[c61746961]

It does not sound exactly piercing, just fatiguing and perhaps artificial. My reference for utter brightness is an old DT990 Pro which gets unbearable quickly (~10dB peak around 9 KHz). I've found treble peaks beyond 10 KHz (like those in the M40x) do not affect tonality or increase sibilance in such an obvious way, but are fatiguing nonetheless.

 

[metal571]

Yeah the M40x is a little glossy on the top octave, I can see how you could say that. I also can't stand the 990 Pro. Most painful listening experience ever.

 

[JabJab90301]

I want to try these out.  All the review I have read are pretty positive.  I think I will head down to Guitar Center and have a listen. 

 

[sebaz]

Just wanted to give some praise for these. I just got a pair from Guitar Center at the same price they're everywhere else and they are just amazing. Of course, I'm not an audiophile that buys headphones for hundreds of dollars, my best headphones so far had been the Grado SR60 many years ago and I blew one side pretty quickly. These remind me of them, perhaps those with more experience with many more headphones can say which of them is better, but these are a dream.
 
My previous headphones were the JVC HA-RX700, which are very good, but they require some EQ to squeeze their potential. Then I got the JVC HA-RX900, which turned out to be incredibly bad, so I sent them back and got the ATH-M40x today. From the first moment at the store, just connected to my phone with Poweramp, I could tell they were something else, so much that for the JVC I had the treble at the max and the EQ had the high bands also a bit above 0. As soon as I plugged these in with the same song, the treble was overwhelming, so I had to lower the treble knob and the EQ to almost flat. In fact, as far as the phone with Poweramp goes, the flat EQ provided pretty good sound with these.
 
When I came home and connected them to my Pioneer receiver, playing from the computer with iTunes and an M-Audio M-Track Plus as the sound output, going by digital coaxial to the receiver, I could tell the difference was also huge with the Pioneers. The same thing that required a V shaped EQ curve with the JVCs, I can get with an almost flat curve, at least as far as the iTunes equalizer goes. However, the sound also has more definition. I'm not a sound engineer so I don't know the technical terms, but it feels more real. In fact, one of the first songs I listened to was Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc" and I noticed a guitar line on the right channel that I had never noticed before with any other headphones.
 
Of course they won't shine with every single song, if the song was poorly recorded it will still not sound great, just better. For example I'm a Queens of the Stone Age fan, but their latest record sounds like crap. In contrast, I wasn't at all a fan of Justin Timberlake, even to the previous album, but that guy made a huge improvement musically, and his latest album is not only great, it sounds excellent for the most part. And that's a joy to listen to with any decent headphones, but it shines especially with the ATH-M40x. 80's music is hit and miss, since some of it was recorded with excellent sound (Earth, Wind & Fire's "Raise" is a great example) and some absolutely horrible, like Stevie Wonder's "In Square Circle" although there are far worse ones that don't come to mind now. Duran Duran had some terrible sounding albums, although "Notorious" improved their sound a lot.
 
One thing I don't understand is that many people say they are flat and boring. Believe me, I've listened to many cans that were flat and boring, these most definitely are not. On flat headphones, you need a really V shaped EQ curve to get something similar to these, but you don't get the great sound quality.
 
They are fairly comfortable as well, once you adjust them right. They don't seem at the beginning the first time you put them on, but once you adjust them well, they are. They close really tight, when I put them on they're like those noise cancelling headphones, without being that kind of headphones. However, they don't get uncomfortable after a while, I've had them on for hours and I don't experience any discomfort.
 
The plug into the headset is really cool, you get both straight and coiled cables, and plug the one that you want. I don't like coiled cables, but perhaps for some situations I would like to have it.
 
I don't know how much better the M50s are, how much better they can be, because these are amazing. Besides, the M50x are $170, while these are $100. The M50xs would have to be a lot better for me to consider spending an extra $70 on them.
 
And while I was at the store (Guitar Center) I asked the guy if I could listen to the Sony 7506, to see what the hype was about, and they are fine, but the M40x are way better. The Sony's would need additional EQ to get to the response of the M40x.
 
So if you're looking for a really good pair of headphones but don't want to blow the bank account, these are a sure bet.
 
