os2k
100+ Head-Fier
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- Nov 28, 2007
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I recently purchased the Shure SRH440 and wanted to compare them to my friend’s Audio Technica’s ATH-M50 - since they both get recommended around here for studio and listening headphones for around $100. Street price on the ATs is a little higher than the Shures (or up to double of the Shures - depends on when and where they are purchased), but features and construction seem comparable.
Since both headphones have been covered in details in other threads, this comparative review will focus on the differences between the two sets.
Construction:
The ATs have the upper hand - mainly due to the Shures’ exposed leads connecting the right ear-cup. In order to fold the shure for storage and portability, the headband needs to be extended thus straining the lead. I am worried that multiple folding and unfolding may damage the cable .
Comfort:
I am using the Shure stock pads are not as soft as the AT pads. However, the ATs clamp down with greater force which offset the advantage of the softer pads - so no clear winner here.
Testing:
The listening rig used for this comparison consisted of MP3 encoded at 320 CBR and VBR (0) played on Foobar2000 through an Asus Xonar U1.
Songs used for this comparison:
Daft Punk - Solar Sailor (Tron OST) - for evaluating low frequencies performance
The Joy Formidable - Whirring (The Big Roar) - for general modern rock sound and female vocals
Nora Jones - Come Away With Me (Come Away With Me) - for female vocals and acoustic sounds
Massive Attack - Angel (Mezzanine) - for low frequencies and electronica genre
Gold Panda - Vanilla Minus (Lucky Shiner) - electronica
Autolux - Capital Kind of Strain (Future Perfect) - acoustic drums, soundstage
Baths - Animals (Cerulean) - electronica
The Results:
Daft Punk - Solar Sailor The SRH440 are more detailed but lack bass extension. The ATs’ sound reminded me of a satellite/sub woofer HT system - good quantity and quality of bass extension and nice treble detail but a bit recessed around the mid section (no news there).
ATH-M50 win on this one - for delivering a home theatre with a good subwoofer like experience.
T.J.F. - Whirring The ATs have a good punchy snare. The vocals are a bit sibilant and a bit too bright. The recording iteself does not extend too low into sub-woofer zone so no real advantage here for the ATs’ low end extension. Soundstage is a bit confined - it sounds like the band is playing in small room while the listener is just a few feet away from the drum set. The overall rock energy is fairly low due to recessed mid section. The drums sound a bit artifical. The individual instruments are not well separated.
The Shures’ mid forward sound helps create a really good rock energy. The snare and vocals sound very full and natural, not as bright and sibilant yet still very detailed. There is a lot of energy in the guitars and drums. Soundstage a bit wider in camparison to the AT’s. Drums sound full and realistic with good instrument sepertation.
The Shures are the winner on this one due to high energy and lower mid frequencies push (where the bass and drums really shine). The Shures are more enjoyable - in a “head nodding feet tapping” kind of way (they remind me of the Grado SR80).
Nora Jones - Come Away With Me The ATs’ presentation is quite nice - well defined drums and great vocals detail although still a bit on the bright side. Soundstage is nice and airy.
The Shures have a wider soundstage. Once again their emphasis on the mids make the vocals sound less harsh and more natural. At points it sounds as if Nora Jones is right next to you.
Winner - Shures - for better soundstage and more natural vocals.
Massive Attack - Angel The Shures drum sound is defined and quick. They have good separation. Of course their bass extension is not great, but bass is well defined and quick without sounding boomy and thumpy.
The ATs’ have a wonderful extension in the bass region. They extend much lower than the Shures. Soundstage again is a bit congested in comparison.The recessed mids make the vocals sound a bit distance. Guitars are closer together (space-wise), which actually sounds good on this tune.
Winner - ATs for deeper bass and in your face, aggressive soundstage.
Gold Panda - Vanilla Minus The ATs once again shine with their great punch and low end extension. These headphones were made for electronica . Gold Panda’s music has a lot of space and the ATs communicate it extremely well. The sampled analog vinyl hiss comes trough nicely on the ATs (which is a good thing in this case).
On this recording the Shures could not keep up with the ATs due to the lack of low end extension. Everything sounded fine but a bit anemic and polite. While the ATs make you feel like you are in a club listening to Gold Panda performing, the Shures sound a bit analytical but not in a good way.
ATs are the clear winner on this one due to bass extension and club thumping sound.
Autolux - Capital Kind of Strain The ATs produced artificial sounding drums, small soundstage and vocals that are a bit harsh. Their low end bleed colors the overall sound and muddies it. Guitars sound pretty good though.
This song really benefits from the clarity the Shures bring to the table as well as the larger soundstage. Vocals sound nice and warm. Guitar and especially drums sound very realistic.
Winner - Shure - for clarity, warm vocals and nice sounding drums.
Baths - Animals The Shures sound nice and spacey with punchy realistic drums and woodsy bass guitar (samples?).
The ATs present a narrower soundstage than the Shures with punchy and quick low end. Drums sound a bit congested. Low end bleed takes away from overall enjoyment.
Shure seem to be the surprise winner on this one for wider soundstage and realistic sounding acoustics.
Conclusions:
The bottom line is that both the Shure SRH440 and the Audio Tecnicha ATH-M50 are very competent but still have their deficiencies. Neither one is perfect. But they are, in my opinion, of about the same quality. I would even dare to say that as much as the Shures are underrated (especially if you can get them for under $70), the ATs are if not overrated definitely over-exposed. They both have their own personality and different sound signature that only the listeners’ preferences will determine which one is the best one for them.
