Headphones : JVC HA-RX900 or Audio Technica ATH-M50

[TheSeeker]

Hello !

i need to ask a friend of mine to get me a headphone from the US (from 'best buy' probably). usage is music listening. no gaming. i like bass to be present (not boomy or overwhelming, but punchy), and have read both of these have it in plenty, but since atleast one of them (ATH-M50), is classified as an 'audiophile-grade' headphone, hence am a bit skeptical on that (though a user told me that with a good source, you can get some seriously headbanging bass on that one, esp. with some good EQ settings). i would be using the headphones with my PC.

what am confused about is that there is a dearth on feedback on the RX900, esp. on a comparison between the two (i got to know through a friend that one of his peers owns both and says RX900 is esp. better when it comes to bass as opposed to the ATH-M50). so there's some serious confusion here with me. please suggest me members

thanks !

EDIT : i just read a small feedback by a member here on RX900 for a piece he wished to sell. probably sold by now.

 

[Bluu]

Dunno about the RX900 but I have a pair of the M50s and can strongly recommend them. Bass is deep and punchy. Mids could have been better but then for a little over a 100 dollars, these are incredible value for money.

 

[TheSeeker]

thanks for that ! people have been recommending this to me. i have PMed a few owners of the RX900 and would like to read their response too.

 

[alipardiwala]

Have used the M50s and they're superb... Bass is excellent, mids and highs don't match up to the quality of the lows, but good nonetheless. And yes, excellent value for money, along with sturdy build quality.

 

[theironhorse]

have used Blasto's ath but you need a headphone amp to enjoy them to the full.

will be getting my rx900 tomm morning by 11... already in hyd.. just need to get them from a friend.. will be able to post a comparo... soon...

 

[Bluu]

I disagree about the headphone amp part. I have used the M50s with different headphone amps but found no distinct gains. A good DAC (like the Fiio E7) is a far better addition to SQ than an amp.

 

[theironhorse]

I disagree about the headphone amp part. I have used the M50s with different headphone amps but found no distinct gains. A good DAC (like the Fiio E7) is a far better addition to SQ than an amp.

i agree with you stating that there might be or might not be a gain through a headphone amp however i felt that it was not getting enough power by all the PMP's i tried and hence came the headphone part. i used them for about 5 days and they were already burnt-in. i never tried PC audio as i do not have a good sound card either on the pc. what i tried were multiple PMP's

got my rx900 today.. will be posting a short review and pics soon.

 

[TheSeeker]

i agree with you stating that there might be or might not be a gain through a headphone amp however i felt that it was not getting enough power by all the PMP's i tried and hence came the headphone part. i used them for about 5 days and they were already burnt-in. i never tried PC audio as i do not have a good sound card either on the pc. what i tried were multiple PMP's

got my rx900 today.. will be posting a short review and pics soon.

you've come out a saviour :clapping:

i hope to get a fiio E5 or E6 shortly for my PMP. nevertheless, i could listen to music with the headphone connected to my xonar DX, which in fact i would be doing for most of the time.

looking forward EAGERLY towards the comparison

 

[theironhorse]

you've come out a saviour :clapping:

i hope to get a fiio E5 or E6 shortly for my PMP. nevertheless, i could listen to music with the headphone connected to my xonar DX, which in fact i would be doing for most of the time.

looking forward EAGERLY towards the comparison

if you are looking forward for a headphone amp for VFM and good sound.. E6 is a newer model for E5 and nutin else and it is good for IEM's.

for full size headphones go for E11 else E7 maybe ibasso's

my E11 and sennheiser 448 are one the way and comparing the two would be fair..

i will post a review soon as i have burnt them for about 10 hours. will give them another 10 before i post anything.

comparing senn 448 and rx900 will be good as they are around same price.

M50 is all together diffrent but before i post a review.. i have a smile with the money well spent and these are giving me that oopmh.

M50's are 8k (150 $) rx900 ( 56 $ ) senn HD448 (50-55 $ ).. not fair but i will try to post as much as i can.. watch out for a short review soon as i am not a proficient writer neither a experienced audiophile. still will try to write as much as possible.

 

[vivek.saikia]

if you are looking forward for a headphone amp for VFM and good sound.. E6 is a newer model for E5 and nutin else and it is good for IEM's.

for full size headphones go for E11 else E7 maybe ibasso's

Or......wait for the new FiiO E17 "ALPEN" :yahoo:

 

[Bluu]

@ironhorse - Good point. I don't use my M50s with PMPs. I did use it with my iPod for a while but now I just use my laptop for all my music. I can understand if there is some gain from an amp when the M50s are used with PMPs. My statement was more general in that these cans don't really need amplification unlike some other similar headphones which do.

