[togepi258]

Hello, I've been lurking this forum for the past weeks and finally decided to join. Of course, it's because I have a question and I know you guys are very helpful. I've been saving up money to buy some headphones and after weeks of research, I decided to go with the Audio-Technica M50s. I listen to many genres of music from Classical to Metal to Funk to Rap to Jazz. My main genre of music is metal though. I listen to most genres of Metal (Power, Death, Hardcore, Symphonic, Melodic Death, Progressive, Trash, etc)
 
Today I came across a post from 4 years ago where a guy reviews these headphones and says he doesn't recommend them for "Speed Metal" listeners due to the Kick drum sounding "flabby". This is a vital part of the music sadly. Any metal listeners experience this issue with these? The guy who reviewed them mentioned he wasn't much of a Metal head. 
 
Unfortunately, I bought these headphones yesterday before having read this specific review. My question is, is it really THAT bad? Should I not even open these and burn them in? I was considering attempting to return them and buying the Sennheiser HD25-1s. I come from years of having listened to music on cheap headphones. I do have a very nice audio system in my room though. I was also considering just keeping them, and buying the HD25-1s next and switching out between them.
 
These headphones will be used A LOT. Walking to classes, at home, at the gym, sometimes while sleeping, etc. So, a thorough burn-in is not an issue. I normally listen to my music at a pretty high volume too, so I also bought a portable Fiio E3 Amp to go with this. Mainly to increase volume since I'll be walking around with them often.
 
Thank you guys for your time. 

 

[alv4426]

the HD25 are gonna be better portable headphones for sure, but they are also on-ear if that matters to you. But honestly it sounds like you need some IEMs. I cant imagine someone at the gym wearing the M50. I dont listen to metal so I cant help you there but I havent had a "flabby" drum issue before with my genres

 

[togepi258]

Thanks for the quick response man. I guess I should have mentioned this earlier, I hate IEMs. I don't like having things in my ear. The only reason I've been using them, is because I didn't have any others to use. My preference is definitely Over-the ear, I can handle On-the ear though. I definitely don't like for my sound to leak too much, which is why I like the way the padding is on the M50s.

 

[togepi258]

Oh, I think I should also add that I did consider the Grados, but changed my mind on them. They had A LOT of sound leakage. This is an issue to me.

 

[jasonb]

If you're considering the HD25's then you may also want to look at the AIAIAI TMA-1's. I just got a pair and they are great. 

 

[MayaTlab]

For metal, I prefer the HD-25 to most other portable headphones. So if it's your main interest, that's what I'd pick. I think its very impactful and snappy midbass really works well with metal, as well as its slightly grainy sound.

 

[togepi258]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. Sadly, I fell asleep last night while studying and didn't cancel my Amazon order before they shipped. I could return them, but after reading Amazon's return policies, I don't feel like going through that. Since I plan on building a small audio equipment collection, I figure I'm going to keep the ATH-M50's. I'm just going to save up again for the HD25-1's and swap out between them depending on my mood. Plus, I really like the over-the ear style of the M50s. Once again, thanks for the advice guys. 

 

[HaBBarN]

the m50s arent bad for metal, ive enjoyed dream theater, maiden and metallica on them and some slipknot aswell

 

[fabio-fi]

 
Quote:

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. Sadly, I fell asleep last night while studying and didn't cancel my Amazon order before they shipped. I could return them, but after reading Amazon's return policies, I don't feel like going through that. Since I plan on building a small audio equipment collection, I figure I'm going to keep the ATH-M50's. I'm just going to save up again for the HD25-1's and swap out between them depending on my mood. Plus, I really like the over-the ear style of the M50s. Once again, thanks for the advice guys. 

Try some Eq tweaks with them. Let us know your impressions. 
happy listening! 
 

 

[alv4426]

Amazon returns are really great actually, they just charge you for return shipping which is usu like $4 or something. I have returned shoes, a book, and a receiver. All around same $4 return shipping and they give you back your money as soon as they receive the stuff and check it... And no I don't work for them, just wish I did (must get good discounts).