 

 

[metal571]

  Just wanted to give some praise for these. I just got a pair from Guitar Center at the same price they're everywhere else and they are just amazing. Of course, I'm not an audiophile that buys headphones for hundreds of dollars, my best headphones so far had been the Grado SR60 many years ago and I blew one side pretty quickly. These remind me of them, perhaps those with more experience with many more headphones can say which of them is better, but these are a dream.
 
My previous headphones were the JVC HA-RX700, which are very good, but they require some EQ to squeeze their potential. Then I got the JVC HA-RX900, which turned out to be incredibly bad, so I sent them back and got the ATH-M40x today. From the first moment at the store, just connected to my phone with Poweramp, I could tell they were something else, so much that for the JVC I had the treble at the max and the EQ had the high bands also a bit above 0. As soon as I plugged these in with the same song, the treble was overwhelming, so I had to lower the treble knob and the EQ to almost flat. In fact, as far as the phone with Poweramp goes, the flat EQ provided pretty good sound with these.
 
When I came home and connected them to my Pioneer receiver, playing from the computer with iTunes and an M-Audio M-Track Plus as the sound output, going by digital coaxial to the receiver, I could tell the difference was also huge with the Pioneers. The same thing that required a V shaped EQ curve with the JVCs, I can get with an almost flat curve, at least as far as the iTunes equalizer goes. However, the sound also has more definition. I'm not a sound engineer so I don't know the technical terms, but it feels more real. In fact, one of the first songs I listened to was Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc" and I noticed a guitar line on the right channel that I had never noticed before with any other headphones.
 
Of course they won't shine with every single song, if the song was poorly recorded it will still not sound great, just better. For example I'm a Queens of the Stone Age fan, but their latest record sounds like crap. In contrast, I wasn't at all a fan of Justin Timberlake, even to the previous album, but that guy made a huge improvement musically, and his latest album is not only great, it sounds excellent for the most part. And that's a joy to listen to with any decent headphones, but it shines especially with the ATH-M40x. 80's music is hit and miss, since some of it was recorded with excellent sound (Earth, Wind & Fire's "Raise" is a great example) and some absolutely horrible, like Stevie Wonder's "In Square Circle" although there are far worse ones that don't come to mind now. Duran Duran had some terrible sounding albums, although "Notorious" improved their sound a lot.
 
One thing I don't understand is that many people say they are flat and boring. Believe me, I've listened to many cans that were flat and boring, these most definitely are not. On flat headphones, you need a really V shaped EQ curve to get something similar to these, but you don't get the great sound quality.
 
They are fairly comfortable as well, once you adjust them right. They don't seem at the beginning the first time you put them on, but once you adjust them well, they are. They close really tight, when I put them on they're like those noise cancelling headphones, without being that kind of headphones. However, they don't get uncomfortable after a while, I've had them on for hours and I don't experience any discomfort.
 
The plug into the headset is really cool, you get both straight and coiled cables, and plug the one that you want. I don't like coiled cables, but perhaps for some situations I would like to have it.
 
I don't know how much better the M50s are, how much better they can be, because these are amazing. Besides, the M50x are $170, while these are $100. The M50xs would have to be a lot better for me to consider spending an extra $70 on them.
 
And while I was at the store (Guitar Center) I asked the guy if I could listen to the Sony 7506, to see what the hype was about, and they are fine, but the M40x are way better. The Sony's would need additional EQ to get to the response of the M40x.
 
So if you're looking for a really good pair of headphones but don't want to blow the bank account, these are a sure bet.
 
 

Yeah the M50x and 7506 are much farther from being neutral than the M40x. The M50x has some extra 2 khz presence and even more of a bass hump than the M40x and the 7506 has a very sharp upper midrange spike and much less treble extension. I also love my M40x, my search for the most neutral cans under $100 has ended with them.

 

[Akki4Trespasser]

Oh, Thank God, I got logined.. I guess there is a problem with head-fi in India, which won't let me Sign Up.. And finally with the help of proxy, I made it.
 
So sorry for off topic, back to review section.. I have bought them a month ago, and till now they r completely satisfied.. Actually a neutral which my fellow mates don't understand cuz they always want some thumping bass like cans, which r easily available in market.. Some found it to be crystal clear and some say its not upto mark.. Never mind, those dick-heads don't have knowledge bout sound and stuffs, so I consider them a totally noob..
 
