tjohnusa

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $37.00 from ebay

Summary:
I have about 40 hrs on these cans and they are breaking in nicely. A pleasent suprise on the detail of everything I have played on them. I mostly listen to them with a Dell 1st gen MP3 player and a Cmoy altoid mint can amp. Some may think they sound bass shy but the bass I hear is detailed and not boomy. They are more comfortable than they look, and the pictures don't do the style of them any justice. All in all I am VERY happy with these headphones.

Strengths:
Sound, comfort,& price

Weaknesses:
Not easy to wear glasses with them on (of course that is mostly true with any earphone accept in the ear headphones)

Similar Products Used:
Sony MDR v150, Phontopia earbuds

dave_is_asian

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $120.00 from Philippines

Summary:
I was quite happy to purchse a pair of Sennheisers after I read an interesting review. I am glad I bought them, my ears have never been as excited to hear music.

That was until I lent it to my friends.

I got them back. They are ok now. Not super good. The sound is crackly probably because the diaphragm is scrunched. Perhaps even ripped.

I am mad and I can't be bothered buying another pair. I guess it's just back to the old pair or bad iPod earphones.

Also, They need to offer places to purchase replacement cords. Because the cord is messed up, sound only comes out of the right earpiece, and the left if i adjust the left side cord, like i'm listening to the radio. Obviously the cords are not wireless, so it seems somewhere within the continuity of the MASSIVE cord, there is a place where it is.."Wire-less"

Strengths:
Nice highs [Crisp]

Mediums ok

Bass doesn't have much punch.

I guess it wasn't THAT much to pay considering how much a normal set of earphones is.

Weaknesses:
Bad Price. They should create a model for the students.

Flimsy cord. Lasts about half a year then doesn't work.

Looks stupid when you're walking down the street. Now that we have stylish mp3 players like iPods there is no need for the excessively long cord. Not that It works anyway.

Similar Products Used:
Sennheiser HD 485

audiophian

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $54.00 from chiefvalue.com

Summary:
Great headphones. Very comfortable and well padded. They fit great on my head, as well as all of my friends. The have a nice sound to them that works very well.

Strengths:
Highs are very crips. Mids and lows are well balanced volume wise. Bass is very tight and gives a nice balance to the mids.

Weaknesses:
The highs are somewhat weak in comparision to the mids and lows

Price Paid:  $110.00 from Challenger, Funan IT

Summary:
Wanted to try a Seinheisser after my KOSS KTX-PRO backed out on me. Read reviews of various models before deciding on HD497. Seems that it's one of the models that got relatively good ratings. Didn't think I would get it in Singapore-prepared to buy online. But checked out local stores anyway. Found it in Funan Challenger. Took the only one left on the shelf. At SG$109, I presumed it's ok for such a popular brand as Seinheisser - only it's made in China... Immediately plugged it into my Panasonic Xpandium CD/MP3 player. When I put the cans over my ears, there's this rather comfortable feeling. The black pleather cushioning surrounds and cups your ears nicely. You also feel another pleather cushion right on top of your head. Overall it's quite secure. Weight - this silver-colored thing is surprising light, being made entirely of plastic. Sonic test: Turned on the music. I listen to mostly retro metal/rock and anime songs. The immediate detectable difference is that HD497's bass is not as strong as KOSS's KTX-PRO. However, the mid and high frequencies sound better, clearer and more defined compared to KTX-PRO. Though KTX-PRO's bass is considered impressive, I find that this overwhelming bass tends to create a 'film' over the entire freq range such that the higher freq are kind of masked out. HD497 definitely has better fidelity. I suddenly find that the hi-hat and twelve-strings sound really much better. You may even hear other sounds that may been previously hidden by KTX-PRO's bass. My left ear has a slight hearing defect such that my sonic balance is biased more towards the right. Even at this state I find the sound is good. Can't imagine how good it'll be if my hearing is normal. Reviews have recommended that for a new HD497, try to 'train' it by exercising its cones - playing songs/music at comparatively loud volumes for around 20 hours. I think it makes sense because this will make the diaphragm more sensitive and responsive to the frequency range. In fact, I find the bass response is better after the 'beat-in'. With the HD497, you know what songs by default have enhanced bass - unlike the KTX-PRO which tends to increase the bass response for every type of music, across all frequencies, thereby sacrificing fidelity Now, for the Bad cards. One thing good about the KTX-PRO is the sliding volume control. Sometimes when it comes to your fav song, you just wanna ramp up the volume. But for HD497, I have no choice but to reach for the master vol control on the discman. Rather inconvenient... It is said that open-air headphones are better than closed type. Open-air prevents unwanted resonance from interfering the music. Closed type is said to have that boxy, 'closed-in' feeling. However, be aware that music will emit from the numerous holes of the HD497 and disturb people around you. If this thing is made in Ireland, I suppose I'll get it at this price. This thing I got is made in China. Not certain about quality control there, but I sure will feel confident about the product if it's from Europe. The HD497 is not something you want to put into your shirt/pants pocket,because of its size. It is considered as a mid-size headphone - not as big as those used for recording studios, but enough to slip into a bag or hang around the neck. You may get occasional stares on the streets when you wear this baby. But once they see it's a Seinheisser they also 'lan-lan'(cannot do anything about it) The cord. It's freakin' long. I have to bunch it up using some elastic band. Since my discman and headphone are always concealed in a carrier bag, no issue. The headphone jack didn't look professional - silver with black bands. I like KTX-PRO's that come in gold-plated with red bands. Even Sony will have gold-plated with black or green bands. On the overall, I believe the sound from this thing is good enough to offset the cons. Now, I want to find how long it'll last before it ends up like the KOSS-KTX PRO...

Strengths:
- good fidelity - relatively comfortable - not ridiculously expensive - not bulky - light

Weaknesses:
- headphone cord too long - made in: China - headphone jack not gold-plated - open-air - no volume control - all-plastic

Similar Products Used:
KTX-PRO

Price Paid:  $60.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
These cans were my first higher quality set of headphones. They are quite comfortable and they sound somewhat neutral. The sound is largely uncolored and is quite detailed for the price. They are also not very source dependent so they will sound pretty decent out of most sources. Their high efficiency allows them to be used directly out of portables. I would definately recommend these to anyone new to the world of high end headphones. I would also recommend them to those looking for good portable sound although they are slightly large for outdoor use. However, I didn't mind their size when I used them on the go. Currently they have been retired to computer use for the most part since they were replaced by higher end headphones. They served their purpose quite well for me and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

Strengths:
Not very source dependent Very efficient Largely uncolored sound Quite detailed at this price point

Weaknesses:
Pleather ear pads can get sweaty after long use

Similar Products Used:
Grado SR80 Etymotic Research ER-4P Koss KSC35 AKG K271S