They actually sound pretty good. Would have been nice to hear some mic comparisons with other gaming headsets.

Rocking the ATH-M40x's for years now. With bigger fabric ear cups (the default ones are horrible). Sound great, sturdy, competitive price since I already owned a modmic. Brought me to tears after wearing gaming headsets for decades before.

I just got these as well, and they're great. I'm surprised it took this long to make it happen.

I have the original ATH M50 for about 15 years, I replace the earpiece about 3 years ago and they are still working great. I have another earphones but time to time I come back to them, it's a really good earphone for the price.

That was actually Alex’s advice during an Intel Extreme Tech Upgrade video, although I’m pretty sure he said to go for used. But yeah, usually music audio gear is way better in terms of audio quality.

What's nice about these ATH M40/M50/etc. sets of headphones is that there is also a ton of aftermarket support if you would like to experiment with larger earpads or pads of differing materials. Lack of a removeable cable here is a total bummer though. That's honestly kind of a deal breaker for me.

Ive had m50x for roughly 10 years and still my daily driver, love them for music production and recording. I wish they designed an attachment for that which could go into the proprietary plug.

Really enjoyed this one, including Adam's presentation style! Hoping to see him pop up more often.

The non replaceable cable is kinda sad to see but other than that, at this price, if you need a headset with a good mic, it's really excellent.

Really love the switching between mics for the gameplay segment. :) That's a lot more useful than just a short mic test recording. Side note: Was that game running on integrated graphics or something? Because it was really choppy.

I would love to see the lab's analysis of the various Antlion Mod Mics. I've a Mod Mic 5, and most people say it sounds great.

I have the ATH-M40X with a third-party microphone that replaces the boxed headphone-to-3.5mm wire, it's been great! These seem fantastic replacements, though I'm not sure when I'd actually upgrade, considering how good the M40X's still sound; and positionality/competitive shooters, they're great. I'm Ascendant in Valorant, and it's not my audio setup that holds me back

It would have been great to have a comparison to, say, the Beyerdynamic MMX300. Same pricepoint and is based on the Beyerdynamic DT770, which is also quite popular among professionals.

Still rocking my Sennheiser 599's and a blue snowball. I really don't use the microphone much but the headphones have been used daily for years.

Something like this with the 1/4” and XLR connectors would definitely have utility in live sound production. The engineer at front of house often has both headphones to listen to the mix without crowd noise and a mic to communicate with the musicians over the stage monitors or IEMs.

Even if it was an additional cable, I would love to see Audio Technica sell the mic on these separately for people who already have and like a set of AT headphones. The mic looks a lot like some of their head-worn mics, but you'd have to do a lot of modification to make them mountable on existing headphones.

I did a modmic mod on my M50 that I picked up second hand in the beginning of the pandemic. Have used them daily for both work and gaming, works great! Also I paid like €70 for the whole setup, so that was nice.

Heya, have an equivalent from across the mic stack. Can confirm that the audio quality is absurdly good. Been one of my best purchases in audio ever. It’s as he says, love my m50x bt2

Still waiting for the Audeze Maxwell Review whenever you get one in stock. Been exciting to learn how good it is from your guys' perspective and with LTT Labs.

I could see this working well for podcast and professional applications as well with the quality of the mic and xlr connectivity

I´ve used the original Audio Technica ATH-M50X for ages. I´m on my second pair since the first one broke just below the hinge after something like 8 years (it´s just what happens to plastic with time). Considering you can get them as low as 60-70 bucks (amazon prime day) it´s a no brainer to buy them. You don´t need a headset amplifier either like you do with many other hifi-type headsets, your built in sound/soundcard is enough to drive them. Just add the microphone of your choise and you´re good to go. So a regular M50X and for instance an antlion modmic = 150 bucks, making it by far the best headset you can get for that price (if you can wait for discounts like prime day). For a microphone i use a Blue Snowball microphone mounted on a svive Hydra Pro, so it´s out of my way when not in use, and it works perfectly for me.

As a Broadcast engineer, I‘m very very happy to see these headphones come out, especially the ones with xlr and 6,3mm jack combo!

Thanks for that nice detailed short cirquit! I recently ran over the turtle beach stealth pro, will there be a look at this Headset, too? I like the way you more and more get into standardized testing methods with the lab now in place.