I'm not an audiophile, just a normal listener which wants better sound for better money. And that what I did having my money on Audio Technica ATH-M40x.
 
Everybody praisin' bout these cans, So i decided, why not me. Actually I've spent approx 100$ on these, and let users know bout the actual potential it have and it gives..
Out of the box, they sound like dead one, So u need some burning-in, not breaking-in...
I was not knowing some particular tunes and sound to burn in, So I just burn with normal America's Based Artist's Songs.. Complete playlist with different genres. Hip-Hop, Rock, R&B, Soul, EDM etc.
Burnin'-in Site:

http://www.tekfusiontechnologies.com/burn-in/

Cans are pretty neutral, More vocal producing make it more crisp and produce better sound stage. Might be mine End To The Search Cans.
Have a live chat with (sonicsense.com) executive and even listen to the test audio. So in my opinion, ATH-M40x and ATH-M50x are almost same with some extra db of bass to them which make them more balanced and make 40x more neutral.
 
But this doesn't mean that they don't have bass, try out some other source. I've tried in with my PC and they sound clear, tried it in my Sony Xperia P with viper4android soundmod, and they truely acts like beats by dr,dre with more bass and balanced vocals, but perhaps quite impressing. So If anyone says that they don't have enough bass, U might be wrong.. try different different source, and u can explorer more sound isolations..

You can read my more review bout it over here.

 
http://www.flipkart.com/reviews/RVB4SUVH2M1MPOK45
 

 
PS: Em really bad at reviewing a product. Apologize To Be Made. xD

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

Yeah the M50x and 7506 are much farther from being neutral than the M40x. The M50x has some extra 2 khz presence and even more of a bass hump than the M40x and the 7506 has a very sharp upper midrange spike and much less treble extension. I also love my M40x, my search for the most neutral cans under $100 has ended with them.

I like these and think they are decent value. But they are not even close to being neutral. They don't have the bass extension of the m50 so the mid bass hump is even more emphasized while still retaining a cooler than neutral tone thanks to the overly boosted and clearly non neutral and super artificial high frequencies. Aside from that, imaging, soundstage, timbre, are all weak points. Again, they are fine and yes sound better than the Sonys but there are still better options at this price and below. The nvx xpt100 is cheaper, more comfortable, actually closer to neutral, and has the sonic advantage by a lot. The superux 668b paired with a tube sounds a lot better as well with tremendous instrument separation and detail. Also more neutral.

 

[msd94]

I work at a store that deals with audio technica. The display has m20-m50 and m20x-m50x on display on a distribution amp for customers to come in and check out. While i personally preferred the slightly more bass-heavy m50x's over the m40x's, it was very slight and not a tough decision picking up the m40x instead. I noticed in the store they sounded much better, but that's due to these being out of the box. those models have been on display for well over a year. Can't wait to hear these after they've been burnt in. Great buy! thanks for the review, i found it pretty accurate from what i've heard both from a burnt-in and out of the box pair (without the inbetween)

 

[squareznboxez]

The sub $100 Audio Technicas shine for value more than the higher end stuff in my opinion,  I have a set of FC707 portables, and i really prefer them to the M50s in comfort and sound quality for everyday listening

 

[sephirothkefka]

I just bought these because of your review! To make sure I also watched SOnicSenceProAudio's comparison between these and the 7506. I was blown away when I heard that the M40x and the source track sounded almost the same (like 99.9% the same). 

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

Ya after listening to these more and more they are great bang for buck. The problem is, the old M50 is going for just a bit more and I'm not sure which is the better deal. M50 has more bass, and detail and resolution is better, and you get a warmer fuller sound on M50 IMO, but the M40x gets you a little better balance and detachable cables. The other problem for M40x is that the cheaper M20x is a fantastic headphone for it's price, I don't think I've heard a better $50 headphone. So M40x is kinda stuck in a no man's land. I know that I have to sell either the M50 or the M40x and I have no idea which to get rid of, I like both.

 

[c61746961]

If anyone's interested, I've achieved a more neutral sound (subjectively, mind you) via the following reversible mods using the stock pads:

Fixing the hot treble:
Since I don't have a source for the 2mm thick felt that Solderdude used in his guide, I fell back to another of the tried and true treble remedies: blocking the centermost area in front of the driver (the MDR-V6 does this, so do the newer Mad Dog and Alpha Dog via the 'BMD', and probably others); I cut a circle out of paxmate and stuck it blocking the innermost two circular rows of the driver, leaving only the outermost circular row of perforations free. This reduced the treble to an acceptable level for me without interfering with the mids too much. I reckon you could use other materials like foamie, variable layers of micropore, or even electrical tape.

