Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Over Ear Headphones (Black)

Edit : Updating the rating from 4 to 5 stars, after 10 months of usage. As the title says, I totally fell in love with it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This review is for those, who are confused regarding the hype of M50X. I personally did not like the sound signature earlier. But after a lot of tweaking with equalizer and with enabling spatial sound (Dolby Atmos for windows 10), I am slowly falling in love with these headphones. It requires time to get used to the signature of sound if you are hardcore bass lovers.

So here is my full review which I would like to break down by points :

1) SOUND Quality:

BASS 9/10: Excellent production of bass. After increasing bass levels in Equalizer, it just pumps right amount of bass and is very deep and punchy.
MIDS 7 /10: Mids are okay, balanced. Vocals are crisp and bass does not overpower the mids.
HIGHS 5 / 10: Awful. It's very bright. I had to lower down some higher frequencies in order to resolve my headache.

I come from Sennheiser background where I had PX 80, PX 95, CX 175, HD 202, HD 203 and HD598 SR. I also have Sony MDR 550AP. So comparing to those, sound signature of ATH is different. If you directly plug in these headphones without configuring and tweaking equalizer as per your needs, then you would be disappointed, as I was on the first day of listening to these.

I thought, maybe, I should try configuring properly. I googled frequency response and balanced equalizer as per my needs. I have uploaded my EQ settings. So below review is purely depending on my personalized EQ setting.

Now, these headphone sound damn amazing, I could not believe the experience after enabling Dolby Atmos for Headphones (Windows 10 feature). It's brilliant. Even it sounds great on Windows Sonic spatial configuration. Just disable 7.1 virtual surround. Uncheck the box in sound setting. Games and movies sounds epic. High quality audio files have new dimension to it now. Especially A.R Rahman songs (Dil se and Jiya Jale recording in Berkeley University). If you love bass, these will definitely sound better than HD598. But if you love immersion and wider soundstage, no one can beat Sennheiser HD598 under 10k budget.

However sound quality is very subjective, as many people prefer high bass, many prefer higher clarity. These headphones can be "ADJUSTED" according to your needs. Hence I can say, out of the box its not good, but it definitely has that capability to be the best if you give it proper attention.

2) BUILD QUALITY 10/10 : Simply excellent. It feels premium. Very strong. It looks durable, many people have been using these for years. Although not sure about ear cups, as they wear out in one year or so.

3) COMFORT 9/10 (Edited) : When I posted this review, I found it very difficult to wear these for long hours, but after 10 months of usage, the comfort level is far better now. I have used it for watching back to back movies, playing games for 4-6 hours straight without any issue. Although in warm weather, it may get a bit sticky. No issues in air conditioned room.

4) NOISE CANCELLATION 6/10: Not that good. I can hear ambient noise. It reduces up to 50 percent. Best to listen in quiet environment.

5) SOUND LEAK 10/10: Sound does not leak at all. Person sitting next to you will not be disturbed at all, even on high volume.

6) Accessories 10/10 : Good carrying pouch, 3 wires as per different needs.

I bought this headphone in May 2017. It has been over a year since. This headphone is easily, EASILY, my best and most favorite electronics purchase of the decade. As someone who is passionate about music- both listening and creating, this headphone has been able to handle every possible scenario I have thrown at it.

If you are the average music listener who listens to music while relaxing at home and wants the best sound quality at a great price, I would highly recommend you get yourself a pair (or two) of these headphones. Unless you have experienced more expensive, higher quality studio headphones, I will guarantee your mind will be blown.

The frequency response on this headphone is not completely flat. They do pump up the bass a teeny little bit. The ATH-M40X is flatter than this. However, one must note that that a flatter sound does not necessarily mean a better experience. You could say that this headphone has a more "colorful" sound as compared to a flatter headphone. This makes listening to music at leisure an absolute delight as makes music "feel" good.

That being said, this is also an excellent headphones for use at the studio. You will find a number of pro musicians on YouTube recording with this headphone (unfortunately bajaj EMI STORE review does not allow me to post YouTube links). They are that good!

I listen to a lot of rock music, stuff like System Of A Down, Pink Floyd, Alt-J, etc. This headphone showed me things in music I did not know about! Did you know there is a piano in Chop Suey? I did not! Until I heard it with this!

Besides sound, this headphone is super durable. I am not the most careful person with my things, I often throw stuff around. And this headphone has been through the depths of hell. I take them to my workplace every day; which means they bump around in my backpack along with a lot of other stuff. I wear them for 3-4 hours straight- super comfortable. My friends borrow my headphone, and who knows what they do with it. But it has survived! And without as much as a scratch!

My only, ONLY complaint about this headphone was the lack of Bluetooth connectivity. Having a 3m cable hanging around isn't exactly the most convenient situation. The solution? I got . It costs a lot on bajaj EMI STORE India, but just 50 USD in bajaj EMI STORE US (a little less than 3,500 INR). I was able to source if from a friend there and now I have an excellent pair of BLUETOOTH headphones for roughly 13,000 INR!

If these headphones do break eventually, you can bet that I will buy another pair without batting an eyelid. These things are worth so much more than their price. I cannot recommend them enough.

