[WhitePanda]

After a couple hours of burning these in, there is a noticeable improvement in the mids and highs. The lows still need a little more work, but I'm sure a few more hours will fix that.
 
@HariBhushan if you want good bass response, the M50 is a good choice. Probably not the best bass response overall, but I'd say close to it in its price range. I like bass in my songs, and the M50s haven't disappointed me yet.
 
I also haven't had any problems with the headphones clamping too much as others reported. Maybe I just have a smaller head?

 

[Slaughter]

HariBhushan - I would buy the M50 before selling off the the other two, but I can tell you that the M50 is one of the few cans that makes me happy listening to all types of music. My 580 is staring at me begging for some tunes.
 
WhitePanda - I think you would hard pressed to find too many phones that have better bass response of the M50. The bass is fairly tight, goes low and has good impact. Not too many cans can do that in any price range. What are you using as a source, because the M50 responds very well to an amp. Everything is much cleaner and defined.

 

[WhitePanda]

an HP laptop with integrated sound card and a 2nd gen iPod touch. I am quite pleased with the bass response so far.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I really disagree that the M50 has rolled off treble.  The M50 do have their weaknesses, mostly IMO just the fact that they're closed cans.  But they're some of the best closed headphones I've ever heard, as far as being accurate and natural.  If you're coming from grados or denons, etc, then the M50 is surely going to sound rolled off, but that's just because most headphones have peaky treble

 

[FreedomG]

The bass on the M50 is mostly clear.. But when it does get distorted its by so little and I can actually enjoy it.. Sometimes it is too strong because I have the EQ on Rock but then I just turn it down and it sounds really nice Or I blast it with bass reducer or with EQ Off.. For me what I love is that there actually is a soundstage with these headphones, because I was either going with the XB700's, MS1's, Beats by Dre. I've heard the XB700's and Beats and I feel that the M50 is better for all types of music and that slightly edged bass, yes I think if it was a little clearer it would be much better, but the 100 I paid for the M50 doesn't demand perfection in my opinion..

 

[rhythmdevils]

you're blaming distortion on the M50's and you're using a rock EQ?  not cool.  There's no distortion in the bass, if it's not your EQ, then it's probably your source/amp or lack thereof.  Not that they need much to shine, they sound great out of an iphone/ipod

 

[Slaughter]

Yeah, never heard anyone call the M50's treble "rolled off". Its really about where it should be. The tone/timbre of the treble could be a little better, but that's a small gripe. And IMO, the mids aren't recessed as much as they just sound a little flat, like a studio monitor should, but the highs a lows are more lively, so I feel they get mislabeled as slightly recessed. Either way, great cans and I'll praise them every chance I get! I even wrote about them in a magazine article I did this month. I will make sure everyone owns these!

 

[FreedomG]

Its my EQ, I've tested it.. I am blaming my EQ lol.. Not blaming the headphones themself, But many songs sound good with rock EQ and some dont, and my point was that I have to go back and forth switching the EQ.. But I dont mind for such great headphones for such a great price

 

[baka1969]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rhythmdevils  
" I really disagree that the M50 has rolled off treble.  The M50 do have their weaknesses, mostly IMO just the fact that they're closed cans.  But they're some of the best closed headphones I've ever heard, as far as being accurate and natural.  If you're coming from grados or denons, etc, then the M50 is surely going to sound rolled off, but that's just because most headphones have peaky treble"

I hate to disagree with your disagreement, but, I'm making an apples to apples comparison. Compared to the Denon D1001, to me, the M50's treble is recessed or rolled off.

 

[Bastido]

I own ATH-M50 but for the money I like my Shure SRH840 better. Not saying M50 are not good just saying I prefer the SRH840. Smoother SQ and more comfortable to wear. M50 is a more lively sounding headphone but only a little bit and I prefer smooth over lively.
 
I have never heard distorted anything on my M50 so highly doubt it is the headphones unless you got a defect pair. I've used M50 for guitar practice through the amp headphone out and still no distortion. I tried doing the same with DT990pro and did get distortion in some of the really low frequencies. beyerdynamic advertise DT990pro as studio headphones and in my experience they are not studio headphones. Both M50 and SRH840 are good studio headphones.

 

[swbf2cheater]

What really annoys me is that the M50s do not sound like typical monitors but they are big heavy and bulky like them.  I was upset about their lack of precision and balance, even though they are great fun, i much prefer the Shure 840 to them any day.  
 
I recently purchased the WS70 from audio technica and did a funny little earpad mod.  I used the Shure 840 earpads and almost fell off my chair at what I accomplished.  I created a mini version of the 840s with a more fun coloring.  If anyone is interested in an 840s balance and sound ( noticeably smaller sound than the real 840 )
 
The bass on the stock ws70 is just insanely overwhelming and totally ruins the sound.  Its stage is TINY as hell, but this with 840 mod on it the sound is much bigger and effectively balanced out between bass mids and highs ( well highs can shrill a bit but i think thats a result of it not being near burned in yet )
 
this mod i did seems like a fusion of the m50s fun factor and the 840s balance.  Ive never been happier

 

[WhitePanda]

If anyone wants more punch out of the M50, I found putting the EQ to "Dance" did the trick quite well. Adds the extra bass without messing with anything else. I find "Bass Booster" to hush the treble so much that it's hard to hear the lyrics.

 

[mhcarlos]

This morning after about three days of burn-in total, I checked the sound of the M50s and found most of the bass bloat gone.
 
I still feel the mids and highs seem more distant though, but that may be because I'm used to my Grados and Etys. I'm not sure if I want to keep the M50s actually. 

 

[mhcarlos]

The M50s seem to be fully burnt-in when I tried it again last night (though I'm still running it through white noise, pink noise, etc. right now...) and I find it really good. As in it seemed like a Eureka moment when I finally heard the treble more clearly and the bass bloat was gone. 
 
Definitely a different sound from what I'm used to but I think they will make a great all-around headphones when I'm not looking for a specific sound. It can't beat the Etys for any occasion when I just want transparency and detail. It can't beat the Grados for that rousing in-front-of-the-band effect. But I find it very balanced and so far it's done a great job with different kinds of music. I also found it excellent for watching video (on the Mac) and I'm thinking I'll probably use it for some gaming if I ever get back into desktop games. I haven't tried it with console games or watching movies on the big TV, and I'm curious how that will work out (I used to have a pair of old Sony stuido headphones in my Playstation 1 days and that worked out pretty well). 
 
So I will probably keep them for now until I find something better.
 
To the OP -- enjoy your M50. But I highly recommend a burn-in period and using it with an amp whenever possible (although they're great un-amped, too).

 

[REDH0RN]

After researching the M50's I landed here and hope it's OK to pose a few questions here instead of starting anew. I have HD-595's in storage that won't be available for a while. Recently was bit by the portable amp / headphone / player bug. Attempting to build a versatile system with a serious eye toward value (tight budget). I currently have or want:
 
4th gen 20GB iPod loaded with 192kbs AAC
iBasso CB05 - on order
Koss Porta-Pro for out and about uses
iMetal 590's for riding bicycle is desert
Sony Sport armband radio for FM source - on order
P2AV2 - on order
 
My main question is will the P2AV2 be a good match if I add a pair of M50's? I plan to use these cans for mostly in home listening. If I was willing to save over time to get an ideal amp up to $400 what would be viable candidates?
 
I listen to mostly Classic Rock, Jazz, Pop, R & B, Alternative and Blues.