[Ziion]

Hi everyone, I bought the ATH-M50 white headphones on Amazon for $135 and received them today (hell of a price! They're even cheaper now I think, priced at $127). The reasoning for buying these was because I wanted a good sound experience from my computer for my music and games and casual use. The only other pair of headphones I have is the Beats By Dre Studio headphones which I adore..
 
Everyone told me the ATH-M50s BLEW THE BEATS OUT OF THE WATER, so naturally I was excited because again, I love by Beats Studios, it's just that they require batteries (however the battery life on them is very good but I don't want to waste it because I use them when I'm not at home). I plug my M50s into my computer, try out a track and expect to have an eargasm of clarity and I was kinda like "Is this it? ._." everything felt flat.. nothing really stood out other than I could hear adlibs a little more clearly. I'm not an audiophile, I just like to experience my music. The Beats Studios made me experience my music in a different way, a much more fun way that made me go and listen to all my favorite albums because the bass they delivered felt amazingggggg, but I knew that this was artificial and I was curious if the M50s would make me experience my music a different way and so far, it hasn't.
 
I feel like a part of me needs to be desensitized from my Beats, maybe I was expecting too much due to the hype. I mean, you literally can NOT find a Youtube video reviewing the Beats By Dre headphones without seeing comments like "ATH-M50 >>> Beats".
 
So I'm wondering, to the M50 owners on here, did you experience a much different sound once you burned your headphones in? And would you recommend me using a virtual EQ (or whatever it's called that lets you change the sound settings on your headphones)? If so, what's the name of a good one? What settings would you recommend?
 
These M50 headphones are beautiful and I can tell they will last me, I don't regret my purchase because I needed a pair of headphones for home use.
 
wooo ric flair

 

[RushNerd]

They are honestly probably more alike than different. You might have tried a different headphone if you wanted a change of pace.

 

[Ziion]

Quote:

They are honestly probably more alike than different. You might have tried a different headphone if you wanted a change of pace.

That's probably what it is. Thank you for the reply sir!

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Add a Fiio E11 to your M50, and set the EQ to 2.
 
Flatness will go away. Suddenly you'll have a Beats beater and go "O.O"
 
Also, you took a relatively "flat" headphone like the M50, a studio monitor, and expect it to sound like a boom box (the Beats are designed to sound like boom boxes, enhanced exaggerated loose bass, very fatigue free, very warm; not an analytical tool like the M50). People who are saying "M50 > Beats" need to describe what is better, because it's not just automatically better. Someone who likes the Beats signature sound will simply not like M50's because they're just more flat sounding. The Beats people would more likely enjoy the M-Audio Q40 and Ultrasone PRO 750/900.
 
Very best,

 

[Ziion]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Add a Fiio E11 to your M50, and set the EQ to 2.
 
Flatness will go away. Suddenly you'll have a Beats beater and go "O.O"
 
Very best,

Thank you sir. That's absolutely the next step, I recall people recommending an amp for the M50 but wasn't sure of which one. Much appreciation!

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

Thank you sir. That's absolutely the next step, I recall people recommending an amp for the M50 but wasn't sure of which one. Much appreciation!

Even my pricey Denon 5000's are like "this is it?!" without an amp; they are fine but lack power, and amping gives it that, no matter how much EQ  you give it.

 

[mrtheking]

I had the same question depsite being extremely satisfied with the ATH-M50 (Beats Studio vs. ATH-M50?). So I purchased the Beats and conducted several blind tests on myself and musicians at my school (where the musicians would listen to each headphone without knowing which one they were listening to). One band (please note they use the Beats in the studio) voted entirely in favor of the Beats because the Bass was extremely powerful, but all the other testers voted in favor of the M50s, saying the bass distorted the overall quality of the music. My opinion after the test is that the Beats only work for the genre of music that is entirely bassed on a booming bass- otherwise, you end up sacrificing the quality of the music for a more powerful bass. All in all, the Beats are for consumers who have a lot of money and want a casual listening experience, while the M50 is better for people who want to analyze the music and get the closest to experiencing the music in the recording studio. What people also need to understand is that after opening them out of the box, the ATH-M50 need to be burned in for 12 hours or so before an "eargasm" is possible.

 

[pss395]

To OP: Burn in at first. Plug in your ipod, set to normal volume, turn on shuffle the entire library, let it play, for example, over night. After that, the sound will be much more enjoyable. 
And before you go out and buy an amp, try to EQ the headphone by the ipod or media player equalizer to see if certain aspect of the sound is adjustable or not. 
I've just bought mine 2 days ago, and after a little bit of burn in the sound become better than out of the box. A headphone amp may help tighten the bass a bit I think. Also use amp EQ to boost the bass is better than using ipod EQ imo.