[iZakari]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this community as I just made my account today! I've been looking around and saw this post a few times, but none of them really had the answers to my specific questions. my specific questions are numbered, the second paragraph is just a little background info
 
 
I was wondering if the M50s by Audio Technica are for the standard listener. I listen to music on my phone pretty much all day when i get the chance (mostly hip-hop, rap, and R&B) or on my computer when im at home. I've saved up quite a bit of money for some really nice, good looking, durable, over the ear headphones. i've personally narrowed it down to the M50s or Beats Studios. I've seen a lot of posts saying "if you have the money, then buy the beats"... but im also liking the reviews on the M50. I've had enough experience with the Beats to have a solid opinion on them, but no experience with the M50s at all. 

1) Are the M-50s comfortable around the neck when not being listened to?
2) Is the cord a hassle to deal with? (I saw one review of them and the person was irritated by how stupidly long the cord was in comparison to the ones that came with beats)
3) I know they are more built towards mixers and DJs, but can they be used comfortably outside the house?
4) Are they comfortable around the ear?
5) I'm not a bass-head, but i do like a good "umf" when i listen to my music.. so is the bass enough for an average listener?
6) Is there a lot of sound leakage?
 
Any other information would help! thank you very much for your time!

 

[LEGendARY]

OK, I am no expert by any means ,, but I own the m50 for a good 17 months .. I will answer your questions depending on my experience with the cans :
 
1- Yes, they are comfortable when around your neck because :
   a-The head band is realy nicely padded, and soft.
   b-The earcups rotate in a 90ْ angle for the cans to set on your shoulders without any disturbance.
2-As I got the coiled cord version, it is not a hasstle to deal with. It has a good length available on your demand ,, and made of a meterial wich has minimal friction or resistance "if I could say" so it won't get stuck in defferent places.
3-I don't know cause I never had the beats.
4-They are comfortable, but in a warm room your ears will get sweaty after an hour maybe,, a friend of mine preferred sennheiser HD 595 on the m50 due to comfort and clamping force issues he had with the m50.
5-I realy like the bass on my m50 ,, I would call it more than enough.
6-Sound isolation is nice on the m50 as they meant to be a monitoring headphone ,, I could listen to music without any concern about others in my room ,, but not very loud  cuz sound could leak.
 
I moved from a humble plantronics gamecom 367 to this m50 ,, was and still blown away by them ,, details and better qualiy bass are the main factors.
afeter this time with them ,, the earpads are starting to wear off so badly ,,
 
Some times when I play with my EQ I come to a conclusion that the m50 is a bit closed ,, sounds are suffocated a little ,, thats why I am looking for another higher grade headphones with a good bass like the  Denon AHD2000 << I dunno but I am in love with them just by looking at them.

 

[TMRaven]

I had the M50s for a month or so.  The main reason I had to sell them off was comfort issues.  For teh first 10-20 minutes they're pretty comfortable-- a firm grip, but ample padding.  After about half an hour, the headband started bearing down for me, is the padding isn't that great on it, and the tightly gripping pleather pads on the cups caused for lots of sweat build-up, which I personally couldn't stand.  I saw myself taking them off and giving them a wipe down to cool them down pretty frequently.  This was in a 77F conditioned room as well, so I can only imagine that being worsened outside where it's already humid.
 
They are decently comfortable around the neck, but mostly because their cups swivel.  They are a bit larger than a normal portable headphone, so they are a tiny bit on the bulky side when on the neck.
 
I had the straight wire version, but the wire was never any concern to me, it's easily braided or wrapped up.
 
I wouldn't think they'd be too comfortable for extended periods outside the house, but then again a lot of that stuff isn't.
 
They are comfortable around the ear, and very snug.
 
