[Young Spade]

^Haha. But yea I would say that cables should be some of the last things you buy; they make a difference in the setup but IMO it's a small one and unless you get then at a reasonable price (I highly suggest you get someone to make them for you) you might be paying too much.
 
But hey if you have the money to spare and want to spend it, more power to you I'm not saying cables aren't good as I have bought a good number of "expensive" cables over my HI-Fi journey but make sure you spend your money wisely. 

 

[Ruffle]

Quote:

Hey there!
I've been looking around at this forum, asked some question and finally decided to buy a pair of M50's as my entrance to the world of audiophiles. But one click away from ordering the M50's, it hit me if it's worth the money? The M50's cost 140 pound where i live and I, a poor student, was wondering if the step up in sound quality is really worth the money? 
 
I know that asking this question on a forum dedicated to sound lovers, likely all the answers will be "YES!", but if someone could please convince me... I want the feeling that when i lie in my bed in the dark, the music just flows beautifully into my ears making me relax and forget about all my little worries.

In your situation I think the M50 will be worth it.  It's durable, rugged and should last you your entire time in college.  And if music helps you calm you and study, then it's more than worth it.  They should be comfortable and make studying more enjoyable while you are not disturbing other students who may be studying with you, in the library etc.
 
And contrary to what others say, I do not think Audio Technica headphones need expensive gear, they sound great right out of the laptop or mp3 player.  I am an AD900 owner and leaning towards buying a M50 myself.  I'll be using the M50 with my laptop, not a dedicated headphone amp.

 

[SleepyOne]

If you are thinking of M50, why not also try out shure 840 while you at it, you can demo those at the shops in UK. If you are very lucky they may have both of those at the shop so you could A-B compare.

 

[baka1969]

With the recent proliferation of the $1000+++ headphones and head amps, this is an even more valid question. Having listened to a few expensive headphones and owning several $500+ headphones I would say that the headphones sound better for the most part. But remember that incremental gains come with exponential cost increases. It's the first 85% that's cheap. The last few percentage points towards perfection is what really costs.

Is it worth it? Maybe. Maybe not. But I like those last few % points.

 

[Ypoknons]

I have a theory that helps if you go slowly go up, and not jump all the way to the top. I've seen a lot of cases in this forum where some jumps direct to a $1K, then comes back to its $400 counterpart and thinks it not bad at all. Whereas if you own a mid-fi pair for several months or even years, became familiar with the mid-fi's flaws and quirks, then go for the last few points, then the upgrade seems to make more sense. Of course, it's different with others, they instantly recognize the amazing sound, especially the pros and those coming from speakers. 
 
But at the same time, I have a gut feeling that the $1Kers could come down a bit, but some these big brand names are worth a lot of money and they'll make sure you know it :/ 

 

[ScottSummers]

 
Quote:

Normal people tend to do that with audio gear.  A lot of people just dont hear it ( see it ) even when its right in front of them, they dont hear the dynamics in the audio, the depth and stage, not only that but they really dont at all care for it...this remains a mystery to me
 

 
I think you answered your own mystery for the most part, excluding choice of equipment.
 
Quote:

 
 
Normal people wouldnt spent more than 50$ on headphones, if that, thats as stretch actually.