Currently using some 990 Pros with the AE-9 soundcard. Absolutely phenomenal. Using a Rode NT1 mic, so that is also covered. It's a shame you can't really go into many shops where you can test headsets/mics

Took them this long to realized that their signature ATH-M series could still easily rival the latest with just a little touch of a mic update. Been rocking the M40x for years and I might have a good reason to get an M50 finally.

Love how Linus and Luke ragged on the M50xs on the WAN show and they get recommended BECAUSE they're used on the WAN show lmao

These are great for people just getting gear together for streaming. I eventually bought a set of Neumann headphones, but those are SUPER expensive without a mic. These are good for starting out.

Ive been using my pair of m50x since 2014 and apart from buying new earpads for them, they have held up for almost 9 years now. Highly recommended.

I thought that Linus hated on these on the WAN show. Personally I've been using M40x's for about 6 years now (bought them instead of M50x's because of a video from Z Reviews) and those've been great.

I still rock my Beyerdynamics MX300 mk1, still amazing headphones with an brilliant mic. had them years and they will last many more, investing in good gear that isn't just "gamer brand" is definitely worth it

I've got the m40x a long time ago, and eventually also got a pair for m50x's love em both, can't go wrong w/ Audio Technica

I've had a pair for over 10 years, they get better over time as you break in the drivers more and more too.

The XLR/3.4" makes sense because your interface could have better preamps than what is built into the USB version's, both for the headphones and the mic. Especially for microphones, the preamp is very important. You could spend hundreds of dollars on a microphone, but if you buy a cheap interface with cheap preamps it's going to sound like garbage. That's probably also why the USB version is more expensive, not only does it need AD/DA converters, but also preamps for the phones and mic, while the XLR version doesn't need any of those extra components. To get the XLR version to sound amazing would be more expensive if you didn't already have an interface with quality preamps, but for what the microphone on the USB version sounds like, you could get literally any gaming headset in the $200 range and it would sound about the same to my ears.

I love that a reputable tech channel is actually giving _sound_ advice regarding this topic. I'll find myself out now.

Really cool video. Would actually be very interested to see a review with the same Lab Testing on the Beyer Dynamic MMX300.

THIS is the reason I've been using the "Audio-Technica ATH-AG1X" headset for the last ~5 years. Mostly because I was looking for headset like the M50s and the "ATH-AG1X" where the ones Audio-Technica had at the time (They're kind of the more expensive cousin of the ones you tested) I just got lucky to get them for 50% off at the time as the original ~300€ would have been a bit much ^^ (I DO use a Soundblaster Katana 2 vor sound though so a USB option with no surround emulation/dolby atmos/whatever is not really an alternative)

Can confirm, the Nova Pro's feature set is so good. Having a PC and Phone connected simultaneously, swappable batteries, really great EQ software, the retractable mic, and the ANC (while not the best ANC) are really great in terms of added features. The audio could be better sure but it is still really good and more than good enough for non-audiophiles (the game audio is great too, their spatial sound is very good)

These are an instabuy for me. Been using ATH M50x headphones for years with a separate mic and it was always an inconvenience (even if it was a stellar mic: Rode NTG-3). The mic quality is decent (based on Adam’s brief test) but the fact that these have an XLR option, enabling me to EQ and fine-tune the input on my hardware mixer: phenomenal!

Its very cool to see this, I made my own version of this with the ATH M70x headphones and the Sennheiser e908D mic. Kind of wish I knew this was coming out cuz I think this would have been a better option lol.

Been using the MX50's since 2015. Dragged them to 4 states over the course of eight years, regularly stuffing them into a backpack. After eight years of service, I had to finally replace them (small plastic peice that keeps the tension finally broke, meaning I had to jam a peice of plastic in there to keep it tight against my head). Used them for everything from audio mixing to gaming and love them to death. Not having removable cables is a deal-breaker unfortunately. The best part of them was I could very easily fold these up and throw them in a backpack without having to worry about stress points. I doubt the STS would have held up as well as my OG pair. I know the cables are expensive (30-40$ for a replacement I think), but even if they had only included the one, it would have been worth it.

Would have been nice to test the difference between the USB and the XLR version, as they always sound vastly different.

