Audio-Technica ATH-M50 - Closed Studio Headphones w/ Coiled Cable Reviews

I've been using these headphones for about a month now and has been awesome for recording my first project song, I know they will be great for mixing as well because of there true flatness frequency response and incredible clarity. This is all you need for your studio for headphones monitoring not to mention the unbeatable price and its comfort for long studio hours. These headphones does there job to provide you with fidelity and transparency of what your producing, the rest is on you to make great music!

I recently got these. My first impression as i un to try was WOW. These are very good headphones. They are very flat and I do think they are ideal for mixing (If you are plan to use headphones). I will be test running these babies soon on some up coming projects I will update you guys on well they perform.

I bought these after shopping around for many different pairs of headphones. I couldn't be happier. I enjoy the fit. I have what I would say is an average sized head and these headphones fit perfectly on the smallest size setting. They are comfortable and I wear them for many hours a day. I also love the looks and fold options. The curly cord is also very convenient. The build screams quality and I expect to be using these for many years. They come with a nice carry case and a screw on 1/4 inch adapter.

As far as sound goes, these are a complete pleasure to listen to. Everything is balanced and clear. The bass is natural and powerful but not overpowering or muddy. The mids are present and clear and the highs are well defined and crisp without being harsh.

I can see why these headphones have the reputation that they do. I'm very happy with my purchase and I would buy these headphones again. The only (small) criticism I have is that the cable does not detachable.

These headphones are recommended for a reason. The ATH-M50 is OUTSTANDING. These headphones are an excellent tool for the home studio and priced right. I really like the comfort as that is really important to me. I am glad I made this choice. Also, Sweetwater was very helpful.

Gives clarity and isolates every sound which makes the sound distinct. Great for studio and home studio use. It's a MUST BUY! for any music engineer.

I read reviews of phones w very strong ,rich bass..these won, I looked at others that were twice the cost and these still seemed to have the features i wanted,, the freq specs, good isolation.. I watch a lot of video on the NYC subways and also listen to music, I'm a bass player and have very, VERY picky taste when it comes to low end, and yes, this has that thumping,authentic sounding bass you hear in dance clubs, good rock venues..etc. but its clarity is what blew me away..I heard things in my music that I never noticed before, I told my wife,"you've GOT to try these" and she usually doesn't care about such things..when I put on her favorite band,X Japan, there was a song that has all these percussion sounds panned in stereo, auto-panning..all these cool effects that we never noticed before..and these phones brought it all out..she looked at me and asked,"How much ARE these?..I want a pair!" It actually made me enjoy songs I used to just breeze past.. They are very quiet,and isolate the outside world effectively, sometimes i wake up in the morning after falling asleep w them on, and they are comfy for something so snug and big..I suggest getting these, the one with the coiled cable, the straight cable is for indoor use only, the coiled one is okay to walk around with too.

im also using this and this headphones have great isolation and no colouring to the tone and its frequency response is flat and good enough

I've tried three standard headphones for my studio to date: The Ultrasone, audio-technica ATH-M20, and the Anniversary 50th that I got from Sweetwater and I like the 50th the best. Good sound and nice to have on thy fit sung.

This headset my Audio-Technica has great low end broad and deep while satisfying my need for high end clarity. I'm completely pleased with this headset and its' solid construction.

great sound great comfort great price

I've use these for live and studio. They have a very clean sound with tight bass. I would highly recommend these. You won't be disappointed!!

1. It Was Shipped Just On Time
2. Great Condition
3. Came with Candy which brought your name "Sweetwater" out
4. Even though I wasn't a fan of the candy it made the delivery feel more welcomed like a gift from a family member like a grandparent.
LAST but NOT LEAST... GREAT.

I wanted to get more expensive headphones cause I thought they would be better boy was I wrong. These sound great and for less than half. They have great bass response and great highs, I can wear them all day and I do, and what I hear is what I get. Honestly these will be the only headphone in the mixing booth.

These are fantastic for the price.

