Still Holding Court in 2025

The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, introduced way back in 2014, still punches above its weight. What started as a sleeper hit for engineers and budget-conscious musicians has become a rite of passage — the default cans for bedroom producers, podcast editors, and gearheads who like their sound clean, no-nonsense, and a little bass-forward.

Sound Profile: Honest With a Hint of Swagger

The M50x doesn’t pretend to be flat — and that’s kind of the point. It delivers a tight, punchy low end that doesn’t drown out the mids, with crisp highs that sparkle without slicing your ears off. Not reference-grade flat, but they translate well across systems — the kind of sound you can trust when dialing in EQ at 3AM in a dim bedroom studio.

You’ll hear the flaws in your mix, but you won’t hate your track for it.

Build and Comfort: Built Like a Tank, Feels Like a Rental

You could throw these in a gig bag, drop them in a puddle, step on them at soundcheck — and they’d probably still work. Solid plastic frame, metal reinforcement where it counts, and just enough flex to survive a little carelessness.

That said, comfort’s hit or miss. The clamping force is real out of the box — they break in eventually, but glasses-wearers beware. The pads do their job, but after a few hours, your ears will need a breather.

What Makes Them Stick — Feature Rundown

• Detachable Cables — You get three: a short one, a long one, and a coiled option that always gets tangled in your gear bag.

• Closed-Back Design — Decent isolation, solid for tracking, podcasting, and keeping the click bleed out of your vocal takes.

• Portability — Foldable and comes with a pouch. Won’t save it from a fall off your desk, but better than nothing.

• Tried-and-True Drivers — No gimmicks, just 45mm drivers that deliver consistent sound in every session.

The Trade-Offs

• Proprietary cable jack — no, you can’t just plug in any 3.5mm and call it a day.

• No ANC or Bluetooth unless you grab the BT2 variant.

• The soundstage is more "tight booth" than "cathedral reverb" — don’t expect depth like an open-back set.

Verdict: Dependable, Unflashy, and Still Worth It

The ATH-M50x isn’t trying to be the trendiest set of headphones on the block. It’s not flashy. It’s not feature-packed. But it works — damn well — and keeps working, long after fancier sets have cracked, glitched, or ghosted your gear bag.

If you need a pair that’ll survive rough edits, rougher travel, and still give you an honest playback of your mix, these are still worth the coin in 2025. Studio staple for a reason.