Audio-Technica M40x 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 03.01.2019 With 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.

Audiophile Summary: The ATH M40X are not a downgrade of the M50X. They are inequal in quality; yet quality equalisation makes up for the difference in driver size of 5mm. The 40s offer a flat, precise playback with less than astounding bass. The 50s offer over-equalised, excellent quality bass (which does not necessarily mean they are superior; in specific respects). Bass: The downfall of an otherwise perfect headphone. Understandable and forgivable due to price limitations. The bass is of excellent quality, yet lacks the driver size required to properly offer a powerful and distinguishable tone. Extremely (note, extremely) heavy bass will become noisy and distorted; which is highly irritating. The M50X will take the same bass tones and deliver them free of noise and distortion. The bass as a whole is very good, and will impress anyone. It offers decent strength; and is undoubtedly an inspiration to other creators for what should be bass quality at low price. Does not match the fidelity of the ATH M50X. Mid (Normals, AKA Vocals) Tones: Of excellent quality. Slight noise impairment is noticed at all levels by my ear, yet this is to be disregarded as the quality of playback equipment may not have been sufficient - however, if you use a smartphone or average on board motherboard audio, you may hear noise disruption of the signal here. The quality of these frequencies is close enough to those of the ATH M50X so that I could consider them equal. They once again, surpass the quality expected of such a price point. Treble (Naturals, highs): Exemplary. They excel in quality here more than one would expect from headphones at a price point more than double this product. Clear and more than simply crisp: as if existent. The quality is unprecedented at this price point, and the next for these tones (similarly, the Mids are excellent (not to the same scale, however)). I can imagine that this frequency is the clearest possible for this price point. EQ: This is down to personal preference. These are flat. Note that "flat" does NOT mean that the bass is nonexistent, but rather natural in strength - so it has a relatively strong "push" and the vibrations are not tangible. These headphones do an exceptional job at being flat but not studio. Seeing as EQ is such a subjective statistic, I can not comment further. I recommend these for: GAMING - QUIET (footsteps, ambience) 10/10 GAMING - BASIC (master sounds, primary FX) 10/10 GAMING - MUSIC (music, tracks, background feel) 8/10 (due to distortions in bass, personal preference) MUSIC: Heavier bass tracks or Treble/Mid based tracks. Otherwise, M50X may offer a personal preference. (personal preference) Extreme bass not recommended at all. MIXING: Not recommended. Instead, get Studio Headphones. RECORDING MUSIC: Not recommended. Instead, get Studio Headphones.

I use these headphones pretty much daily, for most of the day and have had them for about 6 months. I use them travelling through town and on the train, and I use them for recording/music work (however, only at a student/novice level). These headphones are very comfy to wear and sit on my head with ease, the ear cups also fit round my ears very well with a little room to spare. However I find these not to be all that comfy round your neck as the speakers are quite large, so they can press against your chin. The removable wires that come with these headphones also makes them ery easy to store as it obviously doesn't have a wire dangling from it. However, I can't seem to find a 3rd party wire that will fit with these headphones, so if you break the wires, you might have to splash out a little on new ones, however the wires that come with this seem to be very good. Sound wise, they are quite good. They don't leak too much sound, but there's still a nice amount of everything there. I quite like how these headphones don't have an added EQ but I know some people that would like that. I can't really comment on how they play genres like jazz, because I mainly listen to metal, but these do cope very well with things like metal. As I said earlier I use these in a studio, so I find these headphones are also good for mixing and using synthesizers with as they pick up most of what you should be able to hear, but are no replacement for a good set of speakers/monitors. However, looking back now, I think I should have waited a little and brought the M50Xs as they do pick up that little bit more bass, and have a 180 degrees turning on the cups (M40Xs only turn 90) so they would be nicer round your neck, but needless to say these are very good headphones for someone looking for a first pair of proper cans, starting to record/play around in DAWs and just as an everyday pair of headphones