These are absolutely amazing exp for the price. You can listen to everything from heavy metal to rap to classical music

I had tried the beats by dre, and a couple of akg cans, but these are bottom line amazing, super comfortable, great high quality sound thats not completely drowned by bass drops, covers highs and lows perfectly (and thats before I wore them in, they now sound even better) I would encourage anyone with a home studio or even just listening pleasure, (I've used mine to also watch movies on my laptop)

The fact of the matter is, closed-back headphones will never compare with the hi-fi sound of boutique, high-end open back headphones. That being said, in a studio environment, particularly a home studio environment, good closed back studio headphones are absolutely essential not just for tracking, but for engineering as well. The ATH-M50's are a perfect blend of comfort, sound isolation, and great sound quality. Wear them while trying to find the right mic placement on an amplifier as the guitarist blares away. It'll dampen the sound from the room enough that you can hear exactly what's coming through the mic. Also, when used for tracking there's almost no bleed, allowing you to give the artist (or yourself) plenty of volume. The headphones are very comfortable so long tracking sessions won't result in a throbbing head. Finally, the frequency response is better than most headphones. The bass is solid but not overwhelming compared to some closed-back designs. Also, the high end is not as hyped as some. The midrange is much better than competing brands at this price range, in my humble opinion, as well. Overall, it's a great headphone for tracking, monitoring, and engineering . . . and is even good enough for home studios to supplement near-field monitors for mixing.

I owned the M40fs and loved for far too many years.
These are a huge improvement in sound and comfort.

Great for referencing mixes, enjoyable for listening to your fav albums, and all around use.

These headphones are sweet. I use them for monitoring purposes in my home studio and I get an excellent frequency response. Surprisingly strong bass for headphones. What I'm most impressed with is the customer service at sweetwater. Unbeknownst to me. these were initially backordered. Within 5 minutes of placing my order a rep from sweetwater called me up to tell me that and also proved to me that the reps at sweetwater are pros who know what they're talking about. 2 weeks later I get a follow up email letting me know the phones are on their way. It's great buying from a company like this!

I have a big head. These are the only type on the planet which are comfortable.
Durable for sure.
Amazing sound. I wear these for hours on end on the plane, or when playing my synths. Buy one or buy two like me !!! I am buying a spare because I cannot afford these to go out of production they are so good.

I really like this headphones they are comfortable and well built. I really liked the service as well. Sweetwater called me before it was shipped to confirm everything then it was here in 5 days. Thanks sweetwater for the good deal and good customer service!

Although I'm no expert, these headphones seem excellent. They're very clear and they have good all-range response. One thing, don't pull on the spring when you're removing them from a jack, the spring eventually pops out and it's difficult to get back in. More annoying than a real problem.

I've owned these headphones for a little over four months now; I had trouble getting used to them at first, but they've turned out to be a choice grade listening device! The sound stage is broad and each individual sound is clear and vibrant. The low end is clean - no bloating or draining - the highs are crisp, and the midrange is lofty. The whole spectrum is noticeably flat: I'd recommend these headphones for any task!

I just wanted to say that everything was packaged in perfect condition when Sweetwater delivered it. I've tested beats by Dr. Dre and the sound does not even compare to ATH m50s. Seriously, these things are 10 times better sounding than those over priced celebrity fashion wearing headphones. You won't regret buying these headphones if you're looking for HIGH QUALITY headphones.

I purchased these from Carson McLain (I LOVE) Sweetwater! :) about a year ago, and have used them continuously as my primary reference monitor phones - I RELY on them, and more importantly I trust them. They are very flat, and when I close my eyes listening to the mix, the sub-mix , and finally the final mix-down - I hear everything - good and bad. And that is exactly what a reference monitor must faithfully do. The ATH -M50's do it in spades. I find them very comfortable throughout a session, with no squeeze and no headache. Again, this review is written with significant usage and never a moment of dissatisfaction in that time.

I'm the kinda gal that could care a less if my shoes match each other much less what i am wearing however anything and everything has to be the BEST when it comes to music and all electronics.

I bought these online basing my purchase upon user reviews all over the internet and crossed my fingers hoping they would be as good as the reviews. I am here to tell you they are BETTER than the reviews!

You will hear EVERYTHING with these studio phones... nothing gets by... if a sound engineer leaves something in that he/she figures nobody will hear... well guess what? You WILL hear it! If something is in there that you couldn't quite make out... well it becomes crystal clear. There really isn't a number high enough to describe how well these studio phones are. If the drummer had TexMex for lunch then goes into the studio to record you will hear those repercussions as well.

Many of the reviews i read complained about a tight fit and that was my largest fear since i wear studio phones for 18 - 20 hours a day every day 365 days a year. When i took them out of the box i was very impressed with the construction. They are definitely made for the long haul. They are a bit heavier than the Pioneer HDJ-1000 that i have been using for years but believe me the trade off of a little bit of weight is well worth it. I put them on my head and right out of the box sheer comfort! My Pioneers took several weeks of wear in.

