[somshankar]

Guys,
 
After having used an ipod and standard headphones for long i have decided to take a more audiophilish approach. So after much contemplation i have bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH M50x headphones and have ordered a Fiio x5 second gen.
 
Eagerly waiting for the shipment now.
I am looking for some startup advice on both devices.
I don't want to mess with the new items. 
Things like 
 
i.Can i use the ATH M50x and plugin to my phones,laptops just as with regular headphones. I have read horror stories of devices burning headphones .
ii.How to do a proper "burn in" for the headphones? How long to play at what volume level and with what sort of music?
iii.Any starting advice for the Fiio x5. Formatting of SD Card , copying songs etc ?
 
Also i have a Fiio Kilimanjaro headphone amp already that used with the Ipod to great effect. Will that be of any use with these new devices ?
 
Appreciate any advice. 

 

[Swansboy]

I have M50x that I bought from Amazon India a year back. It is pretty good by any standards and you can play it straight from any common device like PC, Laptop or mobile. Your headphone (which has a very low impedance) can blow only if you expose it to very powerful amps and play at very high volume.    
 
M50x does not have a burn in period unlike many other headphones. The sound signature of my M50x has not changed over a year. Not one bit. However, it sounded great right out of the box. I don't like it as much as I used to as I have come across some better cans. My current favorite is Beyerdynamics DT 990 pro 250 ohm version.  

 

[somshankar]

Thank you very much. I just played and it sounds great as it is out of the box. Also opinions on the Fiio x5 and the amp i was talking about ?

 

[Swansboy]

Sorry, can't help you with x5 as I never had an opportunity to give it a listen. 

 

[Swansboy]

M50x does not require an amp because it is a very low impedance headphone that does not need too much power to drive it. So it would not benefit much from an amp. Still, you may certainly try and check if you find any improvement. Audio is a matter of perception and using Fiio Kilimanjaro  with M50x certainly wouldn't hurt. .
 
But if you decide to buy higher impedance headphones in the future, the amp will come handy. Midrange Headphones like Senheiser HD 598 / 600, Beyerdynamics DT headphones - 250 ohm editions all sound awesome with an amp. Particularly there would be noticeable improvement in bass and the sound stage.  

 

[Ventace]

The M50x's are great, but the X5 from FiiO are overkill for them (in my opinion) thought, that does give you an upgrade path in a portable build in the future.
You can plug the M50x's straight into anything (except maybe, a super high power system that would blow it out immediately, but I doubt anyone has one of those around in their homes).
As a studio pair of headphones, and one aimed towards millennials, at that, along with the fact that they're from Audio Technica....I can't really say they need any burn-in. Burning in AKG headphones is something everybody would do, but I highly doubt there'd be any difference for Audio Technica's, especially the M-Series lineup. 
If you still want to burn it in, just plug it into something (like your phone for example) and play a burn-in track on Youtube, at normal listening level. 
I usually turn it slightly, slightly above listening level, just at the point where I'd 'almost' go through the trouble of reaching for my knob and turning it down. And then I just put them on my desk and let them play for a few hours.
I plug mine into my phone and use the YouTube-repeat website so that it can keep replaying overnight without consuming power from turning on my desktop or something.
For the FIiO X5, I personally just go find FLAC files on the net or rip CDs into FLACs and put 'em on .

EDIT: Here's a track you can use
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUxQ3O7h69M

 

[somshankar]

Do you mean that the x5 need higher end headphones fully showcase their potential ?

 

[buke9]

Do you mean that the x5 need higher end headphones fully showcase their potential ?

No the X5 doesn't need high end headphones. You can format the cards in the X5 i think I doubt you have to format it anyway. I put a card in my X1 straight from the mailbox and went to town loading music.

 

[Me x3]

You can use the ATH M50x plugged directly into the FiiO X5II
There's variable gain on the X5II so you can set a low gain for normal listening levels.
There's not much room for Kilimanjaro use if you own the FiiO X5II.
 
FiiO X5II will make M50x sound as good as possible.
You can use the FiiO X5II with higher end headphones as well since it's a very capable player.
(Fostex TH600, Beyerdyamic DT1770, ...)
 
No need to burn in your M50x, just use them.
Happy listening!

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Do you mean that the x5 need higher end headphones fully showcase their potential ?

 
It's not that the FiiO X5 needs higher end headphones.
It's that there are better headphones then the ATH-M50X.
I would guess the Soundmagic HP150 ($129) would be better then the ATH-M50X (guessing).
 
I would have suggest you sell off the Fiio Kilimanjaro and the iPod, and gotten the cheaper FiiO X3 Gen II
And spend the rest of your audio budget for headphones.
 
The ATH-M50X have mixed reviews, decent headphones for the price ($110-$130)
Guess the heavy bass appeals to some.
But your kind of paying for the "Audio Technica" name.
My Gemini HSR-1000 ($80-$85) are a match for the ATH-M50X.

 

[somshankar]

Well i mostly listen to metal and from what i read the M50's do pretty good in that genre. Also i got it in like new condition for about $95 which seemed cool to me. Also i took the x5 after a lot of contemplation because i have too big a collection to store and the 128 GB was just not good enough for me. I will sell the Ipod once it is in a working condition  

 

[somshankar]

Just received my Fiio X5 and copied over some albums to the player. Awesome sound !!!
One question though the songs only show up in the file browser. I dont see anything in the Artist,Albums !  They are all tagged alright. Am i missing something ?   @Me x3

 

[buke9]

Just received my Fiio X5 and copied over some albums to the player. Awesome sound !!!
One question though the songs only show up in the file browser. I dont see anything in the Artist,Albums !  They are all tagged alright. Am i missing something ?   @Me x3

Did you update the library's on the player?

 

[somshankar]

Thanks for the hint   I wont ask any silly questions now. Will spend some time with the charm.

 

[somshankar]

I have a question regarding charging the device. I use a Lenovo k4 note charger that is rated at 5.2V and 2.0 A . Should that be alright to use with the x5 ?
Their site recommends 5.0v and anything over 1.5A.