[Magicman74]

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This is my first post on head-fi (loooooong time lurker) and I figured this was as good a thread as any to make my entrance.  I just got my pair of  M50s and am quite disappointed in them, as it was all the hype that made me choose them and I don't feel they live up to that hype at all. Sure they're decent, and maybe if they weren't so hyped my disappointment wouldn't be as strong as it is, but I was expected to be blown away (talking value here) and came out of it completely underwhelmed.
 
A little history on me- Home audio professional for 15 years, guitar player, huge metalhead. I currently own Shure e5c and se530, Yuin PK2 with Yurbuds sleeves (best idea I ever had), B+W P5, AKG  k240 and my pride- the mighty Sony z1000 which are absolutely amazing in every regard and are my primary set of cans.  The Sony's are my newest addition and didn't really consider myself an audiophile until I got them .  I guess I still don't consider myself an audiophile, I just like good sound.  But I digress. I listen to music from my iPhone5 with a Fiio E11.  All my music is 256aac or higher, most being 320mp3. I do have some lossless files as well. My problem is I travel for work now, and with each trip I realize more and more that I need something that folds, so I bought the M50s hoping they would be the solution to my problem. They're not. I do realize they haven't been broken in, and I am naturally comparing them to the Sony's, but they just don't wow me at all and they actually bother me with how bad they sound compared to the Sony's. I can't really pinpoint what the exact problem is but the easiest way for me to describe it is that they sound cold, hollow, and not very musical.  There is such a disconnect it seems between the bass and midrange, and the treble is so harsh at times (comparatively) that they aren't fun to listen to at all. Also, while I didn't expect any soundstage at all do to them being closed, I did expect somewhat decent imaging and I can hardly call it that.  Clean passages and acoustic recordings (Alice in Chains Unplugged) admittedly sound pretty great, but with heavier stuff it all becomes a muddy mess. These things were just not made for metal. I know I am comparing them to a pair of cans that cost 5 times the price, but I have much fonder memories of my long gone Sony V700DJs that were in the same price bracket. I guess I just expected too much.
 
All that said, does anyone have any recommendations for a folding, closed, circumaural set of cans that won't disappoint? I'd spend up to $300 if that's what's required to get passable sound quality. 
 
Happy new year everyone! 

Check out the Koss dj100 thread.  I just picked my son up a set today. And I'm  Amazed.  For $80 bucks no less, hell they are even cheaper on amazon. I have them on right now, ROCKING Ride the Lightning....Hold on boys, it's gonna get crazy!!!   Their really Good, is what I'm saying.

 

[tortex73]

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Check out the Koss dj100 thread.  I just picked my son up a set today. And I'm  Amazed.  For $80 bucks no less, hell they are even cheaper on amazon. I have them on right now, ROCKING Ride the Lightning....Hold on boys, it's gonna get crazy!!!   Their really Good, is what I'm saying.

Thanks for the reply but I'd be very reluctant to try something even less expensive than the m50.  I'm looking for something in the $200-$300 price range.  Thanks for the recommendation though, if I ever come across a pair of them I will definitely check them out.  
 
Ride the Lightning is one of my favorite thrash albums. Ever hear of Warbringer? They are a newer thrash revival band and if you like old Metallica, you should get a kick out of them. Check out their latest album "Worlds Torn Asunder", it's amazing. 

 

[Magicman74]

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Thanks for the reply but I'd be very reluctant to try something even less expensive than the m50.  I'm looking for something in the $200-$300 price range.  Thanks for the recommendation though, if I ever come across a pair of them I will definitely check them out.  
 
Ride the Lightning is one of my favorite thrash albums. Ever hear of Warbringer? They are a newer thrash revival band and if you like old Metallica, you should get a kick out of them. Check out their latest album "Worlds Torn Asunder", it's amazing. 

Yeah I hear you man, just trying to save you some scratch.  Hell the Beats cost $300 and sound like a wounded duck.
It's kind tough looking for a closed, folding set in that range.  You could try the Pioneer 1500's or 2000's, http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH750DJ-Professional-Quality-Headphones/dp/B002PAQYK8 (Gotta be a typo?)

