Audio Technica ATH-M50 Review

Lately I have gotten more and more involved in music. The more and more I learned, the more I realized I needed a better set of speakers or headphones. I ended up shopping around, looking for reviews on many headphones. I finally settled on the Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones.

The ATH-M50 go around the ear, with padding to surround your ear. It is relatively bulky, although no bigger than any other studio monitor headphones you can find. They come with one nifty feature. They have a built in adapter that screws and unscrews from the jack end of the headphone cord, allowing you to easily swap between 3.5 mm jacks and 1/4 inch jacks. The adapter has proved very handy for me, allowing me to swap between my keyboard and our computer very easily. The headphones also come with a nice, leather-like, case with pull strings to close the case.

The feel of the headphones is nice. They do not create the aching ear effect that many other headphones do (and I've worn them for upwards of 4 hours at a time). They are structured so they surround the ear, and they leave enough space for decently large ears, as long as you're not dumbo. They have a sliding adjustable band running across the top, with good padding, so you can increase the amount of space between the top of your head and the headphones if desired. If the band starts bothering your head, you can simply pull the band higher so it does not touch your head at all. The chord is about 6 feet long, but can stretch to about 12 feet long.

The sound quality of these headphones is incredible. When I first put them on I was amazed. I could hear the clips for the windows sounds start and stop (I could hear the background noise in the recording of the clips). They are capable of playing sounds at every frequency very well. The bass on the headphones is stellar. Of course, you cannot actually feel the bass, but the headphones output bass well. The bass does not sound muddy at all, and you can practically feel the bass like you would at a concert. The volume level is also excellent. Half volume outputs sound at a decibel level similar to that you would hear at a concert. I have yet to listen to anything with the headphones set above 60% volume.

All in all, I give these headphones an A. They have a wide range of sounds, play bass tones very well, have a good volume level, with a few added features. They also offer the ability to listen to audio for long amounts of time without discomfort. I would recommend these phones to anyone who wants good audio quality and comfortableness in affordable headphones.

After 2 years of HEAVY usage with these headphones (very bass heavy usage) I have blown out the sub in my left headphone. Overall, I got a lot of really good use out of these, and the blowout is very minor. I can still use the headphones, but anything base heavy will cause a rattle. I've contacted their support to see if I can get a replacement, or how much a repair will cost. Will update this hub shortly!

EDIT - Audio Technica has a fan for life. They flat out replaced it! I LOVE THESE HEADPHONES!