[Mad Max]

K545 is a little more neutral-like and all-around higher fidelity than M40x, hands down. It's not warm-sounding like M40x, too.

 

[Sp12er3]

First time I hear people describe the M40x as "warm"

 

[408388]

Has any done a comparison of the M-series equalised? Both the m20x and m30x seem to have this massive dip at around 5KHz from frequency graphs I've seen. They also seem to have a more erratic treble in general than the m40x and m50x however so I wonder if they wouldn't respond as well to EQing.

The other headphones I'm looking to purchase right now are the Shure SRH440, which are even cheaper than the ath-m30x, and also Beyerdynamic DT770. This may seem like a big price jump, but from reading review of the ath and srh series, I'd have to factor in an extra £20 for velour pads which the Beyerdynamic have as stock. The Sony MDR-V6 is also on my shortlist but general opinion seems to be that most more recent offerings beat it despite it's reputation.

Thanks for any help

 

[Mad Max]

I'd take DT770 over the whole M-series altogether. I haven't heard M70x, though.
DT770 responds very well to EQ.

 

[Sp12er3]

Agree with that: the Beyer is more versatile in EQ-ing, chose the AT's only if you really like it's sound signature better,/ listen to a lot of songs with vocal, acoustic, jazz, etc, as the Beyer is famous with its sucked out mids signature that makes those kind of songs not so good in.
Other than that, the Audio Technica after M30x all are able to be folded, so maybe a bit more portable and versatile compared to the Beyer

 

[Mad Max]

770 "sucked out mids" are from the earpads being too thick. Squishing them real hard with your hands takes a couple of millimeters off and solves the "sucket out" issue.
Half-squished pads won't have as big a soundstage, as good upper mids, or midbass as good as with mint earpads, but you get much better midrange balance and without being recessed, more and better subbass, and more tame and non-fatiguing treble instead.
Or you can get to that point with enough time and use.

First time I hear people describe the M40x as "warm"

Comparatively, haha

 

[gargani]

I just recently purchased the shure 840 earpads to try on my m40x. I have big ears and they don't fit completely inside the stock earpads. The outside of my ears are part way in, and part way resting on the pad. It's not extremely uncomfortable, but I do feel them being pinched and it becomes a little sore after about an hour.
Reading this thread, I saw that people had tried a number of different pads. I wasn't looking to change the sound, I was looking to improve the comfort. It came down to the shure 840 and the yaxis.
I went with the 840's , because they were less expensive, and, for me, easier to get.
When they arrived, I took them out of the bag and looked at them, and compared them to the stock pads. The depth of the pad's were the same, but the 840's were softer. The stock pads were a bit stiffer. The inside hole where your ears fit were larger. I put one over my ear, and my ear fit all the way inside. Then I installed them and they looked great. They didn't look goofy or out of place. If you had never seen the m40x, you would think these were the pads they came with. Although they are larger. When I put them on they were, indeed, much more comfortable than the stock pads.

Now, it was time to listen to a number of songs I was very familiar with. Right away, I noticed there was a lot less bass, and voices and instruments were sharper and brighter. I continued to listen and the more I listened, the more disappointed, I became. My m40x didn't sound like an m40x.
It was time to go to bed, so I took them off, feeling sad and let down, because I really liked the look, feel, and comfort of these pads.

The next night, I came home from work, took out the stock pads to reinstall them, when I noticed the foam insert on the back of the stock pads, that could be taken out with ease. My spirits lifted and I proceeded to take off the 840 pads, then reinstall them with the foam inserts.
Listening to the same songs again, the sound was much better. The bass came back up, and voices and insruments sounded more normal (like with the stock pads). Those foam inserts are there for a reason. They're part of the m40x tuning.

For the next two days I continued to listen, but I kept getting the nagging feeling, that the bass was not as full as, I remembered it to be ,with the stock pads. So I just had to put the stock pads on, to find out.
Sure enough, from the first two bars of the song, I could tell that the 840 pads, even with the foam inserts, had reduced the bass enough to make it less full than with the stock pads.
But I also noticed that the stock pads had less definition on voices and insruments,and sounded more closed in. I don't know, if it was because the 840's had less bass, so that the mid-range and treble were more apparent; or if the 840 pads actually increased the mids and highs.

