My thoughts on the M50/M50x

[Dackzy]

This is not a review per say, but here is my thoughts about them. When I got them what 3 years ago or so, I was like damn these are good, but now not so much at all. 

I will keep this very short and clean.

 

Let us get rid you this BS with them being "flat" or "neutral" they are NOT "flat" or "neutral".

 

The bass/lows: Okay they are okay with the lows for the price, I must give them that, they are not the thights things ever when it comes to the bass, but around what I would expect for headphones with this kind of sound signature and price. The bass can seem a little artificial some times. The bass also tends to bleed into the mids, which really isn't okay. When comparing the bass to the K612 bass, it really shows how much they actually bleed and that they aren't nearly as well controlled and tight as K612, but there is more bass in the M50. The bass in M50 also don't stand a chance against the bass from a set of HE 560, sure the M50 sounds a bit bassier, but HE 560 beats them in every other aspect of the bass.

 

The mids: IMO there is not much to say here since they are nothing special at all, they are a bit on the muddy side, so the vocals are not as clear as they are in some of my other headphones. When comparing to HE 560 or K612, the mids really seem "meh" at best, they simply can't keep up with those headphones in that regard. 

 

The treble/highs: Yeah they are not good, they are okay, but not good. I normally like treble, but these things damn no thanks. I love my K612 and they can have a little to much treble for some people, but these things has a easy time getting the treble harsh and I don't mind if the treble gets a little harsh, but this is just not okay for me. If you like to listen to music with bells or generally a lot of highs in it, then don't get these.

 

Soundstage: I think they missed that part when making and testing them, because it is not there. They are very narrow sounding meaning everything is in the middle of your head or to the right or left, it doesn't sound like a instrument is maybe 3-4 meters away from you, no it is right up against your ear. There is basically no width to them and it really shows.

 

Imaging: Not sure how to put this, but it isn't good either, but I have heard worse. The very narrow soundstage probably also plays a role in this.

 

Detailed: Okay they are fairly detailed, not insanely detailed, but fairly. They can't match K612 in detail, so when switching between those two headphones you really start to hear how forgiving the M50 really are and that is just comparing them to a set of 100$ headphones. I would probably put detail a little above a set of modded Porta Pros. Not that forgiving is outright a bad quality, but it is if you want to hear every single little detail in the song. I tend to personally switch to modded porta pros when I want to listen to a song that isn't mixed very well, because they don't show it that much.

 

Comfort: They are fine if you use them for one hour or so, but for longer use no thanks. The pads are not that good and cheaply made, the headband does not have enough cushion. The pads get flat fairly quickly too.

 

Build: They are build out of plastic and does not have a very nice finish to them, with the "sharp" edges and I think the older M50s are build better than the M50x, because of the higher quality jack and that is it. The headband and pads tend to fall apart after a year or so, I have seen headphones where they started to fall apart after 4-6 months. So be prepared for that.

 

Looks: I don't really care at all, but I would say that they try to look professionel, but fails a little. 

 

Recommend? These are not headphones I would recommend for their current price, if they became maybe 100$ then they would be a better value and we could talk about maybe recommending them, even there it would only be to the people that wanted a bass headphone that was full size and portable. The K550 MK II or K553 (same headphones, just different names) would be a much better option for around 150$, it is better in every single way.

[Rmusic10891]

This is pretty much my summation of the m50x as well. I put the HM5 Velour pads on them. I wouldn't say it really flattened the headphones because they don't fix the mids, but in my opinion do tame the bass and treble. But just like you said at their normal price point they're really not worth it. Then add $20 pads and you get a lot of meh.

[Dackzy]

4 minutes ago, Rmusic10891 said:

This is pretty much my summation of the m50x as well. I put the HM5 Velour pads on them. I wouldn't say it really flattened the headphones because they don't fix the mids, but in my opinion do tame the bass and treble. But just like you said at their normal price point they're really not worth it. Then add $20 pads and you get a lot of meh.

The pads on my M50s has had cracks in them for almost 2 years now and I don't want to change them, because I don't think they will be worth it at all.

[Ahoy Hoy]

42 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Soundstage: I think they missed that part when making and testing them, because it is not there.

What do you mean by that comment?

[Rmusic10891]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

The pads on my M50s has had cracks in them for almost 2 years now and I don't want to change them, because I don't think they will be worth it at all.

I guess it depends on what you're looking to do. They're my best "portable" headphones so it was worth it to me to do it. I had store credit to a local a electronics store and the m50x were pretty much the only option I had at that store. I use them at work and with the velour pads they're comfortable all day. Maybe someday I'll upgrade, but probably not until these break which could be a while.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

What do you mean by that comment?

