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: 5.5/10These 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: 5/10Once 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: 6/10Uh... 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 6.5/10Surprisingly, 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: 6/10I 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.