I hope this write up will help some of the newcomers find courage to follow their hearts instead of just sheepishly buy and then recommend whatever is the FOTM.
Since both headphones have been covered in details in other threads, this comparative review will focus on the differences between the two sets.
Construction:
The ATs have the upper hand - mainly due to the Shures’ exposed leads connecting the right ear-cup. In order to fold the shure for storage and portability, the headband needs to be extended thus straining the lead. I am worried that multiple folding and unfolding may damage the cable .
Comfort:
I am using the Shure stock pads are not as soft as the AT pads. However, the ATs clamp down with greater force which offset the advantage of the softer pads - so no clear winner here.
Testing:
The listening rig used for this comparison consisted of MP3 encoded at 320 CBR and VBR (0) played on Foobar2000 through an Asus Xonar U1.
Songs used for this comparison:
Daft Punk - Solar Sailor (Tron OST) - for evaluating low frequencies performance
The Joy Formidable - Whirring (The Big Roar) - for general modern rock sound and female vocals
Nora Jones - Come Away With Me (Come Away With Me) - for female vocals and acoustic sounds
Massive Attack - Angel (Mezzanine) - for low frequencies and electronica genre
Gold Panda - Vanilla Minus (Lucky Shiner) - electronica
Autolux - Capital Kind of Strain (Future Perfect) - acoustic drums, soundstage
Baths - Animals (Cerulean) - electronica
The Results:
Daft Punk - Solar Sailor The SRH440 are more detailed but lack bass extension. The ATs’ sound reminded me of a satellite/sub woofer HT system - good quantity and quality of bass extension and nice treble detail but a bit recessed around the mid section (no news there).
ATH-M50 win on this one - for delivering a home theatre with a good subwoofer like experience.
T.J.F. - Whirring The ATs have a good punchy snare. The vocals are a bit sibilant and a bit too bright. The recording iteself does not extend too low into sub-woofer zone so no real advantage here for the ATs’ low end extension. Soundstage is a bit confined - it sounds like the band is playing in small room while the listener is just a few feet away from the drum set. The overall rock energy is fairly low due to recessed mid section. The drums sound a bit artifical. The individual instruments are not well separated.
The Shures’ mid forward sound helps create a really good rock energy. The snare and vocals sound very full and natural, not as bright and sibilant yet still very detailed. There is a lot of energy in the guitars and drums. Soundstage a bit wider in camparison to the AT’s. Drums sound full and realistic with good instrument sepertation.
The Shures are the winner on this one due to high energy and lower mid frequencies push (where the bass and drums really shine). The Shures are more enjoyable - in a “head nodding feet tapping” kind of way (they remind me of the Grado SR80).
Nora Jones - Come Away With Me The ATs’ presentation is quite nice - well defined drums and great vocals detail although still a bit on the bright side. Soundstage is nice and airy.
The Shures have a wider soundstage. Once again their emphasis on the mids make the vocals sound less harsh and more natural. At points it sounds as if Nora Jones is right next to you.
Winner - Shures - for better soundstage and more natural vocals.
Massive Attack - Angel The Shures drum sound is defined and quick. They have good separation. Of course their bass extension is not great, but bass is well defined and quick without sounding boomy and thumpy.
The ATs’ have a wonderful extension in the bass region. They extend much lower than the Shures. Soundstage again is a bit congested in comparison.The recessed mids make the vocals sound a bit distance. Guitars are closer together (space-wise), which actually sounds good on this tune.
Winner - ATs for deeper bass and in your face, aggressive soundstage.
Gold Panda - Vanilla Minus The ATs once again shine with their great punch and low end extension. These headphones were made for electronica . Gold Panda’s music has a lot of space and the ATs communicate it extremely well. The sampled analog vinyl hiss comes trough nicely on the ATs (which is a good thing in this case).
On this recording the Shures could not keep up with the ATs due to the lack of low end extension. Everything sounded fine but a bit anemic and polite. While the ATs make you feel like you are in a club listening to Gold Panda performing, the Shures sound a bit analytical but not in a good way.
ATs are the clear winner on this one due to bass extension and club thumping sound.
Autolux - Capital Kind of Strain The ATs produced artificial sounding drums, small soundstage and vocals that are a bit harsh. Their low end bleed colors the overall sound and muddies it. Guitars sound pretty good though.
This song really benefits from the clarity the Shures bring to the table as well as the larger soundstage. Vocals sound nice and warm. Guitar and especially drums sound very realistic.
Winner - Shure - for clarity, warm vocals and nice sounding drums.
Baths - Animals The Shures sound nice and spacey with punchy realistic drums and woodsy bass guitar (samples?).
The ATs present a narrower soundstage than the Shures with punchy and quick low end. Drums sound a bit congested. Low end bleed takes away from overall enjoyment.
Shure seem to be the surprise winner on this one for wider soundstage and realistic sounding acoustics.
Conclusions:
The bottom line is that both the Shure SRH440 and the Audio Tecnicha ATH-M50 are very competent but still have their deficiencies. Neither one is perfect. But they are, in my opinion, of about the same quality. I would even dare to say that as much as the Shures are underrated (especially if you can get them for under $70), the ATs are if not overrated definitely over-exposed. They both have their own personality and different sound signature that only the listeners’ preferences will determine which one is the best one for them.
I hope this write up will help some of the newcomers find courage to follow their hearts instead of just sheepishly buy and then recommend whatever is the FOTM.
