Here's Why The Audio Technica ATH-M50X is a Terrible Headphone

[NinjaQuick]

I want to chime in, I had a buddy buy these, back when I was using the Creative CAL!, and the CAL were hands-down superior in every way, at half the price. The M50s are bad, simply bad. They cannot compete with headphones costing a third of their price, and are actually not even that comfortable, to boot. Sennheiser has way better offerings at the same price or lower, and some compelling closed backs. Beyerdynamic has the COP, and the 770s. It just doesn't make sense that everyone is obsessed with the M50, and then say the M50X is somehow way better, but they aren't.

 

I have only recommended them when all else fails and sheer popularity is all there is that I can use to convince a would-be beats owner to get away from beats. They are a last ditch effort for having people not buy Bose/Beats/Other brands like beats that depend on marketing rather than R&D.

[kokakolia]

23 minutes ago, NinjaQuick said:

I want to chime in, I had a buddy buy these, back when I was using the Creative CAL!, and the CAL were hands-down superior in every way, at half the price. The M50s are bad, simply bad. They cannot compete with headphones costing a third of their price, and are actually not even that comfortable, to boot. Sennheiser has way better offerings at the same price or lower, and some compelling closed backs. Beyerdynamic has the COP, and the 770s. It just doesn't make sense that everyone is obsessed with the M50, and then say the M50X is somehow way better, but they aren't.

 

I have only recommended them when all else fails and sheer popularity is all there is that I can use to convince a would-be beats owner to get away from beats. They are a last ditch effort for having people not buy Bose/Beats/Other brands like beats that depend on marketing rather than R&D.

Bose is an interesting brand. They do a lot of R&D actually. That's how they got famous with their noise cancelling headphones. The Bose Soundwear that rests on your shoulders is another feat. of R&D. It's just a shame that Bose can't seem to make a great headphone at an "affordable" price around $100~$150. 

[Blademaster91]

3 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

Once again, like stated, they suck. They aren’t just bad for the price they are bad regardless of price.

Bad regardless of price? There are plenty of other headphones that are worse yet get overhyped. It seems like you're just basing off what that arrogant snob Z reviews that listens to headphones at a way too loud level blabbering on in 30min videos says about M50's or any set of cans and he can't ever come up with a solid description why a headphone is good or bad.

3 hours ago, pas008 said:

m50x should be $60-70 dollar headphones

my nvx xpt 100 and my cals are way better closed for that price, and I paid like 100ish for my m50xs

my shp9500 are fine for 50 beats almost anything out there for price range before I'd say my either pair of my superlux headphones were great buys with ear pad replacement

Except shp9500's are more like $80-85 headphones now, and i'm talking about the new model,the shp9500S which have a similar earpad material to crappy $30 Logitech gaming headsets.

[pas008]

11 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

Bad regardless of price? There are plenty of other headphones that are worse yet get overhyped. It seems like you're just basing off what that arrogant snob Z reviews that listens to headphones at a way too loud level blabbering on in 30min videos says about M50's or any set of cans and he can't ever come up with a solid description why a headphone is good or bad.

Except shp9500's are more like $80-85 headphones now, and i'm talking about the new model,the shp9500S which have a similar earpad material to crappy $30 Logitech gaming headsets.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826138190&cm_re=shp9500-_-26-138-190-_-Product

 

always on sale every month almost, shall i link some newegg deals history?

[NinjaQuick]

On 2/21/2018 at 11:06 PM, Blademaster91 said:

Instead of just bashing every tech youtuber,do you have any research besides a graph that means little to most why they're bad,who do you you trust as a youtube reviewer then? I got caught by the hype and did buy the M50's years ago,never used them much because the headband doesn't have much padding. Most of the headphones you recommended instead are open backed headphones. Open back headphones sounding more flat should be kind of obvious,then again people spend $150+ on beats or Apple earpods. IMO the shp9500 are a little overhyped since you have to add $22 into the price on earpads and rip them apart out of the box, I don't know how many new to audio would want to mod. I'm by no means an audiophile,and so far i still prefer speakers over headphones since I have yet to try a pair that don't get warm.

I still respect your review and actually want to try an HD559 or WS1100is even though they look like fashion headphones. Maybe AT should take what they did with the WS1100 and redo m50x into some kind of m50mk2.

If i recall correctly,m50's used to be around the $100 mark until the X's with whatever they changed besides the removable cable, i do agree they're overpriced now. DT770 look super comfortable,but i think i'd need an amp for those.

Uhm you don't have to make any changes to the SHP9500...

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, NinjaQuick said:

Uhm you don't have to make any changes to the SHP9500...

Exactly SHP9500s are perfect.

[NinjaQuick]

I like that it is sort of a circle jerk, I recently picked up a sabaj Da2... Gotta say, I was impressed by these before... now they are legitimately the best I've had!

