Audio-Technica ATH-M40x Professional Studio Monitor Headphone, Black, with Cutting Edge Engineering, 90 Degree Swiveling Earcups, Pro-grade Earpads/Headband, Detachable Cables Included

I was looking for a portable headphone. But didn’t want to spend a lot of money either. And they needed to be tough as I was going to put them on my backpack to use them working on the road every day. I found this model hit the $$ range I was looking for and had pretty good reviews around so I gave them a chance. I got them for around $86 in “Like New” condition from Amazon Warehouse Deals. MSRP is actually $139, but they go normally here on Amazon for $99.. so all in all.. a good deal.. they seemed new to me… just the box had some scratches, but nothing I would care about… Now on to my thoughts so farNOTE: These headphones and the Sennheiser HD600 are the only headphones I’ve had worthy of mentioning. I also don’t have any other headphones with me to compare them to in the same price range or any other range. Not even the apple earbuds that came with my iphone5 (don’t miss them at all). I also have not had experience listening to a lot of good quality headphones except for my HD600. So as unfair as it is…all my thoughts are in comparison to the HD600s which is still the superior headphone and an awesome value and my point of reference in evaluating the m40x which after all, have surprised me quite a bit!First, they sounded very promising! But they weren’t very comfortable. The stock ear pads are a little small for my big ears. They sort of cover all of my ear, but its not as comfortable as my HD600s and their huge pads. So looking around I found the Brainwavz Replacement Memory Foam Earpads here on Amazon as well. These fit perfectly and were free (thank you Amazon gift card!). They didn’t affect the sound signature a whole lot really…if anything since I now have a perfect seal, the bass is actually what I think should sound like for those who can achieve a good seal with the original pads… These headphones are tuned flat as per manufacturer’s description and there is also this video on YouTube [ http://youtu.be/sj69-mWHV3E ] that compares the different versions of the m##x series of headphones, and indeed, the m40x sound almost identical to the source. So having a neutral headphone was appealing to me, and with the new earpads, I don’t notice any frequency range dominating the rest…I think these are still pretty neutral but the pads make them WAY more comfortable….I Recommend them Highly!These headphones are definitely more forward than my HD600, but nothing gross.. I actually kind of like a bit. After a while, I kinda stop thinking about it. They have very good sound staging. They work better in portraying sort of an arc in front of me and I also notice a little better instrument separation too. The HD600 I find is more detailed still, and more natural sounding. Instruments like acoustic guitars and such sound more real/believable, but the m40x work a little better for me in presenting them a little more in front of me than in between me. The angled drivers are definitely making a difference here, because I never noticed this from a set of closed headphones before.They mate very well with the Geek Out 450 USB DAC/Amp (What doesn’t?!) I do notice a big volume change when I hook them up after the HD600 but that’s expected. Still, they benefit a lot from the power provided by the GO450 vs my iphone 5 or laptop headphone port… also expected…They have awesome sound isolation (especially with the new pads). The effect is very similar to wearing my 3M over the ear earmuffs from work. This is a big plus for me as they are going in my backpack with my GO450 every day for work and I’m always in noisy environments…I also travel a couple of times a year and I can see this kit working for me very well during flight time.All in all, I am very pleased with these headphones and it’s an easy recommendation for someone looking for a good headphone without braking the bank!Happy camper here!! Worth every penny! Now back to my music!

Maybe the best value in this price bracket. The sound is great and very neutral. The fit is pretty good, and they fold for carrying, plus they have a removable (although proprietary) cable. This is a solid package.Pros:-Excellent, neutral sound. People used to modern headphones are probably going to complain right off the bat that the bass on these headphones is low, but that’s the wrong way around, most other headphones artificially crank up the bass because psychologically most people think that loud bass is better quality. In fact, these headphones have a more neutral sound that’s perfect for studio monitors, where you want to detect any flaws in the mix. It’s also perfect for anyone who wants to hear music exactly as it was recorded, with no distortion.-Decent comfort. I have big ears, and I’m finding that if the phones are positioned the wrong way the cups hurt the edges of my ears. This will likely improve with use, and is readily fixed with a minor adjustment. Given the price point, I’m not complaining too much. The head band has a wide range of adjustment and is nicely padded, so aside from the mediocre cups everything is lovely. Plus, the cups have several degrees of rotation so it’s easy to find a comfortable position whether you’re resting them on your neck or flipping one cup up for one-ear listening.-Removable cable. Audio Technica has a proprietary locking mechanism to hold their cable in place, but most other headphones in this range don’t let you replace a cable should you ever damage yours, so this is a very nice feature either way.-Two cables included. You get both a straight cable and a coiled cable, given the locking feature I’d recommend the coiled version to avoid accidentally pulling on the cable.-Headphones fold for storage. Just push the cups up, and they lock into place so they can be put away.-Soft, faux-leather bag included. Great for storing your headphones, although I’d recommend a hard case if you plan to travel much just because these phones are worth protecting.-3.5mm to 1/4in audio adapter included. The adapter even screws onto the audio cable securely, which is a nice touch. Since I’m using a regular 3.5mm jack I just unscrewed my adapter and stored it in the carrying bag.-Quality build. I can’t find a single flaw in any of these features. When you move the ear cups around or push them up for storage they make a satisfying “click”, clearly someone thought about how to make these feel sturdy even at their price point.Cons:-As said, the ear cups are just a touch uncomfortable. I suspect they’ll break in with use, but that’s the only are where these headphones feel as cheap as their price, relative to the competition.-If you want bass, you might consider stepping up to the M50, which were designed for just that purpose. The M40 may actually be better for neutral sound or for studio monitors than the more expensive M50, but the M50 does have the bass-heavy profile some people are looking for.Overall:I highly recommend these headphones. They deliver almost exactly the same audio experience of headphones that cost multiple times as much money, and do so in a way that leaves you scratching your head as to exactly how they’re so inexpensive. Great for studio monitors, or anyone looking to hear music exactly as it was recorded. Compared to other top headphones, this is 98% of the quality for 50% (or less) of the price. Great deal.