Needless to say the Pioneers will be in a box in the closet from now on. You can not go wrong with these studio phones they simply are the best! I have paid much much more for studio phones over the years but none have even come close to the sound and comfortable fit you get with the ATH-M50's. You can forget about having to EQ for listening pleasure purposes as they are simply already perfectly balanced with the highs/lows/mids.

I searched and researched the internet for reviews on everything from BOSE, Sennheiser, Sony, Pioneer, and Beyerdynamic and the only one that consistently had the highest rating across the board was the Audio-Technica ATH-M50's. You will not be unsatisfied with the choice to add these studio phones to your collection or as your only set.

I listen/review everything from Country to Melodic Progressive Metal and it does not matter what i am listening to i am hearing things that the artists would say listen for blah blah blah and i never heard it.... now i do. Talk about being enlightened... listen to some complicated music like Melodic Progressive Metal it will blow your mind at all that is there and going on. I feel kinda bad for some of my band reviews now. Don't miss out on the great stuff you have been missing in your favorite tunes. Feel completely confident in the studio mixing that it will be 100% true to what you are hearing.

I could use every word in the dictionary and STILL not be able to totally describe these studio phones.

I called up my good friend and sales engineer Mr. Nick Church and asked for some bang-for-the-buck, go-to headphones suitable for mixing and tracking. He suggested these and they simply blow my Yamaha's and Sennheiser HD 280's away. Worth every penny.

I have bought this headphones a long time of searching & finally my Great Sweetwater's sales engineer (Mike Conyers) advice me to buy it,
Simply, i was blown away when i hear the sound comes out of this magic headphones, full detailed mid, deep lows without harshness, smooth highs.
i have to say that i have never hear any headphone better than this.
i take it to the studio to test its results compared to a sennheiser one.
I throw the sennheiser one away cause it have too lows much more than needed.
i see that it is the most near result to our studio monitors (Adam P33A's + Sub 10 MKII)
Thanks to Audio-Technica, Mike Conyers & Sweetwater.

I'm still a fan of HD-280s, but these seem to be more accurate and don't have the bass fallout my beloved Sennheiser 280s do. The sound is very rich, with a more accurate midrange than a lot of other headphones in this price range. Very comfortable to wear, my only complaint would be the non-replaceable cord. Top notch!

As a studio musician, and songwriter, I live with headphones on. These cans do not have that hollow midrange thing going on. Very clean and accurate. The closest to my monitors so far. Great bottom end (not over emphasized).Clean highs, not harsh, solid mids.
You can not go wrong with the M50

What can I say??
I really was kind of worry about the investment on this headphones, since they are not that "cheap".
But the truth is they are worth it man!!
I was A-Bing my stuff from the old headphones I had, they were Bose by the way, and the difference with the ATHM50 its just oustanding!!
In conclusion, this headphones will let you mix and hear stuff that you couldn't distinguish before.

I just picked up a pair of these this evening, and I'm already shocked at how great things are sounding. Even on MP3s everything is crystal clear. I'll mainly be using these for mixing in the studio and at home. Isolation from outside sound seems very good so far, I'm sure a drum kit would bleed through a bit though, but not as much as they did with my Sennheisers. Worth every penny in book, let's just hope they hold up to regular use!

I have beyerdynamic 2770 and sennhieser hd 212 and these headphones outperform both in everyway they are fantastic right out of the box you burn them in they will blow your mind. I heard things in my mixes Ive never heard before thus making my mixes better. A for listening to music the first day I got them I didnt realize i sat for three hours with my zune an fiiom5 just listening to stuff in songs ive never heard before.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from these phones as it's been years since I've even considered a change. My last pair from Sony was around $110 or so some five to seven years ago. Just taking the M50s out of the box, I could tell these were going to impress me. The craftsmanship and solid feel are immediately evident and even though they are plastic, they have a much tighter engineered feel to all of the components. They are extremely comfortable and are isolated to the degree that I didn't hear my daughter enter the room (even with no sound) until she was tapping me on the shoulder (this happened twice).

There is plenty of leeway in the fit of the headphones and of particular interest is the fact that the padded cups can be adjusted around the rims so you truly get a 'just right' fit. I was also very glad to find an actual metal 1/8" plug with strain relief, not an inline molded plug and the 1/4" adapter is a screw fit, not the cheaper 'slingshot' plug that will pop out with tension from the headphone coils.

