the same volume setting on the computer.

well thanks everyone for the input. I went ahead and ordered another pair thru amazon. This time making sure it was an authorized dealer who was selling. I'l be returning the other ones. I'll update this again when i get the new ones. Just in case someone else ever experiences this in the...

ugh. that's what i was hoping not to hear... I guess i''ll try to return them to amazon.

I forget to mention this in my original post, but i connected them to a yamaha RX-797 receiver and they sounded awful. the sound was harsh and staticy and one ear was mostly silent and kept cutting in and out. but they don't do that when plugged into anything else so i think maybe there's just...

An HP laptop and dell desktop. stock soundcards, no amp. i got the headphones specifically because everyone claims they are good un-amped