An expanded Pros & Cons regarding the HM9:
 
Pros: Very warm sound signature, so this is a pro if you're after something warm. The treble is subdued, nothing is overlly bright and there's no siblance, so if you're sensitive to treble this is something you'd appreciate. Fairly good sound stage, great set of detachable cabling, well made construction and really great fat ear pads that are thick and soft. The unit folds to a compact nature and again the cables are detachable. Great isolation (given it's compact and portable nature, this is great, as it means you can probably use it in public and it not be a waste of time).
 
Cons: Very warm sound signature, so this is a con if you're after something neutral or something more analytical. While it's not fair to really call this a con, I felt that it was too in between in terms of being on-ear and being over-ear, because you can certainly fit your whole ear in there unless you have wombat ears, but it's clearly meant to be smaller than over-ear cups generally are, so it's classed more in the size of on-ear (again, not fair maybe, but just had to point this out as it did bother me).
 
Brainwavz HM9 - Very warm, Compact and Sleek.
 
The vast sea of headphones these days (hey, it's not the 80's and 90's anymore for some of us, there's actually choices in headphones these days!) is nearly endless it seems, so it's hard for anyone to truly compete for attention when it comes to certain price points. When you clock in at the $100 tier of devices, you have to really have something special, or a great package, or really good marketing to get an audience. Brainwavz is really trying to do all three of these things, offering a very well made product, worth more than it's price suggests, with a very good overall package, again, making it much more attractive than some other items that just show up in a plastic wrapped thing that you have to cut open. And marketing wise, they're doing it right, they're asking the community to tell them what they think, instead of just putting them on easy-endorsement artists or sports celebrities and asking them to wear them on TV. Brainwavz is instead putting them on the heads of audiophiles, real people, and asking for their opinions. You have to respect that approach. But there is still a ton of competition in the $100 tier market. Even with their own other headphones! So it comes down to what you're looking for and if the check list ticks all the right boxes. The HM9 is a compact, portable-class headphone with all the right features: high isolation, very thick, soft ear pads and headband, folding design for compact storage, thick durable plastic so it's not heavy and won't break, detachable cables in three different lengths that are flat instead of round so they do not coil up or twist and lay flat when wearing so there's less movement and thus less sound translated from them, with a nice hard shell carry case. I've looked around, and I've yet to find very many other $100 offerings that supply you with something built as well, with excellent sound quality, that also offers meaningful accessories and features and not just a bunch of nothing, or a bunch of flash that you don't care about. Brainwavz seems to really be doing it right in this aspect.
 

 
Quick Reference for the TL;DR folks:
 
Thick plastic build, some metal
Entry price of $100 on average, which competes with too numerous to count options
Super warm sound signature, with very prominent bass
Relaxed, dark, fatigue-free treble
Very efficient, will run from a potato
Excellent isolation, I couldn't hear my mechanical keyboard while typing this
Flat wires, tangle free, and no transmission of noise from rubbing
Carry case, three cables, and all made very well
 
What Comes in the Box:
 
HM9 Headphone
Hard case (fits the headphone folded up, seals with zipper, has room for cables); not crush proof
Three cables: 1) 1.2m flat (portable hi-fi), 2) 1.2m round with microphone (cellphone), 3) 3.0m flat (home hi-fi)
Airplane adapter (why? A 1/4th adapter was not included, but this weird airplane adapter was)
 
Overall, a nice package if you want functional and useful stuff and only one minor "oops" in the airplane adapter which to me is totally not necessary and near pointless, and would have rather had a 1/4th adapter included to couple with the 3.0m cable for home use. Anyone who cares about audio will NOT be listening to an airplane's in-cabin audio, which is easily the worst audio source on the planet and mono to boot. Maybe in some other countries there is a competitive airline that wants to wow passengers with their higher quality in-cabin audio. But I've yet to be on that airline. Someone can fill me in via comments I hope. Otherwise, again, totally boggled by the inclusion of this airplane adapter. The cables are superb. The two lengths are excellent for their intended use. And the inclusion of the microphone is good for the phone-folk. The case is nice, and everything is well made. Nothing screams cheap. But hey, where's that 1/4th adapter?
 

 
 
Specifics (the minor numbers):
 
40ohm Impedance
104dB/mW Sensitivity
 
What does that mean? They're efficient. They will run from anything just fine. I was surprised they were even 40ohms actually as I expected something like 16ohm to 32ohm, but rather the 40ohm was odd to me, but it doesn't matter, it's just a number. The sensitivity tells you what's up, and they are efficient, so they will get loud from nearly any device. There's zero need for an amplifier here unless you're using a phone that has awful output. But this is expected from a compact-class headphone designed for portability.
 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The build of the headphone is good. It's sturdy, hard plastic, thick where it should be and doesn't creak or crumble. The headphone and ear pads are very thick and soft, like memory foam. They remind me of the old Sony XB pads, super thick and plush. The overall design is just a flat silver and matte black, nothing shiny which is good. No blaring logos either, it's rather subtle in general, which I really respect. Comfort is surprisingly good to me, as I normally cannot stand on-ear design headphones. While these are in-between that, with a size that could be over-ear for many people, but still on-ear for some others, it's a hybrid zone where it swings either way. It worked for me because I could squeeze in and get the over-ear feel and sound that I prefer, as I do not like on-ear in general for comfort purposes. The headband squeeze is not too tight, but it's not loose, just right to me. The pads really are comfortable. They are pleather, so if you're out in the sun, you will get sweaty. But just sitting inside some where, I found them to breath enough to not turn into little ovens, so that was nice.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
I'm a fan of the warmer sound of headphones, as I'm not into the analytical approach for everything, though I like it sometimes, it's not my go-to for at-home-listening. The HM9 is definitely a warm headphone, nearly to a fault. So keep this in mind if you're someone who can't stand very warm headphones, the HM9 is not for you. But for those of you who want a very warm, very lush sound with fatigue-free treble, the HM9 might speak your language. When I first started listening, and then weeks later, the experience was the same for me: lots and lots of mid-bass, upper bass, lower mids. That translates to a lot of warmth. Everything is warm no matter what you do straight out of the box. The treble is fatigue free, which is very nice when you're turning it up, but I found it to be a little on the dark side compared to my tastes (takes that edge out of violin that is supposed to sting a bit, and some piano strikes), but at the same time, zero siblance or hissing so that's great for others. The mids are decent, but definitely a bit recessed, and a touch distant, it reminded me of a recording where the artist was coming through a cloth first, then the blocker in front of the microphone, which takes more of the tiny nuances away from consonant production, but I'm being picky. Vocals were clear, but let's just say I wanted more clarity. When I put on some tracks that were rich with mid-bass content I noticed the congestion built up quickly, which is common for very warm headphones.
 
Treble:
 
The HM9 is fatigue free with treble, you will have no issues with siblance or hissing sounds. It's not quite as dark as something perhaps like the HD650 level of dark, but you get the idea. It's not going to scratch your ears out with treble spikes, like an Ultrasone. So this is a mellow listen from a treble stand point. This is good if you're particularly sensitive to treble. But it can be an issue if you're into certain detail retrieval and want that sting from certain sounds. For me, violin and piano really didn't have the edge that it normally would have, because the treble roll off was significant. This will make it seem like it's less detailed, but that's not the case, it's just less intense. When you couple subdued treble with increased bass, the end result is super warm sound which may or may not be your cup of tea.
 
Mids:
 
Mids are pretty much the most important bulk of any range in audio for us, because that's the heart and soul of our natural vocal range, instrument range, etc in terms of the bulk of the average we can hear and while hearing bass & treble changes with our years on this planet, the mids don't change quite as significantly, so mids are critical to get right. The HM9 has ok mids. I was not truly impressed with the range or clarity. I found too much bass bleed, from the massive warmth, to the point where the mids were congested to me, and distant to a degree. I felt like I was being lulled through a cloth in many ways. Mids are a touch recessed, with the massive warmth from the mid-bass. I through on some very fast music with lots of electric guitar and blast beats to test the speed of the HM9 and found it very congested, as a lot of this is in the mid-range, or bleeds into it. So keep this in mind. If you're a mids-head and seek super clarity, the HM9 is not for you. If you're into gobs of warm bass, and fatigue free treble, this will work out for you likely.
 
Bass:
 
These days, bass seems to be super important. I guess it's cultural. I say that as a reverend bass-head myself. I don't always want too much bass. That said, I appreciate quality bass that is well controlled and doesn't just roll off steeply. You'll find the HM9 has a lot of mid-bass and upper bass. It's very warm. No matter what you're listening to, there will be a lot of emphasis on the upper end of bass, to the point of it bleeding into the mids significantly. If you're all about the mid-bass, which there are genres for that, then this may just be what you're after. I found the sub-bass to not have received the attention that the mid-bass received, and the sub-bass is significantly rolled off. I tested some dub just to see if it could land a satisfying 25~30hz drop, and it was not intense and felt distant and loose compared to the mid-bass. Mid-bass can slam your face off though, so if you're into hardcore or other genres with gobs of mid-bass, this will shake your head sufficiently. If you're not into bass and warmth, and seek neutrality, this is not for you at all.
 

 
 
Isolation:
 
The HM9 delivers nicely with isolation. While it's passive isolation, I found it still did it quite well. While it will not block out a city buss next to you, nor an airliner, and it certainly won't stop the pulses inside an MRI machine, it will at least block out typical noise that would be distracting. I couldn't hear my mechanical keyboard clacking away while I typed this, while listening to music through the HM9 at normal listening volume. That's fantastic. So that means you won't hear non-yelling conversations out in public, or someone's phone conversation, or someone's loud earbuds buzzing in their ear next to you. On this note, the cable doesn't transmit audible noise to you, which is a big deal to me. I can rub the cable on my shirt and I don't hear the vibration or noise, so that's great. Helps you with the idea of isolation when the cable is moving as you walk around as these are portable headphones.
 
Soundstage:
 
I don't expect a lot from closed headphones for soundstage, if you are reading it as a term of width or spaciousness. It's a closed stereo headphone, so it's not like an HD800. The soundstage is pretty normal to me, not too terribly closed in, but not as wide as something open air. I found it to be fine, and normal enough to where it didn't distract me. There are some that are so narrow in soundstage that it sounds like there's no distance between anything and gives it a flat feel. If you're reading it as soundstage as a term referring to separation of notes, then it has decent soundstage in that regard. Though I found it muddled in several places where the bass-bleed really slowed and congested the mids. I found the aggressive mid-bass hump really took the soundstage (read as separation) down significantly as the intensity of the complexity of a track increased. Translation: if you're listening to metal, you'll find it hard to hear clear separation of instruments. If you're listening to electronica, you probably won't notice as much.
 
Closing Thoughts:
 
Overall, I think the HM9 delivers in many ways, but it has some issues that to me are hallmark of today. I think the package is great, you get the right accessories and the headphone itself is well made and comfortable. My one packaging negative mark is the lack of the 1/4th adapter, but a weird airplane adapter was included (seriously who plugs into an airline in-cabin audio system these days?). The case and cables are very good. Pads are wonderful. The other issue that I consider common and hallmark of today's mainstream culture is that these headphones are too warm, too much mid-bass, and it bleeds significantly into the mids. I know there's a big market for this sound. Lots of bassheads will enjoy this headphone. But in the high fidelity crowd, this will be something that is not overlooked and will be a big negative. I'm a basshead, and even I wasn't keen on the mid-bass hump on the HM9. I much prefer sub-bass prominence, and the HM9 has rolled off sub-bass compared to it's very strong mid-bass. I prefer the opposite, as I prefer more sub-bass, and less mid-bass, to avoid bleeding it into the mids and congesting the overall separation and clarity. So take my opinion with that in mind. The treble is too tame for me, but for others it will work well, as I know many are sensitive to peircing treble. It's just a hair too dark for me.
 
