ATH-M50 help/info wanted
Oct 18, 2011 at 7:59 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12
Deathewish

Deathewish

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so i recently bought a pair of ath-m50's coiled, didn't get them yet though. Im concerned and wondering if i will need an amp to drive them or if my iPhone will do fine. Also if i need an amp is there any decent ones under 75$? I mainly listen to rock and metal. And when i get them, what equalizer setting should i keep my music at to get the best experience out of my headphones. btw im new to the whole headphones scene and this is my first major headphones purchase
 
Oct 18, 2011 at 9:30 PM Post #2 of 12


Quote:
deathewish said:
so i recently bought a pair of ath-m50's coiled, didn't get them yet though. Im concerned and wondering if i will need an amp to drive them or if my iPhone will do fine. Also if i need an amp is there any decent ones under 75$? I mainly listen to rock and metal. And when i get them, what equalizer setting should i keep my music at to get the best experience out of my headphones. btw im new to the whole headphones scene and this is my first major headphones purchase
Click to expand...


No amp is needed for the M50. Ever.
 
Buy some music instead.
 
Very best,
 
Oct 18, 2011 at 11:00 PM Post #4 of 12
ditto on no amp needed. I drive them from multiple laptops/desktops, and a reciever or two. The sound does change from source to source, but they can get louder then my ears can handle. The quality of of the music files you play will have more of an impact with the m50's. A co-worker has the m50's, and he has them running from some sort of hifiman dac. He swears by it when plugging into his gear at home. I cant personally speak for a dac/m50 combo, but a forum search may turn up some reviews of the two used together, or some more info.
I just recieved my fiio e11 today, and only tested it with my grados so far. It definatly changed the sound. I get more bass with the different eq settings, but the highs seem tamed down. The jury is still out if I like this.
I hope you enjoy your m50's. I certainly do : )
 
Oct 21, 2011 at 8:57 PM Post #5 of 12
just got my m50's today :) and thanks for the info, and i love the M50s tho seems a little hollow in sound. that could just be because i havent burned them in at all. they're a little tight too but a couple hours on a Puffs box should fix that
again thanks for the info and help :)
 
oh another question that i just thought about, do you guys know any *safe* ways of shortening the cable? i was looking into braiding it but im not sure if that would damage the cable or have any long term effects
 
Oct 22, 2011 at 4:45 PM Post #6 of 12


Quote:
deathewish said:
just got my m50's today :) and thanks for the info, and i love the M50s tho seems a little hollow in sound. that could just be because i havent burned them in at all. they're a little tight too but a couple hours on a Puffs box should fix that
again thanks for the info and help :)
 
oh another question that i just thought about, do you guys know any *safe* ways of shortening the cable? i was looking into braiding it but im not sure if that would damage the cable or have any long term effects
Click to expand...



Did you get the straight cable version? The coiled cable is a lot better. Anyway, get some zip ties and use the over-under technique near the plug.
 
Oct 22, 2011 at 7:20 PM Post #8 of 12
M50 most certainly does benefit from an amp. It mostly it has an effect on the soundstage size, sound clarity and bass control. If you have a larger Mp3 player such as an Iphone, Ipod Classic or Touch, then it's not required.
 
But..for say an Ipod Shuffle or tiny mp3 player...of course you'll want an amp! The M50 with those tiny players definitely deserves some sort of amping. The E6 or E5 will do the trick. They're dirt cheap. Some people are so against buying amps, but yet they'll buy $300 portable headphones.
 
BTW if you find the M50 to have recesseds mids, try it with the Nuforce Icon Mobile. Now I'm not sure I could say it has recessed mids with that amp. Or you could just EQ it
normal_smile%20.gif

 
Now I don't suggest spending $100 on an amp for one headphone. Some of us own many headphones, so $100 for a decent portable amp is worth it.
 
One thing I've noticed is that the M50's bass is more bloated out of the Ipod Touch 2G. Out of a more neutral player the sound is more balanced out. This may be why the mids are more recessed sounding on Ipods. Ipods are supposed to be neutral, but not mine! I stopped using mine because of this.
 
 
 
 
Oct 23, 2011 at 2:40 AM Post #9 of 12


Quote:
tdockweiler said:
M50 most certainly does benefit from an amp. It mostly it has an effect on the soundstage size, sound clarity and bass control. If you have a larger Mp3 player such as an Iphone, Ipod Classic or Touch, then it's not required.
 
But..for say an Ipod Shuffle or tiny mp3 player...of course you'll want an amp! The M50 with those tiny players definitely deserves some sort of amping. The E6 or E5 will do the trick. They're dirt cheap. Some people are so against buying amps, but yet they'll buy $300 portable headphones.
 
BTW if you find the M50 to have recesseds mids, try it with the Nuforce Icon Mobile. Now I'm not sure I could say it has recessed mids with that amp. Or you could just EQ it
normal_smile%20.gif

 
Now I don't suggest spending $100 on an amp for one headphone. Some of us own many headphones, so $100 for a decent portable amp is worth it.
 
One thing I've noticed is that the M50's bass is more bloated out of the Ipod Touch 2G. Out of a more neutral player the sound is more balanced out. This may be why the mids are more recessed sounding on Ipods. Ipods are supposed to be neutral, but not mine! I stopped using mine because of this.
 
 
 
Click to expand...


i was just referring to the basic characteristics of the headphones. I'm sure the sound can be adjusted either with eqs or an amplifer of a sort. I recently compared with and w/o a tube amplifer GoVibe Porta-Pro, and the only reason why I'd add an amp would be to cut down on the sibilance while giving the mids some boost, not because the headphones are underdriven.
 
 
Oct 23, 2011 at 4:42 PM Post #12 of 12
How do the M50's compare to the A900s? Which would you guys recommend for someone who listens to a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Daft Punk? If I pull the trigger on a pair of either of these, I want to get good isolation and as little leakage as possible.
 
Thanks!
 
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