You can get the Audio-Technica BPHS1 for £150 that is practically the same thing as the XLR one and has a detachable cable. Surprised they weren't mentioned here given they've been around for ages.

Rocking m50x with a cable with a mic attachment from Amazon. Works flawlessly. Changed the pads twice already, and duct taped the top to keep it together... They're from 2014 😮

Outside from the headset itself cables are usually the point that gets damaged the most and they don't do replaceable cables even if they are only first party it's good to have the option

finally. I am surprised it wasn't done earlier. So many people using modmic with these. looks like its implemented nicely too. Doesn't look flimsy.

For anyone reading these comments, do not buy this headset if you value comfort. The pads are way too thin and touch your ears.

I was looking at the ones without a mic some years ago when looking for a new pair of headphones. Good to see now that they have a model with one included. May go for it when I want to replace my current pair.

As you've switched between mics for the gameplay segment, I would really like to see a graph comparing the headset mic and the studio mic. Sure, the studio mic is infinitely better but, graphycally, I would like to see the frequency response to understand why.

We need more Adam 🎉🎉 great video mate, nice to listen to you

I would love to see you guys analyse the Superlux HD 681, I've had two pairs over the last 10 years - the first for €12.86, but still available for under €30 - and they are amazing! A little high in treble but otherwise very neutral, with great directionality for gaming and 50mm drivers for great bass.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🎧 *Audio-Technica představuje sluchátka M50xSTS* - Audio-Technica kombinuje kvalitní sluchátka s mikrofonem pro vytvoření ideální sady pro hráče a streamery. - Dva modely: USB a ne-USB, s různými konektory pro připojení k audio rozhraním. - Přídavný mikrofon, možnost ztlumení, kondenzátorový mikrofon, USB výstup a skládací design. 03:20 🎤 *Vlastnosti a design sluchátek* - Minimální polstrování a lehká konstrukce pro pohodlí, nastavitelný hlavový most a náušníky s umělou kůží. - Funkce monitorování hlasitosti a tlačítko pro ztlumení mikrofonu, které zlepšují uživatelský zážitek. 06:17 🎮 *Použití sluchátek pro hraní her* - Hodnocení kvality zvuku a mikrofonu sluchátek M50xSTS, včetně jejich vhodnosti pro streamování a hraní her. - Diskuze o kompatibilitě s virtuálním prostorovým zvukem a srovnání s jinými herními headsety. 09:11 🔍 *Technická analýza zvukového výkonu* - Detailní rozbory zvukové charakteristiky sluchátek s různými náušníky a izolace zvuku. - Analýza kvality mikrofonu a jeho srovnání s průmyslovými standardy. 11:06 💰 *Hodnocení ceny a hodnoty* - Porovnání ceny M50xSTS s původními M50x a dalšími herními headsety na trhu. - Diskuze o možnosti kombinace sluchátek s externím mikrofonem a celkové hodnotě pro uživatele. Made with HARPA AI

I have the ath-m50x. Great sound quality for only 140 euros. They also never break and if they do you can literally replace every part from their website. They do sound a lot better with a proprietary headphone amp/dac.

ATH m40x: love them, daily driver for almost a decade. ATH m50x: Ew, why?

Adam is such a great host, always enjoy a vid he's on

I love these charts that you guys are using now, so good

M50x sound profile is just great for my ears. Using it for 6 years in a professional music studio for everything (in addition to good speakers of course). Great isolation for vocal recording, a bit boosted and bass and treble for a very nice subtle amount of ”consumer v-shape”

I don't know why people forget about the PC38X.

Porta Pro. If you need with an awesome mic, Porta Pro Communication.

I have the M30X from back in the day and have been musing them with a live stage mic that goes over your ears (think phil collins or madonna back in the day) - this will be a great opportunity to change/upgrade while retaining the same sound. Nice!

I've been using the M40x for over six years now. They still sound great, better than anything I have used before. A lot more detail too. I also appreciate the versatility. I can easily detach the main cable and then use the headphone on something else with the coiled cable. I have replaced the ear pads twice (3x if I count the 3rd party ones) and I've added a headband cover. I wouldn't recommend 3rd party pads, unless you're ok with the headphone (possibly) sounding different. The only problem my M40x has is that it has become quite creaky, so whenever I move, parts of the headphone move and I can hear it creak. Other than that, it is fine. Maybe I'll replace it with an M50x someday, but for now, I want to continue using it.