I took a minute to equalize this headphone to something that sounded more neutral to me, and it instantly cleared up the congestion. It was definitely the mid-bass. Way too much prominence of mid-bass and it slowed down the driver recovery and goes muddy. I pulled it back about -6db and clarity came forward quite strikingly. Overall, I dropped 156hz through 440hz by any where from -2 to -6db to round down the mid & upper bass and into the lower mids to get rid of the bleed, and it was still a very warm bassy sound but with much improved mids and clarity. I spiked treble from 3.5khz to 10khz by +2 to +8db and found it having a bit more edge and gave life back to violin and other sounds like that which pierce and are meant to.
 
If you are after a portable, sleekly made bassy headphone, this may be right for you if you're sensitive to treble. It comes with a great package and is made very well.
Ultimately I think there's a lot of competition out there, and the HM9 has a very hard battle to fight. The HM5 to me is superior, and the S5 is superior. I think the HM9 speaks to a certain crowd and will speak well to them. But ultimately at this $100 price tier, there's just too much to compete with and the HM9 doesn't climb above the well-known ones with superior audio (but does have superior accessories and build).
 

 
Very best,

Ready for a repeat? Good, because the "short list" of Pros/Cons is too short. I wanted to provide a bit more in that regard. So here's a longer Pro/Con list that should sum it up better as there's a lot going on here:
 
Pros: Warm, deep rich smooth bass, mids are not recessed with the bass presence in a significant way, treble has some sparkle to it, very detailed, good separation of channels, solid aluminum build (metal), flat wires that do not tangle and birds-nest easily, great assortment of accessories (case, tons of tips, 1/4" adapter), very efficient and will run from any source.
 
Cons: Competes with too many well established IEM's at the $100 price point, treble can seem a bit harsh depending on the recording (some spikes around 7khz~10khz noted), sound stage is good (more on the intimate side) but not outstanding (this is a challenge for most IEM's so take this with a grain of salt), wires are not detachable, no volume controls (not a con for me, but for some it may be worth noting), it's not a neutral IEM (this is not a con for everyone), more in the warm and sparkly camp (more similar to a subtle "V" frequency response).
 
On to the showcase, the Brainwavz S5:
 
Brainwavz S5 - Warm, Detailed with some Sparkle
 
The IEM market is a tough market to break into. Brainwavz is no stranger to audio and has some major players in the entry market of headphones and IEMs. The HM5 is no stranger to anyone savy about headphones with it's quality for price point. The new Brainwavz S5 aims to challenge the $100 entry point in the IEM market, which is a very challening group to rub elbows with, such as the mighty Shure SE215 and the neutral Hifiman RE-400. There is a ton of other IEM's that are similar in cost and have other features, so the S5 has to really bring something to the table to grab attention. Some of us love full size headphones even for portable use (myself included), but now and then, a good IEM is just so convenient, easy to power without all those fancy and expensive gadgets that glow in our pockets, and of course the heavenly isolation that can only be provided by an absolute air seal. Let's explore the S5.
 

 

 
Quick Reference for the TL;DR folks:
 
·         Aluminum build (not plastic!)
·         Entry price point of $100; competes with Shure SE215 & Hifiman RE-400 directly
·         Rich, deep, controlled bass (not earthquake level, but it should satisfy most bass-lovers)
·         Great mids, vocals & instruments are not recessed significantly
·         Sparkly treble, a bit harsh at times, but not overly bright (spikes around 7khz~10khz)
·         Treble comes off with a bit of congestion with the spikes in high energy tracks
·         Detail retreival is excellent, great overall resolution, no congestion in mids & bass
·         Super efficient, will run from a potato
·         Good isolation (note, airport means it's not completely isolated)
·         Flat wires, resistant to tangle and birds-nests, does not transmit tons of noise when rubbed
·         Tons of accessories (case, lots of tip types, 1/4" adapter)
 
A quick summary of what this IEM is all about: Take a neutral response IEM with a typical soundstage, not too wide, not too intimate, but some where closer to the intimate side, and then gently push the mid-bass up a touch to give it warm, while still being able to comfortably drop a controlled 25hz tone like a champ. Keep the mids appropriate so that vocals and instruments sound normal, not overlly recessed or bled out, competing for attention. And then add a dash of sparkle to the treble. Flatten out the wires, throw on some Comply tips that are included and you have the S5.
 
What Comes In the Box:
 
·         The S5 earphones of course
·         Hard case (does not fit in pocket) that seals with a zipper (crush resistant, but not crush proof)
·         Comply T-400 foam tips (these retail at $17 MSRP, can be found for $8; included)
·         6 pairs of typical silicone tips in small, medium & large (meh)
·         1 set of bi-flange tips
·         1 set of tri-flange tips
·         1/4" adapter (this is a great addition actually for using these at home with gear)
 
Overall Brainwavz has packaged a good assortment of gear. I think if you removed the case, all those tips and just included a basic set of tips to get someone started, it could be sold for a more competitive price. The accessories are probably bringing it up to the overall cost of $100. I really appreciate inclusion of the Comply T-400 tips and the 1/4" adapter. Those are the most important accessories to me because the Comply tips smash down and then slowly expand in your ear canal giving you a good seal and "complys" to the shape of your ear, without having to get custom made IEM's that cost a mint. Great tips. The 1/4" adapter, while totally useless for a lot of people who use these with their mobile devices (phones, DAPs, etc) is a very nice addition for the simple fact that a lot of us still like to use these with desktop gear to get great rendering from great gear we already have and not resort down to only using mobile geared equipment. The hard case is not crush proof. It's crush resistant, so if you sit on it, you'll know you did, and hopefully you'll not continue sitting. If you're not a hulk, you may get away without flattening the case. It will survive most things. Unfortuantely it's too big to fit in your pocket, unless you're wearing cargo pants or have big jacket pockets or hoodie pockets. But typical pants/shorts pockets simply will not take the bulky little case. It's a solid inch and a half thick and covered in a vinyl-like material that will have a lot of friction sliding in a pocket.
 

 

 
Specifics of the IEM & Accessories:
 
·         16ohm Impedance
·         110dB/mW Sensitivity
 
What does that mean? It means they're incredibly efficient and will render full resolution with very little energy requirement, so they will run from your smart phone, tablet, netbook, DAP, etc. Anything. Even a potato. That also means they get loud very quickly, so they will be hissy and noisy and reveal noise floors on anything with significant output (don't plug these into your AVR to watch movies, it'll work, but it'll sound like a hiss-fest depending on the model). Can you put these on an amplifier? Absolutely. Will they burn up or something crazy that I read about on the internet? No. I put them on a 2+ watt source at this impedance and while it was hard to get the listening level down, they certainly didn't melt or smoke or catch fire or breakdown (despite their "20 mW" rated input power; I ignore those, as most audiophile folk do anyways, and just throw them on high powered sources and see what happens in our ears). Do they benefit from an amplifier? Sure. Everything will benefit to an extent. If it's a lower powered source, it will help give you a stable signal and provide a higher minimum amount of power during the rendering of the most complex passages in a track that a mobile device may not accomplish as nicely. But that's more academic than anything. I ran the S5 on just normal devices (smart phone, tablet, DAP) and devices with amplifiers (both powerful and very powerful, even a tube amp) just to see how they behaved and sounded. Thanks for that 1/4" adapter!
 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The build quality is good. It's a metal (aluminum) hull, and flat rubber wires. The Comply tips are very comfortable because they "comply" to your ear cannal and hold that shape instead of forcing a round object into a non-round space. They're light weight, but most IEM's are. The wires are nice being flat. I've had plenty of IEM's that had normal cylindrical cables and they tangle, twist and birds-nest something fierce. These flat wires don't do that as much, they can still tangle up of course, but they're not prone to it and they just seem to fall more naturally and comfortably. These were made to really be able to swing over your ear (the place where the cable attaches to the IEM is faced forward, so that the cable goes forward and naturally is where it should be to allow a cable to wrap around your ear). A lot of us do that because it adds support to the IEM and takes a lot of the pull from the cables off your ear cannal and instead puts it on your nice flexible ear cartiledge. I have a lot less "IEM slip outs" with them draped over my ear. The cable itself feels good and durable, but you still have to be mindful. It's too bad they are not detachable cables, that would have been a huge plus. The IEM itself is not overly flashy, so you don't have a gold grill or goofy symbol flashing in your ears to people, instead, it's a classy piano black finish that simply states "brainwavz" on the side in white. I like the neutral grey cable and black IEM. It'll match anything and doesn't have that silly flashy neon green or orange mess that the kids wear these days (hey, deal with it, if you're that person).
 

 
IEM Wire Tolerance:
 
Anyone wearing IEM's can testify that if a cable rubs a surface or wriggles, it can create a noise that you can hear even when listening to audio. It can be a hugely disappointing thing. I can say that the S5 doesn't seem to have this problem in a large way. The flat rubber cable seems to tolerate a lot of movement and rubbing on your clothing. I think a lot of this has to do with how you wear it. I'm wearing the S5 over my ears, so the cables' movement is transmitted to my ear structure, and not to the IEM which is in my ear canal. This means when the wind is blowing outside, my shirt rubbing the cable, etc, I'm not getting the noise from that through the cabling to my audio. So overall, a very tolerable IEM to the environment and to phsyical contact. This is a massive plus in my book because it's one of my biggest gripes when it comes to IEM's and cabling.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
Normally I'm very weary putting any IEM in my ear as I'm usually a near full-time full size headphone wearer, as my near permanently attached to my head headphone these days is my Hifiman HE-500 driven from a speaker amp. Putting in an IEM is a total different experience. Or at least, that's what I expect before trying it. I too can appreciate a portable IEM though that can run from my phone or my DAP and still provide good quality sound even in the ambient noise of the environmente out there. Overall I was pleased with the initial impression of the S5. It had everything I would expect at this price point. It did have a few areas of concern though, so I guess Brainwavz took a chance on a few things to see how it would be received market-wise.
Overall I was pleased with the rendering. The bass was rich, warm, controlled, not loose, fast and dropped very low with plenty of authority. The mids were fine, vocals & instruments sounded as they should and didn't sound recessed to the point of distraction. Treble was a bit sparkly, and in really complex passages I noticed a weird congestion of frequencies that after playing with an equalizer, I found they were in the 7khz~10khz regions and were subdued when lowered, so the treble definitely has some odd spikes that are hallmark of "V" shaped frequency responses, but let's call it a "gentle V" and not near the legendary ear-destroying levels of Ultrasone's treble.
 
Treble:
 
The S5 has some sparkle. Expect some fatigue if you're sensitive to treble. For those of you (like myself) that like a bit of extra treble for the sparkle, the sugar on top, the excitement, the attack, you'll appreciate the gentle spikes in most regions of treble. I noticed during complex passages with lots and lots of treble clashing frequencies, there was a congestion of sorts for lack of a better set of wording. Passages with lots of cymbals like metal with repeating crashing of those types of sounds, it was quite fatiguing even for me and lead me to look to an equalizer to figure it out. I found that the 7khz~10khz region is where it was, so I lowered it a bit, and it solved the fatigue for me. I listen to a lot of Denons & Beyers, so I'm quite used to bright treble, so this is no surprise. I generally equalize all my treble-happy headphones a bit so that my hours-upon-hours of listening time doesn't result in too much fatigue. The enhanced treble gives a sense of detail, a bit of sharpness, which can make you think it has more detail. Overall treble is fine, if not a bit bright and easily congested depending on what you listen to. I noticed in metal, I easily heard the issue. But when listening to jazz, EDM, classical and rock, it was less of an issue and sometimes I didn't notice it, at all. But anything that ventures into 7khz~10khz will certainly come across with some sting and too many occurances will just sound like a congregation of noise. So beware if you're a metalhead, this may be a problem. For everyone else, it's likely not a problem.
 
