[CaveManta]

Just got my m50x today. Heard great things about it and finally got the extra money to buy it. Currently trying to get the burn in going through some constant listening.

Using my Nexus 6 with Neutron Music Player and Viper4Android. Easily the best sounding set up I've ever had. With the flac files I have (hip hop, isley brothers, and some other random files), my ears are pleased

 
Yay, I'm glad you're enjoying your M50x! The M50 sounds fantastic out of portable devices, I have to say. The best I've ever heard it play was out of a Sansa Fuze. (M50x is basically the same).
Just watch out for the M50(x) haters out there, man. They grow in numbers by the day. But then again, so do the fans.

 

[Kodhifi]

Senheiser 650 owner pleasantly surprised by the M50x. I own several more expensive headphones, some comperable, and some cheaper and I have to say in spite of having the HD650, DT880,  DT990, HE400 and other really good headphones, I finally bit the bullet and bought the M50x and I am not disappointed. They sound really good out of the box with a really balanced, non colored sound and decent imaging for a closed back. I mostly go for open or semi open so I only have the Custom One Pro, SZ2000, and MDRV6 to compare these to. Out of the 4 it is the most neutral with excellent balance between bass, mid, and treble. They are not fatiguing, very musical, very sensitive and easy to drive, and sound great out of the box.
 
Compared to the Custom One Pro the M50x is more balanced with better imaging and a more natural bass presence. Bass is still very forward but not distractingly so like the Beyerdynamics which  are almost as bass forward as the SZ2000.
 
SZ2000 is still breaking in so the jury is out whether it will be a good headphone for me or not. It is definitely the most bass capable headphone in my collection. I mean many closed back headphones you can hear incredible sub bass, but the JVC's your head actually shakes. You feel the bass not just hear it. However they are much less neutral and have some coloration I'm currently trying to burn out. The mid bass is much too high in the JVC's compared to the M50x and I did not find them very pleasing out of the box.
 
The MDRV6 is the closest in sound character to the M50x out of my headphones. They both have relatively color free, bass forward to balanced presentations and good imaging for closed backed. I find there to be less mid bass in the m50x though which has easily as much bass or more, but less mid bass thickness and it doesn't mess with the mids. The mdr's are a little thicker in mid bass which can mess with the balance more than I'd like. Of the two I prefer the M50x but it costs twice as much.
 
 
The surprising thing is listening to these next to my HD650's which are another really balanced, relaxed, and musical headphone. The sound is a little more open on the 650's but just listening to the musicality and balance of each they have more similarities than differences. Of course your favorite headphones are always the last ones you bought so time will tell, but for now I'd say these are the best deal around for under 200. They are easier on the ears than DT990's which are in that price range, but have removable cables and less fatiguing highs. I'll have to do some more comparisons this weekend.

 

[Neccros]

Does anyone know if the M70x case will fit M50x headphones? I see that they both fold flat but someone told me the M50x's don't fit...
 
Can anyone else confirm this?

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

  You know, I'd love to mod my M50 and make it epic, but it's just so old now. It's been through Hell and back, and it's starting to show its age.

Maybe I should just mod it because there's not really anything to lose anymore. While I'm at it, I could throw in a new headband and earpads.

 
How many people got the m50s or m50x's like this?
Did you guys baby them or did they had to go through hell to end up like this?
 
I love the m50x.... but actually my only gripe with them is the lack of a exchangeable headband.... like that they would cover basically all durability boxes....
Worst than that is being able to replace everything but the cable...... DAMN YOU BEYERDYNAMIC DT770'S!!!!!!!!

 

[FYLegend]

 
How many people got the m50s or m50x's like this?
Did you guys baby them or did they had to go through hell to end up like this?

I have the white one and within half a year the headband started to have wrinkles and cracks. Even worse I'm getting klunky creaky noises from the earcup hinge at the slightest twitch of my head. The MSR7 has a creaky headband but at least it stays put on your head and only rarely makes noises when I move my head around. I've used the MSR7 for about 5 months now and the headband has shown no signs of wearing.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Really? Have you baby them or toss them around without any worries for them to end up like that?

The headband on the special editions (mattw, blue, green) have the same material as the regular one or is it a different and more durable one?

 

[FYLegend]

Well I haven't literally tossed them around but sometimes listening to music I do a bit of rocking or headbanging lol I mean, singers who are really into their music would dance their way though their vocal take (like Michael Jackson for example), and it would be rather disappointing of a headphone can't stand up to that without creaking. In the case of MJ he used Fostex T20RP at an extremely high volume...

