Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Headphone Review

[x9Memoriez]

Im back again! And this time... With the unofficial "Holy Grail of all Sub-130$~ Headphones". Had these for like a year, time to give them the same treatment as before. (Head up, it isn't going to be all rosy, there are many headphones out there that can easily compete with these for that price.)

Aesthetics: 5.5/10

These arent really a looker, lets be honest. you'll seem like 'That Guy' if you take these outside in public, which is entirely possible from their closed design, but i wouldnt really feel natural wearing these out in public... I mean, they look pretty nice in a studio environment anyway, all black, (Plastic though) with tasteful metallic silver accents and a recessed logo. Nothing really special here.

Comfort: 5/10

Once you put these cans over your head, your first reaction is going to be: "Wow, these headphones are actually pretty comfortable!" then after about half an hour, you're going to have to push yourself to keep these on your head.

My ears are relatively small, so these are definitely over-ear for me, but (being the person i am), im going to compare them to my other set of headphones, the Beyerdynamic DT990s, which got a perfect score from me.

Lets start with the headband. Its nice and large, and made out of a pretty nice faux lether, if a little bit stiff. They seem to have a lot of padding, but thats where ill pause. SEEM.

They really dont. The actual padding that lays on your head is probably like 1-2mm thick, but is seriously nowhere near enough, there are going to be pressure points everywhere on your head, especially at the tip.

Next, the earpads..

What is audio technica thinking? These things are atrocious. Seriously, out of everything they couldve put, they put this nasty, crusty leatherette earpad that is incredibly stiff in terms of matiral, then put this foam that for one, isnt deep enough, and two, hardly cusion anything on your ears. Back to the point that they arent deep enough, after 20-30 minutes, your ears will feel incredibly sore, and thats because the drivers come into direct contact with the tips of your ears after a while.  At least the clamping pressure is about right.


All of these, the beyerdynamics do perfectly. 

Sound: 6/10

Uh... Not really sure where to start.

These cans do sound pretty good if you're coming from another, less expensive bassy headphone. The mids and highs are relatively forward, with the bass being ramped up slightly. Though compared to the DT990's, these are very muddy and slightly tinny. Though considering the DT990's cost almost twice as much, its not really a fair comparison, but theres my 2 cents.

For soundstage, there almost isnt any. Unless you enable something like digital surround (Which i never recommend for any kind of music listening since it just ****s with the EQ,) these headhpones are so forward, its like sitting inside of a tiny cage while being claustrophobic. Its basically having the headphone version of some 100$~ IEM in terms of soundstage and intrumental separation.

Design 6.5/10

Surprisingly, the design of these is probably the best part. Its made pretty well, it feels quite substantial, as the plastic is not that "Toys 'r' us" plastic that you will find on other more generic headphones, and the metal size adjustment and swivel feels incredibly smooth and clicky. the fold too, which is a big plus f you want to take these anywhere in a bag. The cable is so-so, about 5-6 feet long with a good 2 feet being coiled, which is nice if your source is just a little out of reach. They're very heavily and sag down if you take these outside, however.

Conclusion: 6/10

I mean, yeah, they're good, but im not 100% sure of the craze around these headphones. The M50x version of these apparently have much better earpads and a nice removable cable, but that doesnt fix what i have at the moment. The sound out of these is nice for monitoring at all, but for straight up music listening, it gets uncomfortable and the soundstage is non-existent. If you have the 150$ to spend on headphones for music, i would look elsewhere, as you can find something better. for monitoring? maybe, but the comfort is an issue if you're wearing these for a very extended amount of time.

[FrostyToast]

Considering you can easily find these things going for around $50 and even less used they are quite excellent.
Most people don't spend 100+ on headphones so these are some of the best in that range.

[x9Memoriez]

Considering you can easily find these things going for around $50 and even less used they are quite excellent.
Most people don't spend 100+ on headphones so these are some of the best in that range.

If you can find these for 50$, these are fantastic.

In australia, these are easily over 120 however. 

