And now, to what we've all been waiting for, or maybe just me, gear reviews. This first review is on my currently most expensive pair of headphones, my Audio Technica ATH-M50s. At around $140-$170 they are definitely not a cheap pair of headphones. However, they demand respect as some of the nicest headphones you can get for under $200.
We'll start out with aesthetics and form. The ATH-M50s are circumaural closed back headphones and as such are a bit heavy, but not horribly so. I personally find them to be really good looking, coming in black, white, or red (I own a pair of red M50s). The cups rotate 180 degrees, which is really nice for lying them flat. They also fold up relatively well. I'm not a huge fan of the coiled cable but it isn't really a big deal in the end as the headphones themselves are very nice.
Next up is comfort. Personally I find them very comfortable. Reading through some of the comments on Amazon, some people don't particularly like them with the stock earpads, especially people with glasses. However, I find the stock earpads to be fine. They're a bit stiffer than many headphones you'll come across, but I don't find them particularly uncomfortable. Something to recognize is that they do get quite hot after a while, but that is a common trait among most closed back circumaural headphones. The earpads do press against your head a bit more than some headphones but it isn't too bad and again, finding replacement earpads can alleviate this. The headband is relatively well cushioned and overall the headphones feel like very solid and well built headphones, which is to be expected at their price. These headphones, being circumaural and closed do insulate you from outside noise quite a bit, but nowhere near as well as say in ear monitors can. If you don't expect to be on planes too often though and don't want to hear the engine noises too much, these might just do fine.
Now let's get to the fun stuff, the sound quality. From lows to highs, they're really quite good, definitely a big step up from stock Apple earbuds or whatever your phone/mp3 player comes with. The bass is well represented and balanced very well with the mids, which leads to quite dynamic and interesting music listening. The mids are really, really good, vocals sound amazing and most instruments also sound amazing. The highs are very crisp and clear and the mids are quite warm and overall sound incredibly nice. If you want to listen to really balanced and clear music, these headphones are just plain great.
But now onto some of the not so amazing things. Accessory wise, you get a carrying pouch which is honestly a tiny bit too small, as in it'll fit but not with a lot of room to spare, and a screw on quarter inch adapter which is quite nice (which I have sadly lost). That's about it, which isn't super great. But that's not really a deal breaker, none of these things really are. Sound wise, the bass isn't super punchy, what I mean about that is that it can sometimes come off as muddled, especially in certain circumstances. Additionally, the highs are a bit too forward, for example, when listening to cymbals, you can sometimes get a sense that they're too forward in the sound stage, almost out of place, as well as being a bit too harsh. Neither of those things are particularly bad on their own, but are important to recognize as being how the headphones sound.
Other than that though, I really enjoy these headphones a lot. They hit really high marks in every category and for their price are just plain amazing. A lot of people agree, and if you ever get a choice between these and say Beats, go for these hands down. I'll fight you about Bose QC15s, amazing noise cancelling can beat better audio depending on how often you fly. However, the Bose QC15s are just about twice as expensive.
Well I hope you enjoyed this, it was pretty fun to write. Look forward to a couple more gear related posts and then comes November and who knows what I'll be talking about then. Until next time.
*Update: If you want these headphones, always wait around for a while, they can sometimes be had for as little as $104
--CsMiREK
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