ATH-M50xBT Wireless Over-Ear Headphones – Review

ATH-M50xBT Wireless Over-Ear Headphones

Audio-Technica

https://www.audio-technica.com/m50xbt/index.html

$199 U.S.

Audio-Technica’s new ATH-M50xBT Wireless Over-Ear Headphones are the best and most versatile $200 full size headphones ever. They are easy to operate, comfortable to wear, solidly built, and they play almost forever on a charge. Bluetooth 5.0 pairing with an iPhone and iPad is fast and easy. 

These are not audiophile or ultra-premium professional Bluetooth headphones. They excel for recreational listening, DJ earpiece twisting, and music learning situations. Sonic performance is very good, and will satisfy most listeners most of the time. Treble and midrange are fully present, crisp, and accurate. Depending upon the original recording, the occasionally excessive bass is the least integrated part of the audio spectrum. There are some inconsistencies in the continuous soundscape that are acceptable given the strengths of ATH-M50xBT.

Construction of the physical headphones is both robust and flexible, so that when you twist one earpiece away from your ear in DJ or teaching or learning mode they remain comfortable and in position on your head. Controls are minimalist, so that on/off and volume up/down and play/pause are easy to learn and use. Weight is surprisingly light, enabling me to do a full set of Qi Gong movement exercises without any head fatigue or overheating.

The company representative tells MyMac:

These new headphones are derived from the ATH-M50x Professional Monitor Headphones, which were originally designed for studio use but became very popular with consumers. In fact they’re Audio-Technica’s most popular headphones. So, it was logical to create a wireless version. 

Audio-Technica exceeds their own specs for battery duration and playback time. All their Bluetooth headphones we have reviewed hold their inactive charge for years and can play back for hours and hours. You will forget you need to charge them until it sneaks up on you after much longer than you expect.

Some users will prefer listening to ATH-M50xBT with the audio cable, but most people will go wireless and will use Bluetooth for playback. Getting this much quality for such an affordable price places these headphones in contention with the competition when wired, and at the very top when wireless. They are so easy to use and so comfortable and sound so good that I keep finding situations to  listen with them when much more expensive audiophile headphones are within reach.

I am not a DJ who needs twisting earpieces, but as a music instructor I must be able to converse and hear what’s going on in a room where I’m teaching or rehearsing piano or guitar pieces. The ear units also fold for storage and transportation. Audio-Technica tried to get everything just right in their new ATH-M50xBT Wireless and Wired Over-Ear Headphones.

MyMac Review Rating is 9 out of 10.

External reviews with additional photos:

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-technica-ath-m50xbt-headphones

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