Soundstage is a bit hard to explain, but I will try.

Soundstage: The sound is less inside of your head, with a good soundstage the sound will be more 3D like and you will be able to say about how far away the sound is when it was recorded or if you play games and where it is coming from easily. With a good big soundstage it will feel more like you are there in real life.

 

With the M50/M50x everything just happens in the middel of your head.

[Dackzy]

5 minutes ago, Rmusic10891 said:

I guess it depends on what you're looking to do. They're my best "portable" headphones so it was worth it to me to do it. I had store credit to a local a electronics store and the m50x were pretty much the only option I had at that store. I use them at work and with the velour pads they're comfortable all day. Maybe someday I'll upgrade, but probably not until these break which could be a while.

well they are my best closed over ear headphones, but they really don't have any competition there, since I don't really own any other closed over ear headphones, but IMO they are beaten by my in ear RE 400i. I will upgrade at some point maybe to anyone of these:

DT 1770

B&W P7

AKG K553

Shure SHR1540

[Rmusic10891]

4 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

well they are my best closed over ear headphones, but they really don't have any competition there, since I don't really own any other closed over ear headphones, but IMO they are beaten by my in ear RE 400i. I will upgrade at some point maybe to anyone of these:

DT 1770

B&W P7

AKG K553

Shure SHR1540

Just buy them all.

[Ahoy Hoy]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Soundstage is a bit hard to explain, but I will try.

Soundstage: The sound is less inside of your head, with a good soundstage the sound will be more 3D like and you will be able to say about how far away the sound is when it was recorded or if you play games and where it is coming from easily. With a good big soundstage it will feel more like you are there in real life.

 

With the M50/M50x everything just happens in the middel of your head.

Well there not designed for normal listening they are supposed to be used for professional practices which in most cases don't require a sound stage.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, Rmusic10891 said:

Just buy them all.

nah I don't have the money for that,

[Dackzy]

8 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Well there not designed for normal listening they are supposed to be used for professional practices which in most cases don't require a sound stage.

They do, since it is important to be able to hear if everything is where it should be in the song, it is very hard to check if the vocals are in center if you use headphones without a soundstage, because almost everything will sound like it is in center with them. 

 

Sure they say monitor headphones, but they are not good for it. The audio industri throws the terms "monitor headphones" and "reference headphones"  around a lot and 29/30 with those terms on them are not suitable for it.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, Dackzy said:

SNIP

and the bit muddy mids and harsh treble does not help them at all.

[Ahoy Hoy]

2 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

They do, since it is important to be able to hear if everything is where it should be in the song, it is very hard to check if the vocals are in center if you use headphones without a soundstage, because almost everything will sound like it is in center with them. 

 

Sure they say monitor headphones, but they are not good for it. The audio industri throws the terms "monitor headphones" and "reference headphones"  around a lot and 29/30 with those terms on them are not suitable for it.

The vocals will always be in the center as vocals are recorded with a single microphone. With most studio recordings you record each instrument so they will also be in the center. All electrical instruments from guitars to a laptop dont produce a sound stage. Even drum kits you place a microphone on each section of the drums (except for over heads). Everything is mono and directly from the instrument. The only time a sound stage is needed is for the microphone used to record all of the band members in one go. Which then means many instruments cant be heard because of others being too loud such as drums so you then use the previous recordings on individual instruments over thus losing the sound stage of that instrument and that only affects acoustic instruments. Or your recording a orchestra with a binaural.

When you get the headphones out to do something with the mix its not to do with soundstage its normally something doesnt sound right and you cant tell so your going to get the headphones out and PFL everything. And the other use of headphones in a studio is with the performers for monitors so they have a cue to play along to. To do that job well you need closed back with good noise cancellation. These headphones do that job alright with decent isolation closed back, the 90 degrees swivel is nice when you want to move on cup off to talk to someone.


The audio industry doesnt throw the term out its what there after its just you take it with a pinch of salt as marketing uses the term on everything to make people think there good. And I dont blame the companies for doing it as they kind of have to to make money. I think its more of a problem with the consumer end by thinking words such as studio monitor means decent sounding headphones. Hint it doesnt it means they can be used in a studio like most other headphones.
Its like a car it doesnt matter how fast it goes around the Nurburgring because your not going to do that on your way to the shops.

[Dackzy]

3 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

SNIP

I can clearly see that you have not been very much around in the audio community at all with that statement and that you don't really have any experience.

