The Fire Snake
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2010
- Posts
- 81
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I just wanted to to do a little informal review of the Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones to help some people new into the highend headphone world like me. So hear goes......
Overview:
I wanted a set of good cans for work so I needed them to be closed, as I couldn't deal with much noise leakage. I listen to a lot of electronic music from people like John Digweed, Sasha, Oakenfold etc and wanted a can with good bass, but wasn't sloppy. I was recommended these cans by a few members and decided to take the plunge. These are the first cans I have had that were over $20. Though, I have most of my audio experience with high end car audio equipment and have heard some really nice setups. I am used to a lot of bass in my music. Currently I have a 1000W of bass in my mobile application and about 400 watts of midbass and highs. I like the in your face sound. Just to give an idea of what my ears are used to hearing.
Looks/Construction/Comfort:
I personally love the look of these cans. They are are all black with some sliver accents around each earphone. You can see that a lot of attention was paid to detail. Each side is marked as L or R, which I really like. The cans can collapse into a smaller size to fit into the included bag. The headband is also very nice looking and comfortable(well padded). Another nice touch is the words "Audio Technica" spelled out on the band, to allow you to show them off a bit. Each side also swivels so that you can lie them flat if you like. They also come with a very long cord, which I like. I can put them on and move around my desk without fear of pulling them off. But you will need to wire-tie the excess length. Overall the construction is very durable and they are very nice looking. One point to make is that they have nice pleather pads on each side but they can get a bit uncomfortable after an hour of use. I felt some pain on each ear after wearing them continuously for an hour. The ear cups got a little sweaty. But this is something I expected and it might be a blessing in disguise since this forces me to take them off and give my ears a rest before putting them on again.
Sound quality:
I bought these headphones for use with unamped sources. I wanted to use them on my desktop, IPOD and laptop computer without an amp/dac etc.
I first tried them on my desktop and they sounded ok. I have an old 5 year old desktop with integrated sound(nForce3). I have my desktop hooked up with the Logitech Z-5500 system. The control unit of this system has a port for the headphone. I was surprised to find that they did not drive the headphone that well. I had to turn the volume up pretty loud on the control unit to get good volume from the cans.
Next, I tried them with my IPOD 5th gen classic unit. My music is all in 256 bit VBR format. These cans sound good out of the IPOD, better than the desktop surprisingly. But I have to turn up the volume more than 2/3rds to get them pretty loud. But other than that, they sound good with the IPOD.
Finally, I tried them with my new T500 Thinkpad laptop. I was blown away and quite surprised. They sound the best plugged directly into the laptop. They have a lot more impact, clarity and volume level as compared with the other sources. I have no idea why. Aren't laptop cards weak?
Overall these cans sound great. Their bass impact is very good and deep. Bass is not a concern here, in my opinion. The bass seems clear and tight and not sloppy. I have about 50 hours of burnin on these and the bass definitely tightened up. Even if they had less bass I would not mind. If you want more bass than this, I think your music will get clouded. I do wish the highs were a little more sharp and pronounced and the trebble could be a little clearer as well. But over all they sound great. They also provide a good amount of noise isolation but if they are turned up somewhat loud there is some sound leakage. They nice part is that they isolate to the point where you can't hear nearby conversations and your own clicking on the keyboard, but you can hear the phone ring. One thing I must say is that I think high end headphones are a good value. They are compact and give you an amazing sound for a fraction of what you would pay for high end home or car audio speakers. The one thing that I learned is that they won't give you the same experience as regular speakers as far as the feeling of air movement and bass hitting you in the chest. But the headphone experience is definitely unique and just as enjoyable as regular speakers. In fact I am finding that I like listening to a lot of tracks on these headphones rather than regular speakers.
Conclusion:
These are my first high end cans so I don't have a lot of frame or reference but I have heard high end speakers. I would say that these cans are well made, nice looking and sound good. If you can get them below $150, they are a good deal, but I don't think paying more than this for them is worth it.
Pros:
- Good solid construction
- Looks nice
- Good sound isolation, but can still hear things such as the phone ringing.
- Great bass, both in terms of impact and depth.
- fairly comfortable
- 1 year warranty.
Cons:
- The bass is a little over emphasized
- The highs could be sharper as well as the midbass
- They get uncomfortable to wear after an hour
- When turned up on the louder side, they do leak some sound, but that might be true of any other can as well
Let me know if you have any questions/comments. Thanks for reading.
