[Gatepc]

To me they where overhyped sounded very closed in, not my taste, I much preferred the audio technica ATH-AD700s I picked up for about $80 new from amazon. I think they sound much better overall. Nice wide soundstage, more natural tone, more detail , nice air, etc. the M50s sounded closed in, stiff, lacking detail too much bass that sounded bloated to me. But thats just IMO.

To each his own.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

So, if the M50's are "overrated" 
 
What would be the best choice in the $100-200 price range it is in?

To me the M50 is a $100 phone as that is what I see it at all the time.  Some good phones:
 
$50-$100-M50, DJ100, MS1, have not heard the 668B or CAL
$120-$150-440/840/750, HFI580, HD558, have not heard the A700
$160-$200-HD598, have not heard the HFI780 or HD25 
 
I am a big M50 fan and preferred them over most of the above and on par w/ the ones I have on that list.  Personal needs and preferences are important considerations.
 

 

[TakashiMiike]

I swear you people are all the same, this thread has turned into a praise m50, or promote your own favorite headphone thread.
 
For the money there are many options: sr60-125i, m50, shure 440-840, m50, ad700, k240, k272, d1001, used dt770 pro, srh750dj, senn hd558 or hd555, etc.
 
Yet you people continue to make blatant statements saying 1 is the best choice. This is the kind of hype this thread was trying to illuminate, only to fall victim to the same hype along the way.
 
In terms of sound signatures, there is a better way to classify these.
 
Mids/Highs centric - sr60-125i,  hd558 (or so i've heard), ad700
 
Smiley Curve (Bass and high centric, slightly recessed mids) - m50, dt770, d1001, srh750dj
 
Generally Neutral - k240, k272, srh440-840, perhaps hd555 and hd558
 
Also for those preferring the smiley curve sound signature, as I know a lot of you do, I preferred the d1001 over m50 in that genre.
 
Out of such headphones I personally have heard: sr60i, m50, d1001, k240 and hd555. From those choices, and according to my own preference, I prefer a modded sr60i. But there are lots of options and I am by no means going to tell you they are the best in the $100 bracket. Choose based on your preference, and then what you think is right for you.
 
Hopefully this post will bring some sanity into this downward spiraling thread.
 
Edit: Please note this post is not meant to offend, only inform.

 

[crinacle]

 
Quote:

I swear you people are all the same, this thread has turned into a praise m50, or promote your own favorite headphone thread.
 
For the money there are many options: sr60-125i, m50, shure 440-840, m50, ad700, k240, k272, d1001, used dt770 pro, srh750dj, senn hd558 or hd555, etc.
 
Yet you people continue to make blatant statements saying 1 is the best choice. This is the kind of hype this thread was trying to illuminate, only to fall victim to the same hype along the way.
 
In terms of sound signatures, there is a better way to classify these.
 
Mids/Highs centric - sr60-125i,  hd558 (or so i've heard), ad700
 
Smiley Curve (Bass and high centric, slightly recessed mids) - m50, dt770, d1001, srh750dj
 
Generally Neutral - k240, k272, srh440-840, perhaps hd555 and hd558
 
Also for those preferring the smiley curve sound signature, as I know a lot of you do, I preferred the d1001 over m50 in that genre.
 
Out of such headphones I personally have heard: sr60i, m50, d1001, k240 and hd555. From those choices, and according to my own preference, I prefer a modded sr60i. But there are lots of options and I am by no means going to tell you they are the best in the $100 bracket. Choose based on your preference, and then what you think is right for you.
 
Hopefully this post will bring some sanity into this downward spiraling thread.
 
Edit: Please note this post is not meant to offend, only inform.

+ 1 good sir
 
The M50s sound the least "smiley" out of the 4 you mentioned though, but there is still a recess in the mids though very minor.
 
