M3 came in today. It's definitely gonna take a few days to decide on a pair. I'll post a more detailed/in depth writeup later, but suffice it to say that these are both phenomenal headphones and I can't really see anyone being unhappy with either of them.
Some initial notes/thoughts:
- Music pauses when changing ANC mode on M3. Not a huge deal, but the A50 doesn't do that and I like that more. Probably only matters in this stage when I'm fiddling with things a lot though.
- Completely different aesthetic from the A50. Both are cool. I got the Sandy White. The white looks more plasticky than I would like...the black version might hide that a little better? Overall the A50 definitely has a more "mature" aesthetic, but they both look pretty cool. I'd rock either one in public and feel cool doing it.
- M3 is definitely more comfortable to wear. Quite a bit less head grip. The leather is very nice. It's also got more room inside the earpads. I have a huge head and decent-sized ears.
- M3 is vastly more portable. I like the fold to turn off. Feels cool not having to press a button to turn on/off.
- M3 seems to ignore any changes made to codec in Developer option. Always reverts back to AptX, 48khz/16 bit/best effort. I assume it's using AptX LL? Don't know how to check that. Anyone know?
- The A50 does NOT do this and remembers the changes I make (and the music is briefly interrupted when changing anything, indicating the chagnes are doing something)
- No AptX HD on M3 so you're capped at 352kbps. That's not relevant for 90% of the way I'll use these, which is streaming Spotify/SoundCloud but definitely something to consider. Both can be listened using a USB-C cable (AFAIK), so that would circumvent this. I have not listened via USB-C yet.
- Not really sure how to best compare the ANC. Suggestions? They both seem to work plenty well enough around the house. I'm gonna end up taking both of these on the plane with me for Science, aren't I?
- Sidebar: The A50 really does become a completely different headphone with that weird ANC Max volume/bass boost.
I'm doing my listening comparisons with ANC set to Normal on A50 and "No ear pressure" on the M3. All wireless at this point. Feels like the M3 gets a little bit louder overall, but that might just be the tuning/more bass/placebo. It's not a huge difference. I'm not adjusting the equalizer on either at this point. Soundscape is definitely bigger on the M3, but not vastly.
To talk about a specific example: The Who - Baba O'Riley. One of my all-time favorite songs. It sounds great on both, bass hits heavier on the M3, but we all know that. It sounds great on both, but to be honest...I think I prefer the A50.
If I was forced at gunpoint to choose a headphone right now...I'd probably choose the A50, but it's early stages and I can't point to why I'd make that choice. Might just be because I've listened to it more at this point.
I'm listening to stuff on Spotify Extra High. I'll probably pick up a Tidal 30 day trial to fiddle around with some higher fidelity stuff. Although that really only benefits the A50, since the M3 is capped at 352kbps over bluetooth, unless I seriously misunderstand audio codecs.
Right now I'm primarily listening to some house/techno mixes that I'm reasonably confident are mixed/mastered well while I clean the house. I'm doing hour mixes and swapping back and forth between the two.
Honestly, I expected myself to like the M3 more, but at this point I'm inclined towards the A50.