Audio Technica ATH-M40x: The Little Brother that Could

[MrPhilicorda]

   
I'd like to keep the sound exactly as it is now, that's the problem with replacing the pads. I actually have a pair of earpads that fit the M40's perfectly, they come from a Asus Vulcan ANC gaming headset. They're exactly the same size as the M40 stock pads, the same thickness, but with a slightly larger hole that go around my ear perfectly, they're made out of  infinitely better quality pleather that is super soft and comfortable and they have memory foam inside them. They're basically probably the most comfortable earpads I've ever tried, better than the Beyerdynamic round pads because they have the perfect ratio of very soft memory foam on the top and firm foam on the bottom. The problem is, they mess with the sound too much.  They significantly reduce the bass response, make the mids sound shouty and highs piercing. They do exactly the same thing when I put them on a Sennheiser HD438, except the effect is even more pronounced these since those come stock with velour pads and have virtually no seal around the ear. I noticed that the M40 pads have holes on the bottom that allow the foam to breathe, Asus pads don't have that, maybe if I cut out the same holes I'll sort out the problem, but I don't want to ruin the Asus pads and I think I will if I do that, because proper seal is crucial for those headphones. I feel like the Asus pads create a far better seal around my ears than M40 pads, almost a vacuum feeling (which makes sense, since original Asus headphones had active noise cancelling and had to seal very well, breaking the seal just a bit with ANC turned on makes the sound awfully bad), and that simply messes with the sound too much. 
 
What I will actually do is cut out oval pieces of wood that are just slightly bigger than the hole on the M40 pads and then I'll just stuff the wood into the hole, and leave it overnight to stretch the earpads out. I can get about 0,5 cm in each direction like that. I used the same method on several pleather pads before and it worked.

The DT250 ear pads are perforated on the back. While the M40x has a few big holes the DT250 have lots of small holes, but I think they do pretty much the same thing. I must stress that the change is sound is very subtle, and I would find it hard to believe that anyone would think it's for the worse. The strong bass is still there but it just sounds a little more airy and clear in a way that makes it easier the hear what's going on in the bass department. Anyway, good luck with the stretching-project, if it works that's of course the ideal solution to your problem.

 

[derbigpr]

Oh, my misunderstanding. I see several issues with this method if what you want is to replace a HATS-produced FR reading:
1) Your body's response is always factored-in, making it difficult to isolate the headphone's response which is desirable for comparisons.
2) Perceived loudness varies with SPL, you'd have to normalize the SPL for the principal tone every time you do this if you want to extract data for any meaningful comparison.
3) Other subjective factors enter the picture (fatigue, sensitivity, illness, etc).

Some people use an in-ear microphone to add the effects of the pinnae to the captured sample, no simple way to factor-in the canal, though.
To be honest, I prefer solid-plate measurements like those from Solderdude and certain pirates, they limit the amount of interactions of the soundwave before it reaches the microphone, so no humanoid ear-gain added and then removed from the picture.

 
1) That's what I want.
2) I do normalize SPL, I start with 90 db at 1000 hz and then adjust the 1250hz tone until I get it right with the EQ sliders. Then I adjust the volume knob on the amp to have the 1250hz at  90 db again, and do the same for the next frequency. That's why I said it takes time, it's a long process. You basically have to play with the EQ sliders and the real volume knob.  What I basically get at the end is the reverse image of a frequency response that I hear.
3) True, but I don't think that matters so much because I never do it when I don't feel like doing it or don't feel ok.

 

[c61746961]

2) I do normalize SPL, I start with 90 db at 1000 hz and then adjust the 1250hz tone until I get it right with the EQ sliders. Then I adjust the volume knob on the amp to have the 1250hz at  90 db again, and do the same for the next frequency. That's why I said it takes time, it's a long process. You basically have to play with the EQ sliders and the real volume knob.  What I basically get at the end is the reverse image of a frequency response that I hear.

Interesting, have you produced plots from your results, are you willing to share?

 

[Mad Max]

Neutrality is a touchy subject it seems, and for good reason. To me, the tonality of the m40x isn't that far off, but it has problem spots in the bass, mids and treble. These are fairly minor however. But taken as a whole it just doesn't sound natural enough, in any frequency range. If adept at eq, it responds rather well as the technical abilities of the headphone are pretty impressive for the price.

i do still think the takstar, CAL, and that meelectronics wireless headphone are better for cheaper and prolly more neutral overall but audio technica still did a damn good job with the m40x, I can see a lot of people preferring it to the m50 for instance

 
I completely forgot about that one.
 
With HM5 pads, it has the best FR balance I've heard out of a sub-$100 headphone.  A bit colored in sound, though, and the reverb in the cups obscures the soundstage in recordings.

 

[derbigpr]

Interesting, have you produced plots from your results, are you willing to share?

 
 
I just have the data in terms of saved EQ presets for a plugin in foobar2000.   I mean I could  put that into excel and make graphs, but it really wouldn't be anything special, it would look like a regular frequency response graph but with slightly different values. I'll do one tomorrow when I get some time and see what turns up.

 

[c61746961]

I just have the data in terms of saved EQ presets for a plugin in foobar2000.   I mean I could  put that into excel and make graphs, but it really wouldn't be anything special, it would look like a regular frequency response graph but with slightly different values. I'll do one tomorrow when I get some time and see what turns up.

I was just wondering if you already had plots for different headphones that you used to make comparisons / choices. No need to make them now if you haven't had the need.

