Need an upgrade from my Audio Technica ATH-M50x

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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Ahhhh ok. RIP Massdrop option.

Yea, I still need a pair of sennheiser cans so I can compare. However, everything I heard about their signature compared to Hifiman and planars and beyers really put me off.

Would recommend skipping 770s (if you are even considering them). I really do like the 990s much more, and everyone seems to love the 880s. I do like my Beyers, I just have to be mindful of what I’m listening to at what volume. The 770s isolation is pretty terrible, which is a lot of the point of the closed can (and the bass improvement is minimal at best).

I loved my Magni till I killed it with static, but if you aren’t an idiot like me you should be fine :slight_smile:. Would recommend Geshelli Labs equipment.

You could go with HD599s and a DT880 for <$400 depending on where you are (approximately the cost of the 650 :stuck_out_tongue:)

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770’s are definitely not on the list but both the 880’s and 990’s are still. I’m hoping on the 600ohm variants to help with treble sharpness which apparently they do better with regards to that. 990’s are more fun and the 880’s closer to flat, though I could possibly test those out in person because they’re more available here.

Long periods of listening time will play a part in my choice and so comfort also comes into play. Both the beyers and sennheiser designs seem to be good on that front (after clamp force is reduced on the sennheisers).

Lol and save any disappointment by increasing sound variation with two headphones. Might just work.

Tomorrow I’m contacting the store again to see whether I can get anything on the list of headphones I’ve amassed from all you guys.

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43

Sounds like you’re in a similar place to me

I was finding the M50 to give me slight headache quite quickly with certain music and unsure if it was the bass or treble doing it. I use it on laptop ,iMac or iPhone ( though also use dragonfly cobalt with iPhone which makes an HUGE difference).

Here’s what I tried: Sennheier 660, 70x, Sundara ,Aria stealth, and a couple of others.

The 70x was no where near as good as the Sundara, and the Sundara was better than the 660. The soundstage of almost anything is better than the M50 but none of those had decent bass never mind as near as good as M50

The Aria: sure out of budget but got to be tried. The soundstage is crazy good. The bass better than the others but still way short of the M50.

Apart from the soundstage, the Aria wasn’t THAT much better than the Sundara except perhaps for the bass, where the Aria made up for the almost complete lack of it on the Sundara ( Sundara was still better than the 70x, 660 though)

The M50 can be a bit viscious but boy does it have good bass making the Aria sound very digital esp. with drums etc, tinny almost ( but that’s most likely due to not putting a proper HiFi Amp with it) But the clarity of the Aria and soundstage is phenomenal

I came away from my trials deciding to put up with the foibles of the M50 a bit longer until I could afford the Aria and a proper Amp. to pair it with. And new cables as the ones it comes with are noisy as hell if the scrape on anything.

I realised during the testing which took me ages, that although the M50 has some annoying traits, it is hard to beat in other areas. In fact it was s relief to get back to the M50 lack of soundstage from the Arias which are almost too much as I found my eyes following the sounds about all over the place. That huge soundstage is initially incredible but gets wearing after a bit.

Had I not got fed up with testing my next thing would have been to see if there’s a closed back Sundara ( I think there is) with as good a sound as the open back but with better bass.

The Sundara came out highest in my overall estimation especially for value for money. It’s noticeably better than the 70x, 660, and M50 in every aspect except neither it nor or the 70x of 660 have any bass to talk about. I really don’t like excess of overly dominant bass but I do like it to be clear and present.

I did try classical, techno, trance and electronica in my tests but mostly I listen to jazz/reggae fusion, dub, jazz, ska etc

If I HAD TO chance my headphones now I’d get the Sundara. As I can wait, I have realised that it’s probably more important to get a high quality amp first, before doing more headphone testing as that’s a limiting factor on the performance of the more expensive headphones

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44

Very interesting to here your response, I’ve also gone through to the hd 660s and I enjoyed them a lot but definitely missed the bass of the m50x’s and also found myself getting distracted by the soundstage of the sennheiser’s (even though it’s not known for a big soundstage it’s bigger than m50x).

What’s also on my radar is the AKG closed backs which are pretty good apparently.

For a while though I have been without headphones and rather just been into IEM’s, there’s some really awesome IEM’s going around that perform amazingly for the price.

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The 600ohm DT 880 is a great choice, known for its detailed, analytical sound, and can handle a variety of genres. However, if you’re looking for a more ‘fun’, dynamic sound, consider the Sennheiser HD 660 S, albeit slightly over your budget. For a balanced option within your budget, the HIFIMAN Sundara is a solid pick with its wide soundstage and engaging presentation. Remember, high impedance headphones like DT 880 and HD 660 S will need a good amplifier. Try to audition these options if possible, as personal preferences can vary.