[Quix]

Have any Audio-Technica ATH-M50 owners tried these cans on a flight? Before packing these things on board for a trip (they're not exactly "pocket sized"), I'm curious if they seal out enough noise to even be worth it. I'm sure a pair of noise cancellation headphones would be a better choice, but are the ATH-M50s a reasonable alternative for some airline hi-fi? (Or lo-fi, as the case may be.)

 

[nonsupremous]

I just got my M50's yesterday so I don't have a lot of time logged with them. i would say though they are pretty sufficient in isolation.

A brief thought about the m50. Last night I listened to Summer Song on the Satirani Live cd. at 4:09 in the song I heard a whistle from the audience that I have never heard before. I would say that between the DVD and recording on my walkman I have heard that song well over 200 times. Never have I heard that before. In all fairness I have never listened to it with my Edition 8's. I was so caught off guard I had to rewind it and listen to it again to make sure Iwasn't hearing things. My volume on my S639 was set to 10 and there was no amp hooked up.

More thoughts on these headphones after they get some more burn in time. Perhaps this weekend I will give them a good 2 hour listening.

 

[CDewey]

I just got a pair of the ATH-M50 myself. I got them for travel. I have not gone on an airplane yet, but I find the isolation to be good. I was using them for inventory this past weekend. I actually had an issue because I could not here the "beep" of the scanner. I think they will be great on your trip.

 

[Il Mostro]

I have used my M50's on a very long trans-Pacific flight when one of my Ety's died. No surprise that they do not isolate like the Ety's, but they are pretty damn adequate -- not total isolation, but they definitely block out a great deal of background noise. Of course, with music being pumped through you will hear next to nothing in the way of background noise. They are fairly comfortable for me, but after several hours there is the heat/sweat factor to deal with. The M50's fold up small enough to make them a viable option for air travel, if you do not have a good IEM.

 

[shake]

I also have the M50. I'd say that it largely depends on how loud you're playing music. I had my pc @ 60% volume and my 11+ gain CMOY at ~ 35-40% listening to classical music, and I could easily hear the street sweeper ~60ft away from my bedroom window. But I only heard the lower frequencies of it. They M50 blocks out higher frequencies adequately. When I turned up my amp to 60% or so, it completely blocked out everything.

 

[Squalish]

I just got them today, so this is before burn-in, but they were definitely uninspiring in the passenger seat of a car while the radio was playing, driven by a Sansa. They're much better now on most of the same tracks driven by my receiver, but have revealed some flawed (sibilant) recordings that were previously favorites - which were fine out of my RE-2 earbuds. Raw volume & amplification seems to cure the lack of attack and half-cure the lack of soundstage observed earlier. I'll go back and compare high-volume Sansa use once I've burned them in for a week or two.

They definitely don't isolate quite as much as my old DT770 - just enough that you can barely understand someone 3ft away @ conversational tones with music paused. That said, computer fans are now just about inaudible. Noting what others are saying above - listen loud and you'll be fine.

I think you'd ideally want to pack a headphone amplifier in your underwear - the DIY section has some nice designs that can be built quickly.

 

[robjrock]

I used mine on the bus the other day, isolation was decent. About 2/3 what you'd expect from a quality IEM I suppose, I'd think it'd be sufficient.
RE: Sibilance - straight out of my iPhone, sibilant recordings definitely grated on my ears, but with the Fiio E1 sibilance was much much more controlled.