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Topic: Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x (Read 8108 times) previous topic - next topic
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Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

I got myself a pair of ATH-M50x and while I like the sound, they are very uncomfortable to wear. With glasses, they start to feel like a vise after about 30 minutes.
Without glasses, I can bear wearing them up to 3 hours, but after that it's back to being in a vise again.

It might also be my imagination, but they seem to have a much narrow stereo field than my previous headphones.

So I'm looking for a pair of headphones that fits these criteria:
- closed back, the more sound isolation the better
- over the ear
- comfortable to wear for long periods of time
- detachable cables, android/ipod remote control cable is a plus
- foldable/portable is preferred
- similar sound to ATH-M50x (slight V shape, I like a warmer signature, but it shouldn't overshadow the rest, details are important)
- around the same price range (about 250€ max)

Any suggestions?

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #1 –
I don't have any suggestions for you...  I get uncomfortable after wearing any headphones for a couple of hours.

Quote
With glasses, they start to feel like a vise after about 30 minutes...

...- closed back, the more sound isolation the better

Most closed back headphones are designed to "seal" around the ear and they usually won't work properly (or at least they will usually sound different) when glasses break the seal.  Did you notice that with your ATH-M50x's?

Quote
It might also be my imagination, but they seem to have a much narrow stereo field than my previous headphones.
I really don't know what accounts for "width" or the "soundstage" illusion.  I don't think it's something you can measure or quantify and different listeners might rate/rank different headphones differently.      I don't get a soundstage illusion at all (no matter what headphone I'm listening to).    To me, "headphones sound like headphones" and I hear hard-panned sounds coming directly from the headphone drivers, almost "injected" into my ear, and I perceive centered or slightly-panned sounds coming from somewhere near my forehead.



P.S.
You might want to try some aftermarket ear pads for your Audio-Technica headphones.

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #2 –
I got both a M50 and a Bose QuietComfort 25 and they both sound very similar (to the point that I wouldn't make the claim that I could tell the difference with any confidence), but only when the QC25 have the noise isolation turned on. They sound very different when they're off. They're just a few € over your price range, but they're the most comfortable headphones I've used, and very light too. I don't use glasses though.

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #3 –
Quote from: ChronoSphere on
I got myself a pair of ATH-M50x and while I like the sound, they are very uncomfortable to wear. With glasses, they start to feel like a vise after about 30 minutes.
Without glasses, I can bear wearing them up to 3 hours, but after that it's back to being in a vise again.


Boy, if ATH-M50s are too uncomfortable and vice-like for you, you'd really gag on phones with more effective but IMO still far from ideal isolation, such as the HD-380s.

I strongly suspect that you've run into the implementation costs of headphones that operate at a certain performance level.

A tight seal (which ATH-M50s that I use on this computer are only modest examples of) has two benefits:

(1) Isolation

(2) Extended bass

IME a tight seal is the best currently known technology for providing these benefits.

Isolation can be enhanced by an alternative technology which is acoustic cancellation, but my auditions of recent examples of this technology haven't put a smile on  my face. Accuracy seems to be a future frontier.

Extended bass and limited isolation can be provided by means of a more capable transducer and this can work. but at a far higher economic cost.

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #4 –
Quote from: DVDdoug on
Quote
With glasses, they start to feel like a vise after about 30 minutes...

...- closed back, the more sound isolation the better

Most closed back headphones are designed to "seal" around the ear and they usually won't work properly (or at least they will usually sound different) when glasses break the seal.  Did you notice that with your ATH-M50x's?

Nope. The clamping force is so high, it literally presses the glasses into the pads/my skin.

Quote from: andy o on
I got both a M50 and a Bose QuietComfort 25 and they both sound very similar (to the point that I wouldn't make the claim that I could tell the difference with any confidence), but only when the QC25 have the noise isolation turned on. They sound very different when they're off. They're just a few € over your price range, but they're the most comfortable headphones I've used, and very light too. I don't use glasses though.

Actually, they're only a few cents over my limit on amazon.de, it seems. I'm rather skeptical about active noise isolation, though, because I had one (cheap) pair of headphones where the active noise cancellation has picked up interference from smartphones/trains etc.
I'll keep them in mind anyway.

Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on
Boy, if ATH-M50s are too uncomfortable and vice-like for you, you'd really gag on phones with more effective but IMO still far from ideal isolation, such as the HD-380s.

