Last year I reviewed the Sony WH-1000XM2, concluding that they are the best value for
money NOISE Canceling headphones because they are just as good as their newer model the
XM3.
Since then, the big names in the YouTube tech space have also praised the Sonys as the best
noise canceling headphones, but what if you care about sound quality over noise canceling?
Which is the right way to go?
Well, the people's favorite Audio Technica m50x headphones have recently gone wireless,
and today we'll talk about them.
Hey guys, this is E, and I am happy to be the owner of another pair of Audio Technica
m50x.
This time they are wireless, and the model number is the same except for the BT letters
at the end.
I used to own a white pair of the cabled version, and I got used to them so much that every
other pair of headphones ended up sounding annoying to me.
Yes, I was surprised by that fact as well.
The m50x headphones are quite old now, but they are still hot on the market for people
who want high-quality sound at a decent price.
The question here is, is the Bluetooth version just as good?
There have been some reports out there that the sound profile of the new Bluetooth version
is a bit different than the old classics and perhaps a bit flatter.
Since I use these headphones for video editing, a flatter profile is not something that would
bother me at all, but I have to be honest...
I cannot find a difference in the way they sound.
I do hear a very tiny, teensy-weensy, little buzzing when in Bluetooth mode that quickly
goes away if I plug in the included headphone cable or I just play something, hence the
reason for them to be on my head...but other than that, they do sound just as good as their
older cabled sibling.
The cable, in fact, was the reason for me to ditch my old white pair, because I really,
REALLY, REALLY hate wires (@Concept Creator).
So, aside from the feature of having an optional cable, the design of these new headphones
is 100% inspired by the old model - except for the left cup controls.
dbrand, by the way, released skins for them as soon as they came out, so you can make
them even more unique.
So, they are very comfy to wear over long periods of time, and the battery is claimed to last about
40 hours of continuous use, which is very impressive.
I mentioned controls earlier.
They are located on the left ear cup.
Starting with the Bluetooth OFF switch, if you want to use the cable you switch off the
headphones and plug it in.
Talking about the cable, this time around it is a very short one, and comes with a single
control button that you can use to play pause or answer a call, or you can hold it to summon
your voice assistant.
The controller also holds an additional microphone for phone calls.
My only gripe with the headphone jack and respectively the cable is that it is recessed,
so not every cable will fit the ear cup whole — kind of like the original iPhone headphone
jack.
Looking back at the ear cup next up is the charging port, which unfortunately is not
USB C. Why Audio Technica?
WHY?
You just released those, why did you choose to use an obsolete standard?
UHHHH
Moving on, we have three more control buttons, volume up and down and in the middle, there's
the action button that works the same way the cable control button works - play/pause
or answer/hang-up phone calls.
Interestingly enough, if you hold that button it doesn't summon your voice assistant, instead,
you can to tap and keep your finger on the actual cup surface.
I am not a big fan of this gesture type of approach because in the first few hours of
owning the headphones I already had accidental assistant conversations while merely holding
them.
I believe there should be a clear path - either go gesture based and remove all buttons or
stick with the old school buttons without trying to be a hybrid.
Going back to the old charging port and battery, you cannot listen to the m50x's while charging
them.
As soon as you plug them in, you lose your Bluetooth connection and here's a bug.
I am in Bluetooth mode, and I plug them in to charge them and unplug them when I am ready.
Note that they are still in Bluetooth ON mode.
I cannot see them or connect to them even though they are on.
I have to turn them off and then back on so that they can connect again — not very impressive
guys.
In the box, you get e tiny USB cable for charging, the stereo jack cable and a carrying pouch,
not a protective case.
The inside of the Box itself is covered in fabric, and the headphones are weirdly put
in by the factory, that after unboxing them I can no longer figure out how to put them
back in and show that to you.
I might sound a bit negative, but I still love those headphones.
The 45mm drivers delivers exceptional studio-quality sound, and I love the fact that they support
Bluetooth 5.0.
That translates to low latency and quicker pairing process as well as four times the
wireless distance.
So if you are serious about your sound and how you experience media the m50xBT's are a
great choice at a reasonable cost.
In a world where the low end Beats Solos cost $240 and the popular Bose QuietComfort 35
are $350, $200 for these m50xbt seems like a reasonable price.
If you want to enjoy the same sound for even less than that, you can go for the regular
nonwireless Audio Technica which you can find for less than $140 on Amazon and you even
have more color choices since the new Bluetooth version ships only in black at the time of
this recording.
So what are your favorite Studio Monitor headphones?
Let me know in the comment section below, where you'll also find a link for this product.
This is E, Over & Out