Audio-Technica ATH-M50X

I have had my m50x's for 7 YEARS, since I was 15 years old, and before I knew anything about audio, music, or much of anything else. The fact that I still own them astounds me given my track record, so I've decided to provide a review for the regular everyday consumers out there still considering these bad boys.

1. Style
Just look at the pictures mate.

2. Utility
These things are pretty portable, not too heavy and they fold up well. On top of that they come with a removable cable which is very handy, and 2 alternative cables, one longer, and one coiled. They come with a pleather carrying pouch that is good for any long distance travel, although it doesn't provide much protection.

3. Comfort
These headphones aren't too heavy, and the padding on the headband is sufficient, unfortunately over time it has worn and long listening sessions can hurt the top of your head a bit. The pads are a little bit of a weak spot, they're not very thick and eventually had to be replaced, but again this is 7 years of use from a teenager, so grains and salt and all that.

4. Sound
The M50x's are what you'd call 'V-shaped', meaning in this case that they have MUCH more pronounced bass (BIG 808'S), some more restrained and less clear mids (vocals and the inbetweens), and quite a sharp treble (high hats etc). I would consider them a 'fun' headphone. In the audiophile community there's a pretty common opinion that neutral sounding headphones are in some way superior, but we normies know that it's great for your music to have some punch (in this case a complete haymaker). I've always loved the sound of these headphones and I genuinely still do. The seal ​is decent, but if you're cranking your gabber on the bus like a degenerate there will definitely be some sound leak.

5. Build Quality
Now given that I have owned these for so long you may be led to believe that the build quality is quite good, but honestly it is pretty poor. These headphones are completely plastic (besides the pleather headband), which makes sense given the price. The earpads are cloth covered in pleather, which after about 5 years had completely peeled off. The cables provided are thick, but I had a persisting issue where the jacks of the cables kept bending and snapping, so be mindful of that.


Conclusion
The Audio Technica M50X's are a great pair of cans, and I've listened to them almost exclusively for a long time. I have to keep in mind that the issues of parts wearing is more to do with the sheer length of time that they have been my daily drivers. If you're looking for a pair of bass heavy midrange headphones then there's not many that can match these.

After doing a lot of research for what monitor headphones to buy around the 100-150€ price range, I narrowed it down to these or the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro.
I chose these mostly for the practicality: they are very portable, since you can collapse them, and the cables are removable and exchangeable (two characteristics that the Beyerdynamics do not have).
Having also tried the Beyerdynamics, I can say that these two pairs of headphones are different, but neither is necessarily better. As monitor headphones, they both do an excellent job, and I would say that they are the two best choices in this price range.
The only thing about the Audio-Technicas that I do not rate at 5 stars is the comfort. They are not uncomfortable - in fact, they are very comfortable to wear for the first 30 minutes to an hour. But, after long periods of time wearing them, the band does start do hurt my head, and I find myself having to shift the headphones back and forth so as to change the placing of the band. Keep in mind, this only happens when I wear them for long periods of time, and even then, I think very few headphones would be better in this regard. However, the Beyerdynamics do have a reputation for being the most comfortable headphones out there, so I think they might win in this aspect (although I don't actually have experience wearing the Beyerdynamics for long periods of time).
So, if you value the collapsibility and cable-exchangeability of the Audio-Technicas, choose these. If you value the apparently unbeatable comfort of the Beyerdynamics, chose them.
Hope this review helped!

I bought these in april 2016, it is now January 2023 , so we are coming up to 7 years of heavy use for these earphones. This indicates to me, that they are extremely sturdy and well designed. I have replaced the earpads twice in that time after they became tattered.

The headphones are excellent for music production, listening to music, playing video games and watching movies. They are the most high end and best headphones I have ever owned. I can use them for several hours without any comfort issues. After three hours, my ears and head start to feel fatigued but not in a way where I need to stop wearing them.

I also like the way they look, they are nicely styled with a minimalistic chic look. All in all, I have no complaints and I will instantly replace them with a new pair when they die.

Compared to my other monitor headphones, the DT-770 Pro, these seem to have just a bit better low end response. But overall the sound is flat with no flavor whatsoever.

The low impedance gives you some versatility, allowing the use across multiple devices rather than just a dedicated headphone amplifier.

You can even use them as your daily headphones!

Comfort wise, they are the best suit for some while a nightmare for others... It all comes to your preferences. The Pads are a bit smaller compared to other headphones in this range and some complain about that. Buying new pads might solve this issue, but I haven't tried that yet.
The clamping force is present, but seems to go unnoticed.

They shrink down to half the size. You can switch cables.

They are rugged, I dropped them multiple times, and even used them in raining conditions, though I would not encourage you to do that!!

In conclusion, if you only need voice monitoring headphones, go ahead and get the DT-770 Pro, otherwise if you would like to be able to use them as day to day and pack them, throw them around, I would suggest you get these.

As a music producer and audio engineer, I tend to spend hours every day wearing headphones and these have been my choice since the day I got them.

Short version : very comfortable, good separation, lovely yet balanced and transparent sound, useful cable options, great price.

Long version : these are being used in my studio for all professional audio tasks.

In tracking/recording, their comfort and separation make it easy to use them for hours on end and without almost any spill into the mics.

In mixing and post-production, they are my main tool besides my monitors and I have mixed full productions using only these, when needed. As with all monitoring situations, they do require a bit of learning of their sound and are a bit on the "gentle" side, so make sure you have something else to check the aggressive/sibilant sounds in your mixes.

And for personal use, they come with a short, mini-jack only cable, perfect for running, listening to things on the go etc. In addition, they are quite sleek and good looking, unlike a lot of other studio options :).

I work as a full time musician, sound engineer and producer of records and radio documentaries. I’ve been using these headphones every day for the past few years, and I love them. They’re really nice for listening to music, studio work and checking mixes. The mid range is balanced, the bass not too heavy and the tops clean. I generally don’t fully mix on these as they’re not totally flat enough for that, but I have had to mix things on the road with them before and have been happy with them. If you just need studio mixing headphones, check out the Sennheiser HD600, but they’re noticeably quieter, more that twice the price and not what I consider everyday headphones. I recommend these to everyone, you wont regret them. They’re sturdy, well built and great all-rounders.

These headphones are honestly pretty decent, considering the price and my personal favorite feature - the portability and ease of use when traveling with them. I don't know how many times a week, even sometimes a day, I've mangled the cable and have folded the earcups to get them in their folded, ready to be packed in a backpack form, and they still hold on like a champ. It's also nice that they come with a couple of extra high-quality cables which you can switch between pretty easily and a cute premium-feeling bag. The fact that the cable is detachable is also another plus in the "portability" book for me.

The sound quality is really nice too, I can hear a fair amount of detail and depth in the low and high end. Mids seem to be a tad scooped to me, however. That being said, the ATH-M50 X's are actually my first pair of "real" studio headphones so I don't really have that much experience when it comes to comparing them to the competition in that price category.

However, for that portability, price and comfort I don't think you can go wrong, especially if it's your first pair of studio headphones!