[Mad Max]

  Hi everyone.
 
So I've been thinking about getting my first pair of "real" headphones after listening to music thru my cheap PC speakers for years.
After doing some research i came to conclusion that this headphones would be perfect for a poor noob like me. They are somewhat neutral in sound, good quality and relatively cheap.
I mostly listen to rock/punk/metal, jazz, blues, classical...so music with a lot of instruments. But now and then i listen to bass heavy music like trip hop, downtempo, some hip-hop and am worried that this headphones are gonna be too thin. So was thinking of saving a bit more and getting ATH-M50x. Now  my question is, are ATH-M50x more versatile? And could you hear all the details you can hear with ATH-M40x? Or are M40x simply better headphones? And if so, how come M50x are so much more expensive and highly rated? I came across numerous articles/videos that praise M50x as one of the best headphones in their price range but has never saw M40x on some list of best headphones.
 
P.S. i need them for listening to music. Don't really play video games and sound in movies/shows is not really crucial.
 
P.P.S. sorry for my poor English.

 
M50x is a noticeable improvement over the M40x.  It is on another level completely after you replace the original earpads with Brainwavz HM5 pads, as well as much more natural-sounding with acoustic instruments.  At $200 and under here in the US, I'd say K553 and DT770pro are better overall headphones though DT770 strays from neutral more than the AT headphones.  K553 and the Akai MPC/Denon D2000 are more neutral than the rest mentioned.  You'll probably enjoy bass-heavy music on DT770 more.  Sennheiser's HD380pro is another worthwhile consideration.  See if you can demo HD380, DT770, and K553 or K545.  You might like Ultrasones, too, for all you know, might as well demo some if you can.  I wouldn't know which Ultrasones to recommend.

 

[fake cactus]

   
M50x is a noticeable improvement over the M40x.  It is on another level completely after you replace the original earpads with Brainwavz HM5 pads, as well as much more natural-sounding with acoustic instruments.  At $200 and under here in the US, I'd say K553 and DT770pro are better overall headphones though DT770 strays from neutral more than the AT headphones.  K553 and the Akai MPC/Denon D2000 are more neutral than the rest mentioned.  You'll probably enjoy bass-heavy music on DT770 more.  Sennheiser's HD380pro is another worthwhile consideration.  See if you can demo HD380, DT770, and K553 or K545.  You might like Ultrasones, too, for all you know, might as well demo some if you can.  I wouldn't know which Ultrasones to recommend.

Thank you for all the recommendations. The thing is i can't buy any of those headphones in my country while there is a store that holds Audio Technica's products. I am not sure if Amazon even ships electronics to my country, plus the shipping would cost me a ton, then if i something would happen to the headphones and i would need to use the warranty the shipping back and forth would cost me both money and my nerves, plus it would take forever.
I am interested in AT since i heard and read a lot of good things online about a lot of their products. 
You say that that M50x is a noticeable improvement over the M40x, but aren't M40x's more neutral while M50x's are more colored and more bass heavy? Isn't good neutral sound more appreciated in the Hi-Fi world over artificially changed and colored sound? Or are M40x's just not that good even when it comes to more natural sound? I know that M50x are supposed to be more "fun" to listen to but i am afraid they are gonna be to bassy and i am not gonna be able to hear all the small details i would with M40x. What i took for the comparison are examples on this site https://soundcloud.com/sonic-sense-pro-audio/sets/mobile-device-headphone
I know that those examples don't "paint the real picture" but at least they can somewhat show you the main difference between different headphones. Or maybe i am way off? The thing is that 40s on that site sound more "real" while all over the internet i read a ton of recommendations about 50s but not that many about 40s. Which led to my confusion and brought me to this site. I am not sure if i am even on the right site for asking this questions or am i totally braking the rules of this forum. In that case i apologize.
In conclusion, i am a total noob about all this stuff  and don't know much, apart from what i read and heard online, and this would be my first pair of real headphones, so i don't wanna make a rookie mistake and chose one headphones while the other ones would be more suited for me.
P.S. sorry for the long blabber and my bad English.

 

[Mad Max]

I figured that you are probably not all that concerned about neutrality if you are considering any kind of audio-technica headphone.  If you want get closer to a neutral sound with M40x or M50x, you're going to have to apply EQ (equalization) to reduce frequency peaks and bass boost (even M40x has some), so you might as well then just get M50x and EQ it, it has the higher-fidelity drivers.

 

[fake cactus]

  I figured that you are probably not all that concerned about neutrality if you are considering any kind of audio-technica headphone.  If you want get closer to a neutral sound with M40x or M50x, you're going to have to apply EQ (equalization) to reduce frequency peaks and bass boost (even M40x has some), so you might as well then just get M50x and EQ it, it has the higher-fidelity drivers.