 

[MusicBox]

derbigpr I have the asus rog valcun anc myself but I didn't know the earpads are removable. Mine got worn off and in all the forum I searched it was stated what you can not replace those earpads. How did you do it?

 

[derbigpr]

  derbigpr I have the asus rog valcun anc myself but I didn't know the earpads are removable. Mine got worn off and in all the forum I searched it was stated what you can not replace those earpads. How did you do it?

 
 
Just pull them off, they have a lip that slides over the edge of plastic on the earcup, just like any other earpad of that type. It's a bit tight, but don't worry it won't break. It's stated you cant' replace them because they probably don't sell them.

 

[MusicBox]

But can I replace those earpads with new ones? Would they fit in?
I tried to check if I can remove them and there seems to be a plastic between the earpads and the drives. Do I pull the earpads over the plastic?

 

[Mad Max]

  But can I replace those earpads with new ones? Would they fit in?
I tried to check if I can remove them and there seems to be a plastic between the earpads and the drives. Do I pull the earpads over the plastic?

 
Like this?  Sure.

 

[derbigpr]

   
Like this?  Sure.

 
 
Exactly like this.

 

[derbigpr]

  But can I replace those earpads with new ones? Would they fit in?
I tried to check if I can remove them and there seems to be a plastic between the earpads and the drives. Do I pull the earpads over the plastic?

 
The earpad lip slides between that red plastic and the black plastic baffle where the driver is. There's about 1 mm of space between them. Don't worry, the actual lip (the little rubbery part that slides into those holes) of the earpad is VERY strong, you won't break it, I put that ear pad on Sennheiser HD438 headphones which are like 1 cm bigger in each direction, and the rubber on the ear pad stretched out with no problems. Make sure not pull the actual earpad, the pleather stuff, because that might tear. Just jam your finger under the earpad and pull off on one side. It requires some force, at first I actually though they were glued on, but they aren't.

 

[MusicBox]

Haha I actually thought they were glued or something like that. Well that's good news. Any earpads that would fit these headphones? Thanks in advance guys, I thought I couldn't use this headphones any more. Well I have the m40x but the rest of the family uses the asus ones.

 

[striner]

Hello all,
 
I was looking at this thread for this headphone, I want to know your opinion on my current situation and if this headphone would be a good buy for me:
 
At the moment I own a Sennheiser HD 439, which I think provides great sound for its value. However, when I use it at work (office that can sometimes be noisy with people talking) I notice that sounds leaks through from outside in. I have to turn up the volume pretty high before I don't hear anything anymore, and even then I can still faintly hear my own typing on the keayboard. Also, I feel that for certain types of EDM, it doesn't give a nice "punch" (I'm trying to avoid the word "bass" here, because I don't need a constant deep sound all the time).
 
Would the M40x be a good replacement for this type of environment? Basically I'm looking for something 439-like, but with more isolation and a teeny bit more "oomph" (I wouldn't call myself a basshead, but I listen to a lot of genres, crossing the spectrum from all sorts of heavy metal to dance/house/drum and bass, and sometimes even piano). This is why I already dismissed the M50x, I see people describing them as having too much bass. I would like a flat response, just with a bit more punch than my 439's.
I also like the velour pads on my 439 very much, it makes for extended listening sessions without my ears overheating. I saw you can replace the ones on the M40x, in case this would be necessary for me.
Initially my budget was around 60 EUR/70 USD, but I couldn't find anything other than the HD439, so I had to crank it up a bit to ~100 USD, that's why I bumped into this one.

 

[MrPhilicorda]

  Hello all,
 
I was looking at this thread for this headphone, I want to know your opinion on my current situation and if this headphone would be a good buy for me:
 
At the moment I own a Sennheiser HD 439, which I think provides great sound for its value. However, when I use it at work (office that can sometimes be noisy with people talking) I notice that sounds leaks through from outside in. I have to turn up the volume pretty high before I don't hear anything anymore, and even then I can still faintly hear my own typing on the keayboard. Also, I feel that for certain types of EDM, it doesn't give a nice "punch" (I'm trying to avoid the word "bass" here, because I don't need a constant deep sound all the time).
 
Would the M40x be a good replacement for this type of environment? Basically I'm looking for something 439-like, but with more isolation and a teeny bit more "oomph" (I wouldn't call myself a basshead, but I listen to a lot of genres, crossing the spectrum from all sorts of heavy metal to dance/house/drum and bass, and sometimes even piano). This is why I already dismissed the M50x, I see people describing them as having too much bass. I would like a flat response, just with a bit more punch than my 439's.
I also like the velour pads on my 439 very much, it makes for extended listening sessions without my ears overheating. I saw you can replace the ones on the M40x, in case this would be necessary for me.
Initially my budget was around 60 EUR/70 USD, but I couldn't find anything other than the HD439, so I had to crank it up a bit to ~100 USD, that's why I bumped into this one.

 
I haven't heard the HD439 but if you look at frequency graphs the HD439 are a lot closer to basshead territory than flat frequency response. Maybe even more so than the M50x based on the graph below. My guess is you would be happy with the M50x signature, but if you ready to take a small step closer to accurate sound the M40x would be a good bet (allthough I think you are more of a basshead than you think... 

 ). Both offer fairly good isolation, I've used my M40x out in the street in busy traffic and in the subway and think they do a quite good job of blocking out noise.