HD428s vs ATH-M50

[Benjio]

I currently have Sennheiser HD-428s that I picked up a while ago. I'm overall happy with how they sound (although they are a little lacking in bass), however I'm wondering if the ATH-M50s would be a big improvement over them or not, and if it would be worth another $100. Also can anyone comment how durable they are? I would like a pair of headphones that I'd be able to toss in my tennis bag or in a backpack and not break. I wouldn't trust my 428s in any of those situations. I'm also free to any other headphone suggestions for ~$100, I'd prefer them to be closed and durable.

 

I currently have a Creative SB Audigy 4 sound card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102004)

[helping]

Where are you getting an M50 from for 100$?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Studio-Headphones-w-Coiled-Cable-/151136283410?pt=US_DJ_Monitoring_Headphones&hash=item23306cab12

 

 

Just because I'm satisfied doesn't mean I can't be even more satisfied =p and the build quality is a problem, I don't feel safe taking my 428s anywhere. The folding feature seems very handy on the m50s.

If you can get it for around 100$ new/open box w/e, go for it.

Look out for DT 770's on there too.

[Langdon]

If you can get M50s for $100, you should go for it. There are other options though but I can't remember them off the top of my head.

[piplupgao]

M50s will be a pretty significant improvement but if your already satisfied why buy different headphones.

And they won't benifit from your sound card much if at all

[Benjio]

Where are you getting an M50 from for 100$?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Studio-Headphones-w-Coiled-Cable-/151136283410?pt=US_DJ_Monitoring_Headphones&hash=item23306cab12

 

 

M50s will be a pretty significant improvement but if your already satisfied why buy different headphones.

And they won't benifit from your sound card much if at all

Just because I'm satisfied doesn't mean I can't be even more satisfied =p and the build quality is a problem, I don't feel safe taking my 428s anywhere. The folding feature seems very handy on the m50s.

[mr moose]

Most sennheisers are reported to be lacking in bass, this is because they generally have a flatter sound signature. The M-50's do show an improvement in bass on most graphs however the impedance of the audigy might negate that. Which means you may not get enough bass from the audigy to justify the cost of the new headphones. I'd find out the impedance of the audigy first,  if it is below 5 ohms then upgrade, if not I'd change to a fiio e10 first and keep using the senns headphones until you can afford to upgrade.

 

EDIT: sorry I didn't address the durability side of things, Yes the senns are not well built for carrying around, they are primarily a studio company and don't tend to think about portability with the HD range of headphones. The ATH are apparently much better, I can't speak from experience I don't own nor have carried them around to find out.

[ShearMe]

V-Moda Crossfade LP! Bass heavy, and extra durable for portable use!

[Benjio]

Most sennheisers are reported to be lacking in bass, this is because they generally have a flatter sound signature. The M-50's do show an improvement in bass on most graphs however the impedance of the audigy might negate that. Which means you may not get enough bass from the audigy to justify the cost of the new headphones. I'd find out the impedance of the audigy first,  if it is below 5 ohms then upgrade, if not I'd change to a fiio e10 first and keep using the senns headphones until you can afford to upgrade.

 

EDIT: sorry I didn't address the durability side of things, Yes the senns are not well built for carrying around, they are primarily a studio company and don't tend to think about portability with the HD range of headphones. The ATH are apparently much better, I can't speak from experience I don't own nor have carried them around to find out.

 

Is 38 ohms really enough to need something like a Fiio e10? The 428s are 32 ohms and I seem to be able to drive them just fine. 

[Benjio]

V-Moda Crossfade LP! Bass heavy, and extra durable for portable use!

I'm not a big fan of how they look, and I really like the folding option on the m50s.

[mr moose]

Is 38 ohms really enough to need something like a Fiio e10? The 428s are 32 ohms and I seem to be able to drive them just fine. 

It's not about power output or volume, it's about the amp being able to control low frequencies. As the output impedance of an amp increases and the impedance of headphones decrease, the ability of the amp to accurately control the headphones diminishes. This can be heard as  boomy at 100hz and then the bass suddenly drops of. This is one of the reasons you may not be hearing much bass from the Senns.  If it is the reason then replacing those headphones with another set of similar impedance will give you little. The fiio has less than 2 ohms output impedance which means it can accurately control headphones down to 16 ohm. Most onboard audio has about 4 ohm output impedance and can drive similar headphones, but soundcards have 10 ohm and above, which means they need headphones at or above 80Ohms.

[ShearMe]

I'm not a big fan of how they look, and I really like the folding option on the m50s.

 

That's fine, just throwin options out. @h264 wrote a nice little review of the M50's: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/58980-review-audio-technica-ath-m50s/