In this article, Dan shares his thoughts and experiences with two sets of Audio Technica studio headphones. His time with both the M50x and M70x headphones has enabled him to compare the differences between the two in terms of designs, comfort, performance and price point.

Before he shares his thoughts, first a little back story explaining how he came across both of these headphones.

Choosing between studio headphones is by no means a walk in the park as there’s almost too much choice out there in the $150 to $400 price range. An accident earlier this year resulted in an unfortunate event which blew up all of my headphones in one fell swoop. Top tip, never leave your headphones plugged into your headphone amp and leave that on all night, it may overheat! I had to replace these fast as I had a lot of tracking and mixing work on at the time.

I had one of two choices to make. Either replace my broken headphones like-for-like or go for something different. The headphones that broke were my old but trusted KRK’s 8400, which had served me well for around six years. These particular headphones are very cost-effective costing $150 a set and to my ears sound very good for the money. I know precisely how these headphones sound and that’s all that matters when discussing personal tastes on such matters though I had an opportunity to throw the dice and go for something new, so I did, but what did I consider?

Initially, I was keen on buying a set of ADAM Audio’s SP-5 as a replacement for my broken KRK 8400s. These would have been more of an upgrade than a like-for-like replacement as the performance of these is far superior.

• Read: Review ADAM Audio SP-5 Studio Headphones

ADAM’s SP-5s do sound amazing though at the time I couldn’t justify spending £500 on one set, let alone £1,000 for two. The KRK 8400s feel as though they punch well above their weight in durability and quality of sound within its low-cost price range so I decided to find some headphone options in a similar KRK price range that could also sound as good if not better… a tall order. As stated at the start of this article, it feels at times as though there is too much choice in the studio headphone market.

After some lengthy research, I managed to whittle my options down to two Audio Technica headphones:

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x

• Type: Closed-back dynamic

• Driver Diameter: 45mm

• Frequency Response: 15 - 28,000 Hz

• Maximum Input Power: 1,600 mW at 1 kHz

• Sensitivity: 99 dB

• Impedance: 38 ohms

• Weight: 285 g without cable and connector

• Price: £149 / $149

Audio Technica ATH-M70x

• Type: Closed-back dynamic

• Driver Diameter: 45mm

• Frequency Response: 5 - 40,000 Hz

• Maximum Input Power: 2,000 mW @ 1KHz

• Sensitivity: 97 dB

• Impedance: 35 ohms

• Weight: 280g without cable/connector

• Price: £299 / $299

Choosing between these two particular sets of headphones proved to be quite tricky. The M70x specs looked very appealing as they boasted a broader frequency response of the two. The fact the M70x were also a newer model over the M50x led me to believe these could be the better choice of the two as well. The M50x caught my attention because they simply cost half the price of the M70x. I honestly couldn’t choose between either set, so I decided to buy one of each online without any listening test (silly me) as I desperately needed two sets of working headphones in my studio.

I expected that the M70x, costing twice the price of the M50x, would become my primary reference headphones for mixing and mastering while the lower cost M50x would become the tracking headphones for my artists to wear during recording sessions. To cut a long story short, I assumed wrong, very wrong, but how?

I assumed that the M70x, being the more expensive set of the two, would be the more premium model which on reflection was a bit of a schoolboy error, I fell for the marketing. The M50x for that matter turned out to be a delightful surprise. Not only do these sound far better than my expired and similarly priced KRK 8400 headphones, but they also sounded substantially better than the twice the price M70x.

Let’s compare some of the main features of the two headphones.

Design And Build Quality

Exceptional sound quality shouldn’t be the only calling card of a set of studio focused headphones. Smart design is also an essential factor as well. The critical difference between these two models is that one can fold its ear cups up inside the headband, which makes them easy to pack up and store, the other does not. This smart yet straightforward folding system is a feature in the lower cost M50x and completely absent in the M70x, why? The M70x ear cups can fold out at 90 degrees for, what Audio Technica refer to as “one ear monitoring” but so do the M50x.