Reducing the bass hump:
First, remove the grey foam padding under the earpads, this helps fill the dip around 450 Hz. The cups can be opened by removing the 4 screws visible once the pad is removed; remove the screws and gently separate the baffle from the cup, now inspect the driver assembly and note that one of the venting holes in the periphery of the driver has no paper in it. You can either block it for maximum bass reduction, or dampen the vent with some breathable material to adjust the magnitude of the hump; I used 3M micropore tape with good results. Clarification: This will NOT kill the bass, even blocking the vent completely leads to a slightly boosted bass response, try it for yourself

The results were 'verified' via sine sweeps and other test signals, then with music. I have no test equipment to show you the changes to the FR, so naturally take these results with a grain of salt. I've gone back and forth with these and other mods and settled with these two, sadly I haven't found a way to mechanically fix the dip around 4-6 KHz or reduce the hump at 1.5 KHz so I use EQ to alleviate it some.

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

If anyone's interested, I've achieved a more neutral sound (subjectively, mind you) via the following reversible mods using the stock pads:

Fixing the hot treble:
Since I don't have a source for the 2mm thick felt that Solderdude used in his guide, I fell back to another of the tried and true treble remedies: blocking the centermost area in front of the driver (the MDR-V6 does this, so do the newer Mad Dog and Alpha Dog via the 'BMD', and probably others); I cut a circle out of paxmate and stuck it blocking the innermost two circular rows of the driver, leaving only the outermost circular row of perforations free. This reduced the treble to an acceptable level for me without interfering with the mids too much. I reckon you could use other materials like foamie, variable layers of micropore, or even electrical tape.

Reducing the bass hump:
First, remove the grey foam padding under the earpads, this helps fill the dip around 450 Hz. The cups can be opened by removing the 4 screws visible once the pad is removed; remove the screws and gently separate the baffle from the cup, now inspect the driver assembly and note that one of the venting holes in the periphery of the driver has no paper in it. You can either block it for maximum bass reduction, or dampen the vent with some breathable material to adjust the magnitude of the hump; I used 3M micropore tape with good results. Clarification: This will NOT kill the bass, even blocking the vent completely leads to a slightly boosted bass response, try it for yourself

The results were 'verified' via sine sweeps and other test signals, then with music. I have no test equipment to show you the changes to the FR, so naturally take these results with a grain of salt. I've gone back and forth with these and other mods and settled with these two, sadly I haven't found a way to mechanically fix the dip around 4-6 KHz or reduce the hump at 1.5 KHz so I use EQ to alleviate it some.

Thanks for this, will give it a shot. That treble was starting to annoy me just because it sounds so fake. What does the bass mod do to the sub-bass?

 

[c61746961]

It is reduced as well, but does not seem to roll off earlier (stays present down to ~30 Hz). I'm not sure the driver is capable of boosted sub-bass without a midbass hump, maybe by making a bass port to increase the air volume inside the cup? (not willing to try this atm )

You can also ajdust the bass level by blocking the vent with tape and then making perforations of varying sizes instead of using breathable materials.

I also used a few small stripes of a dynamat-type material to dampen vibrations over the plastic parts but will not attest to the efficacy of it, I did no rigurous before / after testing and the stuff is a bitch to remove. There's also a few pieces of dense polyurethane foam inside the cup to absorb treble reflections without damping the driver (sits apart from the damping holes), it is shown in Solderdude's guide that this affects the presence region slightly by damping treble reflections, and I figured that the less backwave-related issues, the better. The M50/x does have a damping ring and disc sitting behind the driver [1].

BTW: I use my modded T50RP as a reference, they are ruler-flat from ~30 Hz to 2 KHz like most T50RP mods.

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

Sounds good. I will definitely give it a shot, although the loss in sub frequencies is a little concerning. I like a deep rumble and this is where I prefer the m50 although the mid bass on both is not desirable. I've only modded KSC75 before so this should be fun. Thanks for the tips