Mids:
 
The heart & soul of any renderer of full range audio is the ability to render mids properly. The S5 accomplishes this nicely. The gently increased warmth in bass and the sparkle from the treble doesn't bleed into the mids or recess the overall appearance of the mids to the point of distraction. Vocals & instruments sound appropriate. They're more on the intimate side of things, not distant at all. If anything there may be a bit of an increase on the upper mids region as it ventures into the treble. Female vocals sound right, and so do males. Overall detail is great. The mids really give you the majority of what you hear, and the S5 delivers that nicely. Listening to passages, I'm hearing little details like a breath, a foot tap, a cough even in some tracks. It's those imperfections that really let you know that you're hearing detail that someone missed or couldn't remove in the studio. Great resolution requires excellent mids, so the S5 performs here well. No genre was unjustly rendered as the mids were capable of keeping up with the fast pace of EMD, rock and metal and even some complex classical, while still keeping it moody and right for jazz. The only thing that is a bit of a concern is the slight metalic sound of the mids. It sort of reminded me of how some Ultrasones sound. Overall not a super warm organic sound, but rather a decisive sharp sound, a bit cold. The added bass balances this out for a more warm appearance, but on a track with little to no bass (like some indie jazz and some passages in classical) you'll notice the colder edge to the mids.
 
Bass:
 
If the S5 does anything extremely well, it's the bass. I know, tons of people clammer over "I need more bass!" endlessly. The S5 will actually appeal to a bit of everyone I think. The bass is very controlled, rich, and fast. It's not a loose rumble that flubs around. It's capable of tight drops, and recovers for other complex drops at the same time. 25hz is not a problem for the S5. And it doesn't roll off quietly, the bass has quite a nice bit of authority. So it will sound normal if listening to something like jazz, but if your EDM calls for a serious earthquake drop, it will deliver that. While the bass is not earthquake worthy, maybe not quite there for someone who is an absolute basshead who will sacrifice all for the purity of just bass, they satisfied me quite well (coming from a planar magnetic, D5000's, etc). I didn't feel the need to equalize for more bass. It seems to respond nicely no matter what I listen to, which is hallmark of good responsive bass. It's not neutral, there is an obvious hump in mid bass, and no roll-off that is apparent in subbass, so the bass comes across on the prominent side. A good thing if you love warmth and rich bass. Too bassy for someone looking for a pure neutral experience or an analytical experience. The nice thing is that the bass, even though it has a hump, does not bleed badly into the mids, so there's nothing recessed to the point of distraction.
 
Isolation:
 
IEM's in general isolate rather well. The S5 isolates fairly well. While listening at my listening level, I could not hear my mechanical keyboard in a meaningful way, or the click of my mouse. Really all I can hear, if I concentrate outside of what I hear audio-wise, is my breathing if heavy and of course mouth noises (teeth, swallowing, etc). Normal things when your ears are "plugged." The S5 has an airport on the side, which is how it achieves the wonderful bass that it has. This allows some communication of sound back and forth. The good news is though, like most IEM's, someone sitting next to me doesn't hear what I'm listening to. And I can block out most of the ambient sound in the environment. If you need quiet, critical, private listening, then the S5 will do fairly well. In an absolute quiet environment, it's possible for someone to hear your audio if you're listening at high levels. So keep that in mind. I've heard some kids walking around with their IEM's so loud that I could plainly hear them as they walked by.
 
Soundstage:
 
IEM's are not known for having incredible sound stage width or depth. Most closed audio options exhibit this. There are exceptions, but the S5 is unfortunately not one of them. The good news is that the soundstage is appropriate for a closed source. The separation is excellent, instruments and information is nicely isolated and separated from one another and the channels do not blend uniquely to one central blob in your head. Things do have a nice swing from left to right to give you a sense of space. Intimate is the word I'd use to describe the sound stage. Everything is fairly close and appreciable. The soundstage is not wide, so things do not sound like a cloud of 3D space. But this is very difficult to achieve on a closed source. It's difficult even on open headphones. So keep that in mind.
 
Experiments with Different Sources:
 
While it's common to use an IEM with a DAP, smart phone, tablet or small laptop or netbook, it's not common to see folk plugging their IEM's into desktop level equipment. There are some dedicated serious pieces of kit out there for custom IEM users that cost a mint, so those are a whole different level. But I wanted to give a little something extra and go into some portable and desktop sources to give an impression of how the S5 behaves. I'm not much of a portable listener, so how it behaves at my desk is important to me. Let's play with some odd sources from an IEM perspective.
 
Galaxy S3:
 

 
I still use an old S3. That's right. I tested Pandora because I don't normally use my phone for audio. My collection is FLAC and it's a pain to use FLAC on phones, plane and simple. I typically use a DAP for my portable audio. I'll get to that. When I plugged into my S3 and loaded Pandora (I have Pandora One), I just set it to one of my favorite stations that I've honed over the years. Overall it functioned fine. I pushed the volume to see what kind of current the S3 could push into the S5 and it was able to get well beyond my tolerable listening level, so there's that efficiency doing good work. Everything sounded normal, bass was proper, mids were good, treble had it's characteristic sting. I did notice a bit of lack of resolution and overall body, but that's due to the low quality stream of Pandora One and probably the quality of the internal bits and bolts of my S3. It was listenable. But not up to my normal standards at all. I'm blaming compressed streaming media for 99% of this experience. The major point to take away is that the IEM functions fine from the S3 as a source and can get loud enough without an issue, but this was to be expected based on the specifications.
 
Asus MemoPad HD7:
 

 
I have a MemoPad HD7 as a little 7" tablet. Nice, small and does the job with an IPS panel and great resolution. I've watched movies on this little guy with headphones before. The S5 seems to respond just fine. It supplies plenty of power for the efficient S5 to then render nicely the audio. Movies sounded fine. I have DIVX's of my DVD's loaded on this thing, so I watched some clips from some of my films and they had that theatrical thunderous boom and the sparkle gives it some excitement. Overall a nice experience and great for movies.
 
Sansa Fuze (V2) with & without Fiio E11:
 

 
My typical DAP is my Fuze. And old Fuze, that has line level output so that I can output it's native FLAC playback from a 32Gb SD card as a line level source to my portable amplifier for better handling of the signal, the Fiio E11 in my case. I listened to the S5 both with and without the E11 form the Fuze. Directly from the Fuze, I noticed it had more body, more overall richness that lacked compared to my S3 and MemoPad HD7. I expected this as the Fuze has fairly good output that is meant for audio and has a bit more going in it's favor in that regard. With the E11 in the loop, I was able to better control that signal and it simply helped ensure it never dipped below during the complex passages. I also appreciated the much tighter volume control that I could get "just right" which is more difficult I find with a digital volume control. The quality of the FLAC playback through the S5 is a whole other level compared to listening to the S5 on compressed streamed material on my S3 and even compared to the AC3 of my DIVX. Just a clean, rich, detailed experience. Overall very nice, pleasing. The treble is stillt here, I definitely felt the sting from some trumpets in my jazz. I didn't notice any appreciable noise floor on the E11, and had it set to low gain and no equalization used at all on either device.
 
Fiio E10:
 

 
The E10 is a staple in my book for entry AMP/DAC USB units on a dime. It plugs into my netbook and gives me a great audio experience even when I'm portable, but not using a "portable" solution. The E10 handles the S5 nicely. I kept it on low gain and played FLAC via Foobar2000. I found my volume knob between the 1 & 2 on the E10. So it provides way more power than is needed by the S5. There's that efficiency rearing it's head at us (that's a good thing for most!). When I tested the bass boost switch, it definitely bumps up the overall bass response quite a bit. The S5 handled it nicely, it sounded a lot more like a basshead solution and even simple passages had thunderous bass, so the S5 responds nicely to equalization and isn't topped out already. That's great news if you're a basshead and interested in these.
 
JDS Labs Objective 2 (O2):
 

 
Everyone and their brother has the O2. So why not? It's a good neutral amp that is typically a reference for most people. I noticed I could hear something playing even with the volume all the way to the minimum. When I turned it up to listening level, I was only able to get just past the first dash mark before it would go to untolerable levels. I couldn't listen at the second dash mark as it was noticeably too loud for me (and I like it loud). The overall sound was great. Very rich, great control, great resolution. The treble still had it's sting, but I noticed it wasn't as harsh. Odd to me. Maybe the O2 gently softens treble a bit on the hardware side of things. So that said, it's an obvious good pairing to my ears. The treble still was harsh, mind, so the S5 definitely has those spikes I mentioned.
 
Audio GD NFB12:
 

 
No one needs this level of power for an IEM. But why not? It can output 3.5watts into 25ohms, so it's blasting close to 4 watts at a 16ohm resistance, and the IEM is loaded. The result? Nothing special. That's right. They didn't melt. They sounded fine. In fact, on low gain, I was able to take the volume knob to 9 o'clock and a bit more here and there at my listening level. The NFB12 has great attenuation so you get a long throw from minimum to maximum on that volume. Very handy and allows for very tight control of overall volume. No noise floor as expected here. The sound was superb. It was rich and detailed, but the NFB I think also plays with treble. I noticed it was still on the harsh side and bright, but the congestion feature I noticed earlier wasn't as prominent. So either the NFB also gently handles treble at the hardware level or not. I did notice the bass was not as prominent. It was solid and controlled, but it didn't have the same richness that the O2 provided. Interesting difference on the S5 from a totally different source. Overall pleasant to listen to and it's a great all in one solution being a good DAC and great AMP in one unit. The S5 performed great, and it's efficiency ratings didn't keep me from using my gear.
 
Little Dot MK III:
 

 
That's right, let's put a super efficient IEM on a source that hates to give up current and loves to output high voltage. This tube amp is meant for high impedance. It doesn't perform it's best with low impedance and small loads. But who cares? Let's do it for science. I used my NFB as the DAC and output to the LDMKIII. I set the NFB's line level output to around 9 o'clock initially to see how the tubes would behave. The S5 was silent when both were at minimum. When I took the volume up, I noticed that I was able to take it all the way to nearly 3 o'clock on the Little Dot. Also, I didn't have a noticeable noise floor (I thought I would have one). That's a good thing, because despite the overall match up of the devices, amps perform best at their higher output levels. Granted, the Little Dot was not working hard to output it's small current to this tiny load. Typically this kind of match is frowned upon due to mismatched impedance and output impedance. But, despite all that academic stuff, it sounded great. Atenuated with the NFB to handle a lower line level out, the Little Dot then flexed after warming up and hearing those wonderful little chirps, pops and dings as the tubes get warm, and the S5 started to sing. Right away I noticed something, just how warm and rich the S5 sounded on a tube like this. The upper bass and lower mids were much more rich and prominent, making it super warm sounding. Too warm probably for some. Treble took a step back, so the fatigue went south. Quite a nice match for me. Granted, this is just hardware equalization ultimately, but basically it sounded to me like the treble was toned down and the lower mids and upper bass were enhanced a bit, for a very rich, organic sound. No more metallic mids. It didn't quite sound like the S5 anymore. Pretty interesting. A great listen. Vocals were very much butter and syrup and I probably liked this match up best of all. It makes me very curious to now get a portable tube amp, like a Little Bear, so that's on my want list for right now.
 
