Audio-TechnicaM40x Professional Monitor Headphones Black

I love and hate these headphones.I love being able to change cable, 2 cables inside, also lot of cables available to buy, even with microphones.I love and hate this free angle design, sometimes is annoying and sometimes is good to have. Sometimes my skin gets caught when opening.Build quality is great, read that they can break easily but can't say anything after a month use.When using for monitoring, perfect. Bass is flat which means it's not bass heavy. Lets just say if the bass is boomy on these, something is terribly wrong. So the sound is really flat. I mean really "terrible for listening" flat. Middle is really there. They can be really loud because of lower bass.You can hear all the mistakes, even if you never knew there were any. Stereo imaging is awesome, if something is out of balance you know it and you hate it. Highs are flat. You can hear the clarity, but you feel like you need to volume up. But you don't need to.I have had a lot of headphones and this ones are something different.Let's now say something about normal casual listening. Loudness is good on iPhone 6. On iPad mini 2 is great. MacBook Pro - excellent, even too much power to handle if used with Boom 2. Lack of bass and lower ohms mean they can be used as standard headphones but I suggest buying shorter cable with thinner 3.5 jack. I have Spigen case on my iPad and jack can barely connect.If you try to be smart and really boost the bass, you can slightly hear the difference between two ear cups in lows. Probably because of socket which is using some space in one earcup which is free in another. Probably that's why they're cheaper and less bass boomy than M50x.So don't think you can outsmart them, pay more money for m50x if you need more bass.Also, comfortable as presented. I don't sense them on my head, light and enjoyable.Would not use them only for DJing. Would rather buy Technics RPDJ1210 again.They block a lot of noise from outside, that is true, but they are not as good as Technics. Can be used for DJing, true, but there are better choices.Also, even if they're on your head, people around you can hear what you're listening. If you're sharing room with someone, they will hear the music.So overall, great headphones for under 100. Great flat sound for monitoring.If you like bass go for m50x. If you need flat monitor headphones buy these.==============================So after more than a year a review still stays. Sound is amazing. Build quality amazing.Comfort is not the best one though, however that's always problem with closed headphone, read the below for more information.Just to add I have tested M40x and M50x one by one on the same source and I can tell you M50x sounds different with more bass and treble. They ARE NOT that much better. If you are more into casual listening, M50x would be better choice. However, true flat sound is coming through M40x, not M50x's. I can easily confirm that. I can change my headphones to M50x's as that is "Better" model but I will not do that as M40x have more balanced sound. M50x is more as HiFi choice by far as per comparison.So only issue I can add after more than a year of using them is that they are NOT comfortable, not at all. First I thought they are good however I have tested other brands in a while and there is a huge difference. They are really tight (had same issue with DJ headphones however that is good, not bad) and you just cannot used to have them on your head after some time, it's just frustrating to have them for a longer period. However sound is something you will absolutely love or hate. If the score is between 1 and 100 I will give them 94 without any issues. After them K240 MK2 Studio headphones sounds dull and with something missing. However K240's are 10 times more comfortable to have on head.=======================Update 03.01.2019With sad news after more than 2 years I can say I no longer have these M40x. I just don't need them anymore. It's like an old car which you don't need once you both latest BMW. I have moved to M50x and I can say that although there is a lot of hatred going to them, M50x is still an upgrade from M40x. M50x has more treble and more bass, some people say that is unnatural however it is just different and actual improvement. Driver moved from 40mm to 45mm hence the difference. I can say that after a while I haven't even realised that big change as the change isn't that big. So if you will not miss bass or high treble then spending less for M40x is better choice as I noted before. Only thing left is that M50x does feel more expensive than M40x. You get extra short cable (which you don't get with M40x) so if you count that cable being £20 then difference falls in really narrow field.ONLY thing I can say now that much MUCH better choice which I can say replaced my M40x sound is SHURE SRH840. This headphones are amazing, sturdy design, Excellent balanced sound and flat response. I use them for monitoring. Not as portable as M40x due to different build but damn, these SHURE's are something.I should do some webpage review as now I have Magni 3 for a proper review and have tested DT770, DT880, K701, K240 mk2, SRH840, M40x, M50x. I still stick with K701 with bass mod as best causal home listening headphones however others still have significant use in other cases like monitoring/producing/mastering.Also, I will touch one thing which this headphones are like selling which is FLAT SOUND. You will NEVER get Flat sound in headphones. NEVER. There is either Middle spectre based Headphones which these are, or V shaped Bass/treble headphones. Reducing Bass does improve flatness of sound however also removes sound picture and extensive response. If you truly want FLAT sound go to Monitors with sound isolated room. I can for sure say that there is much much more image and sound with DT880/DT770 than from M40x, hell even from M50x. On 250ohm version these show something that you will not hear even with super extra expensive monitors. That is the reason I will not part ways with them as for critical listening they are as brilliant as it gets. However listening youtube videos on them is so bad experience that I don't wish anyone to experience. Run away from them if you do wish to do that. Or buy Sony.

I originally bought Audio Technica’s ATH M50x after hearing excellent reviews. At first, I was impressed because they were a substantial improvement over an old pair of Bose headphones. However, further reading and a friend’s recommendation, suggested that the M40x were better. This is correct, and I would VERY MUCH suggest buying these over their more expensive brother.I do think the M40x has a flatter sound than the M50x. Like the M50x, these have alleviated, fat bass, which while suffers from some inconsistencies, is generally-speaking well controlled and does not bloat the midrange like the M50x. The midrange has much more body than the M50x too but can be forward depending on certain genres (particularly the upper mid frequency). Highs are smooth – much smoother than the M50x – and are pretty detailed.I use these in conjunction with changed pads (Brainwavz HM5) and an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC Amp which are a worthy purchase if listening to music through a computer. The small – but direct – soundstage these have is dramatically improved and allows the excellent imaging these have, more space to really shine. The ways these image is perhaps my favourite aspect – it is truly excellent. Overall, these have a great, clear sound which isn’t perhaps highly ‘neutral’ - a rather subjective term at best - but are fun, engaging and can be listened to for extended periods.If you are prepared to spend a little extra cash (price depending on ohmage), Beyerdynamic’s DT 770 Pro might be another reference headphone worthy of a consideration. I have listened to the 250 ohms version and are a more ‘neutral’ headphone than the M40x – especially in the bass and midrange region – but I personally found the highs/treble region to be too bright, sibilant or shrill for my taste. However, this is apparently meant to decrease with burn in time. Nonetheless, for the truly uncoloured midrange alone and faster detailing, it may just be worthy of a consideration, if a more accurate listen is what you’re after. However, for under £100 the M40x is a dependable and highly recommendable buy.