Audio Technica ATH-M50 or Alessandro: MS-1i

[Peterman]

I a/b the m50 with xb700... the stringed cellos sounded nasally & veiled compared to my hje900 (major difference) & lesser to the vb700's - To my ears anyway the xb700 sonys were well above the m50, I have no idea why the m50 gets so much major praise.... I am familiar with akg k701's & dt880 600 ohm & Grado 325i's so I am not speaking from total inexperience... Maybe my m50's were defective who knows, they were good but not as fun as the sony' s and made everything sound veiled..........

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I a/b the m50 with xb700... the stringed cellos sounded nasally & veiled compared to my hje900 (major difference) & lesser to the vb700's - To my ears anyway the xb700 sonys were well above the m50, I have no idea why the m50 gets so much major praise.... I am familiar with akg k701's & dt880 600 ohm & Grado 325i's so I am not speaking from total inexperience... Maybe my m50's were defective who knows, they were good but not as fun as the sony' s and made everything sound veiled..........

Nasal and veiled cello compared to the HJE900?!  Wow, your M50 doesn't sound like mine.
 
Edit - Ok, I just AB'd a violin sample from LFF.  I see how you have the nasal impression you do about the M50.  The XB700 sounds more relaxed, effortless and richer than the M50 so the XB700 is better right?  Not so fast.  I suspected this sounded odd so I AB'd the XB700 versus the M50, DBA-02 and Denon D7000.  The violin sample sounds far more detailed and consistent among the M50, DBA and D7000.  Unless those three are more inaccurate than the XB700 I would have to conclude the XB is adding more coloration to enhance the euphonic experience.  I actually think it might be a lack of data retrieval that is making the strings sound so smooth and relaxed.  That extra long decay and euphony sure is fun though.  Thank goodness I have my MD's when I need them.  

 
your comment about the M50 being veiled is still quite odd.  They are more resolving than my XB700s and definitley more than I recall the 900s being.  Did you match gains when you AB'd?  The M50 needs more juice than the XB700.  Not sure if this is accurate but i can hear something like someone putting a teaspoon down in a teacup saucer w/ the M50.  With the XB700 I never hear it.
 
Edit 2 - Yeah my Ultrasone 580 falls in line w/ the M50, DBA and D7000.

 

[Peterman]

yes there was a major difference with how natural , the bow strokes, timbre just everything clear as day better with the hje900's..... xb700 was also better with being more realistic with the strings as well & was well beyond the m50 in fun factor techno , dance etc... hmmm.. What I hear is not even questionable- only answer perhaps somethings up with my m50s?
 
M5o's have a big drop on the frequency upper mids / treble chart I noticed - where the Sony's not as much...
 
I read somewhere else someone saying their's were nasally and veiled as well....Curious if I got a bad pair? The grados & 701's destroy the m50's as well - except in " pumping bass " , but when I am in the mood for that I throw on the sony's... I don't like sony , but those phones I have really kick butt for certain types of music. I'm listening to .wav, .flac through a line 6 ux2 interface box to my pc's soundcard. I have a very clear sound. It's nothing fancy but sounds fine to me. It pushes the 701's fine.

 

[Anaxilus]

That's fine.  I'll take the M50 and the rest of my collection over the MS1i or XB700 anyday.  The XB700 has the quality of a Sony Xplod car system IMO.  That is not a compliment.  The MS1i was well balanced but the sound was rough, grainy and unrefined among other things.  Made no sense for me to keep it when the M50 did so much better.

 

[JayB18]

Quote:

That's fine.  I'll take the M50 and the rest of my collection over the MS1i or XB700 anyday.  The XB700 has the quality of a Sony Xplod car system IMO.  That is not a compliment.  The MS1i was well balanced but the sound was rough, grainy and unrefined among other things.  Made no sense for me to keep it when the M50 did so much better.

Don't think Id like the Sony's. I prefer the MS-1 over the M50 beacuse of its more balanced and open, airy sound.

 

[hahahigh]

I've owned both, although not at the same time. The MS1s do well with rock, the M50s do well with hip-hop. They are both solid cans (I do feel like they are a little overrated) with different strengths and weaknesses. I found the MS1s to uncomfortable and its treble to be piercing. The M50s, on the other hand, can get overwhelming in the bass and a little boring at times. With your needs and demands, I would think the MS1s are better suited for the circumstances. Go for it. You can always sell them at a small loss if you find that they aren't for you.