Closing Thoughts:
 
Overall I'm pleased with the S5. The accessories and it's performance are pretty close to what I would expect from a $100 IEM. While it lacks some features that I would want at this price point (detachable cables) and it has some characteristics that I'm not a fan of (metallic mids, a bit harsh in the treble), it performed quite nicely every where else. It's an earphone that is definitely source sensitive after playing around. Sure, no one is going to walk around with desktop sources in their pocket. And an IEM is hardly meant for the desktop--or is it? Even without a special source, the S5 was fantastic from my Fuze and E11 and is a very good portable setup that handles my jazz, classical, EMD, metal and indie quite well. It didn't have a genre that it didn't really handle well, it was quite capable. I did note that harsh treble showed up in passages that contained tons of cymbals, like metal. So I think if I had one warning it would be to metalheads to beware unless they love the sting of treble. The S5 should fullful most bass lovers except too. And while not analytical, it definitely had the detail and resolution that made me enjoy taking the time to have a dedicated portable audio rig, as well as high quality media to playback (FLAC in my case). I was able to definitely tell a difference between my media and streamed media, so that tells you a lot about the earphone and it's resolution, it doesn't mask good audio and it doesn't gently render bad audio sources. I still think it has a tough match when it tries to compete at the same price point as the Shure SE215 which has detachable cables and the difference in tone and character is a tough match and it comes down to one's preference. I definitely appreciate the flat cables and the overall fit with Comply tips. I guess my next piece of kit is going to be a portable tube amp by Little Bear as I simply enjoyed too much the way the S5 responded to tubes. I say that as someone who is tyipcally using a tube DAC and a 50 watt solid state speaker amp as my main headphone source. I think if I were to put a price on the S5, I'd probably put it in the $65 region for competition and ditch some of the accessories and package. Does it sound like a $100 IEM? It's pretty much there. The things that hold it back from being perfect are mainly the metallic mids sound and the treble spikes and the minor lack of detachable wires. It has too much competition at $100, so I think at a slightly lower price point, it may be a better fit. Either way, I think it's fair at $100 for the overall package and I'm pleased with the quality of sound at this point and it's interaction with different sources. I'd give it a good thumbs up.
 
Very best,

 
[size=medium]Beyer Dynamic T70 Barely a Beyer?

Beyer Dynamic discontinued the older premium DT770, although it’s still available here and there, but they’ve kept their PRO series DT770’s available and their MX series headsets which are essentially the same thing, and then release the T70 which looks just like the DT770 does actually, with small differences, as their newest closed back headphone offering short of going to the high end tesla. The T70 is a tesla technology headphone, so it differs from the other DT series in sound quite a bit and efficiency. It also differs drastically in sound from the DT770, which is why I initially decided to get it to review: for the love of closed back Beyers. The T70 comes in two forms, a 250ohm version (T70) and a 32ohm version (T70p). So is it a typical Beyer? Let’s explore the T70.[/size]
 

 

[size=medium]Quick Reference:[/size]

1. [size=medium]Closed back design; very good passive isolation[/size]
2. [size=medium]Dynamic transducer; Tesla technology[/size]
3. [size=medium]250ohm impedance; sort of needs an amplifier (not a must)[/size]
4. [size=medium]Micro-velour padding; very comfortable; very isolating[/size]
5. [size=medium]Bright signature; Revealing; Anemic[/size]
6. [size=medium]Not a bassy Beyer at all; shares no kinship with DT770[/size]

[size=medium]The T70 is a closed back dynamic transducer type phone that has excellent passive isolation and is relatively easy to drive, despite the 250ohm impedance rating (note there is a 32ohm version and it probably doesn’t need to exist). It has a long cable that is not detachable, like most Beyers, comes in a leatheresque carry case like all the other Beyers, and has micro-velour padding, which is a different feeling material from typical velour, it has a more swede-like feeling to it. The signature of the headphone is not a typical Beyer sound, it differs drastically from the previous Beyers, and is nothing like the DT770 other than it’s style/housing, which is nearly the same. Before even proceeding, note that this headphone is very bright and has very anemic, thin, nearly absent bass. This is not for someone who wants a neutral headphone, and especially not for someone who wants a bassy headphone. This is for treble-heads and mid-heads or someone who simply wants to pick out flaws in recordings or simply have extremely critical listening sessions.

What Comes In the Box:[/size]

1. [size=medium]The headphone itself of course[/size]
2. [size=medium]Beyer marketing pamphlet[/size]
3. [size=medium]Carry case[/size]
4. [size=medium]Foam insert[/size]
5. [size=medium]1/4th screw-on adapter (typical of Beyer)[/size]

[size=medium]Beyer’s Specifications: What’s written, not what is actual.[/size]

1. [size=medium]Frequency response 5hz to 40,000hz (ignore this, more like 80hz to 20khz)[/size]
2. [size=medium]Impedance: 250ohm (though you wouldn’t know it, it seems to operate very efficiently)[/size]
3. [size=medium]Sensitivity: 104db/mw (and here’s why it seems so easy to drive, it gets loud fast)[/size]
4. [size=medium]Isolation: Around 18db (similar to the DT770, good isolation)[/size]
5. [size=medium]Weight: 330 grams (not heavy, not toy-like)[/size]
6. [size=medium]Cable terminates with 3.5mm and comes with screw-on 6.35mm adapter[/size]

[size=medium]Construction, Material & Comfort:

The construction is sturdy, very Beyer in that aspect, and feels like it’s made of quality materials with a good thick feeling, and not a toy-like feeling you get from ultra-thin cheap plastic stuff. The T70 is mostly plastic, but it’s at least the more durable and thick plastic that you’re already used to from a Beyer. The style and feel is very much like the older premium DT770. The pads are a micro-velour, very swede-like, comfortable and very isolating. This material is also on the headband. Comfort is supreme, like most Beyers, but this one takes it even further and is simply luxury to wear. It’s not very heavy, the cord doesn’t weigh it down in an unusual manner, and it has a touch of grip to help seal the phones to your head, while not clamping hard (it does not clamp like the PRO series, it does however feel similar to the normal DT series). You can swap the pads with normal Beyer velours, or the other types they have these days if you can get your hands on the gels or others; you can also swap the micro-velour onto another DT series. Beyer has kept it fairly universal thankfully (though I have not found a way to buy the micro-velour pads individually from Beyer yet).[/size]

 
 

 
[size=medium]Source Equipment Used:[/size]

1. [size=medium]Schiit Biforst[/size]
2. [size=medium]Schiit Asgard[/size]
3. [size=medium]Schiit Lyr[/size]
4. [size=medium]Audio-GD NFB12[/size]
5. [size=medium]Pioneer VSX1121 (AV receiver)[/size]
6. [size=medium]Fiio E10[/size]
7. [size=medium]Fiio E11[/size]

 

 
 

 
[size=medium]Sound Characteristics:

When I initially put on the headphone, I was expecting a rather neutral signature, or at least something similar to the premium DT770 which it essentially replaced, however that is not what I was met with. Instead, I was met with a sound that was foreign to me, something that I had yet to really hear from a Beyer. I had to try it from different sources to get an idea of what was going on, to see if it was a synergy problem with two conflicting house signature sounds from parts of the circuit. Ultimately though, my initial impression and my lasting impression after long usage were one in the same.

If you look at HeadRoom & InnerFidelity’s frequency response graphs of their measurements of the T70, it’s supposed to be a flat sounding headphone, with flat signal all the way down into sub-bass, flat all the way to 1khz, then it drives a touch, then a spike at 7khz to 10khz. The graph actually reads that this headphone should sound slightly bassy in the mid-bass area, with slightly recessed mids, recessed mid-treble, and really bright upper treble. This headphone does not sound at all like it’s graph portrays. [/size]

 
 

 
(Graph stolen from HeadRoom; all respect and rights go to HeadRoom)
 
 
[size=medium]If you look how it compares to the DT770 600ohm and the 32ohm, the 600ohm should have way less sub-bass presence, and the 32ohm should out right sound ridiculously bassy. The reality is that these headphones don’t sound anything like that. The 600ohm DT770 is quite neutral and has plenty of presence down into sub-bass, it doesn’t sound like it rolls off that steep. The 32ohm DT770 doesn’t sound like it’s blasting you with enhanced bass, it just sounds a little more bassy than pure flat. The T70 does not sound bassy at all, it doesn’t even sound flat, it sounds out-right anemic. I tested the seal and the only time I could hear really nicely controlled present sub-bass was when I pressed the cups in with force. Even then, it was still just in the background compared to the mids & spikey treble.[/size]
 

(Graph stolen from HeadRoom; all respect and rights go to HeadRoom)

[size=medium]For all your graph-kiddies out there, leave graphs out of it. They don’t represent every headphone well, and they completely misrepresent some others. The T70 is one of the ones that it simply does not represent well (nor the DT770 frankly for that matter).

Treble:

This headphone comes off quite bright. That spike is definitely represented well from 7kzh to 10khz. Everything has an edge to it, it has a touch of sibilance, but it’s not utterly harsh like an Ultrasone, it’s actually quite like the rest of normal Beyer signature sound, simply being bright. The brightness is actually sort of mellowed out with the width of the sound stage, so it sounds bright, but it’s not like daggers from the left & right, but simply a cloud of brightness all around you. Instruments that peak into treble like some guitar, cymbals, some parts of vocals, piano, etc, all have an edge to them that can be great if you’re going deaf, or really bright and fatiguing if you have normal hearing, and outright painful if you have super sensitive dog-like hearing (which you don’t, but you get the idea). It has almost a grain to it, even. If anything has a noise floor, it’s going to be exacerbated. If anything has a lot of high frequency noise, it’s going to be exacerbated. This is a very treble-head sound, so if you’re sensitive to treble, this will be a problem (though you can equalize it down); and of course, this can be a good thing if you’re a treble-head.

Mids:

The bread & butter of what you’re actually hearing the most of, the mids, are quite good. Everything sounds very present, forward and realistic. It doesn’t sound recessed, and it sounds like vocals for example and guitar for example are front-row and blistering when they’re supposed to, yet soft and articulate when they’re supposed to as well. Instruments have a very present and realistic presentation. Instruments in jazz and acoustic, and vocals, sounded incredibly realistic with a tone that seemed like it could be someone live. Someone seeking a headphone that has a lot of focus on treble and mids would do well with the T70. The mids do sound more lively than the DT770 cousin, however that could simply be because of the lack of bass that makes the mids seem more forward when really they’re not. The graph is not helpful here. But I suspect it’s likely that. Ultimately though the mids sound great, match well with instrumentation, vocals sound realistic, everything is articulate and clear, without anything bass bleed and with a slight crisp as it stretches into treble where the spikes come into play.

Bass:

The biggest difference with the T70 when I initially put it on was the bass presence. I expected the brightness, that’s Beyer’s house signature. But Beyers tend to have neutral, if not slightly more than neutral bass that often bleeds a hair into mids, at least before you enter their high-end series. The T70 doesn’t have that problem at all. No bleed in, because frankly, there’s barely any audible bass as it is. It seems to roll off sharply around 100hz or so. The graph completely makes the T70 look flat from it’s neck to it’s toe nails, you would think a closed headphone with a flat sub-bass line would have a nice tight controlled tone that extended deep with a satisfying presence. But it does not. I figure at first that it must be the seal. And indeed the seal had a lot to do with that lacking bass. However, the headphone sounded like it was well sealed and was touching every where. I moved it around to get a better seal. The only time I could really get enough of a seal to hear the sub-bass come through with more body was when I pressed firmly on the cups to my head. The bass came out then, but it was still pretty shy compared to the mids & treble. I swapped pads to see if it was the micro-velour with some DT770 pads, but the effect was the same. Other reviewers also came to the same conclusion that this headphone simply lacked bass, and I have to agree, however I have to say that I am really disappointed here because they discontinue the DT770 and introduce the T70 to replace it. This is not for someone looking for a flat headphone. This has anemic thin bass. It really reminded me of the SRH940, however the SRH940 at least had really low sub-bass presence, but lacked mid-bass. The T70 lacks mid bass and the sub-bass just falls into the void and never comes back up. Bassheads, turn away. Someone wanting a neutral flat response, turn away. Someone wanting a bass shy headphone with good mids and bright treble, the T70 might be for you.

