Closed back, max £150?

[Deleted member 160668]

Pointers please folks...

i already have several pairs of in-ears but am now after a pair of overears for late night home listening.

Must not leak too much sound so Mrs Amor can watch telly whilst I chill. Thinking closed back is the way.

Any suggestions up to £150 max please?

also a long Cable would be an advantage.

NB - will be connected to my Arcam A29 headphone out. No headphone DAC.

Cheers,

 

[dalethorn]

Pointers please folks...

i already have several pairs of in-ears but am now after a pair of overears for late night home listening.

Must not leak too much sound so Mrs Amor can watch telly whilst I chill. Thinking closed back is the way.

Any suggestions up to £150 max please?

also a long Cable would be an advantage.

NB - will be connected to my Arcam A29 headphone out. No headphone DAC.

Cheers,

Senn HD25 - if the cable isn't long enough, just add an extension.

 

[MajorFubar]

Also consider Audio Technica ATH-M50X, but these are usually off hifi enthusiasts' radar for some reason.

 

[Al ears]

Also consider Audio Technica ATH-M50X, but these are usually off hifi enthusiasts' radar for some reason.

+1..... bargain!

 

[Deleted member 160668]

Thanks for replies. Done some research and ordered some Audio Technica m50x. On paper they look excellent for the cash.

Never heard of them before. Arrive on Monday so I’ll give them a try then.

Cheers.

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks for replies. Done some research and ordered some Audio Technica m50x. On paper they look excellent for the cash.

Never heard of them before. Arrive on Monday so I’ll give them a try then.

Cheers.

It's a highly-respected studio headphone at a much-less-than-studio price.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

Very pleased with my purchase. They are very good indeed!

Walked round Asda earlier grinning, trying not to bop too much.

Mrs Amor watched Eastenders whilst I deafened myself in style. Now kids in bed, beer in hand and goddamn they sound good.

Reviews I read praised them highly. Rightly so. Sweet.

 

[MajorFubar]

Glad you like them. I love mine. They are completely off hifi enthusiasts' radars for a reason I've never fathomed, yet in the home recording arena, they are more or less the defacto standard at that price for those people looking for a pair of closed-backs to record with, or even to mix with if for some reason you are away from your usual monitor speakers.

 

[DIB]

I was thinking along the same lines and contemplating a pair of Closed Back headphones around this price mark too.

Where's the best place to buy a pair of these AT's? I read a lot about fake headphones and don't really want to go down the Ebay route for example.

Cheers.

.

 

[MajorFubar]

Ridiculously you cannot buy from AT directly on the EU website, unlike the US site, but if you select the product and click 'where to buy', they do at least give you a list of approved local stockists if you punch-in your post code:

https://eu.audio-technica.com/ATH-M50x?search=m50x

Must admit I just used Amazon. If it turns out I really have ended up with fakes, then they're damn good ones!

 

[Deleted member 160668]

I bought mine on eBay. Seller was Music-Matter with over 21000 sales and hundred percent positive feedback. Seem legit as far too go to be fake.

Cheaper than amazon too.

 

[DIB]

Many thanks for the feedback, that's reassuring.

.

 

[DIB]

Took the plunge and ordered myself a pair of the ATH-M50X from Amazon. I also got an extra £10 off today with some promotion Amazon are doing so pleased with that.

.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

I’m super pleased with mine. They are top notch excellent quality phones, based upon my experience so far.

Enjoy. Your in for a treat.

 

[DIB]

My pair of ATH-M50x headphones arrived yesterday morning and I had a good session with them last night. I am driving them with my Marantz PM8005 amp and I must say I am very impressed with them. I'm no expert by any means when it comes to headphones, but these tick all my boxes. Comfortable, long enough cable, virtually no leakage of sound, and most importantly they sound superb. For a touch over £100 I'm pleased as punch.

.

 

[idc]

Of all my cans, the least leaky for sound are the AKG K 271 Mkii. They are £75 on Amazon, which is about £50 less than I spent on mine! Bargain. The cable is coiled and after a little experiment, expanded safely to 7 feet from my amp without any stress.

