Audio Technica ATH-M50's

Morf

I'm getting a pair of these for Christmas. I'll mostly be using them plugged into the pc from a Creative X-Fi soundcard. Would they benefit from an amp? Do they have a burn-in period?

Any link to info about them would be appreciated. Thanks.

cnocbui

I doubt they would benefit from an amp. Nothing has a burn in period except your brain - IMO.

djburchgrove

Yes these headphones will need a burn in of 15-25 hours. They sound great straight out the box, but mature after a few days use and really sound impeccable.

These headphones do not necessarily need a Headphone amplifier. They are quite load as it is, it may come down to what device you use them with. Certainly your computer should be powerful enough, some portable devices may not do them justice. Wait til you get them, then decide.

Shineyie

An amp helps with more than just making music louder. I'm getting a pair of these myself and plan on using them with my FiiO e5 and ipod. I've no idea what your sound card is like though; if it puts out a little more juice than your average ipod you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference. They definitely don't need an amp to sound good. If you know someone with a portable amp, it might be an idea to borrow it for a bit and see what you think with and without the amp.

Edit: about burning them in, I'd recommend around 20 hours, either music or something like white/pink noise. I've read some very mixed reports about what these sound like straight out of the box, it couldn't hurt either way

Morf

I'm extremely pleased with these.