Excellent set of cans, which have met and probably exceeded my expectations. Initially I was wanting some wireless cans, for use with my Denon mini system. One of the reasons for wanting wireless was to enable me sometimes to sit at the other end of the room. But to get the sound quality I was wanting, I was moving further and further upmarket, eventually looking at much more expensive Sennheisers, which in absolute terms I could afford, but whose cost (for something I could actually live without) I could not justify. So then I thought about wired ones instead. I wanted closed headphones (if I want to hear external noise and am happy to inflict what I am listening to on others, then I don't need headphones at all), and the M40X immediately appeared on my radar. I would have liked to try them before buying, as I do with all my other hifi & AV purchases. I spent a long time looking at what was available, trying them out, and would have been happy to buy in store anything that I might find that impressed me. But alas that was not to be. So finding nothing in the shops that worked for me, and having read many reviews, both on Amazon and elsewhere, I decided to get these. 100% satisfied! I already own and use a set of Sennheiser HD280 Pro, mainly on my main hifi system, and they were tested some years ago alongside many others before I bought, and cost me many years ago pretty much what they would cost me today. When I bought these M40X, I was able to test the two pairs side by side on both sound systems. No complaints at all about these - they come out of the comparison very well. So, specifics about these ones: FIT for me they fit very well, very easily, and are comfortable. We all have different shaped heads, so no one set of cans will suit everyone, but these seem pretty flexible to me in terms of adjustment. The earcups twist and rotate very easily, and the whole thing can collapse to quite compact. Go easily into the supplied soft pouch. CONSTRUCTION The practicality of a removable cable is less than it might seem, as only an A-T cable with its bespoke locking mechanism will fit. And as commented by another reviewer, surely it's better to let the cable come out if strained, rather than have it break. (I lost and expensive pair of in-ears like that.) BUT... it means I can use the straight cable rather than the coiled one! There are many of you who think that coiled cable is so much better, as it extends as required, but for me it's a pain - when extended it always tries to recoil itself and starts to tug on your head; and when not extended, because there is so much cable in a short linear distance, you can never forget the weight of the cable hanging off your left ear; and tangle-free? I have never yet had a coiled "tangle-free" cable, be it on a phone or a set of cans, that has not ended up in a tangled mass at some point and even as you try to untangle it, it fights back. But that's just my opinion, and with these cans you get the choice, as it comes supplied with both. APPEARANCE Black. I don't give a hoot what they look like - for me this is not a fashion item but part of my sound system, and function is far more important. So if you want some different colour, well, choose something else. But I am pleased that the money has been spend on solid construction and sound quality .... SOUND QUALITY My assessment is based on listening through a decent quality hifi amp to a source of known quality. Bass sounds like bass, treble like treble and midrange like midrange. I can hear no discernible coloration of the sound, so no addition to, nor substraction from, what is already in there. For me that is how I like my audio products. So yes, it means that if there are shortcomings, or even simply characteristics, in your source material then you will hear them. I have tried them with high quality FM, hiss-free but poor quality DAB, CD (old & new, rock, pop & classical), vinyl, and maximum available MP3 and WAV stored on a hard drive, connected where appropriate with good quality cables, so enough to made a balanced assessment. And my assessment is that I love them! Easy to listen to over a long period of time, and I keep wanting to try them with more and more. And the issue of listening at the other end of the room was solved by adding a QED 3m extension cable, which has had no effect on what I hear. Nine years on, and the outer coating on the earpads is coming off, leaving bits of black plastic everywhere. Fixed easily by a replacement set of earpads and headband, which actually feel better quality than the originals. So I can continue to use them!

