Selection Guide
Audio-Technica ATH-M50
With the ATH-M50, Audio Technica can boast of designing one of the best closed-back headphones anywhere near this price. The M50 stokes any listener seeking richly textured bass response with well-rendered vocal midranges and smoothly extended, clear upper treble detail. Moderate efficiency favors use with headphone amps for maximum dynamics when used with iPod/iPhone/iPad/MP3 players, but the M50 sound strong even without dedicated amplification. Solid build plus good wearing comfort satisfies those expecting a headphone to work and play as hard as they do.
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Product Features:
- Extremely competent headphone at its price with well-detailed 'punchy' presentation
- Comfortable durability satisfies pros, DJs & portable listeners needing top performance
- Good earcup seal provides isolation, prevents any significant sound leakage
- Coiled cable option prevents cord tangling while moving around workstation
- A HUGE HeadRoom favorite!
What's In The Box:
- Screw-on 1/4" (6.3 mm) stereo plug adapter
- Protective Audio-Technica soft headphone pouch
- Audio-Technica owner's manual
Applications:
There's but a few bright stars in the sealed headphone universe and fewer yet within reach of budget-conscious headphone lovers seeking a well-priced can that does all things really well. Enter the brazenly competent Audio Technica ATH-M50, a high-performance sealed [closed-back] headphone that studio craftsmen, portable music buffs, pro DJs and budding audiophiles will all find attractive. The M50 has outstanding clarity and its rich musical detail with cleanly reproduced extension both high & low will surprise many when comparing it to other sealed-back models anywhere near this price. Expect acoustic accuracy fully responsive to the audio signal along with a true presentation of the source quality for precise imaging of your music and recordings. For maximized resolution of subtle mix nuances plus quickened dynamic range response, we recommend mating the ATH-M50 with a dedicated headphone amp due to their 38 Ohm impedance & low 99dB sensitivity. However, they'll still perform great 'un-amped' direct from iPod, iPhone, iPad, MP3 devices and computers. And for those needing listening privacy or thorough noise-blocking on your commutes, the M50 has a solid "monitoring grade" ambient noise seal when -- combined with top-shelf sound quality -- makes these slightly unassuming cans amongst the very best 'mid-priced' sealed headphone values in the entire industry in our humble HeadRoom opinion.
The Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphone comes in either a 9ft 'coiled-cord' edition OR a 'straight-cord' model with an approximate 11ft cable length, your choice. Both designs are otherwise identical with collapsible headband designs for easy portability and convenient storage or transit. The M50's cool black-matte look with stainless steel ring accents is very professional-looking without being overstated. Plush black pleather circumaural earpads go fully around the ear for most wearers and swivel 180 degrees for easy one-ear monitoring during DJ work or live mixing needs. The single-sided headphone cord exits from the left earcup (nicely eliminating pesky 'Y-cord' tangles) and terminates to a 3.5mm [1/8"] 'mini-plug' straight jack. A full-size 1/4" screw-on stereo plug adapter is handily included with the M50 along with a storage pouch. A free 2-year Audio-Technica manufacturer's warranty is standard when proof-purchased at verified authorized dealers -- like us here at HeadRoom!
Specifications:
- Sensitivity: 99 dB
- Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year
- Headphone Type: Full Size
- Isolation: -12dB ~ 18dB
- Weight: 284 g (10 oz.) w/o cord
- Cord Length: 8ft (2.5 m)
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 38 Ohms
- Detachable Cable: No
- Cord Type: Coiled and Straight Left-Side
- Coupler Size: Large
- Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
- Driver Type: Dynamic
- Acoustic Seal: Closed
Average Rating
Posted by Phil Jenkins from Dallas, TX on 2012-05-23
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great value, comfortable, sound quality, isolation
Cons: none (a bit more than i'd like to pay for headphones personally, but they're worth it!)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by dedicatedlistener from marysville, WA on 2012-05-11
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: good quality sound, good price
Cons: doesnt handle as much sound as i imagined, crackling after a week or so
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by moses667 from Washington, DC on 2012-03-27
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great Sound Detail
Cons: Less warm sounding, a bit heavy on my (big) head
For the price, I can't imagine a better set of cans. They blow away the cheaper headphones I use with my iPhone on a daily basis (Sennheiser PX100, Klipsh S4i) and are comparable to my Vandersteen speakers (2 sig) but with better detail. The sound is very detailed and crisp. The high end is, for my taste, a little pronounced and makes the overall tonal quality seem a little less warm than I'd like, especially for classical and jazz, but the detail and crispness makes up for it. And I am NOT saying there isn't plenty of bass; they kept up with trunk rattling hip-hop tracks quite nicely, and without distorting.
I wanted to use these unamplified out of an iPhone so I've been testing between my Denon amp and iPhone and (in the short sessions I tried with 192kbps mp3s) haven't found any significant differences that cause me to wish I had an amp to drive the cans from the iPhone. As a side note, the casing for the terminator is large. It barely fit through the opening in my Otterbox Defender case for the iPhone. Many of the iPhone cases won't allow this plug to fit without an additional adapter (or taking off the case).
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Did you?