They are a bit above bass neutral.  They have a good amount of bass, but never over-bearing.  They extend real low with competence as well, so you don't nee to artificially inflate their bass just to get that low, low presence that a lot of headphones do not have.  It is definitely enough bass to properly anchor a song and give it foundation, but at times not enough to satisfy a basshead craving for a particular song or two (that is easily fixable with EQ though)
 
Not much sound leakage to be had.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

 
I was wondering if the M50s by Audio Technica are for the standard listener. I listen to music on my phone pretty much all day when i get the chance (mostly hip-hop, rap, and R&B) or on my computer when im at home. I've saved up quite a bit of money for some really nice, good looking, durable, over the ear headphones. i've personally narrowed it down to the M50s or Beats Studios. I've seen a lot of posts saying "if you have the money, then buy the beats"... but im also liking the reviews on the M50. I've had enough experience with the Beats to have a solid opinion on them, but no experience with the M50s at all. 

Where the heck have you been reading up on those? No one sane on head-fi would say that.
 

 

[iZakari]

It wasn't on Head-fi but just some other places i've read. I spent hours on the web just looking for any type of information on beats and the M50s haha. 

And thank you to you guys who replied! It really helped a lot in my decision, which will most likely be the M50s now. But if there are any other over-ear headphones you guys would recommend... i'm all ears Thanks again!

 

[staxxx]

Don't buy the beats, I've heard quite a few, and the bass is muddy. It sounds like a $20 headphone. The M50s has a lot of bass, without having that muddy cheap feel of the beats.

 

[crinacle]

Don't buy the M50 either. For your genre preferences I suggest the Sony XB500 or the Audio Technica Pro700 MK2.

 

[staxxx]

He's not a bass head, while the XB500 are great, it has too much bass for a semi-casual listener.
Does the Pro700 MK2 have a straight cable version?

 

[crinacle]

If he compared with to Beats, he's the usual bass-orientated consumer

Which is why I recommend bassy headphones, else he won't be satisfied.

 

[slapshot30]

Quote:

If he compared with to Beats, he's the usual bass-orientated consumer

Which is why I recommend bassy headphones, else he won't be satisfied.

I agree. Anyone coming from Beats will be bored as hell with the sound of the M50. Pro700 MK2 is a much better fit. M50 having too much bass? Nah, not at all.
 

 

[iZakari]

Well one of my opinions on the beats is pretty much what other say its like. its way too much for 
preference. and i actually did look into the Sony XB500, but didnt really like the aesthetics of them
as much as i did with the M50s. Looks shouldn't matter much, but as a consumer listener
that wants to have a good looking headphones, it does matter haha. thanks again though everyone!

 

[roma101]

Look into the Denon AH-D1100's. They're comfortable and more portable than the M50's - they also have more/stronger bass.

 

[mattphones]

Proud owner of ATH-M50s. To answer original poster... a little late. I hope you haven't already bought the beats. 
 
1: The 'phones are terrible around the neck when not being listened to. They don't extend out far enough for that. Yes, the padding is great all over. but unless you are a true pencil neck, they do their best to annoy the crap out of you until you take them off. But they lay flat and can collapse nicely.
 
2: The cord is a hassle. Its fantastic for my uses at home, but i take them out occasionally and its just a pain. Its a good cable though. (and they do make a coiled flavor, if that's your taste.)
 
3: These headphones are not ideal for DJing and there are far better options for that need. Good for mixing if, say, you live in an apartment and cant use loud speakers at night. They are spectacularly comfortable for sessions less than 6 hours.
 
4: Yes Unless you have Ross Perot ears. You're out of luck, then.
.
5: These will fit the bill nicely. They are not ridiculous bass like Dr. Beats. They are FLAT.  That means even bass, even mids, and even highs. This is not a EQ boosted toy.
 
6: No. Great sound isolation. The girlfriend hates this, by the way. I love it.
 
Conclusions.
Good for movies, music, and light mixing in your own home. at under $160.00, these are considered by many as the secret steal of the headphone world. They simply trounce most of the competition in that price range on up to $300.00.... not all, but most. SOLID BUY. Guitar centers carry this in store... if you have one near you... just go compare, as they shelve the beats as well.
 
(edited for spelling)

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
You do not want M50's.
 
You want Ultrasone HFI 580's.
 
Very best,

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

Heya,
 
You do not want M50's.
 
You want Ultrasone HFI 580's.
 
Very best,

I have to agree. I own both.. While the Bass on the M50 is there. Nothing in my collection sounds as good as the Dj1/ Hfi-580 for hip hop..