Maybe, but in that case I rather prefer less isolation over having to take a break every 20 minutes. For example, I can wear the rather cheap august ep-650 bluetooth headphones for about 8 hours straight and not feel any discomfort. They don't seal as well as the ATH-m50x do, and do lose a certain amount of bass in noisy places, but at least I can continue to listen to my music. Their sound quality is an entirely different matter, though.

I also have the Roccat Kave 5.1 headphones at home, which are heavy as a brick, but I can wear them for about 6 hours before starting to feel any discomfort - and they seal rather well, too. So it doesn't really have to be a vise-like pressure.

Quote
I strongly suspect that you've run into the implementation costs of headphones that operate at a certain performance level.

That might be it. To be honest, they feel rather cheap, aside from the sound quality. There are sharp edges all over the headphones (for example on the edge that faces the earpads) and the headband adjustment/joints are out of plastic as well (the august headphones I linked above have metal joints/headband adjustment for example). Were there any cases of fake ATH-m50x being sold, and if yes, are there ways to identify them?

Is it possible to somehow reduce the clamping force of the ATH-m50x?
Does leaving them mounted on a few books eventually reduce the clamping force somewhat? Or will that ruin the bass completely?

I'm still open for suggestions on another pair, though. If there is no other matching sounding headphones in the price range, then I'd be fine with something below the sound quality.

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #5 –
OK... I've got another idea...

How about a 2nd different pair of headphones that fit & feel different so you can switch back-and-forth?    ...Like when you are wearing a pair of shoes all day, and although they are perfectly comfortable, sometimes changing to a different  pair of shoes feels better.

And, maybe the 2nd pair doesn't have to sound as good as (or the same as) your "main" headphones...    Maybe something like a Koss Porta Pro will suffice?  The Porta Pros are open and they sit on the ear do they might not be what you're looking for, but they will feel different, and maybe your requirements are not a strict for the 2nd pair?  (I carry a pair of PortaPros in my laptop bag, so that's the only reason I used them as an example.)

I realize that two pair of headphones might not be a good solution for you, but the idea popped into my head and I thought I'd throw it at ya'.

...Personally, when headphones start  getting uncomfortable I just take 'em off and listen to speakers or listen to nothing.  I don't need  to be using headphones, and when I get to that point I don't want  to switch to a different pair so I haven't tried that "trick".

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #6 –
Open is a no-go for my scenario, mostly listening to music on train or at work - I can't really afford sound leaking since it would disturb others. I wouldn't have a problem with switching to a second pair, but for me, if I buy something I deem "expensive", I'd prefer to use it all the time. I don't really need a second headphone to fall back to, anway as those bluetooth headphones are there just for that.

Now that I think about it, the only reason I wanted over the ear headphones was better sound quality even at the expense of losing sealing. The M50x do seal almost as good as my last pair of cheap IEMs. Maybe there are some IEMs in this price range with a similar sound/detail?

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on
Isolation can be enhanced by an alternative technology which is acoustic cancellation, but my auditions of recent examples of this technology haven't put a smile on  my face. Accuracy seems to be a future frontier.


The Bose QC25's certainly put a smile on my face and take a 10db boost at 32 hz. nicely which makes Saint-Sean's organ symphony sound pretty darned good to me.  But the performance I prefer is one recorded on tape in 1963!  At 71 my ears are definitely not as good as they were so I might not notice high frequency raggedness that would annoy others.  On the bus or walking along city streets they make for an enjoyable listening experience, though the price is rather steep for a pensioner.  In the winter they also make decent earmuffs.

I sleep with them on but not playing music since I have to use an oxygen concentrator and, boy, is it noisy.  What with the CPAP mask, a headlamp and the headphones I look like I'm about to leave for Mars!

They are comfortable enough so that I can sleep with them on my ears.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #8 –
You might want to look at on-ear closed headphones instead of over ear.

Or you could get IEM.

Or you could get contact lenses.

Comfortable headphones with similar sound to ATH-M50x

Reply #9 –
Wouldn't on-ear headphones just make the problem even worse, since they press the ear against the glasses unlike over the ear headphones that "only" press the glasses against your head? And I do have contacts, I just get dry eyes rather fast when sitting in front of a PC screen.

Actually, I've found this, risked doing it and it nearly solved all my problems. I could listen to music for about 6 hours with next to no discomfort yesterday (no glasses) and while it's still slightly uncomfortable, it's nothing compared to how they felt before the procedure. And the best part is, the sealing is still subjectively the same. So I'm going to stick with the ATH-M50x after all. Thanks for the suggestions anyway.