I hate the ATH-M50's
Jun 28, 2015 at 7:22 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

LaurentiuAndrei

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I bought them because of this video, I trust Marques, but this was just a disappointment, I even had the placebo effect in which I was expecting them to be really really good sounding, but my Sennheiser CX-300II were overall better.
 
I am using them in Asus Xonar U7.
 
 
 
The only things i like about this product are:
-the build quality
-the highs and medium freq
 
For me the bass is almost truly disappointing and the comfort is really bad after more than 30 minutes of usage.
 
I have them since January 2014 and I've given them many chances, over and over hoping that maybe I will find out why everybody seems to like/love these headphones, but I couldn't be satisfied.
 
I'm aware of the fact that if I listen only to a specific set of headphones/speakers for a long time I will start to like the sound of that specific setup and if I change to another headphones, the sound will be so, but so different, maybe better, maybe worse.
 
99% of the time I listen to my Edifier S730, now you may think that I'm a bass addict and that's why I can't find bass in these ATH-M50's, but to be really honest with you guys I keep the bass on 0 (out of 6) and the woofer at 0 (out of 10) and it's just perfect, sometimes I go negative if I feel the song has too much bass.
But with these headphones, EVEN with the low freq in the equalizer at it's highest point I can't get a good bass. It feels such like a kick bass, a punch bass and I just hate that kind of bass, it gives me headaches.
 
I personally prefer a deep, longer bass, more soft.
 
For example, at the next song, between 00:17 and 0:33 I just HATE THAT BASS SO MUCH!

 
And the following bass, starting from 00:45, for me it's just sublime, but on the headphones it's simply NOT there!

 
Well, enough about myself.
 
The reason I made this topic is to find out if I'm using them wrong or maybe these headphones are not for me and my tastes and also do you have any recommendations for headphones that suit my sound preferences?
 
This is just my experience regarding these headphones, at the moment I actually hate them and I can't start to listen anything with them, it just ruins any song for me.
 
Thank you for your time, 
 
Jun 28, 2015 at 8:34 PM Post #2 of 13
So you prefer to have more of a sub bass emphasis than a mid bass emphasis?
 
That first track, that kick really hits hard. Abnormally hard. lol Hip Hop kicks don't even hit that hard.
 
The second one, I see what you mean. When listening on the m50 the bass is there but it's more a bass you feel rather than hear. It does sound a little far off and distant in the mix.
 
I tried other headphones, the German Maestro 8.35 D, and that sub bass actually came out a little more, surprisingly. That bass is so low that probably only subwoofers are really going to project it nicely. The bass in that track is muddy. There's actually a couple of levels of bass which make some headphones and speakers go wonky. It's actually mixed pretty bad cause the different kinds of bass overlap each other frequency wise.
 
There is a droning bass that runs throughout and is a synth part where the melodic aspects are subdued and the more bassy aspects are pronounced. It's probably run through a low pass filter.
 
Then you have, from what I can tell, is an 808 bass that is being put in different pitches to simulate a bass line. Same technique that's used in Trap music production.
 
Then you get bass coming off the kick drums and all these basses are intermingling in a sloppy mess and doing different things. 
 
Old school Hip Hop used to be mixed in a similar fashion and it sounds like **** on everything besides something that has no sub bass or the opposite, a sub woofer that will push out a lot of bass in an inarticulate way and make all that mess of bass come out sounding monotone and pretty good cause you don't hear the definition in the bass to tell there's really three types of bass going on. All fighting each other in the same frequency space.
 
Jun 28, 2015 at 10:29 PM Post #4 of 13
Did you try using EQ with your M50s? That way, you could even better communicate exactly what kind of bass boost (or bass de-emphasis) you are looking for :)
 
Jun 28, 2015 at 10:34 PM Post #5 of 13
I bought into the hype but found them ok at best. Returned them.
 
Jun 29, 2015 at 5:01 AM Post #6 of 13
M50's are kind of the swiss army knife of headphone recommendations. More bass? M50's. More Balance? M50's. Less bass? M50's. Comfort? M50's. 
 
I found them extremely uncomfortable. The sound? Blah. 
 
I personally think they're very overrated, but that's subjective.
 
Jun 29, 2015 at 7:39 AM Post #8 of 13
 
What other products can reproduce a sub bass emphasis? 

