A Concise View of Why The ATH-M50 is No Longer King

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Headfi threads is audiotechinicas biggest marketing campaign, have you read the threads?
example: i want a good headphone that sound amazing with jazz and has great soundstage"
user 1 : "ath m50 are the best" 
Smart headfier: the soundstage on the ath M50 are crap 
user 1: "what is soundstage? , these sound great with everything 
Smart headfier: how many headphones have you listened?
user 1: this i my first pair of audiophile headphones
Smart headfier: smh, it figures
*2 days later*
Rythmdevils: hey you want me to post charts? 
Smart headfier: sure, i bet they will clear up the poor soundstage
Rythmdevils: 

 
i need to gets some sales stats to confirm that the ath-m50 is the beats by dr dre of the starter audiophilia world

 
LOL I actually laughed out loud reading this post. So true xD
 
But yea I do think M50 are nice starter headphones but M50 tend to get a little bit more "hate" these days. Fame / popularity tends to gather also haters from the people who like something else and these are usually louder (the feeling of needing to express himself) versus a person who actually like it so it comes out as if there would be more haters than people who actually enjoy it as the people who actually enjoy it are usually not as full of desire to express his love for it (ok this start to dig too much into human psychology xD). It happens with artists etc too, just look at Lady Gaga and I think the same is happening with M50, the popularity peak of M50 was roughly 12~14 (or whenever it still could be picked up for like 85~$100 in the US) months or so ago here on head-fi, these days it has settled down slightly but it's still very much popular but I think it's justified for its price.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Quote:

Dobie, I'm not sure what would prove. As for the example you posted, there are thousands of other opinions where owners love the M50s, but I won't recreate them here. In my opinion, the anti-M50 bandwagon arrived recently; which tells me some people simply dislike the popularity of the product. Often the pay-off for being contrarian is ego satisfaction.  The M50 is not a perfect HP but it is certainly one of if not the best in the price range. I'll once again refer to InnerFidelity's Wall of Fame.  http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame    I think the M50 is there for a  reason.

I know ive read tons, its not at i hate the product because it popular, it just that the hype is overshadowing better headphones at this price range, take for example, say ath m50 is better than headphone x ,and headphone x to a non audiophile of someone who isnt used to high fidelity sound frinkin amazing ..brain blowing right?  , if everyone or 90+% of headfiers recommended headphone x , headphone x would be the most  the most popular headphone right? and you would be defending headphone x because its gained so much raved reviews and are very well repected among headfiers but inst the ath m50 better than headphone x? but is never recommended ? and if i said the ath m50 is better than headphone x the headfier will try to chew on me for that but infact it is....see where im at ?, also i ask inner fidelity about a certain headphones that i think is better than the ath m50 , he said he hasnt reviewed them yet but has done the measurements and says they seem good (when he reviews them ill show you), also inner fidelity said the grado sr60i is his favourite for many years but the sennheiser hd 239 and px100 IIii have better over sound quality... if i said any of these headphone sound better than the grado sr 60 i people would say i talking crap and these are legendary . you get me ?
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-ear-pad-open(proof). so dont think i hate the product and is bashing it blindly....im just saying 

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Quote:

 
LOL I actually laughed out loud reading this post. So true xD
 
But yea I do think M50 are nice starter headphones but M50 tend to get a little bit more "hate" these days. Fame / popularity tends to gather also haters from the people who like something else and these are usually louder (the feeling of needing to express himself) versus a person who actually like it so it comes out as if there would be more haters than people who actually enjoy it as the people who actually enjoy it are usually not as full of desire to express his love for it (ok this start to dig too much into human psychology xD). It happens with artists etc too, just look at Lady Gaga and I think the same is happening with M50, the popularity peak of M50 was roughly 12~14 (or whenever it still could be picked up for like 85~$100 in the US) months or so ago here on head-fi, these days it has settled down slightly but it's still very much popular but I think it's justified for its price.

 
yes he prices have gone to 114 (finally a justified price) since company A launched their top midrange headphones around that price (you feeling pressure audiotechnica?), what you said it true also,also check out my post above this current post and tell me if what i said seems reasonable. 

 

[stevenlongs]

I don't think people who recommend the m50 bash on other people's recommendations. I can't say the same about the reverse...look at those m50 haters!

Now I personally don't have an opinion of the phones themselves, as I have not tried them. I do, however, own a set of cheap AT cans and having been satisfied by them..I would definitely give the benefit of a doubt to AT.

Doberman, you say people would denounce your headphone recommendations. Has anyone actually done so? Ironically thats what you have been doing with m50 is it not?

Promoting a good product goes a long way and has more impact than denouncing a "bad one". A review with a comparisons section is the most helpful IMO.

 

[stevenlongs]

All the hype and hate has put this on the top of my "I gotta try this" list :rolleyes:

 

[jupitreas]

With all due respect to those who dislike the ATH-M50, what are the better full-size closed headphones out there for about the same price? I think I've tried nearly all of them and can't think of one that I prefer over the M50.
 
