[Evelgest]

Just received my pair of M50S today.. man, what an upgrade from the ES7.

 

[pokey9000]

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I figure this is the place to ask - is $95 a good price for a new pair of ATH-M50's?  Also, does anyone know if the ATH-M50 would be considered a big improvement over the MDR-V6?

YES!  DO IT!  I got mine for about the same + tax with a B&H price match at Guitar Center and they've been completely worth it.
 
My M50s are my second pair of closed phones, following my Beyer'd V6 I've had for nearly a decade.  I love the V6, but I wanted something with a little more in the bass area and that didn't have that regrettable dip in the mids that kills vocals.  The M50s have none of those problems, and the deep ear cups are more comfortable than the Sonys on my humongo-ears.  I was skeptical, too, since I got these after returning a pair of ATH-AD700 for not even remotely living up to everything Head-Fi has built them up as (for me, at least).
 
Some advice though:  Be patient with them.  Let them burn in for as long as you can.  I got mine a little over a month ago, and was disappointed to find bass that overpowered everything else with muddiness.  I immediately did the tape mod which brought things in check.  Fast forward to last week, when I was listening to BassDrive and found my DnB to be completely lacking in B.  On a whim I ripped the tape off the vent holes.  The 1000W-bazooka-in-a-1993-Civic-trunk boominess was gone in the tracks I originally tried when I bought the cans.  The bass quantity is about the same as it was, but not exaggerated anymore.
 
Same goes for the pads and the clamping.  I wasn't a fan at first as the padding underneath is rock-hard out of the box and the headband is tight.  But over the past few weeks I've stopped noticing I have them on at all.

 

[shane55]

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Just received my pair of M50S today.. man, what an upgrade from the ES7.

Congrats on getting these. They are great and with 25 to 50 hours of break-in become even better!
Outrageous value. Great sound.
 
shane 

 

[sid1712]

Its been around 1 and a half months since i received my M50S and i have to say, they are freaking awesome. Never though that they would be so much better than the HD415's which i had previously. Plus they even make explosions in movies and games come to life with their oh-my-gawd bass. 

 

[plonter]

Has anyone ever opened the cups of the M50 ?  i want to know what there is underneath the soft black cover.      is it the driver itself or some sort of hard cover in order to protect it?
I sometimes take the M50 in one hand when picking them up and accidently touching the inside of the cups with my finger.  i want to make sure that i don't damage them in any way.

 

[m-p]

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Has anyone ever opened the cups of the M50 ?  i want to know what there is underneath the soft black cover.      is it the driver itself or some sort of hard cover in order to protect it?
I sometimes take the M50 in one hand when picking them up and accidently touching the inside of the cups with my finger.  i want to make sure that i don't damage them in any way.

No need to worry, there is a plastic grill with holes in between, check out this balance mod thread for photos. I have even opened and disassembled the cups several times before to apply the felt removal mod, experiment with dampening, etc. and everything is fine. However I think it's better if you grab the phones by the band instead one of the cups though.

 

[plonter]

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No need to worry, there is a plastic grill with holes in between, check out this balance mod thread for photos. I have even opened and disassembled the cups several times before to apply the felt removal mod, experiment with dampening, etc. and everything is fine. However I think it's better if you grab the phones by the band instead one of the cups though.

many thanks!

 

[Slaughter]

I took my tape off the other day as well. While it does tame the bass, I think it causes more resonation and boominess.

 

[m-p]

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I took my tape off the other day as well. While it does tame the bass, I think it causes more resonation and boominess.

I felt so, didn't sound good to me as well. At the moment I've got a bit of dampening inside the cups, removed the felt plugs, and stuffed the pads a little bit though.

 

[plonter]

just wanted to share this with you guys... Lately i am in for neutral and balanced sound, and i felt the M50 is too overwhelming in the bass department and even lacks some treble sparkle.  
so I plugged them into my Marantz CD5001 HP out today (in fact listening right now) and it totally balanced them out.    the bass got incredibely tight and the highs got the extra sparkle...even on the border of sibilant,but not quite there.
 
it is a thing with the marantz...I suspect that this is the way it sounds,very digital and sharp,extremely clean (it features a cirrus logic's cs4392 dac chip).    it sounds like that with all of my headphones, which are low impedance.  so i don't know exactly if this is because of the low impedance or just the way it sounds naturally.    
anyway...I like this combination very much and i think i am gonna listen only to it for the next week or so.    the M50 actually sounds much closer to neutral than colored.    

 

[shane55]

^^ Sounds like you found a winning combo. Congrats.
Yes, the M50 with my DAC1-Pre is just amazing. Where the DAC1 does not do as well with my DT880's (a bit too cold and sterile), it really compliments the M50.
 
shane

 

[plonter]

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^^ Sounds like you found a winning combo. Congrats.
Yes, the M50 with my DAC1-Pre is just amazing. Where the DAC1 does not do as well with my DT880's (a bit too cold and sterile), it really compliments the M50.
 
shane

thanks shane.  yeah..i think that the M50 need a little cloder than usual source to sound their best.  those who like the overpowering bass and silky highs will probably not agree.  it is a matter of taste and mood.
for a grado lover like me,it is natural to crave for a little sharpness every once in a while.  finding a great synergy is great isn't it?

 

[shane55]

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 finding a great synergy is great isn't it?

What it's all about... 

 

[TheGame21x]

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thanks shane.  yeah..i think that the M50 need a little cloder than usual source to sound their best.  those who like the overpowering bass and silky highs will probably not agree.  it is a matter of taste and mood.
for a grado lover like me,it is natural to crave for a little sharpness every once in a while.  finding a great synergy is great isn't it?

Yeah, I found that pairing them with my second gen iPod Touch (a somewhat cold and sterile sounding source to my ears) really does bring out some of the best in the M50s. I wouldn't have expected it at first but I'm impressed.
 

 

[plonter]

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Yeah, I found that pairing them with my second gen iPod Touch (a somewhat cold and sterile sounding source to my ears) really does bring out some of the best in the M50s. I wouldn't have expected it at first but I'm impressed.
 

I think that their highs have a great potential when smoothly extended.    but they can also get a little too sibilant if  extended too much (or as a result of underamping),because of their slightly metallic texture.