[CrabsJarrard]

The M50 however are overhyped and not that great IMO.... One person buys them as first headphones compared to rubbish ones.. reviews them and hypes them up... Someone else does the same... And the overblown hype train begins.

 
As a happy owner of M50s, I'd like to know what sets in that price range you would recommend? I went from the JVC HARKX700s to the Grado 80i and ended up with the M50s @$100. I think they were a big step up from the Grados. I assumed I would have to spend closer to $200 to get a meaningful upgrade to the M50s.

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

 
As a happy owner of M50s, I'd like to know what sets in that price range you would recommend? I went from the JVC HARKX700s to the Grado 80i and ended up with the M50s @$100. I think they were a big step up from the Grados. I assumed I would have to spend closer to $200 to get a meaningful upgrade to the M50s.

Since I've gotten my EFi-82 MTs (with Shure pads), I haven't touched my M50s.
 
The EFi-82 MTs are $40.
 
Shure pads are $15.
 
An upgrade might not be as expensive as you think.

 

[Sound Quest]

The Sony MDR-V55's (headphones in my avatar) are great sounding headphones for about £45 off Amazon. Ive bought better regarded brands such as "Sennheiser" and "AKG" models in the same price range that don't come close to the sound of these headphones.
 
I'm not saying they're top of the range, just excellent for the price.

 

[nicholars]

Quote:

 
As a happy owner of M50s, I'd like to know what sets in that price range you would recommend? I went from the JVC HARKX700s to the Grado 80i and ended up with the M50s @$100. I think they were a big step up from the Grados. I assumed I would have to spend closer to $200 to get a meaningful upgrade to the M50s.

 
I don't think the M50's are BAD headphones really.... I just think they are seriously overhyped and not really THAT good.... A lot of the hype comming from first time headphone owners and also people just blindly repeating what others say etc.... It all comes down to personal preferences but to my ears they have boomy / bad bass texture, Metallic / spitty / sibilant treble and quite poor soundstage as well as being very closed sounding.... They are alright and pretty well built... I But IMHO they don't really sound that great and are hugely overhyped, especially at the current price.... For the $100 you paid they are not bad but for £130 in the UK ($190) they are overpriced.... For a bit more money I would reccomend the Denon D2000 which are frankly MUCH better than the M50.... For the same price I would say the Beyer DT770 80 ohm are better than the M50 as well.

 

[Rocko1]

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RPHTF600S-RP-HTF600-S-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B004MMEI8W

 

[Vlooienuker]

I personally did not like the M50s... If you are on a very tight budget then get the Koss porta pros or the Koss KSC 75. If you are willing to spend a bit more try to find either the Sennheiser 558 or Grado sr80i or 225i on the head-fi headphone classifieds. None of these require an amp so you should be good.

 

[mclldavidson]

Up

 

[stacker45]

The JVC S500 seem to have generated a lot of talk, some bad, but definately some good, i've never heard them myself, but i will if i get a chance.

 

[TrollDragon]

Quote:

The JVC S500 seem to have generated a lot of talk, some bad, but definately some good, i've never heard them myself, but i will if i get a chance.

Everybody should have a pair of JVC HA-S500's an excellent sounding portable unit.

 

[Level5]

Quote:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RPHTF600S-RP-HTF600-S-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B004MMEI8W

Damn yet another impulse buy, but this is better than spending $100+ for sure. 

  We'll see how this compares to my current favorite JVC HA-S400. 

 

[mclldavidson]

bump for any new suggestions

 

[wafflezz]

Anyone on this thread mention the hd681 evo? 
I know I've talked about them a lot around here. They're starting to pick up in popularity now. Simply excellent, maybe even unbeatable for the price. I had them stock and they were actually a tad preferable to my m50 in SQ, all for $40.

I'm not sure about the transient response but I do believe they are fast enough for most genres and respond well to EQ(and mods apparently). I have to tell ya, I got my hd650 and the sound quality is maybe...30-40% better?(more transparent highs and forward mids are the main difference)
And not to mention the superlux still has significantly larger soundstage so I will still be using them for competetive gaming

 

[AL13N]

Yoga CD-880

(a.k.a. Fischer Audio FA-003; Brainwavz HM5; Lindy Premium Hi-Fi; Studiospares M1000; NVX Audio XPT100; Digitech Audio Professional Monitor)