[mink70]

Hi--
 
I just got a pair of Audio Technica M50s a few days ago after reading so many positive reviews here. I've given them about 10 hours of break-in and I must say that, while I like some things about them, the bass seems out of control: thumpy, bloated, and muddying up the mids. I A/B'd them today with a friend's Sennheiser 280s—while the Senns sounded drier and more analytical (boring?), with stingy bass, the tonal balance seemed more natural and the sound more airy, detailed and correct. I listened to both cans driven both by an iPod and iTunes via an Apple Powerbook.
 
Is this the way the M50s are supposed to sound? Is there a way to even out the bass?
 
It may be worth mentioning that I listen also to Shure 530s IEMs and old Grado 60s; both, despite their technical shortcomings, strike me as involving and easy to listen to. What I'm looking for is a closed headphone with decent isolation that will be similarly involving. Did I make a mistake with the AT M50s?
 
Thanks,
Alex

 

[jetsfool]

im sorry but this is kind of off topic...
iv had my m50's for about 2 months now and the bass has transferred mainly to the left side and only a little bit on the right.. is there anyway to fix this?or should i send them back to audio technica (i still have the warranty)

 

[JamesMcProgger]

the M50s goes for so many descriptions around here. but IMO 10 hours is little, I wasnt a believer in burning in until i got the M50, the change in sound was noticeable, I burned them for some 50 hours. they have bass, i wouldnt call it bloated and neither lacky, they have boom, but lacks punch imo, of course it all depends on your  standards, im not a bass head and for me the HD25 has enough bass, but the general consensus is that the HD25 has little bass.
 
@jetsfool: that is unusual but the usual suspect here would be the files you are listening to and your source.
as for the files, are you sure the bass suppose to sound in both sides? Take The Doors as example I believe Drums and "bass" were in one chanel and guitar and keyboard in the other, left/right. in the early tracks.
and try different headphones with your player/source to check if its a screwed jack

 

[Alghazanth]

Well, the M50 is known for enormous thumping and muddy bass. That's why it's one of the first recommended in any basshead thread. Burn in would likely help you out a little, but if you're looking for controlled bass, definitely get a different pair of headphones.

 

[Dual1ty]

In what case did your M50 come with? Mine came with a white case and the bass is not that strong. It's pretty tight and there is not much boomy bass. There is also a different box, a lightish blue one and that one is know to be bass heavy and it's high frequency go pretty up high.
 
I am certain that after 50 hours or more of burn in time the boomy bass will slowly disappear and you will be left with more tight bass.

 

[Germancub]

Yeah, that's the M50's for you. I don't understand why they're so popular at all. To my ears, they're borderline unlistenable. Odd treble, sucked out mids, bloated bass and tons of "closed headphone reverb".

 

[crinacle]

 
Quote:

Well, the M50 is known for enormous thumping and muddy bass. That's why it's one of the first recommended in any basshead thread. Burn in would likely help you out a little, but if you're looking for controlled bass, definitely get a different pair of headphones.

I think you're a little outdated. The M50s are known to be balanced with a very slight bass hump, by no means basshead bass nor neutral bass, more in-between. Bass is pretty controlled but admittedly boomy, and some may consider it slightly loose. Quantity-wise, the low end is considered "stingy" among bassheads, including me.
 
After burn-in, the bass and mids smooth out A LOT, and bass hardly (should I say never) bleeds into the mids at all.
 
If you prefer more detailed and correct sound, Sennheisers may do you some justice. If you want basshead bass along with a sharper sound signature, the HFI-580 are a good step-up to the M50s IMO. The M50s are for fun versatility, not basshead preferences.

 

[blacknile]

As the owner of both Shure SE530 and M50 I think I can contribute an opinion to this thread. I've had the 530 for years and only recently purchased the M50. I don't feel the bass on the latter to be bloated at all.
 
I love both (they are used in different situations) and I can confirm the bass on my M50 is VERY tight and not bloated  compared to the 530, ever since I took them out of box (I did not experience any burn in on my M50). If it had been "muddy" or slow, the M50 would have been returned straight away.  The bass on the M50 goes deeper and decays much faster than on the 530, if anything. 
 
