a good pair of headphones under 200$

[nnair]

hi everyone!
nitesh nair here. im new here, so be soft on me. came to know about it when i was searching for Audio technica ATH M50. can anyone help me in buying a good pair of headphones under 200$? ive heard a lot about ATH M50. are they really that good? and are they only for audio monitoring purpose or can i use them with my phone? i have an hTc one. currently im using bose ae2's and ie2. im not that satisfied with ae2's. considering the price the build quality is not that great, its very comfortable though. one of the most comfortable ive ever used. the audio quality is poor,everything just rumbles in the ear.highs are too sharp and in your face, bass is quite accurate but could have been more precise at lows. anyways. please help.

 

[Ryanr1987]

The M50 are probably the most overated headphones. Thing with them is they are recommended to everyone new to audio without even looking at better alternatives!

That said they are pretty decent if you can get them really cheap. They have a narrow soundstage, sparkling treble which is quite dry and can be sharp. The bass is slightly boomy and

not as controlled as it could be. They are energetic and fun like all Audio Technicas and are fine for music but like I said they have their faults.

At your budget look into somer better I'll name some suggestions because I believe the M50 is a dated best entry level.

DT770

Skull Candy Aviator

Used Denon D600

Audio Technica A900x

Will you also be using them for anything else? Like

Movies

Gaming

 

[jetronic63]

I bought a pair of ATH M50 around 6 months ago and I find them fantastic. Initially the treble sounded a little scratchy but they have either smoothed out or I have got used to them as I find the sound very well balanced. Bass is extended when it needs to be but has a lighter touch than is probably fashionable nowadays - this suits me just fine and I find the balance very neutral and un-fatiguing over extended listening. Only aspect I would comment on is they are over-ear phones and your ears can become a little warm after a while (say over 1 hour) and they headband holds the cups quite firmly on your head. Having said that, the padding is generous and I find them a comfortable set of phones generally. Sound leakage is minimal and they come with a generous coiled cord. I mainly listen on my Mac mini through a DAC or on my HiFi and I cant see me changing them any time soon as they are ideal for what I want and paid. Excellent phones for the money in my opinion.

 

[jetronic63]

d

 

[dalethorn]

I bought a pair of ATH M50 around 6 months ago and I find them fantastic. Initially the treble sounded a little scratchy but they have either smoothed out or I have got used to them as I find the sound very well balanced. Bass is extended when it needs to be but has a lighter touch than is probably fashionable nowadays - this suits me just fine and I find the balance very neutral and un-fatiguing over extended listening. Only aspect I would comment on is they are over-ear phones and your ears can become a little warm after a while (say over 1 hour) and they headband holds the cups quite firmly on your head. Having said that, the padding is generous and I find them a comfortable set of phones generally. Sound leakage is minimal and they come with a generous coiled cord. I mainly listen on my Mac mini through a DAC or on my HiFi and I cant see me changing them any time soon as they are ideal for what I want and paid. Excellent phones for the money in my opinion.

Thanks - this matches my experience with the M50 perfectly. It's really hard finding a better headphone for anything near the M50 price. But if the user wanted to spend a little more, the ATH ESW9a is a great choice, the Yamaha MT220 is excellent and very comfortable, the Sennheiser HD380 Pro is excellent, and the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro is very good (at bass port #3). All of these I mention are near neutral with good bass, like the M50.

 

[Ryanr1987]

The treble does tend to stay sharpish. My Denons are pretty bright but after a while I don't notice it but as soon as I switch to a less bright phone and switch back it hits me again.

The comfort wasn't an issue for me either but quite a lot of people dislike them for comfort. The ear pads suck but switching to dome velour pads sorts that out.

I think if they improved the Soundstage and congestion and and refinement these could be amazing bit the price would shoot up. If you do decide on the M50 try other headphones before you do because there are so many out there that could be better for the money and certainly better at your max budget.

 

[nnair]

Thanks a lot guys for the help. After a lot of research I have finally got myself the m50x's. @Ryanr1987, thanks for the help but the suggestions you made were way out of my budget, its way too expensive in my country. (apart from skullcandy aviators, which i did not like) so i ended up buying the m50x. What do i say about them?? They are good. Way better than the ones i was using before(b&o a8, bose ae2, hk cl). The audio is flat, detailed and well balanced. I found the treble to be on the harsher side so i tweaked the equalizer but that didnt help. It sparkles a lot. Initially i thought it might change over time but it doesnt seem to. Lot of people whom i gave the cans to try on had similar complain. Please help me out. Im using it with htc one and ipod.I like the bass , a lot of people complain about it not being bassy. There is ample amount of bass, just how much i need. I would personally recommend these, i dont think you can find anything better than these at sub $200 price range. The only problem i have is with the treble. Would put a new thread, do revert. Once again. Thanks.

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks a lot guys for the help. After a lot of research I have finally got myself the m50x's. @Ryanr1987, thanks for the help but the suggestions you made were way out of my budget, its way too expensive in my country. (apart from skullcandy aviators, which i did not like) so i ended up buying the m50x. What do i say about them?? They are good. Way better than the ones i was using before(b&o a8, bose ae2, hk cl). The audio is flat, detailed and well balanced. I found the treble to be on the harsher side so i tweaked the equalizer but that didnt help. It sparkles a lot. Initially i thought it might change over time but it doesnt seem to. Lot of people whom i gave the cans to try on had similar complain. Please help me out. Im using it with htc one and ipod.I like the bass , a lot of people complain about it not being bassy. There is ample amount of bass, just how much i need. I would personally recommend these, i dont think you can find anything better than these at sub $200 price range. The only problem i have is with the treble. Would put a new thread, do revert. Once again. Thanks.

The M50 series are very colored. A good parametric equalizer will fix it. Audioforge on the iPod Touch or iPhone.