[Onyx715]

So I've had these bad boys since July of this year(2013) and these are my first audiophile headphones so I'm still new to this world. But anyways, my cans have been crackling since the week after I got them. Usually it happens when a piano is playing. The crackling is VERY noticeable in the song Agony by Fleshgod Apocalypse. A piano plays in that song and it crackles almost every time a key is hit. I can't even finish the song. Actually, I've never finished listening to the song because the crackling is so annoying. If anyone can help that would be great. I do wash the ear pads so they can be clean and look nice(I have the white version of the M50s) but i put them back on when they are dry so no water can mess up the drivers. But the crackling started way before i even cleaned my cans for the first time. If it helps, I mainly listen to electronic music and metal. It could be a possibility that when I was burning in the headphones, I played a youtube video of white noise for a few hours at max volume so that could be why its crackling. If thats the case well then I guess i'm ****ed until i can replace them because i didn't get the limited warranty from Audio Technica and I ordered them via Amazon. Thanks for your help ^_^

 

[NA Blur]

We need a few pieces of information to help out.
 
What gear are you listening to?  Amp, DAC, etc?
 
Do you hear it on other tracks?
 
From now on never burn in your headphones at max volume.  That is like burning in a car engine at the max rpms which will lead to serious damage.  I hope that your headphones have not been damaged.

 

[Chimichanga]

You may have ruined a pair of headphones over something that possibly isn't real, or the at the very most noticeable to the human ear. The human brain believes what it wants to believe, or believes what you don't even know (your subconscious.)
 
I'd love it for someone to run a double-blind test on this sort of thing.

 

[NA Blur]

  You may have ruined a pair of headphones over something that possibly isn't real, or the at the very most noticeable to the human ear. The human brain believes what it wants to believe, or believes what you don't even know (your subconscious.)
 
I'd love it for someone to run a double-blind test on this sort of thing.

I think what Chim is trying to say here is that burn-in is not something easily proven and doing so at high volumes can lead to damage.

 

[Onyx715]

 
I think what Chim is trying to say here is that burn-in is not something easily proven and doing so at high volumes can lead to damage.

yeah I've done my fair share of research on burn in and if it's an actual thing or not and i personally believe it is but I believe that I did push my headphones too far. And to reply to your first post Blur, I don't have any fancy amps or anything. Just an ipod and the headphones. Even though I might have damaged them, they seem to be fine with all other music, the only time you really notice the crackling is when a piano is playing.