I don't know about everyone else but it took me about 18 months to make my decision over which headphones to purchase. I had spent countless hours in Curry's testing the headphones on offer.. Bose, Skullcandy, JVC's etc... and never really finding myself happy with how any of them sounded. Mr previous headphones were a pair of Panasonic DJ200's (I think) which I bought from Argos for less than £30. For the price these were excellent - not tinny and not too heavy on the bass. There were already a number of reviews here praising these headphones as being neutral which ultimately helped my decision. I had been so disappointed with many of the those I had tried in Curry's - Bose sounded screechy whilst others had so much bass you couldn't hear any other detail in the music. A previous reviewer had posted a link to some Youtube videos tested the headphones allowing you to compare the sound of the input against the output from the headphones using a dummy head and some pretty smart recording equipment - and these were the most neutral (I prefer 'faithful') sounding - and I guess that helped to swing it for me. The other factor was price - there was no way I could justify paying £300 or so for headphones but did eventually set myself a budget around the £120 - £150 mark. If I hadn't found anything within my budget I would have given up, so the £80 I paid for these was icing on the cake. I use these for movies on my tablet and they perform admirably but it is music where they excel, for everything from Rock to Classical music. Oh and if you are a fan of 80's Electro Funk - you really wont find anything better... Excellent headphones - more than happy to recommend. UPDATE 07/12/17 - Having had these headphones for 9 months now I thought I'd report back.... No problems whatsoever - no breakages, no damage to cushions, I use them every day either to listen to music or while watching videos on Youtube or iplayer and still find them comfortable, and if anything the sound is even better when they have had time to burn in properly. I didn't go above 80% for the first 20-30 hours of use and I think this is important. Unlike some other reviews, I don't find the cushions to be uncomfortable, I wear these with or without glasses and even with masking hearing aids for my tinnitus. As with all wired headphones the twisted cable can be a bit annoying, but I cant really see them being able to truly replicate the sound in a wireless pair. Still very happy, and definitely the best headphones I've purchased.

Well, this is my first thorough review of a product, and decided to do it only because another review tempted me to buy the M40Xs over the M50s. The Good: Amazing Highs/Mids Very nice sturdy design Very comfortable Detachable cable with secure locking system 2x Gold plated cables The Bad: Headphones don't swivel 360 degrees, only 180 Personally, I find the cables too long - (3M), and I dislike coiled cables Take time for the sound to get better When I first bought these headphones, excited I played some music expected great bass; however all I got was a disgusting burr when the bass got heavy. As I listen to Rap/Hip-hop or Dubstep - (I'm assuming many others buying these have similar taste), I thought these weren't very good. I read online that especially Audio-Technicas need to be "Broken into", so I kept listening to my music on full volume, and sure enough the sound got better and better. Now the sound is much better, and sound brilliant with amazing highs, and great bass. The sound quality is very clear, and the sound can get loud enough. There is near enough NO leakage. If you play music without them on, you can hear the music, but when the soft earcups are pressed against your head, no sound leaks. With impressive bass, I found them good, but could be better. But for £80, I would be stupid to complain, as headphones for even more than £100 more can not even compare. Apart from "Breaking in" these headphones, I am very impressed. The main reason I chose these over the M50s is because in my opinion they don't look very appealing, and had no detachable cable. I saw this as important, because 90% of the time the cable on headphones give way first. I was intending to go for the M50X, but I could not justify spending 40-50£ more. The headphones are comfortable enough to wear for hours on end, and the carry case is great for small drops, and keeping dust and fingerprints off the mark-prone matte skin on the headphones; however I don't see matte black as a bad thing, because it looks brilliant. Overall, I am very impressed with these headphones, and would DEFINITELY recommend them. If you are a 'Bass Junkie' as to say, I recommend going for the M50s, otherwise, this is a brilliant choice.

