It’s about time I reviewed these bad boys since they have been in my posession for a little while now and I’ve had a chance to get to know them – Audio Technica’s ATH-M50 headphones. Cheers to Jansen for the chance to review them.
My former job involved wearing headphones for long stretches at a time. It got me reasonably well acquainted with what I would want in a set… a desire that was never properly met.
A quick word – if you think you’re getting great sound from those buds supplied with your iPod or iPhone… you’re not. There’s a whole new world of sound waiting for you if you get your hands on some real headphones.
First up with the ATH-M50’s is the aesthetic – yes I am pretentious enough to care what they look like and I like these. They’re simple yet modern and sleek. Black works for me as it doesn’t scream “look at me you commoners, I’ve got flash headphones!” To do their job they need to be sizeable; I don’t need bright colours and futuristic shapes to attract any more attention.
They’re comfortable on the ears, though maybe a little heavy. That said, I’ve had a couple of sessions with them on for a few hours to give them a run for their money and haven’t felt worn down… I could have easily had them on for a lot longer. The quality padding is the winner here.
I’m in love with the hinges on the ear-cups as it allows me to manouvre them easily if I need to shift to only have one ear covered – something I do relatively instinctually after being in radio for a few years. The hinges also allow the headphones to pack down nicely into the supplied pouch – they then fit nicely in my day bag for flying or cycling.
They’re good at cancelling out periphery noise but not to the extent that one feels entirely detached from the surrounding world. I can still hear the keys tapping in between songs as I write this. I fly a bit for my current job and they do a great job of cutting out those pesky plane noises that make me nervous. The balance in noise cancellation is right – they draw the focus towards the sound they produce.
One of the central elements of any headphones is the range of sound they can convey in what you choose to listen to. This is where those Apple buds just don’t cut it. They’re a joke. Most in-ears don’t measure up. If you’re serious about what you’re listening to, get some real headphones. You want to pull that sound close, remove distractions and hear as much of what’s there as you can – do yourself a favour and get yourself something that enables you to hear everything the artist put in there for you to hear… without being stupid about how much you spend (it can get rediculous).
This is where the ATH-M50’s really shine. If you love decent bass they hit it well without feeling like the lower frequencies are shaking around the cups as with some other headphones and without any distortion – it’s clear and precise. It’s the same as you move through the sound range. The ATH-M50’s provide a listening experience rather than a musical distraction. Be warned though, if the recording quality is crap, you’ll hear it – there is no forgiveness with decent headphones as they pick up everything.
Some good tracks to test them with:
Frontline – Lost in Translation. The album version is a good test to feel the base but the live version has a lot happening in it. This version is from the 2006 NZ Music Awards – I was there… yes, this is me being pretentious 😉
Fat Freddy’s Drop – Boondigga
Tiki Taane – Tangaroa – Live at the VNZMA’s 2008. It gave me goosebumps when I saw it live and it gives me goosebumps now 🙂
Serj Tankian ft. The Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra – Feed Us