KRK KNS 8400 - nice detail but bass is seriously lacking in impact, sounds like someone is farting
Shure SRH440 - rolled off bass
Sennheiser HD280 Pro - harsh and somewhat hollow sounding with resonances from the enclosures
Shure SRH840 - good sounding headphone but not very portable and very uncomfortable. I also find the highs on them to be lacking
Sony MDR-7506 - harsh upper mids, unnatural bass, quite uncomfortable after a while
Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO - exaggerated bass response, not portable, harsh highs, very recessed midrange (way more than M50)
Fischer Audio FA-003 - huge, not portable, hard to get a hold of, bass could be better
Ultrasone HFI580 - S-Logic sounds artificial, particularly for people who have asymmetrical ears, upper-mids and highs are quite harsh
Sennheiser HD449 - bass is muddy and uncontrolled, very disappointing headphone
M-Audio Studiophile Q40 - nice, but has poor build quality and is not as detailed as the M50
Beyerdynamic DT250-250 - sounds better than ATH-M50 but is not portable, requires an amp to sound good and has poor quality control
Fostex T50-RP - ugly as all hell, not portable, rolled off bass and treble. 
AKG K727 HD - rolled off bass, not portable
 
Have I missed some other M50 competitor that is out there? 

 

[Darkbeat]

Quote:

With all due respect to those who dislike the ATH-M50, what are the better full-size closed headphones out there for about the same price? I think I've tried nearly all of them and can't think of one that I prefer over the M50.
 
...
 
Have I missed some other M50 competitor that is out there? 

The point is that the M50s are the stock recommendation, presumably given by M50-only owners, for everybody seeking phones in the price range. 
 
Many would prefer the Shure SRH840s or Creative Aurvana Live!s in the price range simply because they do what the M50s do (and in the case of mids, better) but without the extremely aggressive highs. You don't mind that, but many others do. For them the M50s are simply not an option.
 
Regardless, the M50s are not the undisputed kings at their cost, not even close. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who dislikes sibilance, listens to music focusing on the midrange or wants to wear headphones for longer than an hour without getting sweaty ears. That's no small group.

 

[cyberalpha11]

I guess this is the time for Audio Technica to upgrade ATH-M50 by improving its mids while maintaining its price.
In addition, Audio Technica should upgrade the build by using more metals.

 

[jupitreas]

Quote:

I guess this is the time for Audio Technica to upgrade ATH-M50 by improving its mids while maintaining its price.

They pretty much already did that with the white-box version... Depending on what volume you listen at, they sound very neutral (due to equal loudness contour). I find that when using them for work, I listen rather quietly and they give me a very neutral presentation and when I listen to them for fun, I turn the volume up a little bit and then their 'punchy' character begins to shine through. 

 

[doublea71]

Quote:

Its already there but i cant answer every thread that ask for headphone recommendations. hence the title of the thread "no longer king" you dig ?

I do not dig, nor do I partake in Quixotic campaigns as can be found in this thread.

 

[doublea71]

Quote:

The point is that the M50s are the stock recommendation, presumably given by M50-only owners, for everybody seeking phones in the price range. 
 
Many would prefer the Shure SRH840s or Creative Aurvana Live!s in the price range simply because they do what the M50s do (and in the case of mids, better) but without the extremely aggressive highs. You don't mind that, but many others do. For them the M50s are simply not an option.
 
Regardless, the M50s are not the undisputed kings at their cost, not even close. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who dislikes sibilance, listens to music focusing on the midrange or wants to wear headphones for longer than an hour without getting sweaty ears. That's no small group.

If it's such a problem to anybody that they are the stock recommendation, little can be done other than starting a thread for novice audiophiles which gives information about a wide range of products, thus presenting options for inexperienced headphone junkies. Or give Jude some money to place a banner ad on head-fi with a warning about the dreaded M50 and how it's just a cleverly-packaged gateway to all manner of immorality

 

[doublea71]

See post #11.

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/621014/whats-your-recommendation
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

With all due respect to those who dislike the ATH-M50, what are the better full-size closed headphones out there for about the same price? I think I've tried nearly all of them and can't think of one that I prefer over the M50.
 
KRK KNS 8400 - nice detail but bass is seriously lacking in impact, sounds like someone is farting
Shure SRH440 - rolled off bass
Sennheiser HD280 Pro - harsh and somewhat hollow sounding with resonances from the enclosures
Shure SRH840 - good sounding headphone but not very portable and very uncomfortable. I also find the highs on them to be lacking
Sony MDR-7506 - harsh upper mids, unnatural bass, quite uncomfortable after a while
Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO - exaggerated bass response, not portable, harsh highs, very recessed midrange (way more than M50)
Fischer Audio FA-003 - huge, not portable, hard to get a hold of, bass could be better
Ultrasone HFI580 - S-Logic sounds artificial, particularly for people who have asymmetrical ears, upper-mids and highs are quite harsh
Sennheiser HD449 - bass is muddy and uncontrolled, very disappointing headphone
M-Audio Studiophile Q40 - nice, but has poor build quality and is not as detailed as the M50
Beyerdynamic DT250-250 - sounds better than ATH-M50 but is not portable, requires an amp to sound good and has poor quality control
Fostex T50-RP - ugly as all hell, not portable, rolled off bass and treble. 
AKG K727 HD - rolled off bass, not portable
 
Have I missed some other M50 competitor that is out there? 

 
I prefer Q40 easily above M50 personally and don't agree about it not being as detailed but it may be due to the digiZoid ZO2.1 which has very good synergy and the mods, swapped cable, modded pads and most of the time using a custom foobar2000 dolby headphone config I've tweaked for over a year.

 

[rhythmdevils]

It's funny to see such ignorance attacking people for being ignorant.  This thread has more noobs gone wild crazy talk than any of the M50 recommendations I've ever seen.  It's a circus.  Hey, look, it's a cute little noob attacking other noobs for being noobish.  Look at all the little newbies, aren't they cute frolicking around throwing poo at each other. 

 

[jerg]

IMO my Koss KSC75s (with a few simple mods) sound much better than my M50's. Exceedingly better timbre, better mids, bass has a bit more texture (though admittedly is less controlled simply due to structural limitations of the small driver) and treble is not nearly as peaky.