Apparently, some M50 fanboys can't take it when I say a cheaper can beats the M50s in some aspects

 

[area51]

Nonsense , i had Senn HD 600 and Ultrasone HFI 580  , and the M50 is much better on every level

 

[crinacle]

 
Quote:

Nonsense , i had Senn HD 600 and Ultrasone HFI 580  , and the M50 is much better on every level

It's all up to preference sir. Personally, I prefer the HFI 580, but I'm guessing you prefer a smoother and warmer sound. I don't think the M50s beat the HD600 in sound quality, but they do come dangerously close to their level, soundstaging not included.

 

[TakashiMiike]

 
Quote:

Nonsense , i had Senn HD 600 and Ultrasone HFI 580  , and the M50 is much better on every level

Here we go. Then why say my post is nonsense? Keep your comparisons to the phones you have heard, I too have heard the m50, hd650 and hd600, and for me the mids are far more well presented and clearer on the senns. I just could never get passed the veil, I like my treble. But given the two I would choose the hd600 or hd650 over the m50 every time. The senns simply have more layered and textured bass, better air presentation, and better mids, but are lacking in highs.
 
This of course is my opinion and shows my preference in sound. You are raising the m50 on a pedestal from the limited experience you've had from phones with VERY different sound signatures. Ever think you just prefer the sound signature of the m50? Note how that does not make it a better headphone.
 
There are things we can compare, clarity, detail, soundspace, as well as how well it performs in representing real instruments. However when it comes to frequency response people simply have different preferences, yours is no better or worse than anyone elses. Some prefer as neutral a headphone as they can get, some prefer bass heavy headphones, some prefer veiled headphones, some prefer aggressive headphones. None of these choices are inherently "better" than the other, just preference.
 
 
For example, I prefer my modded grado sr60i to my old hd650, k240, d2000, and even k701. Yet all of these headphones are great headphones, and there are aspects of them I miss, but the grados mid centric presentation without the veiled highs of the hd650, or the fragile bass of the k701, or the recessed mids of the d2000, suited my tastes quite nicely.  This however does not mean the sr60i is a better headphone, nor should I claim as much, simply it suits my tastes better.

 

[laon]

 
Quote:

I swear you people are all the same, this thread has turned into a praise m50, or promote your own favorite headphone thread.
 
For the money there are many options: sr60-125i, m50, shure 440-840, m50, ad700, k240, k272, d1001, used dt770 pro, srh750dj, senn hd558 or hd555, etc.
 
Yet you people continue to make blatant statements saying 1 is the best choice. This is the kind of hype this thread was trying to illuminate, only to fall victim to the same hype along the way.
 
In terms of sound signatures, there is a better way to classify these.
 
Mids/Highs centric - sr60-125i,  hd558 (or so i've heard), ad700
 
Smiley Curve (Bass and high centric, slightly recessed mids) - m50, dt770, d1001, srh750dj
 
Generally Neutral - k240, k272, srh440-840, perhaps hd555 and hd558
 
Also for those preferring the smiley curve sound signature, as I know a lot of you do, I preferred the d1001 over m50 in that genre.
 
Out of such headphones I personally have heard: sr60i, m50, d1001, k240 and hd555. From those choices, and according to my own preference, I prefer a modded sr60i. But there are lots of options and I am by no means going to tell you they are the best in the $100 bracket. Choose based on your preference, and then what you think is right for you.
 
Hopefully this post will bring some sanity into this downward spiraling thread.
 
Edit: Please note this post is not meant to offend, only inform.

agree with this, and d1001 while having recessed mid, still have very sweet and clear vocal, a far cry from M50.

 

[jerg]

All these headphones can be made to sound awesome with some parametric equalization - treble can always be made to be 95% neutral this way. In the end it's about the potential of each headphone (especially quality and potential quantity of bass, since that's the hardest to improve via equalization).

 

[blacknile]

Quote:

Yet you people continue to make blatant statements saying 1 is the best choice. This is the kind of hype this thread was trying to illuminate, only to fall victim to the same hype along the way.
 
In terms of sound signatures, there is a better way to classify these.
 
Mids/Highs centric - sr60-125i,  hd558 (or so i've heard), ad700
 
Smiley Curve (Bass and high centric, slightly recessed mids) - m50, dt770, d1001, srh750dj
 
Generally Neutral - k240, k272, srh440-840, perhaps hd555 and hd558
 
Also for those preferring the smiley curve sound signature, as I know a lot of you do, I preferred the d1001 over m50 in that genre.
 