 

[MajorFubar]

My pair of ATH-M50x headphones arrived yesterday morning and I had a good session with them last night. I am driving them with my Marantz PM8005 amp and I must say I am very impressed with them. I'm no expert by any means when it comes to headphones, but these tick all my boxes. Comfortable, long enough cable, virtually no leakage of sound, and most importantly they sound superb. For a touch over £100 I'm pleased as punch.

Presumably you got both the straight and coiled cables, having both is a nice touch. It's interesting to note that while pro-gear review sites raved about the M50X's, WHF on the other hand gve them only 4/5 stars claming they were a bit bottom-end heavy and the top lacked sparkle. But to my ears they sound pretty spot on.

 

[dalethorn]

My pair of ATH-M50x headphones arrived yesterday morning and I had a good session with them last night. I am driving them with my Marantz PM8005 amp and I must say I am very impressed with them. I'm no expert by any means when it comes to headphones, but these tick all my boxes. Comfortable, long enough cable, virtually no leakage of sound, and most importantly they sound superb. For a touch over £100 I'm pleased as punch.

Presumably you got both the straight and coiled cables, having both is a nice touch. It's interesting to note that while pro-gear review sites raved about the M50X's, WHF on the other hand gve them only 4/5 stars claming they were a bit bottom-end heavy and the top lacked sparkle. But to my ears they sound pretty spot on.

I can sort-of understand WHF's note on the bottom end, although the M50 series to me isn't heavy in the mid-upper bass, rather it has an unusual property of remaining strong to the lower bass. The WHF top end impression is puzzling - all the ones I heard had a neutral or better treble.

 

[MajorFubar]

I can sort-of understand WHF's note on the bottom end, although the M50 series to me isn't heavy in the mid-upper bass, rather it has an unusual property of remaining strong to the lower bass. The WHF top end impression is puzzling - all the ones I heard had a neutral or better treble.

Maybe my ears prefer headphones with a bottom end that makes a bit more of a statement about itself than WHF finds ideal. But if that's the case, I share my preference with most pro-gear reviewers outside the hifi industry.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

Had these a couple of weeks or so now so had a really good chance to test them in various scenarios.

The sound they produce is excellent, rich, clear with superbly defined notes and instruments.

I can give my eardrums a walloping (which I try not to do) without fussing anyone else.

They are comfortable-ish, the headbands a little hard, but will hopefully become more supple with further use.

All in all I’m very happy indeed... I’ve even taken them out instead of my fav IEMs for a couple of work trips.

Definitely my best purchase of 2018 so far.

 

[drummerman]

Pointers please folks...

i already have several pairs of in-ears but am now after a pair of overears for late night home listening. 

Must not leak too much sound so Mrs Amor can watch telly whilst I chill. Thinking closed back is the way. 

Any suggestions up to £150 max please?

also a long Cable would be an advantage.

NB - will be connected to my Arcam A29 headphone out. No headphone DAC. 

Cheers,

Senn HD25 - if the cable isn't long enough, just add an extension.

Superb headphone. I wished it had fitted me better but it felt vice like and just to uncomfortable. I understand it is widely used professionally and it explained the tight fit. Loved the sound.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

thought I’d leave an update on these....

Others have mentioned their vice-like grip upon purchase, which is correct, but which has put others off.

however... I’ve had them a few months now - they live on a ‘Samdi’ wooden headphone stand when not in use, and are used infrequently. BUT they have stretched/mellowed/loosened etc. and can be comfortably worn for hours upon end without any discomfort at all. Plus I have a big meathead, so if they fit me comfortably, they’d fit anyone.

These are really very good indeed for the price... They remind me of my old PMC DB1’s, crystal clear and with a beautiful clarity. Hope that’s useful to anyone with similar requirement and budget.

 

[MajorFubar]

Glad you're still enjoying them. It's a shame they are under the radar for many hifi enthusiasts. The pro-audio world can't get enough of them for the price. I don't know why there's a divide between the two worlds, surely we're all after the same sound. My other pair are Senn HD650's which cost me £350 not long after they were launched. While the HD650's are overall better headphones, the ATHM50X's are definitely not shamed by then and are notably better for some applications.