Where the two really differ is on the treble. While I find the 530 kind of laid back and rolled off on top, the M50 are very detailed and revealing. Inaccuracies in the source material will be shown clearly with the M50. On properly recorded music their extended treble is a blessing. On badly recorded music, it means headaches
 
I can think of two reasons why you might have this problem:
1)They say there are two versions of the M50 around: one older, bassier one and a newer one with leaner bass (coming in a white box). I have the latter. Maybe you ended up with the older?
2)There are problems with your sources or with your music.

 

[crinacle]

 
Quote:

As the owner of both Shure SE530 and M50 I think I can contribute an opinion to this thread. I've had the 530 for years and only recently purchased the M50. I don't feel the bass on the latter to be bloated at all.
 
I love both (they are used in different situations) and I can confirm the bass on my M50 is VERY tight and not bloated  compared to the 530, ever since I took them out of box (I did not experience any burn in on my M50). If it had been "muddy" or slow, the M50 would have been returned straight away.  The bass on the M50 goes deeper and decays much faster than on the 530, if anything. 
 
Where the two really differ is the treble. While I find the 530 kind of laid back and rolled off on top, while the M50 are very detailed. On properly recorded music this extended treble is a blessing. On badly recorded music this means headaches
 
I can think of two reasons why you might have this problem:
1)They say there are two versions of the M50 around: one older, bassier one and a newer one with leaner bass (coming in a white box). I have the latter. Maybe you ended up with the older?
2)There are problems with your sources or with your music.

This. Though I don't agree with the M50's bass being tight, but they are definitely not muddy, slow, overpowering, overwhelming or particularly laid-back either.

 

[mink70]

Thanks for all the responses. For what it's worth, my M50s came in the white box, not blue. I certainly enjoy bass, but not at the expense of the rest (listening to most music on Shindo tube electronics and Tannoy Arden speakers driven by a Garrard 301 turntable.) Right now, the M50s thump, and even on recordings with little bass, like classical voice, the bass bloat seems to creep up into the lower midrange. Will further burn-in ameliorate the thump, or are they just not working for me? Thanks again.

 

[Dual1ty]

Give them some more burn-in time. The more I am using my M50, the tighter the bass becomes and the impact certainly decreases. Try leaving those plugged into your source for as much as possible for a few days to a week and give them a shot again.

 

[blacknile]

Quote:

Thanks for all the responses. For what it's worth, my M50s came in the white box, not blue. I certainly enjoy bass, but not at the expense of the rest (listening to most music on Shindo tube electronics and Tannoy Arden speakers driven by a Garrard 301 turntable.) Right now, the M50s thump, and even on recordings with little bass, like classical voice, the bass bloat seems to creep up into the lower midrange. Will further burn-in ameliorate the thump, or are they just not working for me? Thanks again.

Sounds like you have pretty high end equipment there.  This  suggests investigating the following two additional points IMHO:
 
- Your M50 is representing a bottle-neck in your chain: you've been used to the sound signature of your system for a while now (correct me if I'm wrong, Tannoy Arden were manufactured in the late 70s?) and M50 introduce significant changes. In this case you should probably return the M50 and go for something better like the Beyerdynamic DT880 I own, or maybe AKG K601, etc.
 
- One further option is true only if you have not listened to your turntable setup through headphones before. I found that when I added headphones to my analog system I was initially not satisfied. The reason was that my headphones were more revealing than my speakers, and allowed me to perceive subtle imprecisions in the cartridge VTA, antiskate and tracking force. After tweaking these parameters according to what I heard through the headphones, everything seemed to be spot-on.
 
Just my 2c.

 

[mink70]

Thanks Blacknile. That's just the system I'm used to—I'm actually listening to the headphones straight out of an iPod and an Apple laptop. Also, I'm looking for a closed, well-sealed headphone, as I need them not to bleed and disturb other folks here. Was wondering about the Senn HD25-1, which I've heard is very engaging if less comfortable.