Arent these the headsets they hate on during WAN shows??

M50x is a really good headphone for what it is trying to do. One issue with them is that they have a really narrow soundstage which isn't the best for gaming. It can almost sound mono at some times. A similar headphone is the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 at around the same price. It has a much more comfortable fit and wider soundstage and sharper imaging which is overall going to be better for most games. (Also you can buy spare parts and they are easy to work on.)

I've just bought this and I really enjoy it, huge thanks for introducing!

Oh man. That seems awesome (I have always used mid/lower end of mid range headsets). Then again I rarely use a headset anyway, but this is still tempting.

non-replaceable cable / mic is a deal breaker & hard pass

Maybe an unpopular request, but would love a BT version! I love my BT2s but missing a decent mic for it without losing the wireless aspect of it.

I have a jack/Bluetooth Audio Technica with internal mic, has worked like a charm for two years now, 100% recommend AT

I got a pair of M50xs second hand for $50 since my HE400SE was so bulky to bring around. It was a steal 🤩

Fixed cable on any peripherals over $50 is a deal breaker as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah... but... 200 USD.

I've been using my ATH-M50 (first revision) since they where new. And I actually bought a pair of gaming headphones lately just because the audio technicas are pretty painful to wear. But I still revereted back to using them because I prefer the flat sound that I'm used to. I don't know if the never revisions are more comfortable to wear though?

I used M50x coupled with modmic for like 5 years. Removable cable and easily sourced earpads made them last forever. It simply didnt want to die on me so I gave them away to friend when I switched to wireless headsets. Going wireless for comfort with mouse and headset was the right move for me after waiting for years for technology to mature.

Or ya know, don't.

Used to have an M50x. They are pretty good. Certainly leagues better than the average gaming headset even at twice the price. Nowadays I use IEMs. The Shouer S12s. Now the M50x sound like trash. And my head is also thankful, because man the M50x's are NOT comfortable headphones.

In the vein of this video, can you *please* make a video on the Koss PortaPro Communication headset? I've heard good things about them, but I've never seen anyone do a solid review and/or mic test!

I still think for any audio review, you should be testing 2 of the same model at any given time, to atleast determine if they all sound the same, or if their QC is terrible. Cuz like Silicon, you can get vastly different sound from even identical headphones.

M50X? Good headphones? If you're a masochist maybe.

Looked up the price as LTT are Audiosnobs... Sorry 300 for headphones is just not something I need for gaming. I know some people will like it.. and that is who the review is for obviously... but... I really wish LTT said upfront that these are for Audiophiles... I mean they said they are used on the WAN show and Linus is lets face it (and I think he'd own it) a Audiosnob so high end and expensive is something he'd insist on.

Nice I like the separate XLR if I need to hook up to mixers so I can use the talk back feature

I'm an audiophile myself and been using ATH M50x DG limited edition cable version for 8 years now and it still sounds amazing like brand new, well u only have to change the leather earpad and headband since it'll flake. i pair it with my Fiio Q1 Mark2 DAC & it sound like thousand dollar headphone. Total cost USD220 for both headphone and DAC.

Any regular WAN shot viewer knows that the M50x are not really great headphones. Just fairly cheap and that's it

most overrated headphone on UKposts

As for audio-quality: I don't know them, but if they're balanced, and especially CAPABLE enough, an equalizer can do wonders. - And in my opinion, there's almost no driver, be it within cans or boxes, that is perfect stock. You generally ALWAYS need an equalizer to calibrate any form of speakers. For box-speakers, of course the room and such gets into the equation, but even directly on your ears, different ears and different pads and so on are going to change the sound. - Myself I have a pair of well-praised Fostex-headphones, but when I hear them stock, I find them to have a significant dip in the mid-range and rather shrill higher-mids to highs. So I tweaked those areas, the general mid-range up significantly, and that shrill area dampened down a little, plus tweaked some of the lower end's details and boosted the very bright highs a bit as well, and it suddenly sounded a hundred times better, much more balanced and detailed. The thing is, I wouldn't pay its price-tag for its stock sound, which just sounded woofy and tinny with no mids. But because its drivers are so capable of getting manipulated, it makes it good. - And capability is key, because not every set can be "fixed", as not all drivers are as capable. - Of some you can't boost certain frequencies enough, of some you can't get rid of certain characteristics like boominess or dullness, no matter how powerful the equalizer. Then they're just not versatile and rather bad. - It's about getting them balanced enough, and if they can do that, you're set.

