[Sp12er3]

The M70x came with much better case, that and it being able to lay flatter, it ain't so bad, I think..
What do you buy for it? Ones I found on Aliexpress kinda so-so

 

[Ceteru]

I actually just bought the one Zeos recommended; it's cloth-covered wire wrapped in mesh, and I actually really like it. https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Technica-ATH-M50x-ATH-M40x-Headphones/dp/B00N0XP2ES/
 
My only "complaint" is that it only comes in black-and-red. If you have other colors on your pads (like my blue-trimmed Yaxis for instance), it doesn't match all that well.

 

[SHAMuuu]

Did Z (aka Fred Durst) slap alphas on these?

 

[Sp12er3]

If remember correctly, he did.. He likes his pads to be thick.
My experience with thicker pads in form of HM5 hybrids is a bit underwhelming in term of sound though, yes the soundstage widens, but the sound become diffused/ less focused. That and the overly recessed mids make it a dealbreaker for me.. Yaxi all the yay~
@Ceteru: you should've chosen the red rims then, it'd then a matching set.

 

[Lonerism]

Actually afaik he has ZMF Cowhide pads on his pair.

 

[Ceteru]

@Sp12er3 I thought about it, but I liked the blue and black (I like blue and black in a lot of things actually). If they had a cable exactly like that one in blue, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. 
 
But yes, it's extremely useful and it rarely gets in the way for me. When it does, I just thread it down my shirt to my pocket (like I normally do with IEMs). And it makes the cans themselves a lot more portable than either of the stock cables, since the cable can detach and curl and the headphones can do their "football fold".
 
I agree with the remarks about thicker pads and the SQ of course. The Brainwavez were comfortable and spacious in terms of sound, but the low end decrease wasn't worth it for me. The only exception I've found to that (an exception that I need to test again now that I've gotten used to the Yaxis) is real leather or skin pads.  
 
I THINK the Alpha Pads I tried were better in terms of both soundstage and low end, but I'll have to test them again to see. It seems the thicker covering of the pads helps contain the sound better. I'll report my findings once I, well, find them.
 
However one thing I know for sure is that if you use something like the Alpha Pads, you then have to deal with the the effect of in essence wearing giant earmuffs out in public. If that doesn't bother you, then go for it lol.

 

[Sp12er3]

Hrmm... Interesting if you do experiment on many more earpad on the M40x, do chime in here, I'm curious to see of what you find.

Maybe that'd be a good thing on winter sadly here, I am living in a tropical country.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

My pair should be arriving today. Not sure what to expect. I'm kind of spot reading through this thread, interested to see what others are saying. To be honest though, I bought it more for YouTube and Netflix at night so I don't bother the wife, as my TH-X00 PH are a bit big for me to lie down on my pillow without them shifting, and leak a bit as well.

 

[Ceteru]

  My pair should be arriving today. Not sure what to expect. I'm kind of spot reading through this thread, interested to see what others are saying. To be honest though, I bought it more for YouTube and Netflix at night so I don't bother the wife, as my TH-X00 PH are a bit big for me to lie down on my pillow without them shifting, and leak a bit as well.

Don't be worried if they don't sound spectacular right away - mine didn't either (plus I was used to the sound of a different headphone). Let them burn in (my method is playing music through them for a few hours without listening to them).
 
People talk about brain burn in, which I agree with (your brain getting used to the sound of the headphones, it just makes sense), but I've also seen the effects of physical burn in (my method) too.
 
If you listen to the headphones briefly, don't like the sound, and then start playing the music through them without listening, and then when you listen hours later the sound has changed, I think that shows that there's something to it 

 That's my opinion though.
 
After trying that, try them again and see if you like them.

 

[JDSuperhero]

This thread has convinced me I want a pair of these. I was saving for the 50x but, honestly, this fits my low-budget life way better and seems like a super solid headphone

 

[Ceteru]

  This thread has convinced me I want a pair of these. I was saving for the 50x but, honestly, this fits my low-budget life way better and seems like a super solid headphone

Do it man! These are great all-rounder headphones. I use them for music, movies, gaming, audiobooks, and pretty much everything else.
 
Make sure you get some comfortable pads (I recommend the Yaxi STPads on Amazon) and a more portable cable (I recommend the replacement cable from Amazon I mentioned earlier), and you'll be all set.
 
For the same price (less actually) as a new M50x on Amazon, you can get the M40x, the new cable, and the Yaxis and be ready to go  
 
Check this out:
 
M40x ($77): https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M40x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR54/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484941008&sr=8-2&keywords=m40x
Yaxi STPad DX (your pick of Red and Black, Blue and Black, Full Black, or 1 Red-trimmed + 1 Blue-trimmed) ($36): https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=srs%3D7867142011%26search-alias%3Dspecialty-aps&field-keywords=DX
Replacement Cable ($13): https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Technica-ATH-M50x-ATH-M40x-Headphones/dp/B00N0XP2ES/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 
$77 + 36 + 13 = $126 (No tax and free shipping with Amazon Prime, not sure about otherwise).
 
A new M50x on Amazon is currently $149.
 
One suggestion though: If you have the chance to demo both, do that first so you know the difference and you know what you like.
 
EDIT: I thought more about your mention of low-budget, and if you are really wanting to keep the cost down, you can get by with just the M40x and the replacement cable. The cable is a necessity imo if you are planning on using the headphones out and about (or even at home). The stock pads are not very comfortable, but some people can deal with it better and I've even found lining the inside rim of the stock pads with cotton balls helps the comfort a tad.
 
So it's all up to your budget and needs.
 
If you can afford all 3, go for the above 3-piece combo.
 
If you can only buy two things and want comfort above all, go for the headphones + pads.
 
If you can only buy two things and want portability above all, go for the headphones + replacement cable.
 
