Audio-TechnicaATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, Black

My new favorite headphones!Previously had m40 and they’re great, but slightly lacking in the low range. M50 add a little extra to make the sound more complete without exaggerating/overemphasising any particular range, so they sound pleasant and natural. I use these for production and to just listen music in general. I can wear them for several hours without getting fatigued by the sound or physical discomfort.That said, the band was a little too tight for my head size. It’s subjective of course, but easily fixable by bending it gently around the center. I want the pressure to hold the ear cups pressing down sealing the sound, I just don’t want to feel that pressure on my ears/head. Bending the band slightly did the trick. I did this on my m40 too. Both became perfect after that.I read some sound-related reviews where people were unhappy with the sound of m50 Bluetooth version, and it prompted me to try this regular/wired version. I’ve tried that one at the store by connecting my iPhone to them via Bluetooth. So I don’t know how they sound via a wire I just know that the base was way too uncomfortable for me to even listen to a single song. So I kind of decided not to get m50 at all based on that experience. Glad I read those reviews and tried the wired version! Sound is subjective so what I dislike can be a plus for you. If you like a LOT of base, you might give them a shot. As for the wired-only version of m50, they feel like a natural upgrade from m40, nothing is in exaggeration but rather improved well-balanced sound.These are closed-back design, but they have the best sound stage of any other closed-back headphones I’ve tried. There might be something better out there of course, but to me if there’s a distinctive feel to the sound, like it’s coming from a tin can, I just can’t use that. Neither m40 nor m50 have that. You can hear a concert hall or any other space in the track. Beyerdynamic closed-back headphones that I’ve tried had this tincan element to their sound. They’re often praised by professional producers but personally, I can’t imagine how I could possibly create a sound with that. It’s distracting for listening, and just doesn’t reflect the actual sound I’m working on.M60, in case you’re wondering, are very different to the series. They’re shaped differently and sound differently. I prefer the sound of m50.Also, they’ve improved the cable quality on M50 and now there’s even a 3rd cable included that’s a perfect length for using on the go and it’s very flexible.

These have been my primary headphone since 2016. Wore them for gaming, DJing, used them across multiple devices, took them traveling. The whole deal. Still my main headphone.In the long term the top band and cushion on the ears is going to flake off but both can be replaced/covered very cheaply. There's also a fail point on the hinges that if breaks will make these stop being comfortable to wear but can also be easily repaired using a few 3D printed parts you can find online. In both cases these issues only came up after multiple years of use. Outside of probably $30 worth of purchases to repair these small defects the actual headphone quality is as good as it's ever been and they're still the best sounding and most comfortable headphone I've worn. I've sworn by Audio-Technica as a brand ever since. These are worth the money.

Let me start off with a disclaimer that I am rather severely hard of hearing (require good hearing aids to hear well...ish) caused by a bout with bacterial menigitis as a toddler, so take the following review for what you will.General Summary: With these, I can hear/feel bass, I can now (occasionally) hear things I couldn't hear before (eg: cymbals/high-hats on drums) and similar sounds (although my headphones are in the dangrously loud range of 85-90db+ range when I do so). Volume is not an issue with these by any means as I can actually turn them up to be loud enough to hurt my ears and force me to turn it back down (though I rarely ever have it that loud as my hearing is damaged enough as is lol).For music: The bass has will actually vibrate my headphones when turned up despite not having EQ tuned more towards bass (it's pretty flat which is another bonus as it gives you a better baseline for EQ control). I can hear certain things I never could before such as things in the "back of the mix", faint adlibs, subtle sounds such as cymbals and hi-hats on drums.For Gaming: Clarity is incredible and I have slightly more situational awareness when in games (though I still miss some things due to my hearing issues). Volume & sound feels rather "full" to me as well. I rarely ever have volume/sound issues in games with these headphones.For movie/video (youtube, netflix, etc): Outside of really soft speaking/whispering, I have absolutely no issue with hearing everything rather clearly (aside from added effects such as distortions of course, but I can barely understand that to begin with due to hearing). Even with distortions though, I can actually hear and understand it a little better than I have ever been able to with any other headphones I've ever used, personally. My previous headset was a Logitech Artimis which was surprising how good it was and until I got these, the Artimis headsets were the best I've ever used (though gaming focused)... Now? Sorry Logitech, but these are even better, however, with that said. Both are surprisingly affordable for their quality and neither use the dreaded "in-line controls" which always the weakest point and when that goes, the headphones stop working so any headphones without in-line controls will always be viewed far more favorably by me in durability... Speaking of...Durability: I've dropped these countless times (by accident... butterfingered klutz problems lol). Have accidentally "kicked" them, pulled a little too hard when there was not enough cord, and other various, minor mishaps common from daily use and they are still working fine with 0 issues or any actual damage.I have one minor gripe although I think that has more to do with my glasses (or me) than with the headphones and that is that sometimes I can't seem to make them sit comfortably on my head, but rotating the cups a little seems to help though it still takes a few minutes to get used to it again but once I do... They are incredibly comfortable and remain comfortable even after wearing them for 12+ hours a day as I do most things on the PC and at my PC most of the day, so I'm wearing the headphones more often than not.These are durable, powerful, and comfortable. The only drawback for me *personally* has less to do with the headphones and more with hardware/software of my PC which is I wish this came with an app that could read db output so I can be more conscious and careful of my hearing for it is more dangerous (for me). Thus it is more likely to cause damage for me as my starting volume is considerably higher by default due to hearing loss as the 70db range is what I need to hear well enough to follow along (I can *hear* the 60db range, but have severe trouble understanding as it's barely whisper level for me due to hearing). but that's really close to 80db range and I can easily cross over into that (and into the 90s) for long extended listening periods which can damage hearing if done for extended amounts of times.All in all, I highly recommend this product whether your hearing is normal or damaged. I have found no legitimate faults with this product. I would definitely purchase again in the future (doubly so if they create and include an app that can help keep track of db levels to add a layer of hearing protection much like apple does with their air pod ear buds and the hearing section of the health app). I would hope that if they do the app, it is free or at least cheap and affordable (like 5-10 USD at most and not something like 50-100 USD).To the person reading this: I hope this review from someone with hearing impairments was helpful in spite of the fact that I have severe hearing damage. Thank you for taking the time to read this and have a great day/night.

Using them with a Puget Systems Portable Workstation for reviewing video takes. Sometimes pinches my ear with my glasses on though. But a small adjustment and I'm okay for a while longer.