Soundstage:

The sound stage of the T70 is rather good for a closed headphone, it doesn’t have that stereo trapped-in feeling like some headphones (M50 comes to mind), but rather, it has a cloud of audio around your head, much more like how semi-open air headphones sound like with presentation. You’re not absolutely front row, but you’re also not in the back looking through the smoke (K701 comes to mind there). Imaging is great, you can hear things in a position in space realistically, not just left or right, but well blended to appear somewhere in between.

Isolation:

The passive isolation of the T70 is great, it’s rated at 18db, like the DT770, however it just feels like everything is muted out from the world, and also, it doesn’t leak out very much either. When the micro-velour cups touch, the audio goes to a faint whisper. While wearing the T70, I played back music at around normal listening level and I was able to still clearly pay attention the music in the T70 and not be over-powered by the speakers. Vise verse, when the T70 was playing at normal listening levels and placed on something where the cups touched the surface, I could not really hear much coming from them from right next to them and definitely not from a few feet away without critically listening (which required turning off the AC and a fan to actually hone in). So isolation is great. This is why the seal and bass presence really confuses me.[/size]

 
 

 
[size=medium]Synergy & Comparisons:

Schiit Bifrost & Asgard - Plenty of voltage to push the 250ohms, and current. Very clear, crisp sound. Treble was absolutely crisp, spiked, and very controlled. Bass was still absent. Everything sounded clear and realistic.

Schiit Bifrost & Lyr - More voltage & current than will ever be required, but a more transparent sound, slightly warmer, but only slight, a little more weight in the lower mids came out, and the treble wasn’t so absolutely nail-biting, but only by a hair. Bass was still absent. Otherwise, very clear, very realistic, with a great sound stage, though there was a hint of noise floor.

Audio GD NFB12 - Loads of voltage and current. Everything was clear and sounded rather crisp. No added warmth, nothing really changed from the signature sound, except maybe a touch of roll off on the height of the treble, which took a hair out of fatigue.

Pioneer VSX1121 - Unknown output, however it has enough to drive a 250ohm headphone and it sounded rather good, albeit a little noisey compared to the BIfrost & NFB, though I find most AV receivers seem to sound a little noisey with headphones with spiked treble. There was an increase in warmth, but not substantial.

Fiio E10 & E11 - Just enough output to technically quality, however, it sounded great, better than everything else did; simply because the Fiio’s roll off the treble, so the spike is less fatiguing, and the bass enhancement options add +3 db to the bass line without distortion, bringing the T70 up to what was essentially just neutral to my ears. But that added warmth and increased presence wasn’t enough to really make you think the headphone was finally sounding right, it still was missing low end enough to seem like a complete headphone.

The T70 reminded me a lot of the Shure SRH940 and KRK KNS6400 which were very detailed, very bright, with anemic bass extension leaving you with a thin sound. Also shares similarities to the AudioTechnica AD700 in the sense of it having a nice sound stage, but very shy bass. It didn’t sound like Beyers to me at all. I did not have a T5p or T1 to test it against to see if it was just a “Tesla” sound (though I have read reports that the bass in the T5p is not very strong, even though graphs and description suggest it should be; this deserves more attention on my part as I really want to get my hands on a T5p for comparison).[/size]
 

 
[size=medium]Closing Thoughts:

The Beyer T70 beyerly sounds like a Beyer and I could beyerly beyer it. It made me sad even. I had high hopes for this headphone. At $599 retail MSRP ($569 at HeadRoom; ~$400 on Amazon new; ~$300 on Amazon used; ~$350 in the for-sale forums as of 9/13/12), it really leaves you wondering why anyone would ever even consider this headphone in the $600 range, where you’re competing with the likes of used headphones like the Hifiman HE-500, and Denon D7000, two high-end models that utterly outclass the T70, yet cost essentially the same. The T1 even goes for $750~850 used, so at $600 retail, you have to consider what you’re doing here with your money. At $300 used, it’s still not really attractive at all when you could be looking at the old premium DT770 for half that, the Denon D2000 for less, nearly a Denon D5000, and of course the rash of modded T50RP’s which are all generally superior to the T70. The T70 simply has no real niche to fit into it. All of it’s strengths are already very vastly covered elsewhere, and it’s weaknesses are so blazing that I can’t see very many people reaching out for this headphone for casual enjoyment listening with music. This sounds more like a headphone meant to chew apart flaws on recordings to ensure a high quality track is recorded that will sound great on a high resolving system. But pleasure listening with the T70 seems like it was never meant to be.[/size]
 
[size=medium]Verdict: Looking for a headphone that focuses on mids & treble, with an expansive sound stage, great comfort, good build quality, classy style? Looking for something other than the K550 or SRH940? This would be a headphone for you to look at. Again, don't come looking for bass from the T70.[/size]
 

 
Very best,
 

 
M-Audio "Studiophile" Q40  A smooth bassy treat on a dime.
 
Always on the prowl for a new headphone to try, I do at least have a taste that steers me towards one versus another, and that's bass capability. I tend to think a headphone that is to be used for casual music listening should be bass capable, ie, neutral at a minimum, and slightly enhanced if wanting a bit more fun regardless of it being "audiophile" worth or not to like a colored sound. That said, a headphone came to my attention on the recommendation of RPGWizard (thanks!) here on Head-Fi: The M-Audio Q40. So naturally I had to try it, as it was supposed to be a bassy headphone with a great over all sound.  I found some flaws, found a lot of great things, and have spent enough head time to feel like an opinion can finally be put down in words. So let's talk about the Q40.
 

 

 
Quick reference for the impatient:
 
·         Closed back full size headphone.
·         Entry mid-tier price range ($120ish USD); with suggested upgrades ($160ish USD).
·         Quality bass (emphasis on bass), warm, full, smooth, clear, organic and musical sound.
·         Relatively easy to drive (64ohm, 116 dB/mW).
·         Collapsable frame; detachable cable, sturdy build. Portable friendly.
·         Tight clamping force; relatively shallow cups (this is the upgrade path).
·         Did I mention bass? Basshead worthy headphones.
 
Just to give a quick summary of what this headphone is all about, imagine a very bassy headphone that doesn't bleed out of the mids and treble that isn't overly enhanced so you result with a smooth sound instead of something too bright. That's the Q40. My first reactionw as that it was like a bassier DT770 with less bright treble. So much so that I transplated the ear pads from a DT770 to the Q40 and found it to be absolutely necessary for an upgrade because the Q40 isn't without flaw--it needs deeper cups and the vise-like clamp force it has needs to be loosened (both correctable). Also this headphone can be for home use or portable use. It has a collapsable folding frame and is built like a tank.
 

 
Necessary information; Upgrade suggestion; Warning:
 
Attenion: Mandatory ear pad upgrade: Beyer Dynamic DT770 Velour Pads
 
Right away, I will warn you that the Q40 has a very tight clamp force, so if you're senstive to this kind of pressure this headphone may not be for you. Also, the ear cups are shallow, so your ears will touch a little; and if you're sensitive to that, this headphone may not be for you. That said, if you're still interested, both of these issues are correctable. I loosened the grip by simply stretching them over a speaker for a few days in between use. And I replaced the ear pads with some Beyer DT770 Velour pads (black color or grey color, your choice, I went black) to make it more comfortable, seal better, and deepen the cups. The result of loosening the clamp and changing the pads resulted in what felt and sounded like an absolute wonderful headphone. I consider these upgrades mandatory. If you're not willing to buy the $29+shipping DT770 velour pads, then you may want to hold off buying the headphone all together. From this point foward, everything is based on using DT770 velour pads and not the stock pads!
 
Buy those pads. Again, everything here is based on using those velour pads, not stock. It's absolutely worth it. It's mandatory in my mind. Buying the Q40 means buying these pads too as far as I'm concerned.
 
Pad Swap:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Stretching the headband, loosening:
 

 
What Comes in the Box:
 
·         The headphone itself.
·         6.3mm gold adapter that screws onto the 3.5mm terminated cable.
·         Detachable cable (3 meters). Note, there are two cable types (coiled & straight).
·         Carry bag.
·         Some wasteful paper goods, registration, warranty, etc.
 
No fancy carry case or anything, but it at least comes with a nice little carry bag. The headphone folds up and is built like a tank so it can be tossed into your bag or left around your neck if you're out and about, it can be a nice portable (note: the cups do not swivel though). But it can survive a backpack or messanger bag. The cable is of average quality and quite long (replaceable). The cable & 6.3mm // 3.5mm adapter all screw on, so there's no "pulling" of things. Nice and tight.
 

 
Specifics of the Headphone & Accessories:
 
·         Cord length, 3 meters (detachable), 6.3mm adapter. Cable terminates to 3.5mm.
·         Note, there are two cable types: coiled & straight.
·         64ohm resistance, 116dB/mW sensitivity (easy to drive; some benefit from an amplifier).
·         40mm drivers, not angled.
·         250 grams without the cable.
·         Pads are a memory foam type material, comfortable, circular and replaceable.
·         Height adjustment is done with notches that are numbered.
·         Closed back design, with vents.
·         Isolation is good, but not the best (ie, leaks less than an open-air, but isn't dead silent).
·         Both cups do not swivel. Both cups do collaplse and fold.
·         Carry bag is a pleather substance, with draw strings. Headphone only fits in it while folded.
 

 

 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The Q40 is actually built pretty well, it's very sturdy and feels good in your hands, it has a weight to it, even though it's pretty light weight (250grams). It doesn't feel like an inexpensive toy. I contorted it and bent it around to see if it would break right away and it did not (thankfully). Housing material is plastic with what may or may not be aluminum or magnesium venting plates and what looks like aluminum height adjustment arms. It's pretty tank like and feels like something that will survive your bag.
Comfort was the first flaw that struck me. The memory foam pads on the headband and ear cups are fine, they're very soft, the problem was two things: very strong clamping force (which comes from the headband and arms), and shallow cups (comes from the pads being relatively thin and there being a foam insert that sticks out from the driver). These are unforgivable flaws in my book. But instead of immediately returning the headphone, I simply tried two simple fixes: stretch the headband over a few days to loosen it, which worked; and replace the ear pads with something deeper, thicker, and of course in my case, made of velour, which also worked. After a few days of loosening up stradled over a speaker, and with the new Beyer DT770 black velour pads installed, the headphone is very comfortable to wear, the cups are deeper and I feel like it seals better even. It's still what can be considered a tight fit, it's not a loose headphone (eg, Denon) by any means. It will grip you. But it at least look that vice grip pressure off and feels much better. I consider these mandatory. Again, please note that this entire review is based on using the Beyer DT770 velour pads instead of stock!
 

 

 

 

 
The headphone can be disassembled, it is held together with screws, so it may be mod-friendly to those that like to tinker with things.
 
Cable Swap / Replacement:
 
You can change the cable to something shorter. There's a thread dedicated to this with example photos and a link to the cable used which is very useful if you want to use it as a portable or simply want to shorten the cable without buying something expensive. Also note, you can order the replacement cable from M-Audio, just email them for the part number. See this thread for more information on an easy cable swap that works.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
Right away, I put on the Q40 with stock pads and noticed all the above information, but the first thing that slammed me was of course the bass. I bought them for that reason, so naturally, I started with some dub tracks to see how it handled sub-bass and mid-bass tones. I was impressed right away, so started going from there to the further testing songs and of course Audiacity to really play around with test tones to see what the headphone was capable of in a very critical setting instead of relying on a music track to deliver the tones I'm testing.
 
