[brendan l]

Hey everyone, I want to keep this short, I'm looking at upgrading to some nicer, over ear headphones for music listening and so far it looks like the ath m50 is the best choice for my budget.
 
Here's my question:
I know from reviews that the m50s sound excellent.  I'm going to be listening to music from my iphone 4 and on occasion an ipod touch 2g, with my music being synced from itunes. To put it simply, if i used m50's with these devices, without an additional amp, will my music sound good or not?  
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[Farnsworth]

yes

 

[Dyaems]

yep it will sound good unamped, no need for amping IMO.
 
you should also consider the cheaper monoprice 8323 if youre out of budget. they dont sound the same though. but sure both are bassy

 

[brendan l]

thanks guys. would love to hear back from more people

 

[Tangster]

Yes. I am assuming proper bitrates of course, no 128 ripped from Youtube crap.
As far as competitors to the M50s, a quick search in the forum will show you them, since it's a common question.

 

[brendan l]

I looked at some of my songs on itunes.. some say 256 (VBR), some just 256, and others 128.  Why would they be different? Also, what would be the "proper" bitrates as you mentioned?  As you can tell I'm really just getting into headphones and lots of this stuff is new to me.
 
Thanks so much for the help!

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

I looked at some of my songs on itunes.. some say 256 (VBR), some just 256, and others 128.  Why would they be different? Also, what would be the "proper" bitrates as you mentioned?  As you can tell I'm really just getting into headphones and lots of this stuff is new to me.
 
Thanks so much for the help!

256 AAC is adequate, but 320 MP3s/AAC is better, 128 is not really recommended because if you're going to listen to it with decent headphones, you will notice the drop in quality. Lossless(FLAC, ALC, etc) is best, but the files are much larger.

 

[brendan l]

I definitely wouldn't want to listen to low quality material.. This is just the kind of thing I was curious about in my first post. Everything is an AAC audio file, it's just the bitrate that changes. I haven't seen anything more than 256. Is there any way to get the higher bitrates?

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
It will function.
 
Whether it sounds good or not is going to be a subjective preference that only you can decide.
 
But to help you make a better decision perhaps, what exactly are you looking for in a headphone? What kind of sound signature? What do you listen to mostly? Describe everything you can about your needs/criteria possible with a headphone and give us a maximum budget to work with. There's a lot of other great headphones that you may not know about.
 
Very best,

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

256 AAC is adequate, but 320 MP3s/AAC is better, 128 is not really recommended because if you're going to listen to it with decent headphones, you will notice the drop in quality. Lossless(FLAC, ALC, etc) is best, but the files are much larger.

 
Actually aac is the better codec.  256aac is geenrally equal to 320mp3 (lame) - and is smaller.  In my own testing (a lot of people have found similar) - when DBT using a plugin like the one on foobar, most people won't be able to tell 256aac apart from mp3.  Try it yourself - take a CD, rip it to both codecs (rip it to lossless as well), then take all 3 and try A/Bing them using foobar2000 and the A/B plugin.  It's enlightening!
 
Quote:

I definitely wouldn't want to listen to low quality material.. This is just the kind of thing I was curious about in my first post. Everything is an AAC audio file, it's just the bitrate that changes. I haven't seen anything more than 256. Is there any way to get the higher bitrates?

 
Brendan - your 256aac will be fine - especially for portable.  You'd be unlikely to tell them from lossless if ripped from same source and volume matched.  And if you're listening portably it's even more unlikley.  My advice would be - whenever possible - get the lossless files (CD rips etc) and use them for archiving, but transcode to 256aac for your portable player.  You get more space and no real drop in audible quality.  The reason you archive in lossless is just in case there are transcoding advancements in future years.  If you have the lossless file, it is easy to transcode to another codec later.  Transcoding lossy to lossy is never a great idea.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

I definitely wouldn't want to listen to low quality material.. This is just the kind of thing I was curious about in my first post. Everything is an AAC audio file, it's just the bitrate that changes. I haven't seen anything more than 256. Is there any way to get the higher bitrates?

Rip direct from CDs into lossless, you can always re-encode into compressed AAC or MP3 to save space on portable devices.You can get CDs fairly cheap from charity and thrift stores. Some online stores sell lossless tracks as well, a few itunes tracks are available in lossless, but it's up to the artist.

 

[brendan l]

I'm looking for a comfortable set of over the ear headphones that I can wear for a few hours at a time.  Just for music listening, no gaming or dj ing or anything like that. As I mentioned, I'll use my iPhone and iPod generally.  I'm thinking closed because I would like some noise isolation (for use on planes or long car rides).  As for what music I listen to, generally the rock genre (looooooots of Green Day).  I'm not looking for lots of bass or anything special, just some quality headphones for under $200.  I'm no audiophile, I just want to hear my music better (using the Urbanears Plattan's right now and think it's time to upgrade).  I really appreciate the feedback guys!

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

I'm looking for a comfortable set of over the ear headphones that I can wear for a few hours at a time.  Just for music listening, no gaming or dj ing or anything like that. As I mentioned, I'll use my iPhone and iPod generally.  I'm thinking closed because I would like some noise isolation (for use on planes or long car rides).  As for what music I listen to, generally the rock genre (looooooots of Green Day).  I'm not looking for lots of bass or anything special, just some quality headphones for under $200.  I'm no audiophile, I just want to hear my music better (using the Urbanears Plattan's right now and think it's time to upgrade).  I really appreciate the feedback guys!

 
Heya,
 
In that case, I would instead suggest you explore:
 
Shure SRH840
Brainwavz HM5
Beyer DT770
Ultrasone HFI 780 & PRO 650
 
Very best,

 

[brendan l]

I did check those out.  They look pretty good, however I just think it's hard to argue with the hundreds and hundreds of great reviews for the m50's.  Thanks for the advice!