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

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Well what i'm actually tying to state is that the M50 is a safe choice, goes well with modern music, isolates well, fairly portable, doesn't need much amping, jack of all trades (most of them) and does not need too much consideration over the other options that need more consideration and are possibly more risky.

In that case I'm willing to agree. However, since the discussion began with soundstage, I thought that was what you were targetting at; that "serious listeners" would automatically be looking for a bigger soundstage, which may or may not be true in some cases, but definitely not in all cases. For instance, when I listen to some jazz, yes, then it's a "cool" feature to have a bigger soundstage (not even true for all jazz, imo). However, whenever I listen to EBM a big soundstage can ruin it for me.
 
I've been asking myself why I prefer the M50s over the D2000 so often, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that it's actually due to the M50s making the music more intimate for me.
 
I guess my point is that we're all looking for something that will fulfill our own subjective wishes when it comes to sound preferences, and to some, the M50s are very close to fulfilling that while to others they aren't. It has nothing to do with "serious research", soundstage or even "serious listening".

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

I don't really know what to say. I agree with it all though. I really don't see the merit to the M50... I've always wondered why it was such a popular recommendation when it sounded fairly mediocre compared to all of the other phones, closed and open, that I've heard in the price bracket.

YUP, and it's a shame some youtuber pushes the M50's pretty hard on his viewers.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

In that case I'm willing to agree. However, since the discussion began with soundstage, I thought that was what you were targetting at; that "serious listeners" would automatically be looking for a bigger soundstage, which may or may not be true in some cases, but definitely not in all cases. For instance, when I listen to some jazz, yes, then it's a "cool" feature to have a bigger soundstage (not even true for all jazz, imo). However, whenever I listen to EBM a big soundstage can ruin it for me.
 
I've been asking myself why I prefer the M50s over the D2000 so often, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that it's actually due to the M50s making the music more intimate for me.
 
I guess my point is that we're all looking for something that will fulfill our own subjective wishes when it comes to sound preferences, and to some, the M50s are very close to fulfilling that while to others they aren't. It has nothing to do with "serious research", soundstage or even "serious listening".

Well yeah my bad, wrong use of words and some degree of overgeneralisation.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

Well yeah my bad, wrong use of words and some degree of overgeneralisation.

and that's the fun of head fi, we all like different things and we all use overgernalizsed or overly specified terms xD. My school mates give me funny looks when I talk audiophile to them
 
still though how bassy is the M50, it's on the bass head thread forum and for me... anything above 3-4 db tends to be to much for jack of all im, ofc the sound is the most important thing and even if the graph looks meh it might not force that extra bass
 
On that note my dt 990 pro 250's [love em] r to bassy, they are only used for edm. 

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

and that's the fun of head fi, we all like different things and we all use overgernalizsed or overly specified terms xD. My school mates give me funny looks when I talk audiophile to them
 
still though how bassy is the M50, it's on the bass head thread forum and for me... anything above 3-4 db tends to be to much for jack of all im, ofc the sound is the most important thing and even if the graph looks meh it might not force that extra bass
 
On that note my dt 990 pro 250's [love em] r to bassy, they are only used for edm. 

I understand, they call me crazy too

 (eg: you need TWO headphones??)
I feel the m50 is not too bassy, i read somewhere else that the new revision is flatter and has less bass than the old version.

 

[Coq de Combat]

Quote:

Well yeah my bad, wrong use of words and some degree of overgeneralisation.

It's okay, we all do that sometimes. 

 

[Rdwng1975]

Quote:

In that case I'm willing to agree. However, since the discussion began with soundstage, I thought that was what you were targetting at; that "serious listeners" would automatically be looking for a bigger soundstage, which may or may not be true in some cases, but definitely not in all cases. For instance, when I listen to some jazz, yes, then it's a "cool" feature to have a bigger soundstage (not even true for all jazz, imo). However, whenever I listen to EBM a big soundstage can ruin it for me.
 