And if you only have a little to spend, just get the headphones, the rest can come later.

 

[JDSuperhero]

I'm cool with the long cable, at least to start with as I'm going to be doing most of my listening at home, but comfort would be nice. I was looking through the thread and it seems the most recommended pads are the ones you mentioned, the Brainwavz hybrids, and the sound professionals... what are the differences I should expect choosing between them?

 

[SHAMuuu]

  Actually afaik he has ZMF Cowhide pads on his pair.

Oh that;s right! Sure made them look meaner

 

[Ceteru]

  I'm cool with the long cable, at least to start with as I'm going to be doing most of my listening at home, but comfort would be nice. I was looking through the thread and it seems the most recommended pads are the ones you mentioned, the Brainwavz hybrids, and the sound professionals... what are the differences I should expect choosing between them?

Okay, so that takes the cable out of the way. It's good that you know what you want.
 
As far as the pads, I've only tried the Yaxi's and the Brainwavez. I was going to get the Sound Professionals, but a couple things held me back:
 
1) They are velour: velour pads (at least full-velour pads) tend to dampen bass. I was fine with the bass on the M40x, I just wanted more comfort while keeping the same sound signature or improving it.
 
2) They don't isolate as well. Velour pads are also known for leaking sound out, as well as not keeping sound from coming in as well as other materials. They're often used on open-backed headphones because if you're using that type of headphone, you generally don't care as much about isolation. @MrPhilicorda reported that while he likes the sound change the Sound Professionals gave as well as the comfort, they were not good enough for public transportation in terms of isolation; the bass couldn't be heard easily and outside noises crept in. 
 
In my experience, the Brainwavez are good for comfort and soundstage, but not for bass/low end. With those pads on my M40x, it was more comfortable and the music played more "across my head" than before, but the distance of the drivers from my ears was too much, and the bass and sub-bass was decreased a lot. It made a lot of my music sound "weaker" because I wasn't hearing the lower frequencies as well as before.
 
With the Yaxi's, comfort is increased, but the sound isn't affected too greatly. The sound signature becomes a little bit "brighter" and clearer to my ears, but otherwise, you get the same strengths of the stock M40x with no additional weakness. Also the isolation is pretty good; at reasonable volumes and with a little distance, most sounds are either inaudible or just unclear to people around.
 
I'll put it this way: after trying the Brainwavez and Beyerdynamic DT250 pads first, followed by some Alpha Pads and ZMF pads, and lastly trying the Yaxi's, as well as hearing @MrPhilicorda's opinions on the Sound Professionals, I've returned the Brainwavez and Beyerdynamics, kept the Yaxi's on my M40x, and have no urge to go for the Sound Professionals. I'll be retesting the Alpha Pads to see how their sound signature compares to the Yaxi's, but realistically they're kind of too big for everyday outside use. Maybe the Alpha Pads for at home and the Yaxi's for out and about? We'll see.

 

[MrPhilicorda]

  Okay, so that takes the cable out of the way. It's good that you know what you want.
 
As far as the pads, I've only tried the Yaxi's and the Brainwavez. I was going to get the Sound Professionals, but a couple things held me back:
 
1) They are velour: velour pads (at least full-velour pads) tend to dampen bass. I was fine with the bass on the M40x, I just wanted more comfort while keeping the same sound signature or improving it.
 
2) They don't isolate as well. Velour pads are also known for leaking sound out, as well as not keeping sound from coming in as well as other materials. They're often used on open-backed headphones because if you're using that type of headphone, you generally don't care as much about isolation. @MrPhilicorda reported that while he likes the sound change the Sound Professionals gave as well as the comfort, they were not good enough for public transportation in terms of isolation; the bass couldn't be heard easily and outside noises crept in. 
 
In my experience, the Brainwavez are good for comfort and soundstage, but not for bass/low end. With those pads on my M40x, it was more comfortable and the music played more "across my head" than before, but the distance of the drivers from my ears was too much, and the bass and sub-bass was decreased a lot. It made a lot of my music sound "weaker" because I wasn't hearing the lower frequencies as well as before.
 
With the Yaxi's, comfort is increased, but the sound isn't affected too greatly. The sound signature becomes a little bit "brighter" and clearer to my ears, but otherwise, you get the same strengths of the stock M40x with no additional weakness. Also the isolation is pretty good; at reasonable volumes and with a little distance, most sounds are either inaudible or just unclear to people around.
 
I'll put it this way: after trying the Brainwavez and Beyerdynamic DT250 pads first, followed by some Alpha Pads and ZMF pads, and lastly trying the Yaxi's, as well as hearing @MrPhilicorda's opinions on the Sound Professionals, I've returned the Brainwavez and Beyerdynamics, kept the Yaxi's on my M40x, and have no urge to go for the Sound Professionals. I'll be retesting the Alpha Pads to see how their sound signature compares to the Yaxi's, but realistically they're kind of too big for everyday outside use. Maybe the Alpha Pads for at home and the Yaxi's for out and about? We'll see.

​Glad to hear you found satisfactory earpads!
 
Just to clarify my experience with the Sound Professionals pads: I did not notice any change for the worse in terms of isolation. Even with stock pads low frequency rumble from traffic can not be blocked out, but since the stock M40x's have elevated bass levels I can still hear the bass over the rumble. With the SP pads the bass level is more neutral, but this is not desirable in an environment with lots of low frequency rumble. Hope you understand what I mean.
 
I must still point out that the Sound Professionals pads are awesome, they flatten the frequency response and the headphones become truer to the source in my opinion. Come to think of it, I must compare them to my Sennheiser HD600 which are just amazing, they are the best headphones I've ever had. From memory the M40x's with the SP pads get's a sound signature that reminds of the HD600.