 

[Prakhar]

M100

 

[tortex73]

Quote:

Yeah I hear you man, just trying to save you some scratch.  Hell the Beats cost $300 and sound like a wounded duck.
It's kind tough looking for a closed, folding set in that range.  You could try the Pioneer 1500's or 2000's, http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH750DJ-Professional-Quality-Headphones/dp/B002PAQYK8 (Gotta be a typo?)

Well, we all know why Beats cost $300. K, that was a lie. Why do they cost $300 again? hahaha 
 
I've never actually heard a pair of Pioneers before, and really don't like the way the Shures look. I know that's a pretty shallow thing, but I want to look cool while wearing my cans out in public lol. But damn, Amazon is listing those things CHEAP.  I really, really want the AKG K550s, as I've never heard an AKG I didn't like but I feel like their designers have massive craniums because all AKG cans seem way too big for my head and have zero clamping power whatsoever. There is no place I can go to demo them so I would just have to order them and hope they fit, but with my luck... 
 
Unrelated question- How do I add/edit my signature? I can find the option anywhere.

 

[Magicman74]

Quote:

Well, we all know why Beats cost $300. K, that was a lie. Why do they cost $300 again? hahaha 
 
I've never actually heard a pair of Pioneers before, and really don't like the way the Shures look. I know that's a pretty shallow thing, but I want to look cool while wearing my cans out in public lol. But damn, Amazon is listing those things CHEAP.  I really, really want the AKG K550s, as I've never heard an AKG I didn't like but I feel like their designers have massive craniums because all AKG cans seem way too big for my head and have zero clamping power whatsoever. There is no place I can go to demo them so I would just have to order them and hope they fit, but with my luck... 
 
Unrelated question- How do I add/edit my signature? I can find the option anywhere.

Dang, you would really have to hear the Pioneers before you bought them. They are not cheap.  $350 at Best Buy for the HDJ 2000.  I was over there today doing a Can search with my son.  He picked up the Koss DJ100 for $80. After we did a massive listen session.  The Pioneers might have the best build quality of any DJ can I've ever seen. It's made of Some space age Metal. No Crap, It might be Titanium or something. But it's light and comfy. One thing that got me was the Balance sound it has, Very Neutal For a DJ set.
I also tried the 550's, And you are right , they are BIG and have no clamp at all. Not for Head banging that's for sure. The sound very Balanced as well, Bass light tho, but sound really Sweet and clean.
Out of everything we tried I liked the Senn 558 the best.  They sounded Amazing to me, My next upgrade for sure. But not what you are after. 
You could also research Ultrasone's, Not heard them myself. But I guess they are either " Love Em- Hate Em"

 

[tortex73]

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Dang, you would really have to hear the Pioneers before you bought them. They are not cheap.  $350 at Best Buy for the HDJ 2000.  I was over there today doing a Can search with my son.  He picked up the Koss DJ100 for $80. After we did a massive listen session.  The Pioneers might have the best build quality of any DJ can I've ever seen. It's made of Some space age Metal. No Crap, It might be Titanium or something. But it's light and comfy. One thing that got me was the Balance sound it has, Very Neutal For a DJ set.
I also tried the 550's, And you are right , they are BIG and have no clamp at all. Not for Head banging that's for sure. The sound very Balanced as well, Bass light tho, but sound really Sweet and clean.
Out of everything we tried I liked the Senn 558 the best.  They sounded Amazing to me, My next upgrade for sure. But not what you are after. 
You could also research Ultrasone's, Not heard them myself. But I guess they are either " Love Em- Hate Em"

I'm really trying to stay away from the "dj" style headphone. Don't ask me why. As for Senn... I really just never liked their sound signature though I will say that when I can afford them, I WILL own a pair of HD800s. Never heard soundstage like that out of a pair of cans. I haven't heard any Ultrasone's either, but I have read good things.
 
Aside from the K550s, my other choice would be the Sony MDR-1Rs, but Amazon doesn't have them yet. I don't know why but I love Sony cans.   Anyhoo, thanks for all the tips, bud. Cheers! 

 

[doublea71]

Somebody was selling the Z1000s in the for sale thread recently for around $300 and I almost pulled the trigger, but it would have been irresponsible of me. I hope to either try them out or find another used pair some day...the DJ100s are pretty good for the scratch.
 

