[Rarestg]

Hey guys,
For the last four months or so I have been rocking out to my Coby CV-185's which, surprisingly, offered a pretty massive sound for their tiny price tag. I go these for $10 and easily convinced my friends they were worth 40. You can find these headphones on the following link: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-80-portable-headphones-reviewed-beyerdynamic-dtx-300-p-koss-ksc35-added-05-06 .

Finally deciding to get over-ear headphones, I opted for the Audio Technica ATH-M50s which I got for $127 delivered. I can say that I am very pleased with the overall finish, build quality, and sound... but I just cant really hear much of a difference in sound quality between these and the Coby's. Really, these are a bit more clear on the low register, and the sound feels like its coming from further away (probably because the coby drivers are closer to my ear) - but after spending a good hour listening to each in various combinations I don't see why these are $110 more expensive.

I've heard that new models of the m50 are not as well made as older batches, or that the coiled version has better quality, but i dont think this should be the case. Does anyone have similar issues? All feedback would be appreciated
 
Thanks.

 

[GeneralSmirnoff]

I thik thatyour source is limiting the sound quality potential that the M50's have. What's your source?

 

[Rarestg]

Ah, I see..
So far I have tried them in my iPod touch, an HP Laptop, and an Asus Desktop computer using an onboard sound card...
What would you recommend as a good amplifier around 20-50$ ?

 

[TMRaven]

Quality of the recording and mastering of a song, as well as its bitrate, goes a long way with sound quality as well.
 

 

[Rarestg]

I agree, that's why I have only done tests using flac files ripped from CD's or apple's m4a losless format

 

[TMRaven]

Well, it's not just about using flac or not.  If the song wasn't recorded and mastered well to begin with, it will still sound like crap even as flac.

 

[FearSC549]

You need to get a better sound card or a DAC. 
 
Also, a file in FLAC or 320kbps MP3 doesn't necessarily mean it's recorded right. Mastering and recording plays a big factor in making a song sound like crap or great.

 

[Napilopez]

I wouldn't worry too much about how the recording was mixed yet. It's very important yes, but theres other things to deal with beforehand imo. For the most part, I think you should be enjoying things more on your M50 regardless of how it the music may have been recorded if you're listening to files at a decent bitrate.
 
What generation is your iPod touch? I know the newer ones sound better than the older ones, but I'm not sure of the exact distribution.

Also, you said a "good hour"; do you mean that literally? You should afford the M50 more burn-in time, at least 50 hours. Whether psychological or physical it's likely to have an effect. Try listening to just the M50s alone for a long time to allow your brain to adjust to the new sound, then try to go back to listening to the Cobys. I have the feeling you won't want to =P
 
Also, really don't discount the possibility that you may just not be used to hearing the differences yet, you seem pretty new to this head-fi biz ^_^
 
What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[metalh3ad]

Quote:

You need to get a better sound card or a DAC. 
 

True! onboard soundcards performance is bad...generally. 

 

[jerg]

Some people just can't discern how details differ in sound quality, can't blame em. It's like how my father can't see the difference between 24 fps and 48 fps in movies.

 

[teofilrocks]

 
Quote:

Try listening to just the M50s alone for a long time to allow your brain to adjust to the new sound, then try to go back to listening to the Cobys.

+1.
 
If you do this and afterward you still can't hear the difference, then I think there could be a couple reasons. 1) You could use a headphone amp, or 2) Yours ears just may not be able to pickup the difference. If that's the case, congratulations - you've just saved yourself a bunch of money over the next months/years to come. I can't always tell the difference between high-bitrate mp3s and uncompressed files. I want to, but I've tried and I can't. Which is fine because that means I can buy $4 mp3 albums from Amazon instead of $12 cds, save hard drive space, and still be happy when I listen to my music. So I say that if, in the end, the M50s do not bring you more happiness than the Cobys, return them and enjoy your extra money.

 

[teofilrocks]

 
Quote:

Some people just can't discern how details differ in sound quality, can't blame em. It's like how my father can't see the difference between 24 fps and 48 fps in movies.

^ Yeah, what he said 

 

[TMRaven]

I also think you should spend a while with them, and then go back to your older headphones after a couple months or so.  Humans are very adaptive, but it can take time to properly adapt to something.  Once you grow accustomed to what the M50s do for your music, you can go back to your older headphones which you havn't been listening to in a while.  You're sure to hear a difference-- rather good, bad or just different. 
 
For reasons like that I find it hard to directly A/B things in a relatively short manner.
 
 
 

 

[jerg]

Also OP, make sure you aren't using EQ settings you tuned for the Coby on the M50, may have completely skewed the otherwise-great sound signature.

 

[Rarestg]

 
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Right now I'm listening to some Coldplay, Queen, Ray Charles, Jazz, Orchestra, Rock, Heavy Dubstep, and some acoustic guitar medleys to show off the mids and highs of these cans. Great genre combination, I know. 

@Napilopez -I let the m50s burn in for a night with pink noise before comparing them    And I have the latest (4th) generation iPod touch.

As for my ears... Sucks that I don't hear much of a difference right now. Maybe its a trade off for my good vision.
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