 

Headphones in studios are used to finding the little errors in the sound, BUT as a person that works in a Sony studio has told me, it is not always that the vocals are in center in the program that he uses and he has had to fix it up and no closed headphones are not a must, he was using some Audio technica AD something and a pair of Sony MDR-7506, because they gave him two different experiances, the AD when he needed to check to see where the things are and if they are where they should be and the sony to see if he can hear flaws, but is only about 10-15% of the time that he uses headphones, the rest of the time he used speakers, because they gave a better repecentation of how the sound is and 9/10 times if it sounds good with speakers it will sound good with headphones.

 

Yes they throw those terms around a lot. A really insanely easy example is the Beats studio...

There is also the example of the K612 and k712 they are both being called reference headphones by AKG, but they sound very different. As the sony guy also told me a very detailed pair of headphones is better than having the most neutral headphones and I am fine with companies calling them for monitor headphones if they are very detailed, but headphones like the M50s are not really very detailed, my AKG K612 are much more detailed and the reference that is just plain BS, because every person hears sound a little different.

[Ahoy Hoy]

 

29 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

no closed headphones are not a must

You miss understood where the closed headphone part is used. For the performer in the recording room. They have to be closed back with good isolation so that the microphone they are using does not pick up the audio the performer is listening to. This is where the headphones are being used as monitors in a studio, so studio monitor headphones. And wait for this the AT 50s are alright at this job. So actually they are good studio monitors its not there fault you don't understand what studio monitors are and your complain they are bad for doing a job they are not designed for badly.
 

29 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Headphones in studios are used to finding the little errors in the sound,

I know thats why I said it

47 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

When you get the headphones out to do something with the mix its not to do with soundstage its normally something doesnt sound right and you cant tell so your going to get the headphones out and PFL everything.

 

 

29 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

I can clearly see that you have not been very much around in the audio community at all with that statement and that you don't really have any experience.

I can say the same to you since you have no knowledge which is why you use generic words to describe your point instead of what he would actually be doing.

29 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

to check to see where the things are and if they are where they should be

This little sentence shows you dont know what your friend is looking for when he gets his headphones out.

I wouldnt recommend the ATH50s for studio monitors because there are better options, most people I see use beyerdynamics to be fair I would probably recommend something from there line, but it doesnt mean you can give them a bad review when your not using them for purpose. Your review of the ATH50s for HiFi music listening and video games you say there bad, which is probably fair the same way a screw driver is bad at putting in nails.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

You miss understood where the closed headphone part is used. For the performer in the recording room. They have to be closed back with good isolation so that the microphone they are using does not pick up the audio the performer is listening to. This is where the headphones are being used as monitors in a studio, so studio monitor headphones. And wait for this the AT 50s are alright at this job. So actually they are good studio monitors its not there fault you don't understand what studio monitors are and your complain they are bad for doing a job they are not designed for badly.

everything can do a okay job for the artist that is in the recording room

 

3 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

I can say the same to you since you have no knowledge which is why you use generic words to describe your point instead of what he would actually be doing.

If I started to talk advanced 99.999% of the people here does not get the point and if I can say the same with generic words then it is just as good. A lot of people does not even know what I am talking about when I use very generic words....

 

4 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

This little sentence shows you dont know what your friend is looking for when he gets his headphones out.

He said: When he pulls out the AD something out (they all look kinda the same) that he checks to see if the vocals are in center and that let's say there is a gutar that should be a bit more in the right side, then he uses them to check and see if it is where he wants to it to be.

PS. He is not my friend, I was with one of my friends in a sony studio and I started to have a conversation with this guy. (it was a little weird, I must say that)

8 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

I wouldnt recommend the ATH50s for studio monitors because there are better options, most people I see use beyerdynamics to be fair I would probably recommend something from there line, but it doesnt mean you can give them a bad review when your not using them for purpose.

I am not given them a bad review as studio monitors I think that you got that thing wrong, I gave my thoughts about them as normal headphones and when you give your thoughts about headphones or review headphones you tend to say how they are in the different things. If I gave my thought about them as studio monitors damn this would have been different, I would tear them appart then, because for the same price, heck even cheaper a lot of the time the K612 are much more detailed and more neutral. I go over what I have noticed about how they sound,

 

I do NOT think that they are worth the 200$ price tag they have here in Denmark and I also don't think that they are worth the 150$ price tag in the US, if we talk 100$ for the US and 140$ or so for Denmark then we can start talking about them being a okay value as normal headphones.

