New for 2014, one of our favorite brands in the music equipment industry, M-Audio, has released their brand new HDH50 studio-grade headpones. These headphones are great for DJ’ing, studio use, as well as anything else you feel fits the need for accurate frequencies when listing to your music. We’ve seen some popular brands come out with new studio headphones to compete in the market, such as the Alesis DRP100 or Akai MPC headpones. How does the M-Audio HDH50 stand up to the rest?
Pros
Very high quality drivers for sound accuracy- Comfortable, do not cause pain
- Solid build with aluminum and steel (no plastic!)
Cons
- $200 a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for in terms of high quality
- Do not fold or swivel for traveling
- No interchangeable cable
Key features: 50mm drivers, closed-back, around-ear-padding, built-in mic, aluminum/steel build.
So let’s get to the most important part of a studio headphone and that’s the specifications (besides price, which these are $200 retail). Since there are so many pairs of ‘studio headphones’ saturating the market, the best way to compare the models is literally by frequency numbers and the like. Let’s take a look at the HDH50’s specifications.
Specifications of the HDH50 headphones
- 50mm neodymium drivers (the Alesis DRP’s have only 40mm)
- Gunmetal aluminum and steel construction
- Closed-back design for noise cancellation
- Around-the-ear padding for comfort (a lot less hurting as compared to poopular models like the Beats Mixr)
- Audio cable with 1/8″ connector
- Also comes with 1/4″ adapter
- Built-in microphone included
Comfort of the HDH50 headphones
We like the way these things feel. The make of the ear-cups are very high-end and the over-ear build is pretty much the ideal make for any studio monitor headphones. Although they state this is meant for ‘long sessions in the studio’, comfort is one of the most important aspects for headphones in any environment. So even if you’re wearing these to the gym, any session longer than an hour can start to hurt. We’ve seen this in particular with the beats by dre headphones, but the HDH50’s don’t. You’re good to go with comfort.
Sound quality
Some would say this is just a rehash of the Akai MPC headphones. Well, they’re pretty spot-on to be honest.
Both of these headphones have the same impedance, frequency response, and most importantly, the 50mm drivers. We’d go with whichever you can find cheaper online! Although, if you really need the colors and style that each offer, that’s what it’ll come down to.
Regardless, we love the sound quality of these, especially with their 50mm drivers that are neodymium as compared to most other studio headphones only being 40mm. Perfect for sound accuracy, aka, you’re not going to have an extra emphasis on bass or treble like some of the headphones out there that appeal more to the masses — such as the Beats by Dre headphones who particularly up the bass frequency in order to appeal to the more average consumer who isn’t necessarily even aware of low, mid, or highs — they just want bass for the commercial rap music. The M-Audio HDH50’s don’t do that.
Check out or top 10 best studio headphones post for some other more affordable options.
Compare prices of the M-Audio HDH50
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