Update 2018/07/01: After 25.5 months of daily use, the left speaker appears to have suddenly died. After disassembly, the soldering seems to be intact, but I tried re-soldering a couple of things to make sure, and the speaker seems to be all that's left to blame. I still love these, and although I use them a lot, I had hoped they would last longer. I'm now moving onto my second pair, and if or when they die, I will again update this review.
Original Review
After going through a load of gaming headsets, I wanted to try some high-quality headphones out. Initially, my main purpose for these headphones was to be gaming. Before I got these, I didn’t listen to much music; but man, that changed when I started using them.
I’ve used a lot of gaming headsets for gaming because of the virtual surround sound that they often have, to provide a sense of spatial tracking – so that you can hear where your enemies are. I’ve tried headsets from Corsair, Turtle Beach, Logitech, Sony and others, and in all truth… these Audio-Technica headphones are better for gaming, and I don’t think virtual surround sound is necessary (though my PCs audio driver can do it anyway). In fact, I think using high-quality headphones like these helps you to pinpoint sounds even better. Not only that, but everything sounds better too – so that’s a solid win for gaming.
I mentioned I bought these primarily for gaming, but since I got these headphones, I’ve been listening to so much music. Ever since I got these 4 months ago, I’ve been using them for hours and hours every day, listening to so much music, because it just sounds so damn good! If you’re coming from a gaming headset, even the higher-end ones, you will be in for a pleasant surprise with these awesome headphones from Audio-Technica. They’ve made me a music lover!
We’ve established that the audio coming out of these is pretty damn good, but headphones are more important than just audio. If you’re wearing these for hours on end every day like me, it’s important that they’re comfortable. I can’t tell you how many headphones I’ve had that hurt my ears by putting pressure on them after a few hours, or hurt the top of my head with extended use – it’s been quite an issue for me with some models. Fortunately, these headphones are pretty light weight and there’s some soft padding on the headband, so I’ve not had any top-of-the-head pain. The cups also go over your ears, instead of sitting right on them and applying pressure, and the cups are soft. Another win there – I’ve not had any pain on the ears either.
With how much I was enjoying these headphones, I decided to take them out and about with me. I found them really nice to have when I was revising for my summer exams, and took them into my university’s study areas. This is a good point to mention that these headphones have pretty good noise isolation, which is very helpful. However, on the topic of taking these headphones out and about, they fold in on themselves very conveniently, and the ear cups swivel 45 degrees in each direction (see images). You can then put them in a bag, but if you want to protect them then you may be interested in getting a hard case. Personally, I went for this one: for Audio-Technica ATH-M50X M40X M50 M40 M30 M20 Studio Monitor Professional Headphones Hard Storage Carry Storage Case Bag by co2CREA. It’s a nice hard case that fits the headphones perfectly, and has an additional compartment to put your audio cable in. I’m not a fan of the really “bold” branding on the carry handle, and speaking of branding, I don’t particularly like how bold the Audio-Technica branding is on the headband of the headphones. It’s a minor point though – but here’s an option if you’re interested in a hard case. Back to the review!
These headphones use the 3.5mm audio port, however they come with a proprietary Audio-Technica cable. One of the advertised advantages of this is that you can twist the cable on the end that plugs into the headphones, like you would turn a key; and it will lock the cable in – this way, you won’t accidentally yank it out. However, I think this is missing the point of removable cables. If something yanks on your cable enough to pull it out, then I think it’s better to let it be pulled out; otherwise, your headphones could be yanked off your head and damaged. For this reason, I don’t twist the cable to lock it in, and just let it sit normally. Let the cable get yanked out, and keep your nice headphones safe.
In the box, you get three of Audio-Technica’s proprietary audio cables. Two of them are straight, measuring 125cm and 312cm. The third is partially coiled, and measures about 2m, going to about 3m when stretched. Two 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapters are included in the box; one of them screws on, and another just plugs in. The screw-on adapter will thread onto both of the longer cables, but not the shorter one. See my images to get a look at how this works. Finally, there’s a 3.5mm splitter for planes, and a leather pouch to keep it all in.
I’m not an expert on audio. These are the first headphones I’ve had that I would say are professional quality, and it’s just another step in my audio journey. Having heard the sound that these produce, I can’t imagine what comes out of Audio-Technica’s higher end headphones; but some day, I hope to find out. For now, I’m extremely happy with these. The experience I’ve had with these headphones has been enlightening, and it’s truly brought me many hours of joy; I’ve experienced sounds from music that I never knew existed. If you’re interested in music in any capacity, even a little, then I highly recommend these headphones to you. They will open up a whole new world of sounds, and you will enjoy your music better than ever.
The ATH-M50X is not just a product. This might sound silly when we’re just talking about headphones, but I really would describe this product as a magical experience; and if you have any appreciation for audio, then you owe it to yourself to dive in!
This review can also be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3LEYVPI7VQ8G6/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
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