I have a set of Mackie monitors and have to admit that there has always been a discrepancy between my original phones and the monitors that I couldn't quite pin down. The M50s leveled that completely. The sonic quality of these headphones is something one just has to hear to understand. The bass simply 'is' without being over pronounced and the rest of the spectrum feels very natural. In fact, bringing up a few previous mixes had me nodding my head that this was something I should have done long ago as I could clearly hear potential trouble spots in every frequency band I choice to focus on. Additionally, I'm finding I can use these headphones at a much lower volume level because of the clarity across the spectrum.

I'd easily say that if you are in the market for a set of headphones and are fixated on a sub $120 price you would be better off spending a little more for the M50s. For the price I think they are of great value.

I've used many different headphones in the past, and these are the ones I always go back to. Both live and studio engineering, they can't be beat. I've been a sound engineer for 32 years, and I now use nothing else.

As a touring engineer I often find myself mixing in very unfriendly acoustical environments (back of the tour bus, hotel rooms, any random corner at the concert venue). For years I've used other headphones and have always had consistent results (no extreme top end and a general lack of solid low end) all due to there "smilely face" eq curve. With the M50's I'm now able to achieve a much closer mix the first time around with minimal tweaking.

I plugged in the ATH M50s and felt like I was all alone in the best seat in Carnegie hall. I first used them to listen to a piano trio and the clarity and "just like the real thing" sound blew me away. The design improvements over the 40s were also a very pleasant surprise. I would highly recommend them for the most professional engineers and musicians to the every day listener. Congrats to AT for a great product.

Best headphones I've ever used.

Excellent headphones for the price!

These headphones are great! They’re the best headphones I have ever owned. I use them for sound mixing and editing. When I first used them, I was blown away by the sound. I could hear everything: lows, highs and mids.

There is only one drawback: After using them for longer than 3 hours per day for several days in a row, the spring tension pressure began to hurt my ears.

…but I’m still giving them a 4.5.

These are awesome headphones. I've had some nice audiophile grade ones before but truly astounded at how much detail these phones have. I did a direct comparison with the equally awesome Shure SRH-840's (which I was originally going to buy). The 840's were burnt in and the M50's were out ot the box and even then, the M50's had the edge, especially in the smoothness of it's bass and overall resolution. They've only sounded better and better since. Why didn't I give them 5/5? The over-use of plastic is the only reason. This shouldn't turn anyone off buying these headphones but I just feel that for a pair that's so good, the feel should have been less plasticy. That said, for this price (or anything even close), there are no better monitors!

I don't own these, yet. I'm in school for Audio Engineering. I was paired up with a friend of mine to do a project, a phony radio commercial. I had forgotten my headphones that day, so we shared his, these M50s. Wow. Now my headphones are nice, but they're nowhere near as accurate as these guys. I couldn't believe the even response. If you need a good pair of mixing or mastering headphones for a cheap price, these are the ones. I'm going to buy a pair solely for that purpose. There is only one downside to these, the cable isn't replaceable. After ruining countless headphones simply because the cable fails, I've come to think that should be a standard to have. But if you treat them well, you should be fine.

So once again, moral here is... these are very accurate for the price.

Wow.

OK, I have been in audio, signal processing & analysis (signal analysis - not therapy) for many years, and have heard many different (and different types of) headphones...but I have to say that these sound great. "Great" in my vocabulary equates to "accurate".

So far, what strikes me is their neutrality, but equally, their detail (again...accuracy). I am lucky enough to be able to use STAX electrostatics for my 'super critical' stuff, but that's really not a fair comparison (electrostatic versus dynamic, open versus closed) given the fact that the STAX cost $3,000 by the time you get the amplifier required by them. Nevertheless, while these are not on-par with the STAX, they're nowhere near the price, and yet, produce very smooth and detailed sound. In fact, I had been using some Grado 60's for my casual listening, and upon listening to these for the first time, I was extremely impressed...and honestly, I think I like these better. Granted, this might just be my initial impression and may not last, but I think I'll be happy with these for many years to come.

Kudos to my sweetwater rep on this one. I had narrowed my choices down to three headphones, with this being one of them, and based on my criteria and concerns he suggested these. I think that he made the right call.

SPL & distortion are very good as well, and pretty much anything I have tried them on drives them with ease. I can wholly recommend these - mind you, headphones are a lot like speakers (i.e. a matter of preference and tatse), but if you like accurate sound, good isolation, low distortion, and comfort I would strongly suggest that you audition these.

Isolation is pretty decent, though not the best, still, it's more than adequate than what I would need for 90% of my field work.

As far as VALUE is concerned, these are stellar. Nice work, Audio Technica, and kudos to my Sweetwater rep as well for the advice.