I've been asking myself why I prefer the M50s over the D2000 so often, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that it's actually due to the M50s making the music more intimate for me.
 
I guess my point is that we're all looking for something that will fulfill our own subjective wishes when it comes to sound preferences, and to some, the M50s are very close to fulfilling that while to others they aren't. It has nothing to do with "serious research", soundstage or even "serious listening".

+1

 

[ssrock64]

I made some slight revisions to the old original post to keep it current for any new members using the search bar.

 

[cytoSiN]

Good info in this thread, so thanks to all who contributed.  I'm looking for a set of cans for my brother in law to use during his frequent air travel.
 
Needs are:
 
~ $100
Closed Back (without too much leakage, since primary use will be on airplanes)
Comfortable on a mostly bald head
Not too colored
 
He's not an audiophile (neither am I, but I have a lot more exposure than he does), but he'll want something that isn't too colored and sounds good in general.  There's a sale on the M50s right now ($102 shipped at Amazon and elsewhere), so I was leaning that way until I read this thread and some other chatter on the web complaining about the comfort of these cans.  Anyone care to recommend a different set, with the foregoing priorities in mind, before I pull the trigger on these?
 
Thanks!!

 

[sonitus mirus]

What about IEMs?  These might be a better option.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Portable-In-Ear-Earphones/dp/B000XP8DJC
 
I've tried to use the M50 on a jet, and they don't have enough isolation to do any good.  I would be worried about damaging my hearing using the M50 over a prolonged period of time attempting to drown-out the background noise. (a movie or a few hours of music)
 
That said, $102 for the M50 is a great deal.  At that price they are very competitive, no matter how much hype they might bring along.

 

[cytoSiN]

Thanks, hadn't considered those.  I LOVE my ER4's.  I have two pairs just in case...
 
I was looking at over-the-ear because he claims to have small ear canals and IEMs might not fit or stay in for him.

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

Thanks, hadn't considered those.  I LOVE my ER4's.  I have two pairs just in case...
 
I was looking at over-the-ear because he claims to have small ear canals and IEMs might not fit or stay in for him.

Some decent aftermarket tips will easily fix those concerns.
 
Also, at $102 the M50 is actually a decent deal in terms of SQ, but comfort-wise you'll want to look elsewhere.

 

[NeilPeart]

I think the M50s are a good deal for <$100 - they are better than the SRH440, HD280 and MDR-7506/V6 and the stock T50RP, IMO.  I prefer the DT250-250 and K271S to the ATH-M50 but those cans are in a different price bracket (and scale better with hardware, IMO).  I use my M50s at the office with an M-Audio Transit and PIMETA driving the cans - they sound great for casual listening and they are comfortable enough (with enough attenuation) for average office environments. 

 

[Phobos1393]

Quote:

I think the M50s are a good deal for <$100 - they are better than the SRH440, HD280 and MDR-7506/V6 and the stock T50RP, IMO.  I prefer the DT250-250 and K271S to the ATH-M50 but those cans are in a different price bracket (and scale better with hardware, IMO).  I use my M50s at the office with an M-Audio Transit and PIMETA driving the cans - they sound great for casual listening and they are comfortable enough (with enough attenuation) for average office environments. 

The T50RPs have a much flatter response, though, and also consider the ease at which modification is done, and the ability to buy pre-modded pairs from places like eBay at prices that are reasonably comparable to the M50s, so they might be a better choice, especially considering the ortho factor of their drivers.

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

The T50RPs have a much flatter response, though, and also consider the ease at which modification is done, and the ability to buy pre-modded pairs from places like eBay at prices that are reasonably comparable to the M50s, so they might be a better choice, especially considering the ortho factor of their drivers.

Stock, the T50RP can't really hold a candle to the M50. If you're willing to mod they can far exceed the A-T, but most consumers in that price bracket are much more casual audio enthusiasts than full-on audiophiles.