Don't they know Audio-Technica BPHS1 exists? It was AT's first foray into broadcast territory. Its actually the standard equipment in most American sports events. Perfect for streamers too. And it is awesome. Been around for 4-5 years.

I dont do this often but im typing before watching all the way. I personally dont think audio-technica is the way to go. Especially the m50. You are spreading mis-information in my opinion. Audio-Ttechnica headphones are known to be subpar for their price. In both sound and build, even Linus knows this. Im honestly disappointed. (After watching more I still think the same, I also see other popular consumer goods in your space that hint toward you being someone that follows the trends. Im sorry but I cannot take what you say seriously. )

Really satisfied with their headphones. Currently using M30x for my desktop and M50x BT2 for on the go.

It seems to me, usb version is fit for game streaming. xlr version for portable podcaster. when you connect more than 2 mic, usb mic in windows os may not work properly.

Would love to see a review or unboxing of the Audeze Maxwell. Slightly more, but far better sound quality from what other reviewers are saying.

You can also get the V-Moda boom mic to use with whatever headphones you want.

Hello. May I ask which do you think is better for both gaming and office calls, Beyerdynamic MMX 300 (2nd Gen) or this Audio Technica ATH M50xSTS-USB? Thank you very much in advance. Edit: From where I live, the MMX300 is only $6 more expensive so price comparisons between the two is not an issue. Just want to ask which is better overall. :)

Removable cable is an absolute must have for any significant headphone purchase. Please release a V2 Audio Technica!

I game in my office so I use some Phillips open back headphones and an at2020 USB mic plugged straight into my ps5. The combo works great.

Bought M50x some 5-6 years ago... THE best purchase in my life. Especially when combined with a headphone amp (Fiio 12 in my case).

Usb ver. Going to have dac amp in it.. the cable plug ver. going to depend on outside dac amp. They will sound different from one to another (usb vs plug)

i did the old trusted combo of the blue yeti mic with the m50x, works like a charm IMO.

The M50x was the first "decent" pair of headphones I owned.They have a very "fun" sound but I found them to be uncomfortable after a few hours. It's nice to see proper headphone manufacturers making headsets these days.

I remain a big fan of the EPOS Game One. Open back with phenomenal sound stage. Comfortable enough to wear for hours. Excellent mic that doubles as a work headset. They're only 100 bucks, though you might need a creative play 3 for another 20 dollars. If portability mattered more to me and i just wanted great audio, I'd probably opt for Moondrop Aria IEMs instead. Only 80 bucks! Again you might need the USB dac. If you really want to dial up the fun, invest in the dragonfly black DAC for another 130.

the best thing about this is good sound stays good forever. if something can top this(obv there's a ton), they're already out. so this can be endgame for anyone happy with it. because unlike the graphics card, it won't ever be insufficient.

There are different pros and cons for both gaming sets and audio headphones with mod-mics. I have Fidelio X2HR open back headphones which I used to plug into V-Moda mod-mic for my online gaming sessions which is like a 170 EUR combo, but you still need a decent audio interface to get most out of it (because trust me - built in audio in computer motherboards just suck!). But the mic was picking up too much of the headphone audio (since they are opens). As for USB gaming headsets specifically (I would never buy an analog 3.5mm gaming set), they are so convenient! I chose to go with Roccat Elo USB which is just about 70 EUR headset. First of all, they aren't audio interface dependent, so they'll sound equally on a proper gaming or media desktop machine as well as on a thin laptop. And once you tune them in the software, you can get a pretty good sound personalized for your liking! And having a volume control on the headset that actually changes your system volume instead of separate headset volume is another quality of life improvement! (And also that's the reason why the cable is non-removable. You are not getting these controls through an analog connection.)

You can use Dolby Atmos and DTSX with them, Dolby and DTS has been working with stereo headsets for a while to make all headsets sound better