 

[yd2zhang]

have you considered IEM's? full sized cans arent good for the gym or for sleeping.

 

[togepi258]

Quote:

have you considered IEM's? full sized cans arent good for the gym or for sleeping.

I don't like using IEM's. I mentioned that above somewhere They're very uncomfortable for me.
 
The headphones arrive tomorrow. I will be messing around with the EQ to find that perfect sound. After some time with them, and then after the burn in, I will let you guys know how they turn out for me.

 

[togepi258]

The ATH-M50's came in today! Needless to say, I was quite excited. The first hour of burn-in and fooling around with the EQ, was kind of rough considering how weird these sound before the burn-in. After the first hour, the bass started kicking in better and the treble balanced out. After finding the perfect EQ settings, my mind was completely blown at how amazing these headphones sound. I tried this with different types of Metal, a couple Lil' Wayne and Biggie Smalls songs, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, King of the Hill episodes, and some gaming (mainly Call of Duty MW2 since I haven't had much time for other things).
 
Metal has sounded amazing so far. Finding the correct EQ settings for this genre was more difficult than the others. Guitars sounded very clear, Bass lines came out very clear and audible (pretty amazing considering how hard bass lines can be to hear in some metal), and the Drums were incredibly. The kick drum doesn't sound "floppy" at all, and in fact is quite punchy. This is perfect when they're going really fast along with a fast Bass guitar line. Some of the bands include keyboards or orchestras in their music. Keyboards were definitely more present than they normally are, I feel like they could be louder though. As for the orchestras, I hear instruments in the music that I had never noticed before. 
 
The rap songs sounded amazing. I don't listen to too much rap, but I definitely like some of it. All I can say is the music was very clear, the vocals were very "in-your-face", and the Bass hit VERY well. It was not overpowering or distorted. It's the perfect level of bass.
 
Listening to Miles Davis and John Coltrane felt like I was sitting in the same room as them while they played. As with the orchestra, I heard instruments and parts I had never heard before.
 
King of the Hill was awesome to watch with these. Since it's my favorite show, I've watched every episode many times. I put on a very familiar episode and began watching/listening. It was amazing. Voices would change depending on the environment. There were noises in the background that made the episodes much more immersive
 
Gaming, basically the same as King of the Hill. Many sound effects that I normally wouldn't hear were present. The coolest thing though, was the sound of the gunfire. It amazed me how well each shot sounded and how detailed they are.
 
As for the comfort, they are very comfortable. They're not too tight, and not too loose. The pleather did make me sweat a bit, but that's not an issue. This is Texas, it's always hot.
 
This is all I have so far, I especially need to wait till further burn-in for further reviewing. This is my first pair of headphones like this, so I'm not sure what else to comment on. 

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

The M50s might be the first example of perceivable burn-in I've ever heard. The bass really seemed to tighten and handle fast notes a lot better given time. At the moment, my VERY well worn M50s are fine for metal. However, I just got a pair of FA-011s, which did illustrate to me that the M50s did suffer a bit with very fast kick drums, but I don't think its anything major.

 

[AyeVeeN]

I've upgraded to the HD25 from the M50, and I must say I much prefer the HD25. Punchy bass that can go basically as deep as an M50 bassboosted, being bass boosted by an E11 of course by 1 notch. Only thing that was a downgrade was soundstage, but eh, there wasn't much anyways. The much smaller form factor is a huge plus, + I dropped it, many times, not a scratch. Not even a thump on the ground.
 
On the other hand, I sort of want to sidegrade to TMA-1s because they look amazing + are the same price as the HD25s (I'd be keeping both), but the rubber coating seems to be prone to like scraping off say if you drop it off gravel (as I've read on another thread).
 
@above
 
Where did you buy your FA-011s? I've been trying to see where I can buy em, preferably new as I don't really like used products.
 
Edit: Just read that you bought the M50 my bad.