[SSL]

2 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

I wouldnt recommend the ATH50s for studio monitors because there are better options, most people I see use beyerdynamics to be fair I would probably recommend something from there line, but it doesnt mean you can give them a bad review when your not using them for purpose.

 

We're not studio professionals, we we're going to review the M50X from the audiophile perspective. Hope that's okay with you.

[Dackzy]

25 minutes ago, SSL said:

 

We're not studio professionals, we we're going to review the M50X from the audiophile perspective. Hope that's okay with you.

I would really call this a review, if I were to review them damn it would be over 1 page just with good and bad things about them. This is more well what I would type as a response to someone asking about the M50x and really what comes to mind when I think about them. I am to lazy to get really in depth about it and I am sure that only very few people would read it then.

[SSL]

2 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

I would really call this a review, if I were to review them damn it would be over 1 page just with good and bad things about them. This is more well what I would type as a response to someone asking about the M50x and really what comes to mind when I think about them. I am to lazy to get really in depth about it and I am sure that only very few people would read it then.

 

Call it what you want, the point is that the perspective is from recreational listening.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

 

Call it what you want, the point is that the perspective is from recreational listening.

yep

[Annoyingnerds]

On 7/5/2016 at 8:48 PM, Dackzy said:

This is not a review per say, but here is my thoughts about them. When I got them what 3 years ago or so, I was like damn these are good, but now not so much at all. 

I will keep this very short and clean.

 

Let us get rid you this BS with them being "flat" or "neutral" they are NOT "flat" or "neutral".

 

The bass/lows: Okay they are good with the lows for the price, I must give them that, they are not the thights things ever when it comes to the bass, but around what I would expect for headphones with this kind of sound signature and price. The bass can seem a little artificial some times. The bass is boosted.

 

The mids: IMO there is not much to say here since they are nothing special at all, they are a bit on the muddy side, so the vocals are not as clear as they are in some of my other headphones.

 

The treble/highs: Yeah they are not good, they are okay, but not good. I normally like treble, but these things damn no thanks. I love my K612 and they can have a little to much treble for some people, but these things has a easy time getting the treble harsh and I don't mind if the treble gets a little harsh, but this is just not okay for me.

 

Soundstage: I think they missed that part when making and testing them, because it is not there.

 

Detailed: Okay they are fairly detailed, not insanely detailed, but fairly.

 

Comfort: They are fine if you use them for one hour or so, but for longer use no thanks. The pads are not that good and cheaply made, the headband does not have enough cushion.

 

Build: They are build out of plastic and does not have a very nice finish to them, with the "sharp" edges and I think the older M50s are build better than the M50x, because of the higher quality jack and that is it.

 

Looks: I don't really care at all, but I would say that they try to look professionel, but fails a little.

 

Recommend? These are not headphones I would recommend for their current price, if they became maybe 100$ then they would be a better value and we could talk about maybe recommending them.

What about when compared to the M40?

[Dackzy]

5 minutes ago, Annoyingnerds said:

What about when compared to the M40?

Well the m40 is closer to neutral or flat (still not flat or neutral) and acording to some of my audio friends they have a very small soundstage, so that is a upgrade, I have only heard them for 30-40min a long time ago. The build is the same, they offer a better value, when you look at the audio quality and the price. I remember that the highs are a bit more friendly.

[Annoyingnerds]

Just now, Dackzy said:

Well the m40 is closer to neutral or flat (still not flat or neutral) and acording to some of my audio friends they have a very small soundstage, so that is a upgrade, I have only heard them for 30-40min a long time ago. The build is the same, they offer a better value, when you look at the audio quality and the price. I remember that the highs are a bit more friendly.

Recently I got the ATH-WS770iSGM imo it's a fairly great headphone even though it doesn't  scream professional like the M series but it's still very good, with decent sound staging and because I'm a bass person so I love it, but I want to hear your opinion on it

[Dackzy]

3 minutes ago, Annoyingnerds said:

Recently I got the ATH-WS770iSGM imo it's a fairly great headphone even though it doesn't  scream professional like the M series but it's still very good, with decent sound staging and because I'm a bass person so I love it, but I want to hear your opinion on it

well the M series is more a fake pro kinda line up, no producer would ever use them, because they are no where near flat enough or neutral enough, the artist that is in the booth can basically use any closed headphones.

I don't know much about the ATH-WS770iSGM, but I do know that they are more a mobile pair of headphones or headset (don't know if they have a mic) and their bass is fairly good

[SeraphicWings]

Have any M50/M50x users tried listening to Sony's MDR 100aap? It's supposed to be just a little bit higher than the M50x