[The Hobbiest]

Got to pretty much agree with everything in this review.  Ive had a pair for about two years and they break in a bit only slightly reducing the pressure and fatigue.  The sound is extremely even to me with a slight bass bump.  I can see why those mixing bass guitar or bass driven genres of music (electronic) could prefer these.  I think the combination of flat mids (most people are used to scooped) with even highs as well as the closed back design of the headphones creates that "forward sounding" soundstage.  In defense though closed back headphones are not known for their ability to create a sound stage the way open back headphones often can.

[GL1TCH3D]

I'll agree with the ****ty soundstage

Some of the units are more balanced with others being more v-shaped (depends on the color of box they came in)

[Findecanor]

Considering you can easily find these things going for around $50 and even less used they are quite excellent.

You could get the M40 for ~$50 for sure, and people say that there is very little difference between the M40 and M50.

Anyway, I got my M40 for use at work in an office environment and that is why I chose closed. If I didn't have to care about others I would have chosen a pair of open headphones.

[GL1TCH3D]

There's also the AKG K551 which is tuned very nicely (compared to the 550) for quite cheap on the used side, about that of the M50x used.

[shoostep]

I've felt the way you do about the m50 at times, but I am glad that I stuck with them.  I think they are a surprisingly good $100 closed headphone.  While the dt990 cost me $20 more (~$120) they also need more power and a quiet environment to really shine.

I've had both the dt990 and m50 for about 2.5 years and I can agree with you on the comfort of the stock m50, but for me, the problem was mostly isolated to the shallow ear pads. I stretched the headband a bit and replaced the pads with the ($20) HM5 pads and noticed a big improvement to the comfort.  In fact, I think that the m50 with worn in hm5 pads is as comfortable as the dt990 with worn in beyer pads, and replacement beyer pads cost $40

Obviously the m50 doesn't compare to the dt990 in the soundstage department, but I think that if you fixed the comfort issue you might find yourself enjoying the sound signature a little more.  I find that the m50 compliments most electronic bass music, although for some songs you'll be missing that soundstage.  I think that the combination of pronounced highs and wide soundstage give the dt990 a sense of fullness and clarity that you will notice when moving between the 990 and m50; likewise, when going from the sennheisser hd598 back to the 990 you will really notice the recessed mids.

Anyways, I probably prefer the dt990 to the m50 because of the soundstage, but when I need a closed headphone, I am glad I still have my m50.

[Bevo]

You should give the V MODA M100 a try. They look a bit douchey but they sound fantastic for the price.

[robscomputer]

Great review! It's great to hear someone's review on the same pair of headphones, to understand the pros/cons.

I use M50x's mostly for work and listening to music on the train ride. A few things I noticed is that their fitment is poor on the headband as mentioned but they do seal better with a tighter clamping force (good and bad thing). Mine have the velour ear pads for less hot ears but the bass feels like it's toned down compared to the stock pads. It should be noted that the M50's were my first "expensive" headphone compared to my long standing favorite, the Sony MDR-7605/V6. I used the former for close to 20 years only replacing the ear pads. I recently bought a pilot pad for improving the headband of another headphone, wonder if these would improve the M50's as well?

Comparing with the DT990's, I feel like the M50's are closer to the Beyerdynamic Pro series where it's less comfort and more focus on just working. But even considering the Pro's, they still have better long term fitment than the M50's. So for the pricing, (new in the US, about $150 for M50x's vs $170 for DT770's), I would buy a pair of used DT770's.

I have noticed that the M50's do have a less v-shape sound compared to the DT770's, it might be my ears but they don't feel as splashy as the pair of DT770's I recall, and my current DT990's.

[chroness]

I'm using the m50x. Agreed that the sound isn't great, but I feel they are super durable and great for carrying everywhere. However, I agree that the fit is tight and often bothers me since I wear glasses.

Good review overall

[shortround]

I have the ath-m50x in the dark matte grey so the looks jumped up to 9/10 for me.  I like them quite a bit, there certainly was a break in period for comfort, it gets better after a while.  They will still never be as comfortable as my senn hd600's which also took some time to break in, the hd600's are now comfortable for exactly 6.2387 hours.  I've also had Sony mdr 7506 for years and I like the Audio Technicas a bit more.  They are less fatiguing in the high frequencies compared to the Sonys.  Keep in mind, the m50x is the current model and may be 3.83% more comfortable than the older m50.  I think the ath-m50x is a capable multi-purpose home headphone, I wont be wearing these outside.

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