[GamerDude]

I guess it boils down to what one perceives as good sound quality, and for many, the sheer lack of experience with other cans. Some here, who like their M50X'es, have admitted that the M50X was their first and only taste of an 'audiophile' can, makes sense since they have not heard better for the same price or lower. Personally, I find the M50X to be a tad harsh and unrefined sounding, but then, I mitigate that by being aware that my ears have been pampered with the various great cans I have. I simply don't get why the M50X is so popular, other than the hype behind it. Don't get me wrong, Audio Technica makes incredibly good headphones, just NOT the ATH-Mxx series, I do love my ATH-A900X LTD and the excellent ATH-R70x.......and to a lesser degree, the ATH-AD700X as well.

[Max_Settings]

4 minutes ago, GamerDude said:

I guess it boils down to what one perceives as good sound quality, and for many, the sheer lack of experience with other cans. Some here, who like their M50X'es, have admitted that the M50X was their first and only taste of an 'audiophile' can, makes sense since they have not heard better for the same price or lower. Personally, I find the M50X to be a tad harsh and unrefined sounding, but then, I mitigate that by being aware that my ears have been pampered with the various great cans I have. I simply don't get why the M50X is so popular, other than the hype behind it. Don't get me wrong, Audio Technica makes incredibly good headphones, just NOT the ATH-Mxx series, I do love my ATH-A900X LTD and the excellent ATH-R70x.......and to a lesser degree, the ATH-AD700X as well.

This is my point exactly! ^^^^^ 

[NinjaQuick]

1 minute ago, GamerDude said:

I guess it boils down to what one perceives as good sound quality, and for many, the sheer lack of experience with other cans. Some here, who like their M50X'es, have admitted that the M50X was their first and only taste of an 'audiophile' can, makes sense since they have not heard better for the same price or lower. Personally, I find the M50X to be a tad harsh and unrefined sounding, but then, I mitigate that by being aware that my ears have been pampered with the various great cans I have. I simply don't get why the M50X is so popular, other than the hype behind it. Don't get me wrong, Audio Technica makes incredibly good headphones, just NOT the ATH-Mxx series, I do love my ATH-A900X LTD and the excellent ATH-R70x.......and to a lesser degree, the ATH-AD700X as well.

Absolutely right... A/T makes great audio gear. And their actual studio/reference headphones are great. One of the most confusing trends I've seen is the idea that isolation is important for gaming, and I feel that in the context of isolation as a premium feature, the M50x are a compelling choice, offering decent sound with some decent isolation. The thing is, isolation is not only cheap and easy to achieve, it actively works against balanced sound... There's nowhere for high pressure fronts to come and go from, so you just get mud. Not to mention newcomers to the closed back segment at the pricepoint offer much better alternatives for all popular reasons to but the M50x. They are really just a product of opinion critical mass. They are so popularity that their popularity seems to be the driving factor for the final sale. "They can't be bad if they are the most popular unit".

[Max_Settings]

4 minutes ago, NinjaQuick said:

Absolutely right... A/T makes great audio gear. And their actual studio/reference headphones are great. One of the most confusing trends I've seen is the idea that isolation is important for gaming, and I feel that in the context of isolation as a premium feature, the M50x are a compelling choice, offering decent sound with some decent isolation. The thing is, isolation is not only cheap and easy to achieve, it actively works against balanced sound... There's nowhere for high pressure fronts to come and go from, so you just get mud. Not to mention newcomers to the closed back segment at the pricepoint offer much better alternatives for all popular reasons to but the M50x. They are really just a product of opinion critical mass. They are so popularity that their popularity seems to be the driving factor for the final sale. "They can't be bad if they are the most popular unit".

Yes, they are only popular because of the hype. I not only recommended other closed headphones, I even recommended 2 other Audio Technica headphones. This wasn't an attack on the entire brand, just this one product.

[NinjaQuick]

10 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

-snip-

The low cost KOSS are not a joke, they are genuinely phenomenal, huge budget wins,

[xtroria]

3 hours ago, NinjaQuick said:

I want to chime in, I had a buddy buy these, back when I was using the Creative CAL!, and the CAL were hands-down superior in every way, at half the price. The M50s are bad, simply bad. They cannot compete with headphones costing a third of their price, and are actually not even that comfortable, to boot. Sennheiser has way better offerings at the same price or lower, and some compelling closed backs. Beyerdynamic has the COP, and the 770s. It just doesn't make sense that everyone is obsessed with the M50, and then say the M50X is somehow way better, but they aren't.

 

I have only recommended them when all else fails and sheer popularity is all there is that I can use to convince a would-be beats owner to get away from beats. They are a last ditch effort for having people not buy Bose/Beats/Other brands like beats that depend on marketing rather than R&D.

I should say though that beats solo is actually not a bad headphone.

 

It's bass heavy, yes. But the vocal and treble quality still came out pretty well and not distorted. It's not what I'd recommend to people but I legit would pick it over M50X

[NinjaQuick]

I'd recommend the M50x on principle, Beats doesn't need or deserve the money from the customer *shrug*

[Max_Settings]

5 minutes ago, xtroria said:

I should say though that beats solo is actually not a bad headphone.