Initial impressions were that the bass was emphasized, big, full bodied, thick, warm, impactful, seriously satisfying for a basshead, extended low... very low, down past 15hz tested and very audible, low. This is an impressive bass oriented headphone. You can call it an earthquake generator. It does it. It instantly made me think of the PRO900, XB500, HTF600, D5000, etc, in terms of quality bass, big bass, and siezmic sub-bass capability, more on those comparisons later though. The mids were actually great, I expected them to be leached out due to the monstrous bass, but they were not. This was a big surprise and was spot on with the recommendation given to me when I initially was introduced to this headphone. The vocals are handled very well, they don't sound in your face like the SRH940, but they're not under water either like something with very dimmed out, bled in, mids. Treble was very smooth, it doesn' t have that sparkle that some headphones tend to have, so I would say this is not a bright headphone, but it's not dim like the XB500 or HD650, it's right in the middle, which is a good place to be--smooth, not sibilant, but you still feel like you're hearing what you're supposed to without the fatigue.
 
A note on burn in. I listened right away, and several days later after over 200 hours of continuous playback rant through the headphones and it sounded the same to me each time. I do not subscribe to burn-in, however, I will at least note it since it always comes up. You will not experience a new addition of "insert something here" or an expanded "insert something here" after "XXX" hours. Just put on the headphones and go.
 
Quick break down:
 
·         Earthquake level bass, basshead approved.
·         Mids are not bled out or missing, they're actually great.
·         Treble is smooth, not dim, not sibilant, just right.
·         Sound stage is adequate for a closed headphone, improved with the pads upgrade.
·         Isolation is average for a closed headphone.
·         Signature: warm, organic, rich, thick, full, detailed, crisp, fatigue-free.
 
I used several pieces of equipment to test differences to see how it drives from different sources and how it behaves and sounds. I'll list them briefly merely for reference purposes to know whether or not you can run a setup similar and have similar experiences.
 
Sansa Fuze - Ran fine without any additional equipment, volume was fine, I even had to turn it down from maxmium on some tracks, and it was never too soft on tracks that I have that are notoriously quiet. So it's an efficient enough headphone to run from modern portable players.
 
Fiio E11 - Using LOD from the Sansa to my E11, the headphone does have a noticeable change that feels more impactful and controlled, and requires minimal volume increase from the E11. Most importantly though is that the EQ setting on the E11 is much better than using the built-in EQ of a portable player. The EQ setting of 2 (bass) on the E11 makes the Q40 rumble and slam you. Fantastic. I would say you're safe without an amplifier, but you can definitely get some benefit from an amplifier.
 
Hifiman HM101 - Pluggint the HM101 via USB to my Netbook, the Q40 sounded great right away, definitely drives it adequately and it gets you off the noisey netbook port and gives you a much improved DAC and a little amplification, allowing you to play the Q40 very loud if you want and very well controlled. Great solution for an inexpensive cost.
 
Droid Incredible - I tested on a phone just to see if it would work out, and it plays fine on maximum volume from my phone (which I do not use much, because it's output for headphones is awful). But the Q40 is efficient enough to run from this phone, so it definitely will run from your iPhone, iPod and iPad. I did feel like the bass was a little less prominent but that is likely a power issue and more the fault of my Droid since it has very weak output on its headphone output.
 
iPad - I plugged into my iPad and it immediately sounded great, full volume, no extra equipment needed, was clean and sounded like it should. So it will certainly play from your apple devices without an amplifier. I still like the sound of the amplifier added, simply because the extra EQ and bass was more basshead satisfying. But it's not necessary.
 
Schiit Bifrost & Asgard - Nothing to say here other than it was dead silent, clean, crisp, and well driven and way over kill for this headphone in every way. But that's how I roll and it's my primary listening setup.
 
Asus Xonar DG - Plugged directly into the DG just to test on a sound card with an amplifier, it was just like any other device used above and worked great without any weird jitter or noise and the DG is a great way to get off the onboard solution of a PC for an inexpensive cost with a good software suite for playing with power output.
 
Verdict: It will play from anything quite well. I feel like it benefits from an amplifier, but it's not necessary.
 
Treble:
 
The treble is not spiked, there's no noticeable spike at 10khz like most bassy headphones tend to try to have to make up for the bleed from being overly bassy. Not the case here. I cranked up the 10khz in an equalizer to see the effect, and it added a bit of a hiss and more edge to vocals and cymbal taps. Left flat line, the treble is very smooth, there's no sibilance at all unless it's inherent to the track and super emphasized, but I didn't experience any on my tracks. I played a 10khz tone in Audiacity to see if it would cut me in half, and it did not, it sounded like a cricket and was tolerable. So this is a smooth treble experience, not something that will fatigue you right away (unless you're super sensitive, in which case, there's no hope for you anyways). 7khz was noticeably a touch louder than 10khz, to me, but this may be due to my hearing (or hearing loss), so keep that in mind. I did the same thing with 2khz, 3khz, 4khz, 5khz, etc, and the result was that it sounded more and more prominent and loud as I came down. Again, this may be due to my hearing. But if not, it means the treble is rolled off as it spikes up, which makes sense, since the headphone sounds smooth and is not overly bright or sibilant.
 
Mids:
 
The mids are not bled out in a way that is very noticeable, unlike most headphones that are bassy, where this is the first place you notice a problem. This wasn't the case here. Vocals and instruments sounded right to me. They were not dimmed out, or overly forward. Vocals specifically sounded great. There may be a very small touch of recession, but it's not drastic and not something I would wave a finger at since this is not a high-end linear headphone and is a bassy headphone for fun. Instruments like guitar and piano sounded great, good textured feel, good detail, a touch of crispness, not dull. The strum of guitar, the key press of a piano, and the intricacies of vocal changes all sounded appropriate to me. The mids are definitely not forward, but they're not in a big trough either. Tones in audiacity were well controlled, I didn't hear a waving wobble or any lack of control and they were more prominent sounding than the top end treble that I played (again, maybe due to my hearing possibly, so keep that in mind).
 
Bass:
 
Oh the bass, here's the subject anyone interested in the Q40 is probably quite curious about. The Q40 is definitely bassy right away, you'll notice that. It's not just mid-bass though. It's sub-bass is earthquake worthy. In Audiacity, I tested 10hz and I could hear it, it was dim, but I could hear it. 15hz was definitely audible, but had a wobble to it. 20hz hit with authority, a slight wobble to it, but very prominent. So this headphone drops to 20hz before it really falls off. It can do serious sub-bass. Naturally, most music is not this low. 30hz was serious. Very satisfying and rich. Put to the test on real music, it was very authoritative and impactful with some dance music, trance, dub and the like. The slam was great, the drops were serious, they were gut busting. This is defintiely a basshead worth headphone. The bass is not muddy and cruddy though. It's not perfectly tight, but it's not a loose cannon either. The mid-bass is a touch more than the sub-bass, but not in a way that kills the mids (which is why the mids are preserved probably). Without amplification, it drops this low, but I feel it is a little better and decay is better and recovery is better with a little amplification behind it, but this is my subjective opinion on that.
 
Soundstage:
 
Separation is great, it doesn't feel like a distinctly stereo image. It sounds like an atmosphere, so the sound stage is a little better than your average closed headphone. However note, again, as warned, this is with the DT770 velour pads upgrade which I consider mandatory. Stock pads, it was different. The deeper cups and placement with the pad upgrade was quite a change here both in comfort and sound stage, so it's a two-for-one upgrade. Testing some binaural recordings, the placement was spooky good, so the imaging ability with soundstage is great. This can be used for gaming and movies for sure. And for music it is fantastic. It's not a sweeping sound scape like some headphones with huge stages that are almost artificial sounding, but it's not a tight closed in space with no stage (eg M50).
 
Isolation:
 
Isolation of the Q40 is normal, it didn't feel like it was absolutely perfectly isolated, so it's less than optimal (the FA-003 is one of the most passively isolating headphones I've listened to). But it's not a leaking seive like some closed designs with ports/vents that allow a lot of leaking. It definitely is better at isolating inside than out. When wearing them, I can hear myself breath in my head, so it's definitely shutting out at least 15db~18db of sound from the environment. When I take them off and seal them, you can hear them at moderate to moderate-high volume if you get close. I would say someone next to you on the buss/train/plane will hear you a little bit, but not like a leak-cannon (eg Grado). Good passive isolation, but not the best, but it doesn't leak as much as some other closed designs that tend to leak a little more than average (eg, HTF600 and Denons).
 
Changing the Pads:
 
So as mentioned, the DT770 velour pads are what I'm using. The difference, other than sound stage and comfort, is that not much changed, and that's great. I don't feel like it really took away from anything. Bass is still awesome. Mids are where they were. Treble sounds smooth like it did. If anything changed, it may have taken a slight edge off the already smooth treble. But it didn't do it in a way that made me want to equalize. But your mileage may vary there, so keep that in mind. I still definitely consider the DT770 velour pads a mandatory purhcase along with the Q40 as one. That said, the pads fit over perfectly, and are easy to change. You can get the pads in grey or black, I obviously went with black.
 
Compared to Other Popular Known Bassy/Capable Headphones:
 
Comparison is all we can do when you've not heard something, and I have a lot of things to compare them to. So I won't go into painful detail on it, but I will basically give a summary of similarities or differences based on other well known bassy headphones. All comments are based on the Q40 compared to the headphone listed.
 
Ultrasone PRO900 - Q40 is less bright, better mids, just as bassy. This was my first thought, was that the Q40 sounded like a PRO900 with the treble equalized down heavily. So if you're looking to save money and get what sounds very similar, this would be the way to go. PRO900 had a slight edge on sound stage.
 
Beyer DT770 PRO - Q40 is a touch less bright, but the DT770 isn't overly bright either to me. Otherwise, the Q40 had more prominent bass and mids were similar. So the Q40 is a bassier DT770, with a touch less treble, for a bit less cash.
 
Beyer DT990 600ohm - Q40 has much less treble, similar mids, and more prominent bass, but less sound stage and less comfort, but naturally much more isolation.
 
Fischer Audio FA-011 - Q40 has less treble brightness, similar mids, and more prominent bass with a similar sound stage and to me better comfort (with pads upgrade) and of course more isolation.
 
Fischer Audio FA-003 (or Brainwavz HM5) - Q40 has less isolation, similar sound stage, a touch less mids perhaps, smoother treble, and much more prominent bass; similar comfort with similar clamp.
 
Denon D2000 / D5000 - Q40 has less bright treble, less sparkle, but otherwise quite similar. The Q40 has more prominent mid-bass, but quite similar in sub-bass.  Sound stage is better on the Denons, comfort is definitely better on the Denons.
 
AudioTechnica M50 - Q40 has less harsh treble, similar mids, if not a bit better, more fun bass, more prominent mid-bass, much improved sound stage, and more comfortable to me (subjective though); virtually better in all ways to me for the same cost (including the upgraded pads).
 
AudioTechnica A900X - The Q40 is less bright, less forward mids, but way more bass in all areas, with a similar sound stage and to me better comfort (with pads upgrade).
 
Panasonic HTF600 - Q40 has similar treble, both are smooth, similar mids, both have good mids, but the Q40 may have better mids of the two. The bass is similar, but I'll give an edge to the Q40 simply because felt a little better controlled. Isolation is definitely better on the Q40. Soundstage is about the same (again, with the upgraded pads). Overall detail and refinement and build quality just feel/sound better on the Q40.
 
Sennheiser HD650 - Q40 has more sub-bass and mid-bass, a bit more treble, a bit less mids, less sound stage, less comfort. Only compared due to bass & smooth treble similarity.
 
Sony XB500 - Q40 has more treble and more mids right out of the box, in a much better way, better sound stage, and very similar bass capability. Obvious upgrade path for a basshead to me.
 