Honestly curiosity got the better of me with this one. The MOST talked about headphones on the Internet whether you love em or hate em. So I had to get one. And I love the customisation options including skins and wraps for A-T headphones. Takes me back to my college days that were a long long time ago.

If you like bright sound with strong punchy bass and are looking to upgrade to good quality headphones this is the one to get. TBH these are not as flat as claimed to be but have a distinct V shaped FR curve.

There's nothing much I can add to what has not been already said here and elsewhere on the 'net. But if you are looking at a great full size headphone upgrade from a crappy set of in-ears included with your mobile phones this is the one to get. Best of all it comes with 3 different cables for you kind of use. I find the 3 meter coiled cable best for me.

Sound - 4 stars, bright, revealing punchy and at ear piercing. Coming from the world of Sennheisers audiophile grade headphones I felt someone was poking a needle in my ear drum. I winced and gave them time to run in and open up which they did. These are studio monitors after all. They sound good with rock, pop and EDM. Not so much with Jazz and instrumental/classical. Not a set of cans I will use for day long listening because they cause ear fatigue. Sound stage is limited. But to be fair these cans aren't meant for home use although that is precisely what most owners use them for.

Construction - 4.5 stars. Plastic with a steel headband. They look hardy and should last a long time even if given a few knocks. Well constructed like other M series pro monitors.

Comfort - 2 stars, I have medium-large ears and they squeeze into ear pads but only just. The ear lobes are pinched and cause pain. Replacing the ear pads with after market pads affects the sound in varying degrees. So tread carefully here. I bought Brainwavz memory foam pads just in case.

All in all a good start and introduction to the world of A-T pro monitor headphones. And now this has a place in my collection.But I can at best give them 4 stars overall and I am being generous here. There are better choices in the world of A-T headphones. If you can pony up about 50% more, look at the M50xBT for a similar sound signature with smoother sound, better comfort and the convenience of wireless operation. Or best of all, get the M40x for more at a marginally lower price, comparatively balanced sound but with a compromise on comfort.

One word of caution - A-T's customer support is non existent in India. I emailed them via their site enquiring about ear pads and have not received a response. Not an encouraging sign IMO.

Enhanced Low and high frequencies. Suitable for casual listening and not ideal for critical listening.

Pros:
* More emphasis on bass and highs are punchy but without bleeding too much into other frequencies unlike other cheap bass enhanced headphones.
* Feels strong and comes in multiple cables of different sizes.
* Suitable for casual listening
* Decent sound isolation.
* Can be driven by less power sources like mobile, portable music player, etc. But would need a good source (I meant some device with good DAC)

Cons:
* Horrible, horrible mids. AKG k92 which is less than half the price of this is way clear and accurate
* Poor imaging , instrument separation and soundstaging. AKG k92 way way better in this regard.
* After an year of use, the headphone starts making annoying cracking sound even with the slightest of head movement. It has reduced after applying lubricating oil in all of the hindges
* Comfort: not the best at this price range.
* Listener fatigue & Harsh

UPDATE:

After getting used to true entry-level audiophile / professional headphones like AKG K712, K92, etc; This headphone doesnt' standup to the hype! Calling ATH-M50x a studio headphone is not justifiable; given that we have other good studio grade headpones in the same price range from Beyerdynamic, AKG to name a few.

This definitely has better sound than mass market headphones (Beats,..). But paying 10ks for this pair of cans doesn't do any justice! You might like them if you listen to Pops, EDMs, high beats music, hip hop, rap, rock and heavy metal. But for classical and songs with good mids and vocals, this is not recommended.

Music quality is subjective. But this is cannot be an entry-level audiophile grade or studio headphone. It may feel better if you have never listed to good neutral headphones. Listen to Beyerdynamic or AKG headphones in the same range OR sony mdr-v6 to feel the difference.

I purchased these headphones nearly 3 years ago, and i must say these have truly exceeded my expectations in almost every way possible... I daily use them for approximately 4-5 hours at a stretch, sometimes even more but every time i use them they simply amaze me with their sound quality and deepness, it's like when you are watching a movie in which two persons are conversing with each other, but there's also a subtle whistling sound or a sound of a breeze in the background which you never knew existed until you used these headphones, or like when you are listening to a fine guitar based karaoke and you get to listen the subtlest and minutest part of the music, this is the quality that you truly get from these headphones!!.. Secondly when it comes to handling, i am certainly not a pro in it and i have used them roughly sometimes but amazingly they never got broke or met with any kind of problem, including earpads, they have got a little worn out as i use my headphones too much, but still are working fine(touchwood)... sound quality is still the same as day 1!!... After all, why does an average user purchases a headphone, obviously to listen to his favourite song, watch a movie, listen to audiobooks, podcasts, etc... in that case one certainly desires a premium quality headphone that delivers perfectly, that allows you to immerse in your listening experience and forget the world for sometime, if you are that guy these headphones certainly fits your bill.... In a tough evolving market where every item you purchase becomes outdated overnight, these headphones have fared exceptionally well, even among the critics... they have not earned their reputation by false testimonials!!.. So believe the hype, because it's true...