Honestly, I’m a little pissed off. Not because these are bad, but because the 40x doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the top best studio headphones to date. The majority of the people choose its bigger sister, the M50x, which don’t get me wrong, the M50x is also a great studio headphone, heck, just the M series are great sets of studio headphones, but reason saying these dominate the rest really is that these cans will be the closest to neutral quality when monitoring your music. The thing with the M50x is that they added an extra cable and “more color” to their sound by dosing up the treble and bass a little bit. And I’m not just saying this one dominates the rest of its sisters because of its best neutrality, it dominates ALL STUDIO HEADPHONES. Don’t believe me? No thanks to SoundSensePro, their YouTube videos can prove it to you.Now of course there might be a few exceptions with some other top-end audiophile headphones that are great for monitoring, but most of them are expensive and they require amps to get the same studio quality, where you could just get these, no amps required for good neutrality, all around $100. These have a nice build quality, nice comfort to the ears, although it could be better in my opinion because it takes some adjustment ever once a while and feels a little tight, otherwise I can listen to these for hours, and surprisingly these have great noise isolation, but I mostly will be talking about the main purpose of why these cans are great, which is the sound you get from them.I have been to several sound boards and monitor music with a variety of different studio headphones (Sony MDR7506, Sennheiser HD 280 Sennheiser HD 650, etc.), and ever since I picked up these headphones I know this is going to be my main source from here on out.Here’s the thing with studio headphones: the goal is to make them as neutral as possible (not flat. There is a difference between flat and neutral sound) so you know that you’re picking up the same exact audio from its main source. Now because bass is very common nowadays, most studio companies think that in order to get a flatter sound, the more bass you need to take away from it so it doesn’t “eat-up” the mids and the highs. This doesn’t mean you can’t hear the lows, it’s still rather noticeable, but the issue is you’re not getting an idea of how much bass is being applied to the audio, and you need that. These headphones not only monitor bass (and it’s just the right amount of bass to monitor as well. You don’t want too much bass or too little), but you get to monitor with a great soundstage performance on the M40x. Now another good headphone I encountered in a recording studio is the old Audio Technica ATH-M40 f/s, which took an hour for me to compare the difference between those and the M40x because they were that close. The only difference I could pick out of them is the M40x is more enhanced with its soundstage and stronger noise isolation, still making these a whole lot better.These are worth every buck if you are looking for best neutral sound. Only thing I would say to be aware of is its portability and durability. It only comes with a handbag if you want to bring it around, the headphones are bigger than they appear, and even though it has great build quality, most of it is made of plastic, so if you are a DJ and want to bring them wherever you go, just don’t be surprised if they break. These are more for staying at your home or sitting in a recording studio for listening than going place-to-place constantly. Will keep you guys updated when I start experiencing trouble-issues.

These are used in a production studio where I have a half dozen options for headphones. I always find myself putting these on, even though more expensive headphones are readily available at hand. Comfortable, great sound (just a little boost in the 1500-4000 Hz range, otherwise a nice response graph). You’ll like these.

My all-time favorite headphones, nothing fancy, just some basic, flat sounding drivers and a good overall design. After using them for years, I can’t use anything else. Perfect workhorse headphones, with a flat, more ‘analytical’ sound signature and nothing fancy to approximate ‘soundstage’ or add bass.Perfect for audio work, gaming, and listening to eclectic music libraries. Other headphones do sound better with certain genre’s of music, but often sound worse with others (particularly chiptunes, which IMO sound terrible with 90% of popular headphones). These are the only headphones I can happily listen to everything from chiptunes to classical music with.