Awaiting your review of your new cans. Please include some pics.
Cheers!

 

[TheSeeker]

i would most probably be getting the newly released fiio E6. cant justify spending more for my kind-of usage.

@ironhorse - Good point. I don't use my M50s with PMPs. I did use it with my iPod for a while but now I just use my laptop for all my music. I can understand if there is some gain from an amp when the M50s are used with PMPs. My statement was more general in that these cans don't really need amplification unlike some other similar headphones which do.

Awaiting your review of your new cans. Please include some pics.
Cheers!

i agree ! the fiio amp for me would be more for PMP+IEM use, whereas the M50/RX900 would mostly be used with the PC.

 

[Bluu]

For use with PC, I can strongly recommend the E7 DAC. It is a budget DAC but it complements the M50s perfectly (if you decide to go for them).

 

[TheSeeker]

For use with PC, I can strongly recommend the E7 DAC. It is a budget DAC but it complements the M50s perfectly (if you decide to go for them).

would it be really necessary over a xonar dx ? i mean does it surpass the quality of xonar's DAC ?

 

[BLASTO]

Hey Seeker, Iron horse was using my HPs. Now they are with Sajjad.. Quite sometime before I saw it lol..

However, I never used it with PMPs. Used briefly with my mobile and it is not that great.

My extensive usage comes with Laptop, Desktop and Movie audio through the normal 2 channel amp. In these, the M50 excel. Few mkvs can shake your head. BASS is present, goes ever deep (closed back) and is thumpy at the same time. Midrange is as good as sennheiser 555 which it competes but does not match the BASS. High end is fluid and good enough for me.

My 2 cents.

 

[sanro]

I recently bought M40 and last night watched one of the episodes of Band of brothers using these headphones. Quite frankly , it blew my mind and exceeded expectations. I found every section of the sound very balanced.

So , I would imagine that M50 will have lot more to offer since its priced three times more than M40.

 

[TheSeeker]

Hey Seeker, Iron horse was using my HPs. Now they are with Sajjad.. Quite sometime before I saw it lol..

However, I never used it with PMPs. Used briefly with my mobile and it is not that great.

My extensive usage comes with Laptop, Desktop and Movie audio through the normal 2 channel amp. In these, the M50 excel. Few mkvs can shake your head. BASS is present, goes ever deep (closed back) and is thumpy at the same time. Midrange is as good as sennheiser 525 which it competes but does not match the BASS. High end is fluid and good enough for me.

My 2 cents.

thanks ! your 2 cents were quite valuable
yeah ironhorse wrote he was using your M50.

actually am getting a roccat kave specially for movies and gaming. M50/RX900 would purely be for music, and that too generally on PC. with the M50, am pretty much now familiar with its strengths (and weaknesses). just want to know how RX900 fares now against the M50. as soon as i have the word of ironhorse on this, it will be a very simple decision for me to make

 

[Bluu]

TheSeeker: My laptop is an ancient model and the Fiio really improved the sound over the stock sound-card. In your case, I think the Xonar will be more than sufficient.

 

[theironhorse]

Hey Seeker, Iron horse was using my HPs. Now they are with Sajjad.. Quite sometime before I saw it lol..

However, I never used it with PMPs. Used briefly with my mobile and it is not that great.

thats what i was trying to tell Bluu that pmp's were not able to drive them well neither the M50's neither the RX900.

attaching here are a few pics and posting a seperate thread for the review.though it will take an hour or 2 more for the review to be posted.

if pc with asus xonar you would not need any external DAC & amp. its a grt card.

i also tried rx900 with the iphone 4S and blown... man pity on my sansa..

By theironhorse at 2012-01-03

By theironhorse at 2012-01-03

By theironhorse at 2012-01-03

 

[theironhorse]

TheSeeker: My laptop is an ancient model and the Fiio really improved the sound over the stock sound-card. In your case, I think the Xonar will be more than sufficient.

we got 2 RX900 and my friend is using the same with his ancient HP laptop and we tried the rx900 first on that before i even opened my box and i was like WTF ??

sansa rescued me and later iphone 4s blew me away...

but now that i cant buy Iphone neither it will play my flac collection.. i was going for E11.. e17 alpen is the new release but i do not need a dac as all my music will come from various PMP's..

senn 448 shipped frm mumbai.. waiting for them too..