 "Great HeadPhones" | 2010-08-28 |
| - Reviewed By K. in Utah from Marion, UT United States |
| Very good, dont make your ears sour and they have incredible audio quality. By Them Any Time |
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 "Very good for their intended purpose" | 2010-08-27 |
| - Reviewed By Paul McCain from Ohio |
Before I begin, I must say that I am not a musician, and I have not used these headphones for their intended purpose: monitoring and mixing in a recording studio or home studio. I have only used them to listen to music from my computer and portable media players.
I will rate these headphones a number from 1 to 5 in several categories, 5 being exceptional and 1 being abysmal.
Appearance: 4/5
These headphones are designed for professional use, and therefore not intended to be a fashion statement. The entirety of the external structure is colored black, with the exception of a small triangular section near the bottom of each ear cup.
Comfort: 4/5: The ear cups are large, and entirely surround my ears. They are quite comfortable, but when listening for several hours straight, the edge of the speaker can push against the ear, resulting in discomfort. This was rarely an issue for me, however. The headband is padded, and as such has been comfortable, never causing pain or discomfort where it contacts my head.
Durability: 4/5
The plastic that makes up most of the external structure is sturdy, and I would venture to say nearly unbreakable during normal use. I have transported these around in my backpack many times, and the plastic is still in like-new condition. After about a year of heavy use as my primary headphones, the hinges began to squeak quietly when flexed. This is not an issue while the headphones are in use, however. Also, the material that surrounds the ears while the headphones are in use seems to have degraded slightly over the past 2 years, mainly as a result of sweat. The cable is thick enough to be very durable, but not so heavy as to weigh down or constrain movement of the wearer.
Sound: 4/5
The important thing to remember regarding the sound of these headphones is that they were designed as studio monitors with a flat frequency response. Those looking for thumping bass or sizzling treble should look elsewhere. These headphones will reveal how the music producer intended the song to sound. When listening to these headphones, you will note that these headphones sound "smoother" than many others, because of the flat frequency response, while many other headphones emphasize particular frequencies in order to achieve a particular sound. As a result, I can listen to the headphones for long periods without music becoming fatiguing to my ears, as it would do on lesser headphones, and even some more-expensive models. The sound produced is pleasing to my ears as is, but those who would like to add a little more treble or bass can easily do so with the equalizer on their media program or portable device. As I write this, I am using a FiiO E5 Headphone Amplifier with the bass boost feature enabled, in order to fill out the sound a bit more. For most of the time I have owned these headphones, however, I have been happy with the sound straight out of my computer and Zune.
Value: 5/5
These headphones are a very good value for the price, taking into account their appearance, comfort, and durability, but remember that you will need an adapter if you plan on using these with a standard 3.5mm/1/8 inch headphone jack, as these only include a 1/4 inch plug. |
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| "So far so good!" | 2010-08-20 |
| - Reviewed By Coffee madness from USA |
I've owned my ATMM40FS for almost a year and still in love with it.
I got the headphone last year for $79 on sale and still don't understand why I could pay that much for a headphone. It isn't fancy looking as other headphone on the market but I love the bold and pro - look of it. My friend is a DJ who told me to buy this because for the professional headphone, you would pay more than $100.
For those who just love to enjoy music for entertainment, you can go with Sony or other brand, but for who refer studio sound quality I would refer this headphone.
The sound is so clear and elegant which is in my opinion, pure and true. You can hear all the bad and good sounds. Not like other regular headphone which stimulate the sound and make you tired later on, this headphone always give me pleasant to listen for long time. It's gentle with my ears. It's good for music also movie. I love to wear it to watch movie from my laptop on bed.
Many time I've wanted to buy a speaker system for my college dom but my headphone still the one can't be beat about portable and sound quality ;-)
High recommend for students and musicians which low budget and refer quality headphone. |
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| "Great price for excellent headphones" | 2010-08-11 |
| - Reviewed By Joel Petersen |
I'll start this by saying that I'm not an audiophile. I have a 2 other sets of headphones, and I like these the best. The frequency range allows for more bass and higher treble at lower volumes. The fit of the headphones is very comfortable and seem to be solidly built. I typically wear them more than 4 hours a day while working without any problems.
