<![CDATA[Modartt user forum - ATH-M50 headphones not recommended for Pianoteq]]> 2018-08-18T18:39:46Z PunBB https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php?id=5900 <![CDATA[Re: ATH-M50 headphones not recommended for Pianoteq]]> I have the ATH-M50X and I can't agree more, it is unpleasant and metally indeed.
I use Sonarworks Reference 4 for now, in order to make it sound reasonable.

]]> https://forum.modartt.com/profile.php?id=4907 2018-08-18T18:39:46Z https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php?pid=955888#p955888 <![CDATA[ATH-M50 headphones not recommended for Pianoteq]]> You will probably come across the legendary 'ATH-M50' - which looks like a safe thing to buy. I would recommend you to save your money and instead buy Superlux HD668B.

Here are my issues with ATH-M50:
1. There is some weird/unpleasant 'metally' sound on 4-8 kHz. Could be fixed with EQ, but who wants to do that? HD668B has no issue here.
2. Soundstage is bad and it matters. I thought that people comparing headphones are nitpicking, but you can really hear the difference between 'HD668B' and 'ATH-M50'. To me HD668B sound more 'around the piano'. While 'ATH-M50' gives you the same feeling as using in-ear headphones.

I guess the main takeaway is to invest in open/semi-open headphones!

Here are the reviews for both headphones:
HD668B: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/revie...ux/hd-668b
ATH-M50: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/revie...a/ath-m50x

]]> https://forum.modartt.com/profile.php?id=6018 2018-08-18T17:49:45Z https://forum.modartt.com/viewtopic.php?pid=955886#p955886