Anyway, I came to the conclusions,that if your ears are to big to fit all the way inside the stock pads, the shure 840 pads are definitely more comfortable, than the stock pads; and they fit and look good on the m40x.
As far as sound goes, some people might actually prefer the 840 pads (put the foam inserts in); especially those who feel the m40x have too much bass. Myself, I'm going to leave the stock pads on. I like the elevated bass. Whenever I'm in the mood for bass, and not concerned with Soundstage (I have open backs, for that); I reach for the m40x.
I am sad to give up the comfort of the 840 pads. I'll just have to live with pinched ears, unless I hear of a pair of pads that are as comfortable that don't change the sound.

 

[Sp12er3]

^Yaxi's ST pad

 

[gargani]

^Yaxi's ST pad

Ah yes, the yaxi st's.
The main reason I went for the shure's was the difference in price. The shure's cost me- $24cad. from amazon.ca. The best price I can find for the yaxis is $63cad. from ebay.

The shure's would have been perfect, if not for the reduced bass.
I'm a little hesitant to buy the yaxis because of the price. But, I am tempted.

Thanks for your input and recommendation.

 

[Killcomic]

Coming from the ATH-IM70, I'm finding the M40X a bit spikey in the treble and a bit light with the bass. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I could swear the vocals are a bit receded. Other than that, I'm loving the much better detail and separation. Shame about the soundstage though. Pretty similar to the IM70.
Anyone tried the ZMF cowhide pads like the bloke from Z Reviews? Do they change the sound much?

 

[gobin]

Coming from the ATH-IM70, I'm finding the M40X a bit spikey in the treble and a bit light with the bass. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but I could swear the vocals are a bit receded. Other than that, I'm loving the much better detail and separation. Shame about the soundstage though. Pretty similar to the IM70.
Anyone tried the ZMF cowhide pads like the bloke from Z Reviews? Do they change the sound much?

I didn't have the cowhide pads. But after putting the ZMF lambskin on them, the sound stage significantly expands. Bass get a little boosted but each bass note is still well defined. The treble is as prominent as ever, but not too spiky so that never bothers me. I can't hear any recession of mid so far. Before putting these pads on, the sound is just too congested to me, either by the sallow pad or whatever else. Now, there's a sense of spaciousness that I can feel wearing them.

p/s: Idk if it's just me, but these pads make my m40x look sexy af

 

[TheSonicTruth]

I have the iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and some old Macbook Pro from 2010 - that's what i'm using, no amps, just plug the headphones straight into the device.

Cleanest solution, and just crank that mutha up!

 

[SHAMuuu]

770 "sucked out mids" are from the earpads being too thick. Squishing them real hard with your hands takes a couple of millimeters off and solves the "sucket out" issue.
Half-squished pads won't have as big a soundstage, as good upper mids, or midbass as good as with mint earpads, but you get much better midrange balance and without being recessed, more and better subbass, and more tame and non-fatiguing treble instead.
Or you can get to that point with enough time and use.



Comparatively, haha

Never thought of squishing the earpads. Whiach are you speaking of, of the 16/32/80/250/600 version? thx

 

[TheSonicTruth]

The mid hump is broad and of relatively little amplitude (~4 dB), and is present on the M50x as well (see Tyll's plot). It's actually less of a hump and more of a mid-bass suckout (~200-400 Hz) if you take the low bass as reference. The point is that the headphone response falls a good amount above 2 KHz (also on the M50x) and the dip sits squarely on the presence region, affecting harmonics and detail retrieval. A compensatory hump in that region is beneficial IMO, but of course YMMV.

I noticed that most headphone response curves seem to have a dip in the response plots between 2-5kHz - right where Fletcher & Munson's measurements, and the more refined recent ISO 226 Contour, suggested human hearing is most sensitive. Many Grados' curves seem not to possess a dip in that region, or only a slight dip, which tends to make them a lot more present sonically. But for the majority of 'good' to 'great' headphones - not Beats, but serious contenders - I think the designers knew what they were doing when they tuned out that area of their frequency spectra.

 

[Kevin Brown]

I got a pair of these just recently, and while I like them, I think the bass needs to be tamed a little bit. (Really disliked the M50x's for that.)

I saw mention somewhere that the M40x's have different pads than the M50x, and if you put the M50x pads on the M40x, things improve. But then I can't figure out what exactly the stock pads are.

These:

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-HP-EP-Replacement-Pads-Headphones/dp/B00LICYRVW/

or

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-Au...ment-Ear-Pads-for-ATH-M50x-Pair-/361894849843

??

I have read through the thread, and I have seen all the pads mentioned, but I at least wanted to try and get this question answered first. Thanks!