[oSpectrum]

I'm getting a pair of ATH-M50's soon, but I don't know if I should get the straight or the coiled cable.  I'll use them at home for monitoring, but I'm also going to use them walking around such as at school and in the car.  I was thinking about getting the straight cable, but I think I'll have to tuck too much of the cable into my pocket when I'm walking around.

 

[meemorize]

I'm very glad I got myself the coiled cable.
 
Even coiled the cable extends around ~140cm (~55 inch) before even 'stretching' the coiled part of the cable.
To me the uncoiled version would get very hard to control especially when movement with these phones becomes a factor.
 
On another note, while you can, I found the pleather pads of the M50s not ideal for a warmer outside climate.
My ears and surrounding skin got relatively hot and sweaty quite quickly due to their tight (relatively) grip and plastic material.
The M50 is my favourite (closed) headphone indoors (at the office mostly or at home while watching movies), I'm just not convinced it's great for walking around outside with.

 

[rezel]

^ +1
 
I'm glad I went with the coiled as well. Can't say for sure about the straight but the coiled cable is manageable for portable use.
 
Having a huge straight cable wound up for portable use would be impractical I'd imagine.

 

[irishsammy]

People give coiled cables a bad rap.  I had M50's with a coiled cable and loved it.  Can't stand mucking with a straight cable that's too long.

 

[SLaRe]

I also have coiled cable in my Koss Pro DJ100 and it's very nice when you are on the go.

 

[NA Blur]

The coiled cable is nice for travel while the straight cable is awesome for everything else.  Coiled cables always get tangled up in things and no audio engineer on the move is going to want a coiled cable.  I personally would rather shorten the straight cable myself than have a coiled cable.
 
Over time a coiled cable will get tangled in many things, bend and stress, and eventually be a mess of inconsistently coiled nonsense.

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

Personally, I prefer the straight cable, because you can just wrap up the excess and put it away, whereas you have to deal with a heavy cable hanging off your headphones all the time if you get the coiled one. Also, the extra cable is pretty compact, so you can stick it in a pocket if you're not using it... just use a twist-tie

 

[fabio-fi]

Get the coiled cable version. Its more easy to deal with. 

 

[BattlefieldCat]

I got myself the straight version, and I'm happy with it, just because I can walk around my room with the headphones on without worrying about the cable being too short. I can always use something to tie them and make them shorter, I just like to walk around with them.