[madhav]

I am a noob at this and this is gonna be my first buy for a proper headphone. I am mostly buying it to watch movies on my laptop and listening to music. 

 

[Ninjiaw]

i own and love my hd558 but cant speak for the ath m50 as i havent head them.

 

[madhav]

Did you try them for electronic music? I am mostly gonna use them at home so don't know whether sound leakage would be a problem

 

[Ninjiaw]

i dont listin to much electronic music and i dont find sound leakage a problem if people are being noisy i can turn up the volume and any leakage from the headphones themselves is only heard at volumes louder then i usualy listen

 

[jodgey4]

Both headphones are usually easy to find in stores nearby... any chance you could try them in person? The M50's are a little more engaging, 558's should be more natural and warm. I've heard the M50's and I'm listening to 598's right now... I think I'd like the 558's the most personally. I generally think one should go for open headphones over closed for home/non-portable use because there's less resonance issues, better soundstage, and you can hear when someone walks in the room or whatever. You can't go wrong with either. The 558 at ~$40 cheaper makes a lot of sense too. What do you listen to, and at what volume levels? The M50's sound better for quiet listeners because of the way the ear works.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I am a noob at this and this is gonna be my first buy for a proper headphone. I am mostly buying it to watch movies on my laptop and listening to music. 

 
The ATH-M50s will offer a lot more bass then the HD558s, over wise I would think the HD558s win in the other categories.