An easy way to spot quality is somewhat lacking in any headphone design is by holding a set by its headband and shake them to hear how much they rattle. The M70x are rather rattly sounding hollow all around the headband. The M50x, while still rattly, are in comparison much quieter and generally feel more ridged.

In short, the M50x win for design and build quality.

Comfort - Which Set Do I Choose To Wear All Day?

Both sets have been used for various tasks during lengthy client sessions. Of the two, the M50x are by far the more comfortable to wear for long periods of demanding studio time. The padding around the ear cups is soft with the headband being just on the right side of taught keeping these clamped in place on my head during the head bobbing I find I do when I track. The same comfort qualities are sadly not present in the M70x. The clamp tension in the M70x isn’t as firm as the M50x, which meant these slipped forward a lot when I moved my head down to look at my guitar’s fingerboard.

The earcups on the M70x look to be the same size as the M50x but feel a lot larger around the ears with the memory foam padding being suitable. However, the transducers inside protrude a fair amount. So much so, they just touch my ears which doesn’t feel right. You will feel one large dome shape just beneath the protective cloth if you run a finger inside the ear cup. It’s a similar story in the M50x, but these bumps don't touch my ears thanks to thicker padding material in the M50x ear cups. This bulkier padding keeps ample distance between transducers and ears.

In terms of comfort, the M50x get another win.

Performance - Which Set Sounds Best?

The points we’ve raised so far may not be that important to you, but one aspect of headphones that we can all agree is critical is performance and overall sound quality.

As the Audio Technica website does not provide response curves for either set of headphones we chose to turn to a third-party for this information. The headphone calibration component in Sonarworks Reference software provides a huge catalogue of average measured headphone profiles. These profiles provide Sonarworks headphone users with near-flat frequency response, but they also give us a sense of the general performance of headphones out of the box.

Included in this Sonarworks library are average calibrations of both M50x and M70x. We compare the differences below:

Audio Technica M50x Response Curve

The M50x produce a well-rounded sound in the lows through into the mids. There’s a slight dip in the mids but this isn’t noticeable in listening tests. Typically headphones with a scoop in the mids can a bit sound weak, these don’t and sound neutral if a little weighty in the low end. The highs are also really well balanced adding to the overall neutral performance.

Audio Technica M70x Response Curve

On the face of it, the M70x response curve is a lot flatter up to 1 KHz than the curve of the M50x, favourable for mixing and mastering applications. Sadly, in listening, the overall sound of the M70x comes across as compromised as the high-end response is overly pronounced. These, in the real world, don’t sound neutral. Worse still, they sound tinny and thin.

When compared against the M50x, the performance of M70x sadly do not compare.

Verdict - Double The Price Doesn't Always Mean Double The Quality

With a score of three niI, it’s a clear victory for the M50x in this studio headphone comparison. These deliver better performance, are more comfortable, smarter in design and, if you were considering a set of M70x, represent a huge 50% cost-saving as well.

The moral of the story here is to be aware that double the price doesn’t always mean double the quality, especially when products within a specific range appear to be tiered with their product name hierarchy giving the impression products up the food chain are better. The M50x headphones are well suited for a range of demanding studio tasks. May it be tracking, mixing, mastering, general referencing, the M50x will serve you well. Sadly the same kind of praise cannot be said about the M70x. These, as lovely as they are to look at, miss the mark in too many critical areas for me to be able to recommend them as studio headphones.

Though the M50x may be a tad coloured in the low end, they certainly make up for it in its overall package. The M70x, which are described as “Professional monitor headphones” and “tuned for extremely accurate sound reproduction” over promise and under deliver. These, at best, could be a perfectly good set of consumer headphones that, in my studio, are now relegated to live drum tracking headphones as tonal balance isn’t a massive priority in such recording applications.

One final point on the M70x. It’s a small thing but it matters. The L and R markers on them are barely visible inside the headband which makes orientation confusing. On the M50x these markings are clear as day on both sides of the hinges. It’s little details like these that show us whether care and attention have gone into the user experience.

I’m so impressed with the M50x that I will be placing an order for a couple more sets soon. For the money, they are a no brainer.