Audio-Technica ATH-M50
Two hundred dollars, a 45 mm driver, and a pair of earcups that swivel 180 degrees - the closed-back workhorse that made a lot of engineers stop apologizing for mixing on headphones.
Overview
Audio-Technica's own advertising called the ATH-M50 its "new flagship" studio monitor headphone when it first appeared. The spec sheet reads like a checklist for a tracking can that has to double as a mixing reference. It's a closed-back, collapsible design with circumaural earpieces, proprietary 45 mm large-aperture drivers on neodymium magnet systems, and a padded, adjustable headband meant to survive long sessions. The cable ends in a gold-plated mini-plug with a screw-on ¼-inch adapter. Audio-Technica offered the model two ways: the ATH-M50 with a single-sided coiled cable, and the ATH-M50s with a straight one. Neither cable detaches, which only bothers you the day the jack goes intermittent.
The driver size is the number to look at. A 45 mm aperture in a closed cup moves a lot of air, and that's why the M50 can deliver serious SPL. That helps in a tracking room where click bleed and ambient noise are both fighting the headphone. Mix (June 2012, p.27) ran the company's feature list, including this wording: "natural response throughout the entire frequency range, without hyping or diminishing sounds along the way." That's marketing, not a measurement. The independent take is more useful and more mixed.
But the honest appraisal came from a roundup that put the M50 next to headphones costing hundreds more. The reviewer's verdict: the high end isn't as transparent as the expensive models, and the overall signature runs a bit "warmer" or "darker" depending on your taste — a little less air up top. The bass, though, was solid and even, and the midrange defined without significant peakiness. Isolation got high marks, and the 180-degree swivel earcups made single-ear monitoring practical. That's a real feature, not a bullet point: cueing a take with one ear on the room and one on the phones is how a lot of tracking actually gets done.
The same roundup was blunt about the ceiling. Compared side-by-side with a pricier reference, there was "no question" that the extra money bought a silkier, smoother top end and more comfort over hours of mixing. Stacked against a closed-back competitor costing around 50 percent more, the M50 came "surprisingly close," with the caveat that the rival's treble was less harsh, or rather that the M50 was less anti-harsh. It holds its own against more expensive gear without pretending to be that gear.
For portability and road use, the case is strong. The collapsible design folds down. One reviewer who travels constantly called the sound quality about as close as you'll come to bringing a quality set of speakers on the road, while conceding the M50 is not particularly small or light. It's a closed-ear design by preference, the better to block airplane noise and hotel air conditioners. A long-term user reported it can take a certain amount of abuse and keep going. The bottom line in that roundup was performance-per-dollar, and it scored very well there.
Collectors and used-market shoppers should know a few practical things. The ATH-M50 was a high-volume professional product, so examples are plentiful and the aftermarket is deep. The flip side is that worn earpads and a stretched headband are the common condition issues, and because the cable doesn't detach, a damaged cord is a repair, not a swap. The M50s straight-cable variant is the one to hunt if you dislike coiled leads tangling on a desk. Prices reflect a supply that was never scarce.
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