arnprasad
Well-Known Member
Sorry about the loooong post and bad english...typing this while listening to the m50x
Few caveats before I give in my first hour review of these headphones.
I am a 40+ male and like calling myself a gadget freak. Freak or not, I do spend a lot of time reading about tech and watching youtube videos - particularly reviews. While I do have a decent salary income...i do skimp on other daily necessities to invest in decent AV gear - nothing like audiophile variety - more like the "middle class' of AV gear.
Now I do spend at least an hour walking in the park and travelling from Vijaynagar to ITPL(30 to 40 kms depending the route)- atleast two hours in a car one way and if I take other modes of transport - like bus+train+metro mix - more than two hours one way to reach home - because of this I always have headphones on. The costliest headphones i owned was a 5K INR Bose in ear ones which I lost. But my daily drivers are couple of Xioami heaphones including their HD pro and am pretty happy.
couple of years back, i chanced upon a great review of the AKG 52s? which i bought for 5k and that included a DAC as well. While the sound had clarity, i wasnt really impressed and gave it to my nephew
Fast forward two years and again I had the itching of buying another premium headphones given the number of hours I spend with them. I finally settled on the m50X given its universally great reviews.
As part of the Amazon prime day I missed out on the 120 dollar Bose QC 25 in US and hence was looking forward to the independence day offer to try the m50x and thanks to a lightening deal +10% off SBI card..I got this for slightly more than 8K - a decent price given its costlier in Amazon US.
Now the box itself wasnt in pristine condition and it didnt have any kind of a seal - watched few unboxing videos and confirmed it doesnt have a seal... a bit strange - since i am worried its a return being repacked and sold to me. The Amazon support guy said its ok to open and return within 10 days. So an hour back i started listening on my phone - its a Mi A1 and source is Amazon music. I am not really blown over by the sound like what every reviewer says. I dont know what a sound stage means. but the bass is really heavy relatively. vocals are nothing like the singer is very close to me physically. I listened to few indian + EDM +rock and feedback is very similar. Now instruments do have better clarity compared to anything i have heard - but again nothing like paying 10K for a pair of headphones and it certainly doesnt sound like the orchestra is sitting right next to me. I cant really pick each instrument apart..its a bit muddled
Following are few reasons why I feel I am not "blown over" by arguably the best headphones under 200 dollars:
(a) I am too old and/or something is wrong with my ears (this is really possible because I like really loud music)
(b) Too high expectations..Maybe the Mi HD Pros are way better relative to their cost
(c) Phone's DAC is not good or maybe the bit rate on Amazon music is not very good for such high quality headphones
(d) I am too naive to understand what "audiofile"or "monitor" stuff mean ( a person who has been drinking maaza which is laced with Sugar will never like pure Alphonso juice with no additives)
(e) I received previously owned and returned headphones which had a defect
(f) They need to be broken for few weeks before they reveal themselves
(g) To appreciate I need to listen to CD or FLAC files
While I dont have much complaints on the percussions - not really impressed with the voice quality. Tomorrow i will try listening on my PC playing some FLAC files
Not sure which one(s) of the above is true - now I am confused whether to keep it or return. Now compared to in-ears this one is a monster and one can clearly feel the load on the head plus this of course cant be taken on walks. decisions...decisions
Few caveats before I give in my first hour review of these headphones.
I am a 40+ male and like calling myself a gadget freak. Freak or not, I do spend a lot of time reading about tech and watching youtube videos - particularly reviews. While I do have a decent salary income...i do skimp on other daily necessities to invest in decent AV gear - nothing like audiophile variety - more like the "middle class' of AV gear.
Now I do spend at least an hour walking in the park and travelling from Vijaynagar to ITPL(30 to 40 kms depending the route)- atleast two hours in a car one way and if I take other modes of transport - like bus+train+metro mix - more than two hours one way to reach home - because of this I always have headphones on. The costliest headphones i owned was a 5K INR Bose in ear ones which I lost. But my daily drivers are couple of Xioami heaphones including their HD pro and am pretty happy.
couple of years back, i chanced upon a great review of the AKG 52s? which i bought for 5k and that included a DAC as well. While the sound had clarity, i wasnt really impressed and gave it to my nephew
Fast forward two years and again I had the itching of buying another premium headphones given the number of hours I spend with them. I finally settled on the m50X given its universally great reviews.
As part of the Amazon prime day I missed out on the 120 dollar Bose QC 25 in US and hence was looking forward to the independence day offer to try the m50x and thanks to a lightening deal +10% off SBI card..I got this for slightly more than 8K - a decent price given its costlier in Amazon US.
Now the box itself wasnt in pristine condition and it didnt have any kind of a seal - watched few unboxing videos and confirmed it doesnt have a seal... a bit strange - since i am worried its a return being repacked and sold to me. The Amazon support guy said its ok to open and return within 10 days. So an hour back i started listening on my phone - its a Mi A1 and source is Amazon music. I am not really blown over by the sound like what every reviewer says. I dont know what a sound stage means. but the bass is really heavy relatively. vocals are nothing like the singer is very close to me physically. I listened to few indian + EDM +rock and feedback is very similar. Now instruments do have better clarity compared to anything i have heard - but again nothing like paying 10K for a pair of headphones and it certainly doesnt sound like the orchestra is sitting right next to me. I cant really pick each instrument apart..its a bit muddled
Following are few reasons why I feel I am not "blown over" by arguably the best headphones under 200 dollars:
(a) I am too old and/or something is wrong with my ears (this is really possible because I like really loud music)
(b) Too high expectations..Maybe the Mi HD Pros are way better relative to their cost
(c) Phone's DAC is not good or maybe the bit rate on Amazon music is not very good for such high quality headphones
(d) I am too naive to understand what "audiofile"or "monitor" stuff mean ( a person who has been drinking maaza which is laced with Sugar will never like pure Alphonso juice with no additives)
(e) I received previously owned and returned headphones which had a defect
(f) They need to be broken for few weeks before they reveal themselves
(g) To appreciate I need to listen to CD or FLAC files
While I dont have much complaints on the percussions - not really impressed with the voice quality. Tomorrow i will try listening on my PC playing some FLAC files
Not sure which one(s) of the above is true - now I am confused whether to keep it or return. Now compared to in-ears this one is a monster and one can clearly feel the load on the head plus this of course cant be taken on walks. decisions...decisions
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