The venerable Audio Technica ATH M-50

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Remind me again, why is it important to have a detachable cable?
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Surprised a bit you asked
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There are many reasons. for me me personally, as I know most HP reliability problems are related to wiring and cabling (and most of them where the cable connects to cup), one can just replace the cable and not the whole pr of headphones when that happens at fraction of the cost of a new pair of HPs;
and it's less messier than sending it in for repairs etc etc ... This would be the number one reason for me to have a detachable cord.

One can tug/pull at cables and damage them - detachable: less chance of that.

one can replace with different lengths of cable.
get higher quality cable.
easy to manage when traveling.
and lastly, and least important, it looks better
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Here's a discussion I found online, and I am sure it will have additional reasons, other than what personally matter to me.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/505093/would-you-prefer-a-detachable-cable-or-a-permanent-cable
 
I guess I've never used a set of headphones heavily enough to have the cable wear out and cause issues. But your points certainly make sense.

My noise-cancelling Panasonic cans do have a detachable cable.

I always thought that having a detachable cable introduces one extra connection point that can potentially degrade the signal, but I suppose there is no proof of this being the case.
 
Yeah I read a lot about the effect of det. cable on SQ of h'phones.
Even the most OCD headphiles over at Head-fi thought they can NOT distinguish any difference in sound with det. cables vs permanent.
So I guess if there is a difference, it's probably measurable by instruments only. At my age, I certainly won't notice, I know.
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However, some who tried better quality detachable cables on some headphones did notice some improvement in SQ.

But for me, durability and prevention of accidental damage are the main advantages.
 
I have an older pair of hifi Sennheiser phones and have two, detachable OE cables for it, copper and steel. As long as the connections are clean you cannot hear a difference between them.

Yes, a hard-connection is more reliable but I've had the detachable cable save the phones several times due to a snagged cord. I'd recommend steel cable given the choice.
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Originally Posted By: 97tbird
martinQ - are those the original and (then-) venerable HD25?

No, they are the full-sized, open-air, HD-540 II almost identical to the HD-530/560, same drivers anyway. I was hoping for a 'lifetime' of use from them but the stitching and foam in the pads had deteriorated and could not find replacements.

I hated to stop using them after having so much good use. Maybe 15yrs? Should dig up the receipt and see.

I should add that there are psychological reasons why people think they hear 'improvements' when they change (or think they change) something.
 
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Oh yeah - It's like the 'butt dyno' when it comes to audio 'mods'- MOST of them can be psychological, but once you pass a certain price level, some 'mods' / improvements / changes can be real.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
MOST of them can be psychological, but once you pass a certain price level, some 'mods' / improvements / changes can be real.

Actually, the more you pay the more real it gets!
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I just got a pair of these....(M50x) and they have been fantastic so far. After not having a good pair of headphones for a while (coming from the newer Apple "EarPods") I finally decided to bite the bullet and get some decent ones. They do perform best with lossless content (Apple Lossless & FLAC) versus AAC/MPEG. I couldn't tell the difference with the EarPods but these can really bring out the bad in low source quality.

The "x" is essentially an updated version of the M50 that comes with 3 different removable cables and supposedly better cushioning (basically Audio-Technica took the mod linked above and did it themselves). It does have a nice locking mechanism. It would be nice if AT released a cable that has the mic/controls attached. That's the ONLY advantage of the EarPods.
 
They absolutely live up to the hype. I bought a set for my brother for Christmas a few years ago, and tried them out once he had opened the box. I was totally blown away.

(I already use Etymotics, but if I needed a set of studio-style headphones I would absolutely buy these)
 
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