 

It's bass heavy, yes. But the vocal and treble quality still came out pretty well and not distorted. It's not what I'd recommend to people but I legit would pick it over M50X

I've played around with Solo 2s. They aren't abysmal, but the bass is overpowering. You throw a crazy EQ on them to basically half the bass and they aren't a terrible fashion can if you can grab then for under $100. $200 forget it.

[lupi900x]

On 23/02/2018 at 10:17 PM, kokakolia said:

If you want something that truly sucks balls and gets heaps of praise try:

 

- KZ ZS5

- Superlux HD 681

 

It doesn't get worse than that

The ones who gave KZ ZS5 big reviews are the same morons. That think any headphones or IEM's over £100, are just snake oil and audiophile FUD.

 

[kokakolia]

On 2/23/2018 at 4:58 PM, pas008 said:

lol budget is a budget

do you understand that?

nice excuse

fyi I have many headphones owned many too

I was that way too. And then I realized it was dumb. Because I would buy something cheap, and then buy a better version of the same thing later down the road. Case in point: the Superlux HD681 made me buy the Sony MDR 1R on clearance sale for $120. 

 

Or the KZ ED9 made me buy the Marshall Mode later. 

 

My point is: if something sucks balls like the KZ ED9, ZS5 or Superlux HD 681 it is not worth buying at any price! If you have a job just save a few extra $ and get something that doesn't suck balls and reminds you every day that you should have spent a little more cash. 

[Infinity8]

On 2/19/2018 at 11:51 AM, Max_Settings said:

And top artists use Beats. Why does them using them mean these people know about headphones? They only care about their music and singing, not the technical side of the recording, that's the job of the studio people.

I know a DJ who's been a part of Australia's psychedelic trance scene since 1996 and he uses the M50X. He produces and mixes electronic music, runs raves in Australia, and even started his own record label. He isn't sponsored by anyone.

 

Honestly, I think the M50X are a great pick if you can find them for $100 USD in used condition.

[Max_Settings]

3 hours ago, Infinity8 said:

I know a DJ who's been a part of Australia's psychedelic trance scene since 1996 and he uses the M50X. He produces and mixes electronic music, runs raves in Australia, and even started his own record label. He isn't sponsored by anyone.

 

Honestly, I think the M50X are a great pick if you can find them for $100 USD in used condition.

And why do you think that? 

[pas008]

19 hours ago, kokakolia said:

I was that way too. And then I realized it was dumb. Because I would buy something cheap, and then buy a better version of the same thing later down the road. Case in point: the Superlux HD681 made me buy the Sony MDR 1R on clearance sale for $120. 

 

Or the KZ ED9 made me buy the Marshall Mode later. 

 

My point is: if something sucks balls like the KZ ED9, ZS5 or Superlux HD 681 it is not worth buying at any price! If you have a job just save a few extra $ and get something that doesn't suck balls and reminds you every day that you should have spent a little more cash. 

you just proved you dont have a clue what a budget is

 

plain and simple

[Infinity8]

6 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

And why do you think that? 

It's because I've owned a pair?

I very much enjoyed the portability of the M50X and the changeable headphone cables.

[Max_Settings]

1 hour ago, Infinity8 said:

It's because I've owned a pair?

I very much enjoyed the portability of the M50X and the changeable headphone cables.

But what else have you tried? As I addressed in the post, if all you’ve tried are Beats and gaming headsets they do sound great. I was in that same camp, I bought a set and thought they were amazing. Then I tired other things and I realized how bad they were. 

 

No as for the removable cables that’s nothing special. All but one of my reccomendations at the end of the topic has removable cables.

[Infinity8]

5 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

But what else have you tried? As I addressed in the post, if all you’ve tried are Beats and gaming headsets they do sound great. I was in that same camp, I bought a set and thought they were amazing. Then I tired other things and I realized how bad they were. 

 

No as for the removable cables that’s nothing special. All but one of my reccomendations at the end of the topic has removable cables.

HIFIMAN RE-400. I'm running ELAC B6 6.5" and Image Dynamics IDMAX 10" subwoofer right now. I was also a part of the car audio enthusiast community and owned a Pioneer DEH-80PRS when I was doing well enough to own a car.

 

I'm well aware of what sound quality is.

 

I'm looking to buy a pair of DT 770's and HD 598/6xx but still been looking for a while now...

[Max_Settings]

48 minutes ago, Infinity8 said:

HIFIMAN RE-400. I'm running ELAC B6 6.5" and Image Dynamics IDMAX 10" subwoofer right now. I was also a part of the car audio enthusiast community and owned a Pioneer DEH-80PRS when I was doing well enough to own a car.

 

I'm well aware of what sound quality is.

 

I'm looking to buy a pair of DT 770's and HD 598/6xx but still been looking for a while now...

Got it, I never said you didn’t have audio experience, just wondering. I would still have to say they are terrible headphones. Wait till you get some other sets and see if your opinion changes at all, mine sure did.

[killcomic]

Another person trying to sound clever by rubbishing something that a lot of people like.

Each yo theit own.