Home > Consumer Reviews > Audio Technica Pro Studio Monitor Headphones

My low-end studio equipment doesn't qualify me to give much of an opinion on such matters, but the ATH-M50s are easily the best closed cans I've ever used.

My trusty Senn 280s have served me well for several years, and I prefer them to the Sony 7506s and ATH-M40s that I've also auditioned in my studio. After reading a series of rave reviews (in Tape Op, Recording, etc.), I ordered the M50s just for comparison's sake.

I was fairly sure I'd send them back after a listen. I never did. Simply put, the M50s are the first closed cans that I feel I can trust for rough mixing, and surprisingly, the first closed cans that make me want to listen just for enjoyment. They clearly live up the street from my old Senns, which I now use solely for tracking.

PROs
* detailed yet coherent sound that mirrors higher-end monitor speakers
* particularly impressive bass response (deep, tight) and soundstage (great imaging)
* very comfy fit, with special fake leather that's breathable and durable

CONs
* rather short coiled cord, requiring an extension for some applications
* slightly looser fit than the Senn 280s (good or bad, depending on head size)

Speakers of any type are hard to recommend since tastes, physiology, and other equipment vary so much, but you may want to audition these if you need a pair for higher-end listening tasks. They work beautifully for me, and the price seems fair (paid $139 new, shipping included). Then again, with my mostly bargain-basement studio gear, what do I know? Make sure you have a good return policy, just in case.

I don't have much to add to the rave review for these headphone--very comfortable, solid build, great sound--but I did want to add one thing. Because of the low impedance of these headphones, they can crank out some wicked volume. I hooked these up to my iPod and they are the loudest of anything that I've hooked up to it, including a number of higher-end buds. I can't imagine anyone being disapointed by these headphone, and I suspect that most will be thrilled.

I must admit that I am am one of those audiophiles who has been passionately reviewing headphones, cables, amps etc. to get me as close as possible to the music event recorded on the CD. I have three other headphones with exotic headphone cables - the cables alone cost more than the MSRP of ATH-M50 (just wanted to give a point of reference regarding their good value).

I definitely prefer Open vs closed headphone for the illusion that they are able to create.

But there are times when I want to isloate the external sounds or do not want to disturb others - that is where this closed headphone shines.

So what is so special about these phones and how do they compare with the more expensive audiophile phones.

- ATH-M50s are extremely balanced: the top, mids and the bottom is produced in an extremely balanced way.
- They are easy to listen to for a long period of time.
- They are comfortable.
- They are accurate and
- they are easy on the pocket.

Compared to other audiophile headphones (Senn 600/650 and AKG701)
- They are not as open sounding (these are closed headphones afterall)
- They are not as transparent, they are slightly grainy
- They are better than some more expensive audiophile phones

Also they come with 1/8" and 1/4" inch headphone jack/adaptor - so you can enjoy them straight out of the ipod or connect them to your audiophile headphone amp or your professional gear.

They are perfect for what it does!
Highly recommended - even to hard core audiophiles.

There's a good reason why 12 people have rated these headphones a 5/5. The one who didn't expected these to be noise cancelling... which of course they are not, nor are they advertised to be. They are, however, advertised to be extremely accurate sounding headphones, which they are. They sound absolutely great. The build quality is excellent, they are comfortable for their size, and most importantly they sound fantastic. Out of the box they didn't sound great, they in fact sounded very mediocre. I almost felt like I wasted money, but after a week or two of burning them in, the true clarity most definitely came out.

There are small programs out there that can run white noise / pink noise / frequency sweeps and I definitely recommend them to burn these headphones in. Pink noise is supposed to be pretty good for burn in, or so I've heard. Or you could just keep a wide variety of music playing. I highly suggest not rating these headphones until a week or two of burning in, and only then can you conclude on the quality of sound.

These headphones isolate sound very well. Let me clarify here, they certainly are not noise cancelling. You can hear outside noises to a certain extent, people talking, etc can be heard if they're nearby unless you have the volume at a decent level, then you really can't hear much anything. They keep sound in pretty damn good. I can listen to these in a quiet study lounge with a pleasantly loud voice without fear of distracting those around me. Sometimes I truly wonder if all this sound going into my ear is completely inaudible to those around me, and I take the headphones and realize that they really do prevent a good amount of sound leakage. You can't crank it up insanely loud and expect no leakage, you have to be somewhat realistic here, but they're the best I've seen at that.

I'm no audiophile, but I like to enjoy the luxury of detailed, realistic sound and these headphones deliver. The bass is not overwhelming or in excess, it's just right. These 'phones do not amplify the bass more than what should be there, nor they hide or muffle it. It's clear, concise, punchy, and certainly satisfactory.

I got these headphones brand spanking new in the box in perfect condition on eBay by a certified audio-technica dealer. They are at a buy it now price of $105, but it gives you the option to make an offer. Needless to say I payed much less than the prices I found on the web, and perhaps you would consider the route I took.

I just received these in an order, and they're fantastic! Reasonably compact (they fold into an included, small sack), they provide excellent sound isolation and a great range of bass, mid, and hi tones. I'm not exaggerating when I say that my next door neighbor was just using a jackhammer (to remove a section of driveway and install sprinkler piping), and I first tested these headphones with that much noise in the background. They are great!