I think these have good sub-bass emphasis:
 
• B&W P7
• Focal Spirit One (newer models should be similar/better, but never heard them)
 
Or consider getting planar headphones. They tend to have superior sub-bass performance compared to dynamics.
But all of these are $$$... 
 
If I remember correctly, the Onkyo ES-HF300 had great extension, but I think it's a bit too boomy for your taste.
Just thinking out loud here.
 
Jun 29, 2015 at 8:05 AM Post #9 of 13
Just now I listened to the songs with my speakers (inclusing a REL Q100E subwoofer) and my headphones. Using my speakers as reference, I noticed the subs you mentioned very well.
With my Beyerdynamic t51p, the sound was probably similar to what you had with the M50: a boomy mid-bass punch and no sub-bass.
My other headphones however did a much better job at reproducing the low end. The AKG K553 did very well reproducing the sub-bass without adding boomyness to the music. It's very comfortable as well.
My STAX SRS-4040... was in a league of it's own. It's in a very different price range though.
 
The K553 does have more treble presence than the M50 and it's not portable unlike the M50, so I don't know whether it's a headphone for you or not.
 
The Focal Spirit Pro is also a very good headphone with no boomyness and deep bass, but also much more pricey than the M50.
 
Jun 29, 2015 at 2:17 PM Post #10 of 13
Those STAX look very weird :D 
 
I've tried today the Bose QC 25 in a shop and the noise cancellation was just WOW! Also the sub-bass was pretty good, way better than the M50, but the price is double as well.
 
I'll keep searching for options and I won't ever buy headphones without hearing them before (life lesson).
 
I found a song that "activates" the M50's ability to express sub-bass, it's a bit ridiculous since the song seems be more like a bass test, than an actual song.
But on this song the M50 are wow, tho' it's not a real life scenario test.
 

 
Jun 30, 2015 at 3:05 PM Post #11 of 13
M50's are kind of the swiss army knife of headphone recommendations. More bass? M50's. More Balance? M50's. Less bass? M50's. Comfort? M50's. 

I found them extremely uncomfortable. The sound? Blah. 

I personally think they're very overrated, but that's subjective.


Well, you have to think about the context in which the original M50s (not M50X) were recommended. They were first released back in 2007 when studio monitor headphones were about the only option in their price range. Then as the consumer headphone market expanded, during the last few years of the M50, they could often be found for $120 to $125, which still made them a good price/performance contender.

Then consider that most of the M50 recommendations were for newbies wanting their first under <$150 headphones. The M50s with their bit of bass and treble emphasis can be a good fit for someone who is coming from cheap consumer headphones that is not ready for a neutral can. And then most of those newbies have no frame of reference to explain what would really suit them. So "more bass" or "less bass" is really dependent on the person seeking the recommendation and what one can divine from what little (and often inaccurate) information that they have provided. It's a crap shoot figuring out what many people really want.

So the M50's fairly consumer friendly sound signature fits people fairly well (not necessarily perfectly) on average compared to many other headphones. Of course, then once people actually listen to different headphones, they are likely to find something that suits them a bit better. Factor in that the M50s are fairly easy to drive, pretty durable, and fold up or lay flat for some portability, and it was a decent all arounder choice for many people.
 
Jun 30, 2015 at 7:22 PM Post #12 of 13
  Those STAX look very weird :D 
 
I've tried today the Bose QC 25 in a shop and the noise cancellation was just WOW! Also the sub-bass was pretty good, way better than the M50, but the price is double as well.
 
I'll keep searching for options and I won't ever buy headphones without hearing them before (life lesson).
 
I found a song that "activates" the M50's ability to express sub-bass, it's a bit ridiculous since the song seems be more like a bass test, than an actual song.
But on this song the M50 are wow, tho' it's not a real life scenario test.
 

 


They might look weird, but I don't see that when I have them on 
jecklinsmile.gif
 For me it's all about the sound.
 
you could also test the sub-bass with this: 

 
Have you tried equalization? That might solve your problem without having to spend more money.
 
Jul 8, 2015 at 10:39 PM Post #13 of 13
I got the Sennheiser Momentum over-ear and they are just perfect, they're everything I've ever wanted, light, stylish, portable, great bass, amazing mid tones and highs.
I've listened some songs more than 100 times and with these headphones I've discovered new notes/sounds that I've never noticed.
 
Sennheiser momentum over-ear > audio technica ath-m50
 
I'm looking to sell these bs ath-m50 as soon as I can, worst hype buy I've had so far.
 

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