Great thanks!

a low level won't break them in. it's the heavy excursion of loud volume that actually softens the drivers, otherwise you're just kind of wigglin' em a little bit. I'd say crank em way up for a night or two, that's what I did anyway. they can take it.

same's true for fresh guitar amp speakers

I put mine on a ipod loud with daft punk on loop for a day or two till the ipod died...burned in pretty fast! I love these headphones though! I want a few more pairs!

The 7506s were IMO, the most overrated and harshest sounding cans ever made. I hated them from the first moment I used them. Fortunately, my son when he was a toddler destroyed them. heh

I agree though about the m50s! They rock. I`ve been tracking and mixing with them for almost a year and they translate very well to most systems.

Anyone have any opinions on the ATH-M30's?

i bought a pair of the M50's and love them. Was planning on buying 4 more for muscians to track with...but its kind of out of my budget...so im looking for some a bit chepaer, like M30's

+1000! I never understood what people liked about them after about 1988 (when they were still the V6). Maybe they are good for musicians with hearing loss!

I just got my first pair.

My first impression before burn in:

*lots of details on lows
*little too much highs compare to adam A5X
*little shy on mid range
*ear pads are comfortable but head pressure is pretty tight
*isolation is good but there is some leakage if you turn up loud
*nice design

I think it is great to judge low frequency but I don't know if I can trust enough to judge how much lows. Same goes to highs. It sounds like it is hyped both in lows and highs area. I wait until burn in is done.

Edit:
I have a feeling that this pair might be good for tracking basic sessions because it sounds little better than it really is. When tracking the drums and stuff, you are still making sounds and sounds might be too raw but m50 might help to make it sounds better, this might make musicians more comfortable and happy. Plus is has pretty good isolation, better than sony 900 which does not cover whole ears.

I've had a pair of M30s for 4 years, and a pair of M50s for over a year. I use my M30s everywhere (i.e. as iPod headphones) and I really like them. I use the M50s only at home and I especially got them to evaluate the low end of things. As someone else posted they can fit a bit too snugly.

I have no problem recommending M30s for tracking. There's nothing that musicians need that they can't provide.

I love mine but I would never try to mix on them. They are great for tracking however and when you get to know them you can't get a rough sense of a workmix and they don't fatigue me so i'm happy. That said, i'm in the market for some open back mixing headphones to add to my arsenal.

Asuming that the burn in (2 straight days) is done, M50 is actually pretty good at least for the price. Compare to my A5X, M50 is clearer through out the whole spectrum (listening to them on soft to moderate levels). I adjusted the angle of my speakers to match the frequency ballance and indeed I was able to match up the spectrum ballance with them. I don't feel awkward when I A/B them anymore.

Like everybody says, I wouldn't rely on one particular listening system to mix but this pair is definately usable for getting a different perspective and certainly great for basic tracking or overdub.

I purchased several pair of these for the NAMM show after a recommendation from both Allen Sides and Steven Miller (Ocean Way Studios). These guys know what they're talking about, after all they're both Grammy Award winning producers/engineers. So when my Sony's blew due to high SPL (my youngest turned up the headphone knob too hot when I had stepped away from the console for a moment) I got the ATH-M50's to replace them and was incredibly impressed with the sonic quality. No fatigue either after long use. I can now hear the low frequencies I was missing in the Sony's.

Highly recommended.

Used the M50 for a good few years now. On my second pair. Great for tracking and for starting to get a mix on a track before going to monitors.

I've been using them in conjunction with the HD600's for a while now. They complement each other nicely.

I have used many headphones over the years. The 50's are some of the best I've used especially considering they are closed cans. For tracking they are a god send. Accurate mixing? No but then no headphones are. It will be interesting to see if some of the new boxes out that simulate speakers through various headphones take up some of that gap.
You won't find better tracking headphones.

Anyone used the ATH-M50 for djing? How is the isolation?

very comfortable and good sound. takes a long session at high volume before ear fatigue sets in - i agree with every else's assessment that these are great for tracking. artists seem to enjoy listening to themselves in these and what could make for a better recording session?

I won a pair at the SoundArts poker tournament at The Village Recorder a couple summers ago and they've become my favorite tracking cans.

Not a Dj but these wrap around the ear and seal to the head, as opposed to the venerable sony v6's that are on-ear. In comparison the M50's have WAY more isolation that v6's or probably any on-ear headphone.

So for tracking musicians, the isolation is much greater compared to on-ear. Should be the same for Dj's.

Can't comment against other around-ear headphones.

I will be mixing a live recording in a loud environment at a large festival this spring. A friend who works for a headphone company (the name rhymes with bennweiser) recommended noise reducing safety headphones on top of good, custom molded ear buds. I am going that route, but due to having several hours of mixing a day, want a good set of headphones as relief and back-up. I see a lot of good reviews on the ATH M50's, my price range is up to $300.00. Thanks for any input you have - especially if you have live mix/recording experience. What would you buy?
Also, obviously there will be a tremendous amount of bass energy present in the listening environ, subsonic getting in me bones, ya know? My fear is over-cutting lows as a result ... any tricks of the trade? mixing on an 01V with extra 8 pre's on ADAT to Masterlink in red book. Have a few outboard comps, but won't see until the day before production due to travel schedule. Have no choice but to mix on headphones unfortunately. Anybody know how to put some kind of RTA on the output on the 01V on its way to the Masterlink?
help

imho HD280s do a bit better in live sound isolation than M50s.

Where M50s shine for me is in track-by-track review; they are great for pulling out inconsistencies in low-level detailed work.

Just received my ATH M50.

I like the sound, very detailed from top bottom to top, very silky (whatever that means...). The stereo image is very good. Been listening to some binaural recordings I did... and boy I was there!

I haven't used them intensively but they do not seem very fatiguing (acoustically). Let's see how they work as a mixing/production reference.

The isolation is ok, I don't know how they will work on a club for djing though... maybe I will have to buy a pair of sennheisers only for that.

They are very comfortable indeed!

For the price I think they are quite good. Thanks for the recommendation!

+1
couldn't agree more. ath-M50 aren't perfect. but i like them.
for more linearity i use SRH840.

I noticed I haven't contributed to this thread yet. I love my M50's. Best buy for a long time. The little harshness in the high's seemed to dissapear after a while. May be it's the burning in or just my brain adjusting to them. Best mixing phones I've used and also great for listenig music. I like big the bass.

I just picked up my first pair of ATH-M50 cans - I bought them for 2 primary purposes:

1. Live Recording Multitrack Monitoring
2. Mixing "on the road"

I do live multitrack recordings as a hobby, but my "day job" takes me all over the country, so I wanted a set of cans that could be used to mix on the road, and translate to my mix suite at home.

So far, these phones are quite impressive, and I'm looking forward to working on a couple more project with them in my little "arsenal" of gear.

My impression of these headphones (after a solid 3 years), is that they are very pleasant. A bit too pleasant, to tell the truth- everything sounds better than it really is (they are not particularly 'revealing'), which makes critical decisions a little harder (be it tracking, or a mix check). I'd like more definition in the mids.

That said, they're good (but not great) IMO.

But really there is no great headphone.

At least for mixing and thinking everything is there. I've never heard any headphones that give you true bass, like listening to decent speakers in a room.

The reason I love the M50s is that they managed to do something with the bass to give the illusion of that speaker in the room better than other headphones I've heard, and I've tried a lot of them. But accuracy wise, no dice, like all headphones i.m.o. Gotta have speakers for mixes that translate well.

For just plain listening, including watching movies they really kick ass!