I love this pair of headphones. For mixing, they really are awesome. There's not much difference coming from these as compared to my monitors. And isolation is pretty impressive for tracking as well. Even when tracking quiet acoustic guitar with the click in my headphones, the click isn't audible on the recorded track. Every pair of phones I've had before this leaked that click onto the track, especially in that last fading out chord. A LITTLE tighter than I like, but that helps with isolation so I'm happy with it.

The bass is as powerful and convincing as any phones I've tried, without being bassy. I've tried a lot of good phones including the high end imported AT's. These are more musical sounding to me. I have a system with very large speakers and these are the first phones that I enjoy listening through almost as much as my speakers. My only complaint is the 1/2 coiled cord, what is up with that?

I just got my Audio Technica ATH-M50's within the last week, so they aren't properly burned in yet. My first impression is that these 'phones are very "full" sounding. What I mean is that there is an abundance of low-mid bass here. Too much? I'm used to the sound of the Sennheiser HD-280PRO headphones, so these AT's were quite a change for me. I'm hoping as they burn in the bottom end will firm up and mellow out some. I'm quite impressed with the mids and highs, they are present without a hint of harshness. As long as the headphones even out in their tonality, I would recommend them for critical listening and mixing, but as they sound right now today, I'd say they aren't quite accurate in their low end response.

Just Perfect! Clean & accurate bass response, Exceptional High ends. This Headphone is worth it all. I produce a lot of reggae/ dancehall, Hip-Hop, Pop and R&B music, these headphones are a great deal to me especially while in hotels and late night sessions where music can't be LOUD 2 Def. Mixing Vocals, if you know what you are doing - ATH-M50' are just right. They fit so comfortable you'll fall asleep with them on while listening to your perfect mix!

I mix around 80% of the time with headphones and for the last 6 years I`ve been using the Beyer Dynamics DT990s which I love. So when it came time to get another pair, I was researching and came across the ATH-M50. I was excited to hear headphones in this price range get so glowing reviews and I was curios so I picked up a pair.

My first impression of the M50s was its solid construction. The phones wrapped around my head nice and snug and it took me around two minutes to realize these phones are really outstanding. These phones are well balanced and unlike the popular Sonys, the highs are a lot smoother. There is no harshness in these phones.

So I`ve had them now for about two months and they have become my go to cans. I was considering the DT990s again but they cost $100 more and I no longer feel I am missing out. The only advantage the DT990s have is their cushiony headphone piece. The M50s have stretched to accommodate the size of my head (theres a joke in there somewhere) and I now wear them to just sit back and listen to some music when I`m relaxing. Highly recommended.

Best headphones I have used sound wise and recording. My only complaint. Extremely uncomfortable after hours of use. I can't say any headphones I have used are actually comfortable after hours of use. These smoked my sony mdr's and akg's. Other studio standard headphones.

i am just getting equipment for my small home studio and i picked up a pair of these and they are great. they are very comfortable and my ears hear every nuance of detail from my keyboards. they seem pricey but you definately get what you pay for in these headphones. i recomend you pick up a pair today

These headphones are great for listening, very comfortable for long term use. My son uses them for hours at a time with his ipod. The isolation from exterior sound is excellent. I'd recommend them for long sessions for musicians to wear.

I didn't find them as useful for mixing, as they seem a bit bass heavy. As a comparison, I use the Sennheiser HD280 pro headphones for mixing because the HD280 has a more even frequency response, but the AT would be fine for A/B comparisons.

For studio use you may want to consider the straight cable instead of the coiled cable, but that's just my preference.

The first pair I received had a problem with the left channel cutting off, but the replacement pair has been just fine since, and my thanks to Sweetwater for making the replacement process as smooth and quick as was possible.

I'll be honest... i just don't get it. I had these phones for about three months before the left channel went out. Even before that, I found that anything I mixed on them, hip-hop, rock, EDM, whatever... did not translate to other systems at all... I would even say that they sounded downright BAD. The big studio I "worked" at uses Beyerdynamic 770's. A quick A/B between these two and I instantly realized that the time spent saving up a little extra cash to buy the Beyers was negligible compared to the amount of time I would waste correcting mixes on these ridiculously overhyped Ath-M50's. Between the tiny sound stage, super bass and the marginal build quality... I would not recommend these to anyone, ESPECIALLY beginners, as they will just be more frustrated by the fact that they should have just saved up a bit and purchased some truly fine, professional grade cans and got on with making art, instead of mixing the track "one more time". YMMV.