Price Paid:  $99.00 from Radioshack (long sto

Summary:
These "cans" are getting unfair reviews. Granted that, as most people are saying, they can sound very boomy, muddy, and have too much bass, to a very large extent there is a good reason for this. Sennheiser's are known for needing a good driver, and sounding less than perfect otherwise (maybe even sounding bad, as these people are saying)

When i first listened to these with my home stereo (a crappy kenwood mini system), i thought they had some promise in their ability to provide accurate sound positioning, so that I could hear effects and mixing in music that I had never heard before.

However, I also felt that they were definately boomy/bassy/muddy, and when i listened to them through an RCA Lyra MP3 player, these negative characteristics were 3 or 4 times worse. they sounded awful!

It wasnt until I listened to these headphones through a studio quality sound card on my computer (layla) and throuhg a quality amp (mackie VLZ series pre-amps), when I learned just how good these headphones could sound for the price.

So i cant stress enough, these headphones will sound mediocre, bad, or even terrible (to someone looking for audiophile quality), when not properly dirven by either a good reciever/stereo, or through a headphone amp. When properly dirven, the boomy bass disappears almost completely and they provide incredible clear and precise sound and a distinguishible steroe field.

another reviewer made a good point that they take a very long time to break in.

I suggest everyone ignore the reviews by people who talk about how bad these headphones sound when listening to them through a portable CD player etc. I also sudggest that these headphones are not for you if this is what you plan on using them for (note: most sennheiser products need good amplification)

Strengths:
great texture and stereo positing to the sound. when properly driven they sound great for the price

Weaknesses:
need a good amp/driver to sound good (or not sound bad)

Price Paid:  $0.00 from SuperFi

Summary:
I was looking for a simple pair of headphones for little money today and had a choice between the HD500 and a Beyerdynamic DT331, both as special offers at a considerably reduced price. I decided to listen to them first in comparison - and boy, how glad I am now that I did! I used a CD with classical symphonic music. I started with the Beyerdynamic, which resolved practically every instrumental group on the soundstage, and sounded detailed, but maybe a little sharp in the trebles and weak in the bass. I thought - well, roughly what I would expect for under £30. Then I switched to the Sennheiser HD500, which was a little more expensive and I expected that it was going to be at least as good as the Beyerdynamic. NOT! The orchestra sounded as if I was listening to it through a thick door door to the concert hall. 'Boom boom boom' went the bass, then there were a few mids, but the treble region seemed almost completely wiped out! No soundstage whatsoever. I could not distinguish any instrument - just a thick mush. Really really bad. The funny thing was, I immediately concluded that the headphones were broken, and went for the pair of Beyerdynamics. It was only when I found the reviews on this website that I realised - these headphones were not broken, they really sound bad. Definitely not neutral.

Strengths:
Cable on the left ear only. 'Modern look'

Weaknesses:
Sound absolutely terrible.

Similar Products Used:
Beyerdynamic DT331, Beyer DT880 Studio

Price Paid:  $0.00 from amazon.com

Summary:
Too much bass! I bought these to replace an aging pair of grado sr-80s...I did not want to spend the money on the 580s or 600s so I went with what I thought would be a "baby of the line". well...NO...these phones exhibit SOME of the good sennheiser family values, they resolve well, they have clear mids and highs BUT they completely blow the bass out of proportion! To give you and example, I have a McIntosh integrated in my beddrom system hooked up to klipsch referecne series speakers, I also have a ADCOM equipment hooked up to magnapan speakers in my family room lastly a DHT 2A3 amp hooked to Klipschorns in my main system. These different combinations provide for varied audio results but NONE have the "thump, thump" bass of these phones. I kid you not, I had to turn the bass control on the McIntosh down half way just to get them in the ballpark of my other systems. I would compare these phones to those teenage cars you are forced to sit next to at stop lights; big thump, thump bass no real attempt at audio quality sound. to sum up, these do everything right in the mid and treble registers but the bass is many decibels too loud in the mix. look elsewhere.

Strengths:
comfortable, good mids and highs.

Weaknesses:
BOOM, BOOM bass, for the teenager in you.

Similar Products Used:
grado sr-80, stanton electrostatics, senn 580 and 600

Price Paid:  $149.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
I have been dooped! I was searching for new headphones to buy so I went on the sennheiser website and found the Hd 500 to be within my price range. I read the description and boy did it sound good. "Superbly Clear", "Detailed Analytical sound". After I bought these headphones i truly realized how much of a fool i was. I first pluged this into my creative audigy live drive which is fairly high quality and noticed that the dialogue found in music was low, almost like when a person talks with his/her mouth covered. Then i played music with good bass, and it sounded muddy. I then realized that it might have been my live drive. So then i plugged these headphones into my Harman/Kardon reciever and played some music and noticed the same problems. I came to the conclusion that these headphones have muddy bass, which overpower the mids and highs. However i noticed an improvement when i increased the volume almost to full, but then it was uncomfortably loud. Then i brought my old Sony MDR-CD380 (79.99 CDN) headphones and did a comparison. The sony's were unbelievably better than the HD 500 and i couldnt believe it since the Sony is half the price. I then started to repeat the name Sennheiser in my head and remembered that this brand is german. These headphones being european have their prices atleast doubled when comming into north america, especially canada which results in the High price/Low performance rating. I called my uncle who lives in germany and he confirmed my hypothesis. He confirmed that these HD-500 headphones are found among the value headphones in electronic stores and are highly affordable in Germany, but when they're shipped to canada or USA, the price shoots through the roof. Unfortunately most people believe in the "higher the price" "higher the performance" stereotype, yet they fail to realize that product prices do not accurately represent the actual material/quality costs, rather they represent currency exchange and taxes added when crossing the atlantic. If you live in north america and you have a strict budget on headphones please stay away from european brands, rather go for Sony or other Japanese brands but if you have the money kindly go for the sennheiser hd-590 and + headphones.

Strengths:
It looks very expensive, Comfortable.

Weaknesses:
Muddy bass, Clogged Mid's and highs. Sounds like the music is coming from under your matress.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Sony, Sony (They are ideal for those looking for great quality with a modest price tag)

Price Paid:  $70.00 from Amazon

Summary:
Garbage, Absolute garbage. I bought these thinking they would make up in bass what most transparent cans lack in Hip-Hop and Rap. Simply put they sound like sh!t. The 'extra bass' is just muddy noise, it doesn't even sound like bass. Don't even waste the time.

If you want headphones with a bit more punch to them, go with the Sennheiser HD-280. They are studio phones, but they will get LOUD. The 280's are full of that tight, tooth rattling, bass some of us love, and they are a solid build. Same price as HD-500 on Amazon.

Strengths:
None
oh wait...The packaging, maybe

Weaknesses:
-Muddy
-Dull
-Garbage

Similar Products Used:
Grado SR-125
Sennheiser HD-280, HD-590