 

[JMACK45]

[size=10.5pt]This is my first post and I am new to this (yes I am very worried about my wallet). I’ve been a huge fan of music forever and decided that investing in headphones and gear is the next level way to enjoy and appreciate it. I’ve only used IEM’s for the last couple decades, last pair of non-IEM was probably the cheap ones with the thin metal band and cheap sponge that came free with cassette walkmans back in the day.[/size]
 
[size=10.5pt]Based on the fact that a HUGE portion of recommendations on this site include or reference the ATH-M50s and they are in the price range I am looking to get started with I was pretty convinced that was the way to go…but then this thread and others mentions of alternatives to the M50s got me contemplating… [/size]
[size=10.5pt]The biggest thing that is scaring me off right now is the notion that the newer M50s are lesser than older ones and that is making question that all the recommendations of the M50s are based on the older/better version (thus making all the comparisons on here pretty irrelevant to me).  Has anyone compared the “old” and “new” and is there a truly noticeable difference? If so please describe. [/size]
 
[size=10.5pt]Also, regardless of the difference would you all recommend that I still jump into the M50s and make that my starting point (since it is such a reference point on here) or am I better off trying to get into something that will be better for me from the start?[/size]
 
[size=10.5pt]My music listening goes something like this: 40% R&B, 30% Hip Hop, 30% Rock/Folk/Alternative/other.  I like bass, but not at all at the expense of being able to hear the rest of the music and vocal (I am assuming my main interest is clean rich mids).[/size]
[size=10.5pt]Source: Iphone4, computer. No amp (yet, but probably Fiioe17 soon).[/size]
 
[size=10.5pt]Let me know about the New vs Old M50s and any other recommendations for me. Thanks[/size]

 

[Noah H]

I bought some pro-dj100'S they are very balanced with slight mids emphasis there also vary fast like grados I like them more than my sisters mdr-7506s and m-50 but they need an amp to sound there best also I love the super cheap monoprice dj 8323s I bought my brother those for his birthday. All of those I like more than m50 (except the Sony's the ones I tried were to dark).

 

[kskwerl]

This should be stickied to the top of the forum

 

[Mani ATH 87]

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Don’t get me wrong. The Audio-Technica ATH-M50 is still a great headphone.

This is a good point to remember as well. A lot of people seem to be confused when it comes to the M50's. It feels like the more a headphone is recommended, the more people seem to lift it higher and higher on the pedestal. The M50's are still recommended to people with a smaller budget, it's still considered an entry level headphone, and it's a solid choice with that distinction in mind. It's a fine option in it's price range, some other headphones have come a long that are just as good, some people may even prefer them, but the M50's are still a worthy purchase. 



 

 

[bareyb]

I'm doing a comparison of Bass friendly headphones that are optimized for small amps and iPods.  Here are the one's I've tested and how I rank them so far. 
 
1. Audio Technica ATH-M50 (Best QUALITY of Bass and most comfortable)
2. Pioneer HDJ 2000 K
3. Audio Technica ATH Pro 700 MK2
4. Sennheiser HD439
 
Even though the 700 MK2 has more quantity of, and deeper Bass it wasn't as well defined as the Bass with the M50's. With the M50's you can hear the fingers on the Bass. The Pioneer was good overall, but got a little raggedy with vocals at higher volumes. It has great Bass too, but not as good as the M50. I wasn't happy with the Sennheisers. Not much Bass compared to the others they sounded a little thin in comparison. Nice highs however. Very nice highs. 
 
I am still looking though. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770s and some Ultrasone Pro 900s coming on UPS (hopefully) tomorrow. I have a four way amp I can direct compare with. If REALLY like the Bass on the M50s a LOT. Can anyone recommend a higher end Headphone that has the same Bass characteristics as the M50 but perhaps a bit more refined up top? I'm kind of hoping the DT 770 or the Ultrasone might fill that bill... Any suggestions gratefully accepted. 

 

[blacknile]

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Can anyone recommend a higher end Headphone that has the same Bass characteristics as the M50 but perhaps a bit more refined up top? I'm kind of hoping the DT 770 or the Ultrasone might fill that bill... Any suggestions gratefully accepted. 

 
As a former M50 owner (I ended up selling them purely for comfort issues btw) I can warmly recommend a pair of M-Audio Q40.

 

[invalid404]

A900x??? I am using the hold-back technique on myself from buying them as an upgrade!