 

[CaveManta]

   For a year or so, I didn't take my M50 out into the world very much. It remained in perfect condition. Man, it was beautiful.
   After 3 years of owning it, I got newer cans and finally decided to stop taking it easy. I'd put it into a laptop bag with my netbook, taking it on flights and such. I accidentally kinda stepped on it once or twice >.>, and it still held up well. At this point, the earpads were seriously drying out. I wanted to replace them back then, but never did.
   Fast forward another year, I didn't care about putting the M50 into whatever backpack I was using. A crease formed in one of the earpads because of the cord, and the headband just started peeling. It didn't look bad, but there was black fabric coming off.
   Only last year, after over 4 years of ownership, the headband started looking bad. The earpads also formed lots of cracks! And now my poor M50 looks, well, abysmal. The hinges are starting to squeak a little bit, so its build quality there is almost as bad as some other headphones brand new.
 
According to this deconstruction guide of the M50, you can actually replace the headband! http://www.head-fi.org/t/586304/full-ath-m50-deconstruction

So how durable is the M50? I'd say it's invincible! It won't die. And if it does, it's fixable! (Hopefully the M50x will remain the same).

 

[Kodhifi]

Did they ever fix the headband problems? I just got a new pair of white M50x mfg 2015.

 

[smy1]

Some reason I find the m40x better then the m50x

 

[CaveManta]

I hear that the M40x doesn't have the bass emphasis of the M50x, thus making it more neutral. I suppose this might give it less of the "in your face" sound as well.

 

[FYLegend]

I'm not sure whats going on but when I tried some M50x they seemed more bassy, others not so much. Got me all paranoid whether I got a fake and I actually thought mine sounded more like the M40x. Could have been partly due to the earpads wearing out or something...
 
Some users in this thread said the M40x bass is too wooly and loose while others say it's more neutral and prefer the M40x. And then of course there's those who dislike both due to fatiguing highs and small soundstage among other things...
 

  According to this deconstruction guide of the M50, you can actually replace the headband! http://www.head-fi.org/t/586304/full-ath-m50-deconstruction

So how durable is the M50? I'd say it's invincible! It won't die. And if it does, it's fixable! (Hopefully the M50x will remain the same).

In tha deconstruction it seems mine is affected in this hinge:
 

I'm not sure if oil or WD40 would help with that... I put some oil and it got creakier for a day and then stopped, but I still got the klunky sound when ever my forehead twitches among other things...

 

[CaveManta]

Hmm, the clunking just won't go away, eh? That's odd. I hope the hinge itself is okay, not grinding against anything. Does the affected side feel a little bit stiffer than the other when you rotate them?

 

[FYLegend]

  Hmm, the clunking just won't go away, eh? That's odd. I hope the hinge itself is okay, not grinding against anything. Does the affected side feel a little bit stiffer than the other when you rotate them?

No it's actually fairly loose. I've tried tightening the screws but it didn't help. If you look at that picture above there is a split within the hinge itself that probably allows for flexibility, but I believe that's where the sound is coming from as the hinge moves around.

 

[Kodhifi]

  I'm not sure whats going on but when I tried some M50x they seemed more bassy, others not so much. Got me all paranoid whether I got a fake and I actually thought mine sounded more like the M40x. Could have been partly due to the earpads wearing out or something...
 
Some users in this thread said the M40x bass is too wooly and loose while others say it's more neutral and prefer the M40x. And then of course there's those who dislike both due to fatiguing highs and small soundstage among other things...
 
In tha deconstruction it seems mine is affected in this hinge:
 

I'm not sure if oil or WD40 would help with that... I put some oil and it got creakier for a day and then stopped, but I still got the klunky sound when ever my forehead twitches among other things...

Metal can squeak but usually it's plastic that creaks. You either need to keep the plastic parts from rubbing/moving or you need to lubricate that motion.
 
If you want to bind them so they don't move try using a cheap paint brush and a little rosin or drummers glue. It's a kind of hard sticky grit that gets soft and sticky with body heat and helps prevent your sticks from slipping out of your hands. It also keeps two plastic surfaces from moving against each other while not gluing them to gether.
 
To go the other route, I highly recommend a light application of talcum powder also with a brush or Q tip. Then wipe the outside of the plastic clean after re-assembly. You need to clean any oil up first though. Talc is very fine and works its way intoo every nook and cranny and provides a kind of mechanical lubrication.
 
Talc is a squak and creak killer in every pair of tennis shoes I've ever had noise from.