[chevelle]

Initial Impressions:

I was looking for a good professional, studiophile headphones for long time. My budget was $100 (Rs. 5000).

I saw M-Audio Q40 Closed back Dynamic Headphone for a mouthwatering price and i immediately bought it. Excited, I waited for its arrival.

The box was very easy to open. That is what i like. I have gone through various headphones and some box packing are pain to open. This one was easy. +1

I was impressed by the size of headphone. The head band is very broad and sturdy. Initially, i didn't like the wires hanging out. I got used to it in 5 minutes.

Coolest and most useful thing about this headphones is the cable wire is replaceable and removable. It is quite long too so it is useful when listening to music or movies at home.

When i got it, one end of the cord is a standard 1/4 inch plug, but if you unscrew it you'll find a standard micro stereo plug. At first, I almost missed it, because it's a screw-off rather than a pull-off connector. But seeing that they are not the same type, i just unscrewed it.

The bad thing about this replaceable cable is it needs to be replaced with other 1/8" jack cable. But, due to the screw mechanism no other 1/8" jack can actually fit into the slot.

Similarly, when connecting to the headphone, i didn't screw it properly and the sound was coming from just left side. I went crazy for like 2-3 minutes looking for way to see if it was a defect in headphone or what. Better sense prevailed and i screwed it in properly and all was well.

Sound:

I am no audiophile but i love good sound and prefer good bass. Yes, at times, you can call me a basshead and i won't say no.

Right out of box, i loved how it sounded with my Sony S616 Mp3 player. It has a custom EQ set to my preference and music sounded much much better than Cortex CHP 2500. I don't think it is analytical music but it sounded very good with good separation of various frequencies. The bass indeed extends deep and doesn't over ride mids. The highs are just great and overall sound is exception for the price. When i plugged it into my laptop, the on-board sound card made this headphone sound just as good but i expected some improvement but nope. So i have ordered a FiiO amplifier hoping to make some improvements on how it sounds.

I don't use this for mixing, i use it daily to listen to music, watch movies and the sound quality is great. I watched Live free or Die Hard with this headphones and experience was very enjoyable. Superb bass made sure the action was on the top and dialogue were delivered clearly.

Comfort and Isolation: The ear pads are big enough to wrap around my ears so they fit perfectly thereby proving very comfortable. I am used to removing headphones every 15-30 mins but with this, i saw the whole movie (Live free or Die Hard) without being uncomfortable or wanting to remove it. The Isolation is great, with music on, you won't be able to hear what else is happening in your surroundings.

The only thing that has me worried is the reliability of the headphones. I have heard lots of bad things about cable and overall build quality so i will monitor it everyday. For now, it seems well worth the asking price.
Will i pay higher than $125 which is what it usually it sells for ? No! In that case i would rather have other headphones from AT or Sennheiser or other brands. But for $90, this is a steal.

Here are some un-boxing pics and shown with my other bass monster - Cortex CHP-2500 on Headphone Stand.

Thank you for reading. Sorry for the long post. Let me know if you have any questions.