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Published on 06/29/11 at 18:35A pair of Audio-Technica's ATH-M50's can go a long way. People talk about not mixing on headphones, but the truth is, even if monitors may provide a better response and soundstage than headphones, great headphones are still cheaper than awful monitors, and infinitely more portable and versatile, so if anything, the utility of headphones far outweighs that of monitors if you have a pair that can sonically stand up to them.
That being said, the Audio-Techinca ATH-M50's are a treat in every way. It's a shame I don't personally own a pair of them, but when I tried my friend's pair on against my trusty Sony MDR7506's they blew them out of the water (and you all should know that the Sony MDR7506's are a very VERY respected pair of headphones).
First, they feel like a dream. The ATH-M50's have that inexplicably difficult to achieve quality of being neither too tight nor too loose. They sit right on your ears and you feel like you could wear them for hours if it came to it. While my MDR7506's are quite comfortable, I tend to take breaks after every hour or so.
Second, they are some of the most accurate sounding headphones I've ever heard this side of $200. Even when using them purely for music-listening, they pick up things that you would never hear, even against other studio headphones. I heard from my friend that even before the burn-in period, they blow their competition out of the water. According to his often dubious testimony, (he's a bit of a joker) he put them on and stared at the wall listening to an album just for the sake of hearing things he never heard before. The one thing he mentioned that improved after the burn-in was the soundstage. The sound, according to him, felt slightly narrow before the burn-in. When I tried them, they were wide-open.
So there's not much more to say about a pair of great headphones. They feel great, and they sound great. As a monitor-deficient person, I am searching for the headphones that will get as close to monitors as possible.
Headphones aren't exactly capable of that, but I would certainly buy the Audio-Technica ATH-M50's instead of my MDRs if I could do it over again. They're that good.
That being said, the Audio-Techinca ATH-M50's are a treat in every way. It's a shame I don't personally own a pair of them, but when I tried my friend's pair on against my trusty Sony MDR7506's they blew them out of the water (and you all should know that the Sony MDR7506's are a very VERY respected pair of headphones).
First, they feel like a dream. The ATH-M50's have that inexplicably difficult to achieve quality of being neither too tight nor too loose. They sit right on your ears and you feel like you could wear them for hours if it came to it. While my MDR7506's are quite comfortable, I tend to take breaks after every hour or so.
Second, they are some of the most accurate sounding headphones I've ever heard this side of $200. Even when using them purely for music-listening, they pick up things that you would never hear, even against other studio headphones. I heard from my friend that even before the burn-in period, they blow their competition out of the water. According to his often dubious testimony, (he's a bit of a joker) he put them on and stared at the wall listening to an album just for the sake of hearing things he never heard before. The one thing he mentioned that improved after the burn-in was the soundstage. The sound, according to him, felt slightly narrow before the burn-in. When I tried them, they were wide-open.
So there's not much more to say about a pair of great headphones. They feel great, and they sound great. As a monitor-deficient person, I am searching for the headphones that will get as close to monitors as possible.
Headphones aren't exactly capable of that, but I would certainly buy the Audio-Technica ATH-M50's instead of my MDRs if I could do it over again. They're that good.