Closing Thoughts:
 
The Q40 does nothing but impress me for it's cost and coming from a manufacturer that is not typical in the headphone world, M-Audio. It's not a perfect headphone, it has it's flaws, which are mainly construction based (clamp & pads), but both were correctable which leaves you with a great audio experience without tampering with it. I didn't feel the need to equalize anything and it was great right out of the box and runs without an amplifier, though I feel it does gain a little benefit from one. It reminded me very much of a bassier Beyer DT770 with smoother treble, which could be thought of as a less fatiguing Ultrasone PRO900. Those are the two that it most reminded me of. Yet it costs less than both. The bass quality and quantity are where it's at for a basshead, yet the mids & treble are fantastic, so it's good for all genres and not just for bass oriented music. Acoustic and jazz sounded great without feeling like it was overly enhanced with bass or that it was degraded from a bleed in. Classical had a body to it that was great and a sweeping feel on the sound stage. Even rock had the texture and mids needed for a good time. Bassy music just rumbled and impacted like it should and was amazing. Overall, it's great for everything from gaming to movies to listening to all genres of music.  If you're on the market for something in the $150ish range, this is a serious headphone to consider if you're looking for something closed back, bassy, but not fatiguing that will run off any device and that can be used as a portable with a good sturdy tank-like build.
 

 

 
Some size comparisons and how they look on your head for those interested in size/style:
 

 

 

 

 
Very best,

 

Hifiman HM-101 Portable Sound Card An inexpensive way to turn any USB capable computer into a hifi station.
 
So I received the HM101 and put it through some work.
 
Package:
 

 

 
Small, wow, comes with everything you need. It's so tiny. Key chain tiny. This is good. I like small when it comes to this because it's really portable. It comes with the USB cable and the unit itself. Nothing else needed.
 
Construction Quality:
 
It's inexpensive, so expect it to feel that way. It creaks and feels like it compresses when you press it or handle it. It's not super cheap feeling, but it definitely isn't made to withstand wear and tear. So you should take care of it, or it will be a loose little thing. The connections are all tight, so that's good. But the plastic covers move and make noise if you touch them harder than just a gentle brush. I'd had hoped for something reinforced. It feels like there's nothing sturdy behind the black plastic covers, you could push through. The unit is very light weight, it feels like you could blow it out of your palm with an exhale. It's not a very dense object.
 

 

 

 
Style:
 
It's external, so style matters. I think it's a gorgeous little unit. I like the classy look of most of Hifiman's stuff. It has a retro font with a classy overall modern appearance. The blue LED is nice, and not overbearing. Looks good. Style points.
 
Connectivity:
 
I plugged her in and she was detected immediately. Showed up as "Burr-Brown Japan PCM2702" speakers. I simply set as default (or selected in Foobar2000 as my output device) and was playing music. Very easy to use, fast response, works without any trouble. This was tested on Win 7 x64. It has a phone jack that is amplified. It also has a line out, so you can use it to output to another more powerful amp or to a set of powered speakers. I tried it out with my M-Audio AV40's and it worked great (powered monitors) for a compact external system that can plug into any laptop/netbook. I also used it to output to my other amps and that worked fine too. Ideally though, if you're just looking for a DAC/AMP this is all you need, but if you're using it to simply output to another amplifier, I would look at a better more discreet DAC option with a different connection type (like optical/SPDIFF, I would probably get the Fiio D3 instead if simply outputting to another amp).
 

 

 

 
Sound Quality:
 
The sound is warmer than I expected, it really was a musical sound, less of an analytical sound. However, the noise floor was really high I found. Also, your USB port has to be very sturdy or you'll hear it. I tested it on several different computers and several different USB ports. I found that if the USB connection wasn't really, really tight, it would add sound as it moved, so I found that to be an issue on older machines or heavily used USB ports that are not very tight after a few years of use. In a really tight USB port, I had zero issue though. The noise floor is high as I mentioned, it's the first thing I noticed. Compared to some of my other DACs which are dead silent when I have something plugged in or playing quietly. I can hear a lot of hiss and noise floor from the HM101 regardless of what headphone I plug in. It's not super loud, but it's definitely noticeable when you come from a good DAC that is silent. I imagine this might have something to do with gain and you cannot change any settings on the HM101, so that's just how it is. I plugged in some SRH940's to reveal any detail the HM101 would give off that isn't in the recording, and boy it did, there was that noise floor. The noise/hiss was less noticeable in other headphones I used that were more forgiving of source. If you have analytical/detailed headphones for primary listening, I wouldn't use this DAC/AMP. It's just too noisy for me in combination with a headphone like that. If you have some more musical/warm headphones that are a lot better with noisy sources or simply forgiving of source, you will have a better listening experience with the HM101. Granted, this is still better quality reproduction than typical onboard sound for a lot of laptops/netbooks. But, I'm not so impressed with it compared to discreet soundcards. I have a Xonar DG and Auzentech Forte and didn't find it to compete at all with either of them. So someone with a full size machine would benefit from a different device unless they strictly wanted a mobile tiny device like the HM101. On a laptop/netbook where upgrading onboard is not an option, this HM101 makes good sense. It gets you off the noisy onboard. However, again, you still have to deal with USB noise and potential added noise if the USB port is not very tight or connective.
 
Sound itself was good. Detail came across well, I had good crisp highs, good mids, clarity, and the overall signature was warmer than some other sources I've compared to. I wouldn't call it special compared to things that cost equivalent or higher than it though. It's not better than a typical sound card. But it is better than a bad quality onboard sound option. Note, some onboard options are actually really good and superior to this unit. I think the highs are a little bright, I noticed some of my headphones gained some edge to them that was not previously there.
 
The amp side can push headphones quite nicely. It won't take care of maximum impedance inefficient insensitive headphones. But it will power most headphones without much effort. It even can power an ortho. I plugged my HE-500 directly into it with an 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and it actually played music just fine. It was a little bright sounding compared to normal, and I didn't get any clipping. I did notice I lost a lot of volume in the low end, but I was still able to get low tones without clipping. So it can drive even the HE-500 if you wanted to go portable with some high end orthos. Kinda cool. It won't be driving them to their full potential. But it's definitely capable.
 
I had to turn down the volume on my SRH940's to about 25% on FooBar2000's volume slider. At 100% it's way too loud. So this little guy has a lot of room to output volume.
 
I plugged a pair of Sennheiser HD650's to test higher impedance headphones and of course, see if it could power the sleeping giant. It powered them. I had to put the volume slider to 100% to have just a hair over my listening volume, so it was just adequate. I definitely noticed it was brighter on these headphones compared to a better balanced DAC. I mean, bright HD650's? I was getting fatigue from some dubtrack from some high pitch tones and synths. So that definitely gives me the impression that the HM101 adds significant brightness to the highs of headphones (which explains why the SRH940 was so harsh to listen to on this HM101 since it starts out so forward as it is). The bass was definitely not coming to town. It was muddy, clipping a little, and not controlled. So the HM101 cannot power mid-impedance or high-impedance headphones with authority. I'm getting bass, mind you, it's playing the tones, but the control is clearly not there when I compare it to a sufficient amp. I wouldn't put some 250 / 300 / 600 ohm headphones on the HM101. Basically anything under 250 ohms would be ok likely. This is right in line with most base sound cards so that makes sense.
 
I felt like it's ability to drop power on a low end tone wasn't sufficient. I noticed a lot better impact in low tones (using dubstep tracks) from other devices. I was able to get the low tone played, without clipping from the HM101. But, it definitely lost impact and had less presence that various headphones on more capable amps had. This is not a con really, since this is an inexpensive portable combo unit. It's actually impressive that it's able to do this much with most of my headphones to begin with. But don't expect it to drive most headphones to their full potential. It will get them nearly there, but not all the way. Some headphones really are sleepy after 98~99% of their potential until you give them ridiculous amounts of power.
 

 

 
Conclusion & Thoughts:
 
For the money? Sure, I'd recommend this. It's a good little DAC/AMP for someone that wants something simple, small, and portable. I would not recommend it for someone with a headphone that has significant power requirements. If you have a pair of low impedance and sensitive headphones, this will work great. I think it pairs poorly with detailed or analytical oriented headphones. That is, unless you want to hear a lot of stuff that is not very pleasant, but if you're critically listening for artifact and issues with a recording, it will definitely reveal them to you. That's good or bad depending how you look at it. Based on how it sounds, I would not put it with things like the SRH940 or the KN6400. I would also not put it with a Grado of any sort. It will just hurt. I would however pair it with already relatively dark or warm headphones. It adds brightness and warmth as it is, so they won't be as bad when paired up. The warmth is in the mid/upper bass, not the lower bass, it's power is insufficient to enhance (color) the sub bass, but that's ok, it's not a powerful amplifier, so it's not expected. If you're using a computer and you want a good DAC/AMP and you can install a sound card, I'd suggest you get a Xonar DG instead. It's better control, has dolby headphone, etc. Simply a better investment for that situation and covers more headphones. If you want a portable DAC/AMP for low impedance headphones that will work from your laptop/netbook or on someone else's computer when you move around or to take to class, school, work, then this thing will definitely fit the bill.
 
If I had to scale it, I'd say it's about a 6 out of 10 overall. So, better than average, but not something I'd call exquisite.
 
Very best,
​

 

[size=22.0pt]Panasonic RP-HTF600 Step Monitors[/size] [size=9.0pt]Big Sound with a Not So Big Price[/size]
 
On the never ending quest to find hidden gems out there, yet another challenger has come forth. The Panasonic RP-HTF600 Step Monitor. I try a lot of headphones. I love picking up a set of inexpensive cans and seeing if they sound good or not. Why? Because it's fun. I already have high end stuff but that doesn't mean I can't also look for something fun and great to listen to while not spending much. That also gives me the ability to listen to high end, mid-tier and entry and then there's headphones like the HFT600 which isn't even entry level in terms of cost, because it's so ridiculously inexpensive (anywhere from $25 USD to $30 USD on Amazon; and retails 40EU~60EU elsewhere it seems, so more for non-USA countries, sorry!). I never feel like I'm taking a chance on headphones that cost this. So naturally I go through quite a few. Some are worth talking about. Some not so much. This one, the HTF600 however, is very much worth talking about.
 

 

 
Quick reference as to what's contained here for the impatient:
 

1. Closed back full size headphones
2. Inexpensive ($30 USD!)
3. Warm, bassy, musical, rich, full bodied, smooth sounding
4. Good sound stage (big angled drivers)
5. Easy to drive, and forgiving of source
6. Comfortable & solidly constructed

 
Why am I still clamming on about these things? Well, simply put, these headphones have a huge sound but not a scary price tag.  Anyone can try this headphone and I bet they will at least like it for what it is and likely keep it for fun, or actually use it often. I've worn mine for the past few days to really get into it and I ended up buying a second one so that I could share it with others because it's just so much fun to put in and crank up the music with. And without being humble about it, this headphone is as much fun to listen to with big warm musical sound that literally to me is more fun to listen to than some $150~$250 headphones out there in the mid-tier. Sounds like absolute hog-wash, I know. But I have those mid-tiers. And high-ends. And these inexpensive little gems. And they really do sit right next to them and I do actually listen to them. I was quite floored by them and my crush on them hasn't let up yet.
 
What Comes in the Box:
 

 

1. The headphone itself
2. 1/4" gold adapter (original cable terminates with 3.5mm)
3. Wasteful paper stuff and packaging

 
There's nothing really to call home about when it comes to the packaging. This isn't focused on giving you a display piece, but it does come nicely packaged and you get a nice headphone, so we forgive them for not including a sweet wooden case or something.
 
Specifics of this Headphone:
 

1. Cord length 10 feet, terminating with 3.5mm, included 1/4" gold adapter
2. 50mm drivers, angled (like S-logic)
3. 56 ohms (easy to drive, no amp needed)
4. Sensitivity 100dB/mW (gets loud easily)
5. 10hz ~ 27khz Range
6. Weight 250 grams (not heavy at all, but not a feather)

 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 

 

 

 
The HFT600 is actually a solid headphone, unlike most inexpensive models I try often. It's not flimsy and doesn't creak or squeak. It's a nice durable hard plastic unit. It doesn't have any fancy folding or bending or anything though. The cups can flip 180 degrees, but this is not a useful feature other than to make the headphone stand on its cups if you wanted. The cable is good, not too tiny, not overly large and heavy. The adapter is of average quality.
 