Out of such headphones I personally have heard: sr60i, m50, d1001, k240 and hd555. From those choices, and according to my own preference, I prefer a modded sr60i. But there are lots of options and I am by no means going to tell you they are the best in the $100 bracket. Choose based on your preference, and then what you think is right for you.
 
Hopefully this post will bring some sanity into this downward spiraling thread.
 
Edit: Please note this post is not meant to offend, only inform.

 
THE ATH-M50 do not have recessed mids. At least, they do not with properly recorded, encoded, and amplified music. Making sure ALL the chain from the source to the ears does not have bottlenecks is crucial prior to evaluating hq equipment.  This post of yours is not informative and won't bring any sanity in a thread that is essentially a hype thread, albeit a "reverse-hype" one. I am tired of people binning headphones in this reductive way btw. I own both the M50 and the AKG K240. They are different, sure. However they're both beautiful designs. Funny how such old tripe on the smiley curve etc etc comes from somebody that hates "blatant statements". 
 

 

[V3ng3anc3]

I agree with TakashiMike as well, I had the opportunity to try my friend's M50, expecting it to be as good as everyone praises them to be. And I was sorely disappointed, from what it sounds like on head-fi, the M50 has pretty decent bass but I have to disagree. Immediately on listening to it, the bass was just kind of there with no impact (I'm no basshead, love my Grado 325is). I can't remember the quality of the bass so I'm not going to comment on that. Overall I found it to be veiled compared to my other friend's Shure 840 (which is better IMHO for being near the same price range) and my D2000. But I'll give it another listen when I get the chance because when I first heard it was run straight out of a laptop and I had no idea about the quality of the track being played.

 

[blacknile]

Fair enough, I on the other hand don't get along with Grados and Alessandros, that I find grainy sounding and "sandpapery" (at least the low tier models I've tried). It's fine to have preferences, but I don't agree with the bashing based on simplistic 'black/white' categorisations. Had I read about this infamous "recessed mids" before buying the ATH, I would have probably changed my mind. Fortunately I went ahead and I like them (they do shine on some aspects, while my other headphones shine on other ones). 

 

[TakashiMiike]

Quote:

 
THE ATH-M50 do not have recessed mids. At least, they do not with properly recorded, encoded, and amplified music. Making sure ALL the chain from the source to the ears does not have bottlenecks is crucial prior to evaluating hq equipment.  This post of yours is not informative and won't bring any sanity in a thread that is essentially a hype thread, albeit a "reverse-hype" one. I am tired of people binning headphones in this reductive way btw. I own both the M50 and the AKG K240. They are different, sure. However they're both beautiful designs. Funny how such old tripe on the smiley curve etc etc comes from somebody that hates "blatant statements". 
 

 
We have graphs for such things. The m50's mids are recessed, regardless of how much you argue or whether you like it or not.  Do not get angry at me please, I didn't say either were bad headphones, however in frequency response they can be "binned"
 

 
 
Please notice the dips under to about -5 to -10 db at around 2k-8k before the high peak on the m50. Also notice the elevated bass and midbass, pushing about 8db's above neutral.
 
 

 

[TakashiMiike]

Also as for black and white categorization that is not what I am trying to do. But headphones do have a sound signature, and you should choose your headphones accordingly. If you want a purely neutral presentation, there are headphones for you, if you are a basshead, there are headphones for you, this is all I was trying to illustrate with "binning" headphones into categories. Some headphones have similar frequency response which means they sound similar. Frequency response is one small part of the headphone picture, but it is an important one.
 
I don't feel that your attack on me is necessary. The m50's do have the classic definition of a smiley curve, enhanced bass, recessed mids, and the 10k highs that peak higher than the mids. HIGH LOW HIGH \/ smiley curve.

 

[andy43]

Neil Peart was using them when I saw Rush live. If they are good enough for Neil Peart, they are good enough for me!