Overview:
I wanted a set of good cans for work so I needed them to be closed, as I couldn't deal with much noise leakage. I listen to a lot of electronic music from people like John Digweed, Sasha, Oakenfold etc and wanted a can with good bass, but wasn't sloppy. I was recommended these cans by a few members and decided to take the plunge. These are the first cans I have had that were over $20. Though, I have most of my audio experience with high end car audio equipment and have heard some really nice setups. I am used to a lot of bass in my music. Currently I have a 1000W of bass in my mobile application and about 400 watts of midbass and highs. I like the in your face sound. Just to give an idea of what my ears are used to hearing.
Looks/Construction/Comfort:
I personally love the look of these cans. They are are all black with some sliver accents around each earphone. You can see that a lot of attention was paid to detail. Each side is marked as L or R, which I really like. The cans can collapse into a smaller size to fit into the included bag. The headband is also very nice looking and comfortable(well padded). Another nice touch is the words "Audio Technica" spelled out on the band, to allow you to show them off a bit. Each side also swivels so that you can lie them flat if you like. They also come with a very long cord, which I like. I can put them on and move around my desk without fear of pulling them off. But you will need to wire-tie the excess length. Overall the construction is very durable and they are very nice looking. One point to make is that they have nice pleather pads on each side but they can get a bit uncomfortable after an hour of use. I felt some pain on each ear after wearing them continuously for an hour. The ear cups got a little sweaty. But this is something I expected and it might be a blessing in disguise since this forces me to take them off and give my ears a rest before putting them on again.
Sound quality:
I bought these headphones for use with unamped sources. I wanted to use them on my desktop, IPOD and laptop computer without an amp/dac etc.
I first tried them on my desktop and they sounded ok. I have an old 5 year old desktop with integrated sound(nForce3). I have my desktop hooked up with the Logitech Z-5500 system. The control unit of this system has a port for the headphone. I was surprised to find that they did not drive the headphone that well. I had to turn the volume up pretty loud on the control unit to get good volume from the cans.
Next, I tried them with my IPOD 5th gen classic unit. My music is all in 256 bit VBR format. These cans sound good out of the IPOD, better than the desktop surprisingly. But I have to turn up the volume more than 2/3rds to get them pretty loud. But other than that, they sound good with the IPOD.
Finally, I tried them with my new T500 Thinkpad laptop. I was blown away and quite surprised. They sound the best plugged directly into the laptop. They have a lot more impact, clarity and volume level as compared with the other sources. I have no idea why. Aren't laptop cards weak?
Overall these cans sound great. Their bass impact is very good and deep. Bass is not a concern here, in my opinion. The bass seems clear and tight and not sloppy. I have about 50 hours of burnin on these and the bass definitely tightened up. Even if they had less bass I would not mind. If you want more bass than this, I think your music will get clouded. I do wish the highs were a little more sharp and pronounced and the trebble could be a little clearer as well. But over all they sound great. They also provide a good amount of noise isolation but if they are turned up somewhat loud there is some sound leakage. They nice part is that they isolate to the point where you can't hear nearby conversations and your own clicking on the keyboard, but you can hear the phone ring. One thing I must say is that I think high end headphones are a good value. They are compact and give you an amazing sound for a fraction of what you would pay for high end home or car audio speakers. The one thing that I learned is that they won't give you the same experience as regular speakers as far as the feeling of air movement and bass hitting you in the chest. But the headphone experience is definitely unique and just as enjoyable as regular speakers. In fact I am finding that I like listening to a lot of tracks on these headphones rather than regular speakers.
Conclusion:
These are my first high end cans so I don't have a lot of frame or reference but I have heard high end speakers. I would say that these cans are well made, nice looking and sound good. If you can get them below $150, they are a good deal, but I don't think paying more than this for them is worth it.
Pros:
- Good solid construction
- Looks nice
- Good sound isolation, but can still hear things such as the phone ringing.
- Great bass, both in terms of impact and depth.
- fairly comfortable
- 1 year warranty.
Cons:
- The bass is a little over emphasized
- The highs could be sharper as well as the midbass
- They get uncomfortable to wear after an hour
- When turned up on the louder side, they do leak some sound, but that might be true of any other can as well
Let me know if you have any questions/comments. Thanks for reading.
