Ath-m50 sound quality

[Oakley999]

I recently bought the ath-m50x, im quite happy with it, however the sound quality is a little bit disappointing, it sounds almost the same as my previous headset, a sennheiser pc310, which is about £30. The only improvement I can hear is that the sound is more full, and i can distinguish more easily where the sound is coming from, but that's about it. Does it have a burn in? Do I need a soundcard? Thanks.

 

[Oakley999]

My headphones have started to make a pop or crackle sound whenever I pause music or videos, and even get it sometimes when sounds are created during gaming. Even my earphones I got with a nokia dont do this, I can wiggle the end of the wire backwards and forwards a bit while its in the jack and it feels unsteady when I do so. Whats up with that? Every single headset or pair of headphones I have always have a problem, im so p*ssed right now.

Edit: My earphones do this too, so it might not be just my headphones, but the sound is alot louder and more noticeable on my headphones.

 

[ssddx]

well you can test it quite simply by using a few other devices and judging how they act. if they dont act up then its not the headphones.

my thoughts are that its not your headphones or earphones but a bad connection on your pc or perhaps rather bad onboard sound on your pc which would benefit from a soundcard. either or are the likely culprits

(this would also explain why every headphones you have always had, provided they were all 3.5mm, had this problem)

 

[Oakley999]

Do external usb sound cards work any good on pcs? do they lose any quality at all?

I didnt actually realize external usb sound cards existed until I saw this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Surround-External/dp/B00FJMQ4C2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1414444517&sr=8-3&keywords=sound+blaster+external

Again, if not, do you know any nice internal sound cards that would go nice with the headphones? cheers.

 

[ssddx]

try plugging into the rear of your pc first (instead of the front). it could be that your case jack is bad not the rear or soundcard.

-----

if that wasnt the problem and it looks like its the onboard then...

if you have a desktop computer i'd suggest an internal as they are normally a bit cheaper for what you get. externals are more for for connecting to laptops but yes they would work.

if you wanted low end but equal to desktop performance then the xonar dg/dgx does that well. if you wanted a step up from that then the xonar dx does that well (or creative z isnt bad too)

but do check if its just your front or rear jack or if it appears to be your onboard first before buying.

 

[Oakley999]

Alright, cheers for the reply, I checked my headphones a day or two ago on the back before actually putting this up, and it seems to make a low pitch hiss, similar to what you hear in usb headphones, and because I have sensitive ears I can hear it quite loudly. I don't know why it has a hiss, im sure it hasn't been handled roughly, nor is the case or motherboard cheap or bad either. I'll look into the dx, as I'd like a fairly decent soundcard if I was going to get one, and look at the creative SBZ as that seems to be a popular choice too.

 

[ssddx]

check your headphones on a portable source like mp3 player, phone, etc with a file on the device (not internet streamed). if it doesnt hiss then the cans are fine.


a "hiss" as you mentioned it seems like its an issue with your onboard soundcard (which a soundcard would help with)

 

[Oakley999]

I think i might have miss phrased that completely, its more of a click, it happens on my laptop too, must be normal, instead of all sound stopping normally, it makes a click sound for literally a quarter of half a second, it happens more the high pitched or louder it is. Maybe its just me being picky.

 

[Oakley999]

Right now i've been looking at the sound blaster z

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blaster-Performance-Headphone-Beamforming-Microphone/dp/B009RPQA2G

It looks very nice, especially for a cheap £60 too. I've heard a lot of people say its one of the best gaming sound cards, while the beamforming mic isnt needed, (because my mic is usb) the headphone amp will be nice for my headphones and any future ones.

 

[ssddx]

both the xonar dx and creative z are good soundcards for the money (and they cost roughly the same too).

the Z has a much stronger amplifier though.

 

[sora]

I recently bought the ath-m50x, im quite happy with it, however the sound quality is a little bit disappointing, it sounds almost the same as my previous headset, a sennheiser pc310, which is about £30. The only improvement I can hear is that the sound is more full, and i can distinguish more easily where the sound is coming from, but that's about it. Does it have a burn in? Do I need a soundcard? Thanks.

OP, what kind of sound card is on your motherboard? I have Realtek HD Audio and it sucks so I need to get an aftermarket sound card as well.

 

[Oakley999]

I have a P8Z77V asus motherboard, its quite decent, its definitely made for gaming.

Anyway, this is what comes up when I find the sound specs.

Realtek® ALC892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
Audio Feature :
- Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound
- DTS Ultra PC II
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel

I think its actually really nice, its not that bad in the first place, no background noise, and decent sound quality. If I heard any better than this, It wouldn't be by alot.

I have realtek too, the best setting for you to have it on would be having the equalizer on "Live" and having the default format on 48,000hz or 192,000.

 

[David Casler]

The problem I have the M50X is the highs are TOO high. I can't stand to listen for very long. The mid bass is not strong so when I am listening to great songs with guitar, it's just not there.

 

[David Casler]

And I have listened on multiple sources. My iPhone headphones are "fuller" sounding.

 

[Oakley999]

The problem I have the M50X is the highs are TOO high. I can't stand to listen for very long. The mid bass is not strong so when I am listening to great songs with guitar, it's just not there.

What's your soundcard? Have you tried multiple instances of the song? Have you tried different eq's?

 

[TheTenaciousOtaku]

I had the same problem. Treble was too high. Swapped it for the Beyerdynamic DT770. Much better choice.