Like many reviews have already stated, these headphones requiring a breaking in period, I recommend listening to a variety of music while breaking them in, I got the low end through very quickly however it took me a while to get the sharp highs these headphones can produce. I've given them 5 because they have changed my perspective on not only how I listen to music but also what I listen too. I'm now ashamed to have worn a pair of £15 headphones for the last 2 years listening to exclusively Dub,Trap and Trip-Hop. I debated over these and the M50X for a long time and took the risk, many reviews commented that the main difference in sound quality was only the more emphasis on bass with M50X. I thought I would see what true 'balanced' sound was like and I now have a dis-taste when seeing all the headphones advertised with 'Bass' in their title. Because I listen to a lot of bass music (Flac file type (I recommend avoiding MP3)), I've noticed some producers have reduced the amount of bass in their tracks to accommodate for the ongoing trend 'Bass Is Better'. These headphones are comfortable, I have a small head, some have suggested they are better for those with bigger heads but these are fine for me! Ear pads are exceptionally soft and a nice fit around the ear with the pads spreading the pressure evenly. Build quality is good, everything feels sturdy and well tested with the soft ear pads and head band with matte plastic for the outer ear parts. They aren't the prettiest but if your here, your after the best bang-for-your-buck anyway. Going back to the audio quality, I'm no expert but listening to music with these headphones has made me download my music at higher bit-rates and listen to all my old CD's again to get their full impact. Just buy them.

Very impressed with the tone and build quality. I'm new to sound engineering but these phones make a great difference. Great value for money.

Very useful for mixing and monitoring as it's frequency response is very flat. Not that type of fancy or fun headphones. These are headphones for surgical mixing tasks. Highly recommend.

I use this with a Yamaha Clavinova. The sound is just amazing. This is really the kind of use it is made for. The sound is so clear and balanced, you can hear the timbre of each note and all the nuances of varied touch on the keyboard. On a side note, tried it with music on my phone, and it does not do so well with this kind of use. Buy it if you're looking for something for your digital instrument - it really is excellent for that.

Fone chegou 1 semana antes. Com certeza vale a pena, utilizando no celular a qualidade de áudio é ótima. Mas quando eu utilizo no meu micro system da Aiwa com a conexão P10, que espetáculo de som! Podem comprar sem medo, ótimo acabamento, confortável e resistente. E uma dica...procurem limpar a parte das almofadas com lenço umedecido caso queira prolongar o material macio. Recomendo!!

Good for mixing and video work. Real sound.

I was looking to upgrade my OneOdio headphones on a budget and in my research I happened to stumble upon the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, which pleasantly surprised me for the under $100 price point (I had purchased it Used -- Mint Condition, although it not much more expensive for New). These headphones fit snug and comfortably on my head and ears, although granted I have smaller ears and I can see them being uncomfortable on bigger ones. They also come with two types of chords: standard and coiled (and I assume the coiled is for instruments or other recording/producing equipment with accommodating audio jacks), the length of both of which is ample, allowing you to step off a good distance from your setup even with them on if need be. They're also lot smaller and more lightweight than I had anticipated, but is fits perfectly in my personal setup. Lastly, these headphones comes in a sleek black aesthetic and are mostly plastic with metal in the extending mechanic. The pouch that it comes with is also black and leathery. The sound definition across the entire range is considerably more pronounced than my previous headphones, and I truly feel like it makes it easier to mix in my music production. Before purchasing these, I also saw other patrons praise these headphones for its noise-canceling abilities, and while they do not come with a standalone noise cancel feature, they fit in a way that greatly dampens external noise. The only complaint I really have about these headphones are that while the chord plugs into the left headphone, it folds in the opposite manner and I have to take them off and put them back on to rest on my neck. One final side note is that the way the chords plug into the headphones initially bewildered me because they don't plug straight in and I didn't really think the manual did a good job explaining that. But essentially the bigger prong connects to your computer/equipment and the smaller prong you have to insert and twist to prompt a clicking noise that means a successful connection. Overall if you're tight on money yet want to invest in your music career, I would gladfully recommend these headphones by Audio-Technica. The price, fit, chord length, and sound quality all work in tandem to make these headphones a solid budget option.