Thanks.
I am not that concerned about neutrality, just don't want the headphones to sound too bassy/get the better headphones out of those two for my needs.
Just one more quick question: is the sound leakage/noise cancellation the same on this two pairs and as far as the comfort goes, are they about the same?

 

[HiyakeIchirou]

Thanks.
I am not that concerned about neutrality, just don't want the headphones to sound too bassy/get the better headphones out of those two for my needs.
Just one more quick question: is the sound leakage/noise cancellation the same on this two pairs and as far as the comfort goes, are they about the same?

Sound wise both headphones are different but otherwise the comfort is almost similar. Owned both before going basshead.

 

[Mad Max]

M50x is slightly heavier, but both use the same headband and earpads, hence why there's hardly a difference in terms of comfort.

 

[el boricua]

hey there! has anybody compared m30x and m40x?

 

[Music Alchemist]

hey there! has anybody compared m30x and m40x?

 
An M30x is on my head right now and I used to own an M40x. Unfortunately, it was around the beginning of 2015, so I don't recall the differences, and did not have the opportunity to compare directly. The M40x is definitely more neutral than the M30x, which is on the slightly brighter side. Fortunately, it's not painfully bright or harsh like the Sony MDR-7506. The general consensus is that the M40x is noticeably better than the M30x, and it's only slightly more expensive anyway. I also love the look of the M40x, with the shiny logo. I actually like both of them more than the M50x due to the overwhelming bass of the M50x that sometimes "muds up" other frequencies. If tamed via EQ, I might prefer the M50x, but am not sure. It would be interesting to compare all three after they are properly equalized.

 

[el boricua]

thanks for your response, music alchemist! I got the 30x and agree with you that it's bright but not annoyingly so. after a couple of months i think the bass is improving but its detail is so good. also have the 558's and love its relaxed sound and its sound stage, they are my first open HP's. but the 30x's detail rendering is way better.

 

[el boricua]

An M30x is on my head right now and I used to own an M40x. Unfortunately, it was around the beginning of 2015, so I don't recall the differences, and did not have the opportunity to compare directly. The M40x is definitely more neutral than the M30x, which is on the slightly brighter side. Fortunately, it's not painfully bright or harsh like the Sony MDR-7506. The general consensus is that the M40x is noticeably better than the M30x, and it's only slightly more expensive anyway. I also love the look of the M40x, with the shiny logo.


thanks for your response, music alchemist! I got the 30x and agree with you that it's bright but not annoyingly so. after a couple of months i think the bass is improving but its detail is so good. also have the 558's and love its relaxed sound and its sound stage, they are my first open HP's. but the 30x's detail rendering is way better.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

M40x thread
Hhahah

They are prety nice phones with 1.8db colouration(peak) at mid bass 200hz sharp and 360hz

And peak treble of 1.2db at 7khz

Thats much


M50x is more coloured



Soundstaging problems......there is near zero decay in this headphone on whole spectrum. Sound is tight

Try using dolby digital or any other enhancement as this headphone will give u accurate soundscape and soundstage


Soundstage-instrument differentiation
Soundimage-quality of instrument
Soundscape-surround

As i know soundstage is pretty good and image is too much amazing

This leads to lack of soundscape

For middle class people
Use Fiio e6 and DSP like dolby or DFX

For high standard
Use benchmark 1 DAC with blah blah accessories and Super expensive DSP


I got the soundscape fixed

M40x are better than m50x in representation

 

[dhruvmeena96]

The sound is pretty tight in terms of percievness....as it has less decay

So the sound is like in the ears

M50x increment in bass was to cancel the leak effect while making sound a little thumping...m50x sounds larger because of bigger driver

But in x and y axis, z axis is same as m30x

 

[dhruvmeena96]

I am using it with
Lenovo y50 > spdif > fiio d07k > stereo to 3.5mm > fiio e19 > ground loop isolator 5hz-40khz > m40x ir any headphone

 

[YaBoyJDub]

I had the M40x's a year ago and absolutely loved them. They translated my mixes well. The one HUUGGEE glaring problem with them is that there seems to be some bad quality control. The left driver failed on me 3 days after I bought my first pair, and 10 months later the hinges disintegrated while on my head with the second pair. Not even a full year two crapped out on me. They sent me some M50x's for my troubles, but I couldn't mix on those worth a damn.

 

[conqr]

  I had the M40x's a year ago and absolutely loved them. They translated my mixes well. The one HUUGGEE glaring problem with them is that there seems to be some bad quality control. The left driver failed on me 3 days after I bought my first pair, and 10 months later the hinges disintegrated while on my head with the second pair. Not even a full year two crapped out on me. They sent me some M50x's for my troubles, but I couldn't mix on those worth a damn.

 
Weird, had mine close to a year - commuted/used daily at work and home, and they're constantly on and off my head. Still pristine, no sign of wear yet.