Two things make these headphones less than perfect for me.
1) The headphone jack is the larger studio size. So you need to add an adapter (which is not included) to fit the smaller headphone jack on almost any device nowadays.
2) The sliding adjustment for the headphones to fit your head moves very easily. I wish it that there was a touch more friction. Every time I put the headphones down on my desk, I lose the adjustment and then have to fiddle with them for a second when I put them back on.
For the price, I'm certainly willing to overlook the above 2 things. Very happy with these headphones.
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 "A bargain too good to be true?" | 2010-07-30 |
| - Reviewed By RN from Tempe, AZ |
I'm adding this review to share an experience with others who might be interested in these headphones. Although this review is primarily for the ATH-M50, which I bought after returning these. For background: I am a music lover, with a high-end audio system using Vinyl as preferred source. I have a set of Sennheiser HD 600, which I use through a vacuum tube headphone amp, and a set of Sennheiser EH-350, which I use for listening on a computer or portable music player. I recently upgraded my digital music files (mostly recorded off my vinyl collection) to WAV and got quite satisfying results. This led to a need for s second set of headphones, efficient enough to use without a headphone amp. And this time I wanted closed-back for monitoring recordings, and preferably with a 1/8" jack.
I first bought the ATHM40FS, due to the positive reviews & great price. Unfortunately, they went back the next day. Yes, I didn't let them break-in for a long time, perhaps no more than 6 hours. But that was long enough for me to judge that they would never be ideal for me. Their sound was much too thin, bright, & cool for my tastes. I don't pretend to know what those touting "flat" are looking for. For me the acid test is: does it sound like the real thing? And if you have ever heard a real cello playing in your living room, you'll know that the sound of the real thing can be full bodied & rich, with deeply satisfying bass resonance. Cellos did not sound anything like that through these phones - to my ears. Before returning them, however, I had my wife listen. Like many women, she is much more sensitive to high frequencies than I am. After a few minutes, she judged them unlistenable: too bright for her also.
I know more break-in could improve this, and that many people actually like this type of sound,for its clarity & detail resolution, so it's not a criticism - just part of the search for what sounds best to our own ears. I then chose to look much more carefully at the online reviews, reading between the lines where necessary, and ultimately decided to stay with Audio Technica (because something about the sound was beguiling)& try the ATH-M50s.
For those comparing the two, they are nowhere near such a bargain. They cost almost 2.5 times as much, when I bought them. But right out of the box they sounded much richer & warmer, without the treble emphasis which can bother some of us. Listening via the modest headphone amp in my Dell laptop, they sound as good as the HD 600s. When the Sennheisers are used through the my ASL headphone Amp they, however, move into another league (to my ears). I found the ATH-M50s to be very listenable from day one: warm enough, detailed enough, with great bass response, and,to me, well worth the difference in price. I chose the coiled cable version, which I prefer for mobile listening. And they come with a 1/8 mini plug, screwed into a 1/4" plug. Perfect for use with portable player or amp. |
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| "5 Stars from a VERY picky audiophile" | 2010-07-28 |
| - Reviewed By mhxnut |
Credibility: I am an audio engineer and know a thing or two about audio.
I typically don't use headphones because of the poor frequency response and therefore misleading interpretation most headphones give to the source audio. And because most of the ones I've used have been uncomfortable. These phones have a great natural response that will reduce listening fatigue and they are very comfortable. Simply put, I have yet to find a better set of phones for the money. If this set is in your price range, do yourself a favor and get them. Now.
To me, the only con about these phones is the 1/4" jack. I replaced it with a standard 3.5mm jack and use an adaptor to 1/4" if necessary because that is more sturdy than adapting from 1/4" to 3.5mm.
Great set. 5 Stars. Nothing more to say.
Oh, and I've had these for years now. |
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