Moving on from my ATH M50 - need new headphones!
Oct 21, 2015 at 4:39 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17
falconmick

falconmick

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I may or may not have got pissed off last night and threw my headphones on the floor last night... Well my temper tantrum came at a cost, the tiny bit of plastic that stops the headhpones from tilting back too far snapped and now they don't fit on my head quite right (as seen in this post http://www.head-fi.org/t/615739/help-with-ath-m50-hinge) I am gonna glue em back so they don't swivel any more but my guess is that it's probably going to just break again in the near future.

So I now see this as a great excuse to get my next pair of headphones, I had been considering this for a while anyway as all the cushions are really wearing out. What is the next best thing other than these headphones? They don't have to be temper tantrum proof (that was probably the only time in my life I've ever got that mad) but I would prefer something that isn't going to break when I leave it in my bag. Quite possibly I am just going to by the x version of the headphones as I don't really think there is anything near the price of these headphones with similar quality. Am I wrong? Is there somthing the same price or even a little bit ($50 at most) more expensive that are better?

Thanks.
 
Oct 21, 2015 at 5:13 PM Post #2 of 17
From what I understand, you seem to carry your headphones around. Sure the M50X will do the job. Also look into V-Moda M100. It is built like a tank, folds into a nugget for easy portability and sounds slightly better than the M50X but it is a bit more bassy than the M50X.
 
Oct 21, 2015 at 5:25 PM Post #3 of 17
Thanks for the fast reply!

The main thing that I loved about the M50's was that they were the first headphones I've ever owned which the mid/treb wasn't absolute crap. I don't mind my bassy bass, but do the V-Moda's miss out on the mid/treb or is it just that the bass is a bit over what it should?

Thanks 
 
Oct 21, 2015 at 5:37 PM Post #5 of 17
falconmick said:
  Thanks for the fast reply!

The main thing that I loved about the M50's was that they were the first headphones I've ever owned which the mid/treb wasn't absolute crap. I don't mind my bassy bass, but do the V-Moda's miss out on the mid/treb or is it just that the bass is a bit over what it should?

Thanks 
Click to expand...

 
Yea, the mids are going to be a little recessed though. In that case, look into these 3:
 
Nad Viso HP50 would be something that could suit your taste. Although some have said that they find it uncomfortable. May not be travel friendly
 
Sony MDR-1A is another great option. Very comfortable. Folds flat and is also light
 
If you have smaller than average size ears, Sennheiser Momentum will be a great option. And you can get one for ~$160. But these dont fold.
 
Oct 21, 2015 at 6:29 PM Post #7 of 17
The Sony MDR-1A I have wanted, but It's just that they are double the price of the M50's, are they really that good?

If I don't get the Sony Headphones, I instead could get a Fiio e18 + new M50's for the same price. What would be better? I already have a soundcard for my PC (asus essence stx ii) so my gain in quality would be purely for when I'm not at my pc, or are the Fiio e18's better than my Asus sound card?

Thanks again guys
 
Oct 21, 2015 at 7:04 PM Post #8 of 17
falconmick said:
  The Sony MDR-1A I have wanted, but It's just that they are double the price of the M50's, are they really that good?

If I don't get the Sony Headphones, I instead could get a Fiio e18 + new M50's for the same price. What would be better? I already have a soundcard for my PC (asus essence stx ii) so my gain in quality would be purely for when I'm not at my pc, or are the Fiio e18's better than my Asus sound card?

Thanks again guys
Click to expand...

 
If the MDR-1A costs double the price f the M50X, I'm not sure if it's worth it. Your sound card has enough power to drive the M50X. My advice would be to save the remaining cash for something else or start saving up for something big in the future.
 
Oct 22, 2015 at 2:45 AM Post #9 of 17
Look into the the MDR-100aap, which sounds a lot better than the 1A, and the Yamaha HPH MT220
 
Oct 22, 2015 at 3:08 AM Post #10 of 17
The Yamaha HPH-MT220 is vastly superior to the M50x, which has overwhelming boomy bass that muds up the sound. On my profile, I rank the headphones I used to own based on personal preference. Look how high the MT220 is and how low the M50x is. If you are okay with open headphones that are not portable at all, you will get by far the best sound quality with a used STAX system. Most of them cost hundreds of dollars at least, but some (such as the STAX SR-30 electret earspeakers + STAX SRD-4 electret adapter + Lepai LP-2020A+ speaker amp) can be had for $100 or so. In my opinion, even this low-end electret (variation of electrostatic) system sounds more transparent than the most expensive non-electrostatic systems, though it's nowhere near as good in certain other categories aside from transparency. There are drawbacks to both of these options, however. The MT220 has a coiled nondetachable cable and the SR-30 isn't comfortable, though perhaps it could be with the right aftermarket pads.
 
Oct 22, 2015 at 8:30 AM Post #11 of 17
inthere said:
  Look into the the MDR-100aap, which sounds a lot better than the 1A, and the Yamaha HPH MT220
Click to expand...

I am considering right now the MDR 1A MDR 100aap and the Yamaha HPH MT220. What would you all choose if money wasn't a factor. Also I have just come from 3 years of the M50's so that over powering bass that your talking about is what I'm used to. I tried some headphones of around the same price out earlier today and was shocked at the sound... I've grown accustom to the bass.
 
Thanks
 
Oct 22, 2015 at 12:25 PM Post #12 of 17
The Yamaha is discontinued is it not? Pretty sure your only options for getting those are finding a reseller on Amazon or Ebay. 
 
If you like having studio monitor headphones I would try going to a local store that sells musical equipment/instruments/DJ Gear as those stores tend to carry those types of headphones. If that's not really an option, getting the X version of the M50's isn't really a bad idea if you really like the headphones.
 
You could also have a look at a variety of other Audio Technica headphones in that price range.
 
Another option is the Shure SRH440. They are cheaper than the M50s have better clarity in the mids and highs, but are bass shy compared to the M50. They fold up as well. Amp not needed.
 
Oct 22, 2015 at 4:48 PM Post #14 of 17
The Sony MDR-1A really caught my interest as they have a really nice look, can't say  about the sound though as so far none of my local stores have any available for testing. I kinda want to get the next tier up of sound quality but if the MDR-1A or other headphones at that price range isn't really that much better, I don't really want to just throw double the money at them :p I would expect atleast 1.2-1.5 better quality.
 
Anyone had both the m50's and mdr-1A can give advice?

Thanks everyone
 
 
Oct 22, 2015 at 5:04 PM Post #15 of 17
falconmick said:
  The Sony MDR-1A really caught my interest as they have a really nice look, can't say  about the sound though as so far none of my local stores have any available for testing. I kinda want to get the next tier up of sound quality but if the MDR-1A or other headphones at that price range isn't really that much better, I don't really want to just throw double the money at them :p I would expect atleast 1.2-1.5 better quality.
 
Anyone had both the m50's and mdr-1A can give advice?

Thanks everyone
Click to expand...

 
My buddy @goodyfresh owns the MDR-1A and, if I recall, he dislikes the M50x like I do, so if he doesn't reply here soon, PM him. All I know is that the MT220 sounds much, much better than the M50x. I haven't heard the MDR-1A.
 
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