 
The cups are padded with a pleather material that is better than other inexpensive headphones that I've tried (they're a nicer grade than SR850's I've tried amongst others for example). The cups themselves are soft, but have a firmness behind them, so they're not weak little pillows nor are they bricks. The cups themselves are pretty big, and house that big 50mm driver too which is angled. The inside of the cup has a felt across the face which is glued (but easily removable). The pads are easily removable and easy to put back on (so could be replaced, or modded, etc). The driver housing is actually nice, it's vented along the back (which helps with bass response, see mods of other headphones and they all include a bass port basically). The drivers angled and the vents combined give you a very nice sound stage considering these are closed headphones (however note, with the vents, they leak a little, and are not very isolating, but are still more isolating than even a semi-open headphone, and don't leak like a Grado). The back of the driver plates are a brushed aluminum with chrome, quite nice actually. It has a look to it that is very technical, mechanical, not organic. The cups do not swivel like a DJ headphone or some monitors. They have a degree of movement to adjust to the contour of a head, but that's all.
 

 

 
The headband has a very generous cushion on top that is very squishy and comfortable. The headband itself has a weird little addition, it has "quick fit" options with two buttons on each side for settings. Essentially it's there so that you can hold the button, pull the headband down to enlarge it, and it will stop at a preset limit based on the button you push. This is a gimmick really and I didn't find it all that useful because I will put them on and adjust them to wherever I want them and leave them that way. But regardless, it's there, and you can quick-adjust them to two preset values for headband size just by holding the buttons and they will be equal on both sides. The headband and the cups do not fold up at all.
 

 

 

 
The cord is 10 feet long and enters a single cup, so you only have one wire coming from the left cup. It is not detachable.
 
The headphone is held together with screws; you can literally take it apart. This is helpful for modders.
 
The construction over all is very sturdy. It's made of good solid plastic, not the flimsy stuff and none of the parts are thin or tweak around, so it should survive a good amount of abuse.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
The HTF600 surprised me. I didn't expect what was going to flow out of them. They rendered this rich atmosphere, this ambient wonderland, and took my listening pleasure from skepticism to devout acolyte. What a rich musical headphone. So let's get more into it.
 
Quick summary for those not interested in the long winded detail stuff:
 

1. Massive amounts of reverbing bass. They're basshead cans through and through.
2. Bass bleeds into mids a little, but mids are not recessed in a big way.
3. Treble is very smooth, rolls off, not bright or fatiguing at all.
4. Great soundstage for a closed headphone.
5. Below average isolation, the vents are numerous.
6. Signature: Warm, Bassy, Lush, Rich, Smooth, Detailed

 
Some examples of music I tested that I tend to always use because I know the tracks very well: Ani Difranco (Acoustic, Female Vocals), Regina Spektor (Folk, Pop, Female Vocals), Euge Groove (Jazz, Bassy), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical, Piano), Keith Jarrett (Classical, Piano, Live Concert), Rostropovich Cello (Classical), YoYoMa Cello (Classical), The Cranberries (Pop, Female Vocals), Elton John (Classic Rock),  Avantasia (Metal, Fantasy), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dubstep), Ephixa (Dubstep), JesusDied4DubStep (Dubstep), Robyn (EDM), BT (Trance, Techno), OceanLab (Trance, Techno).
 
Hardware used ranged from my Droid Incredible, Sansa Fuze, Asus Transformer, Vivid V1 Technologies DAC/AMP, Matrix Cube DAC and Schiit Lyr. Note, I did not find any significant difference when juicing anything up with them. They're easy to drive and are pretty forgiving of source so it wasn't a big difference from piece to piece, the idea here is just to express that they work on all these things pretty much equally so you can use them on basically anything without worry.
 

 
Treble (highs):
 
The highs are very smooth. The headphone has detail, not a lot of congestion up here, but they're not transparent or airy like a detail monster or analytical headphone might have, instead, it's just a nice smooth listen that gives you enough treble to know it's happening, doesn't sound like it's distant or damp, and isn't spiking enough to fatigue you. No sibilance at all. I listened to different synth sounds, female vocals, drums, guitars, etc, and the treble was great all through it with no point where I felt I was missing out on treble or had too much. It literally is just a good smooth listen. The detail is surprising though, it's not a dark headphone to the point where you don't hear what's going on. I was hearing little things in recordings  of Cello works that I adore and it was just there, crisp as ever.
 
Mids:
 
The mids are not recessed to the point of notice, which is contrary to most bassy headphones. The bass bleeds into the mids a little, so you will hear some weight added to certain tones in vocals for example I found. But it's a warm sound, it really comes out and grabs you. It's a very organic, lush, full bodied sound that makes you feel like you're listening to music for pleasure, not analyzing it, not being critical. It's all musical here. Plenty of detail going on. I was surprised that female vocals were so musical here, even with some heavy bass pulsing behind it. I was able to run any kind of music through this headphone because the mids are strong enough to present it. Rock, Indie and Jazz were really pleasant and I felt like I had the right headphone on for the job. A good indication of being a decent all around headphone. Guitars were rich and ripping. Vocals were angelic and lush. Instruments were full bodied and just bloomed all over. There was good separation of sound too, it wasn't a congested mess of bleeding everywhere which surprised me.
 
Lows (bass):
 
The bass grabs you by your jimmies and rustles them. How about that for a description. This is basshead headphone. I directly compared it to the XB500 because it's an inexpensive bassy headphone too. The HFT600 sounded like the XB500's bass, very similar, a slight edge maybe going to the XB500, but in return for that, you get all the mids & treble that the XB500 has a big veil over (without equalization). I was quite surprised so much reverbing low bass was pulsing out of these things while still having great lush mids and smooth highs and no equalization going on to balance anything out. It completely replaced the XB500 in my book in all ways which some may not agree with, but as an entire package, it surely did, especially considering it's cost. The bass goes low. There's a mid-bass hump, but it can also hit those low sub bass frequencies with authority which really impressed me and made me think of a Denon. This kind of bass makes pleasure listening for someone who appreciates a good reverbing blooming pulsing bass rumble just grin from ear to ear. It adds immersion to gaming too which was really fun. And it makes movies sound a lot like how they present in theaters (rumble!). The bass is not, however, so out of control that you can't listen to soft acoustic--I tried that too and the bass just added body to the end of a sound, but didn't take over to the point where you felt like it was going too far. It was a very pleasing experience, and the bass presence is just commanding. Officially stamped as basshead approved headphones.
 

 
Isolation:
 
There is not a lot of isolation, they're below average with that, they do leak a little more than your typical headphone, however they don't leak like a Grado. I would say they're just below semi-open in terms of leaking sound. So if isolation is critical, this could be an issue. And if leaking is critical, this could be an issue. There are a lot of vents, and they let the sound leak out a little. It's feint, and someone in the house in the next room isn't going to hear it. But someone next to you on the train or bus will hear you likely (let 'em riot). They do isolate on the inside sufficiently where you don't hear a lot of what's going on outside of the headphone (for example, with music playing, I don't hear my keyboard slamming and clicking at all, only when the music stops; I don't hear the AC, I don't hear a fan, if my phone rings, well, oh well I missed it hah).
 
Soundstage:
 
The sound stage is pretty good. It's not your typical headphone that is closed. Like Ultrasone's S-Logic, the big drivers are angled (the AD700 does this too for sound stage for example). Combine big angled drivers with a nice big open cup and some vents and you get a nice sound stage. Separation and distance is good, it "sounds right" so to speak. Not cramped, but also not wildly artificially expanded either. I found it pretty good for gaming even, the imaging is good.
 
Gaming & Movies:
 
We don't typically think of closed headphones for gaming, but if you're into immersive gaming and watching movies on headphones with some privacy, these things do it great. The soundstage gives you a good sound field to fill up. But the bass and immersion and musicality of the headphone really lends to having a really full bodied experience in games. So if you're into games like Skyrim or watching movies like Dark Knight, these headphones will give you goosebumps. Excellent for gaming (read: varieties other than competitive online-foot-step-listening) and wonderful for movies.
 
Comparing To Others & Closing Thoughts:
 

 
Here's the section you love or hate. I really don't like hearing "Giant Killer" used, but it's so popular to say it, it's hard not to use it in some fashion. Are these going to topple the big analytical detail giants of the mid-tier and high-end spectrum? No. Not at all. But will it compete for pleasure listening? Absolutely. You may sneer and think I'm totally full of fecal material, but I absolutely adore listening to these headphones and don't always reach over for my HE-500's. Next to some D1100's, I was impressed how similar they were. The Pansonic had more bass, but had smoother treble, while the Denon had a tad lower bass volume and brighter sounding treble. I totally preferred the sound of the Panasonic here. I already compared the XB500 to it, and like I said, I really think it completely replaces the XB500 for an inexpensive basshead can in every way (equivalent bass levels, better mids, better treble, better sound stage, better build and comfort overall for me and better cord). It's very energetic, and reminded me of the kind of energy that a Grado gives me, so naturally ran it up against some SR60's and a SR325, the bass completely overshadowed the Grados, and while the Grados had more mid-centric sound, the Panasonic had more sound stage and was warmer and less fatiguing while still having a huge amount of energy. I couldn't even stand to listen to the AudioTechnica ESW9 & M50 after listening to the Panasonic. It completely was way more fun and musical, though the ESW9 was actually a lot more fun to listen to than the M50 (which is sterile and bleh). Previous budget headphones like the Kicker & Monoprice? Forget about them. This thing eats their lunch. These are not giant killers. They are not high fidelity in the slightest. Let's get that straight. But they are absolutely david when it comes to pleasure listening for someone who wants a warm, bassy, musical and smooth listen for having a great time with music. I'll get completely disregarded for it, but these are like a little HD650. Seriously.


Pad Modification (Optional):

By the way, the Beyer velour pads came in today. They're a perfect fit.

I have two sets of Panasonics RP-HTF600 Step Monitors. I just fitted these pads which work on several headphones in terms of size on a pair of the Panasonics. It's a perfect match. Fits like it was made for it. So no worries about it slipping or being loose or having to mod or do anything. They just slide right into place no problem at all without any extra modification. Simple swap.











Comfort: Absolutely comfortable. Beyer Velour is just wonderful. I loved all Beyer headphones I've worn. I'm also a big "velour" fan, as I actually dislike pleather. I only stoop down to pleather when I am forced. And even then, it's only indoors for me because I do not like sweaty ears/head when wearing pleather headphones outside (my portables are always velour due to that, or at least, most of the time). These feel great. They fit just like the stock pads, but they're a nicer material, comfortable, soft and feel even better on my glasses frames.

Sound: Ok, they do have an impact on sound. All pad changes should because it changes how sound is absorbed and reflected, so it changes the end dynamic in your ear folds and reflects differently there too. So no matter what, it will sound different. The question is, do you lose good qualities, or do you get a neutral change, or do you get a positive change in qualities of sound.

Bass changes: Insignificant. Seriously. The bass is still impactful, low, and reverbing. That is awesome. So changing to velour does not effect the warm bass of this headphone in an appreciable way. I tested bass with some dubstep drops and some Cello over and over at the same perceived volume level to test it.

Mids changes: I swear that the bass bleed falls out of the mids, so the mids sound a little less warm and instead have an edge of detail on them. This can be a pro or con depending on what you're looking for. For me, this is an excellent change in the positive direction as this headphone now sounds more balanced actually and the clarity sound comes from the detail shift. I tested this with female vocals and piano (Tori Amos specifically).

Treble changes: Again, the bass is still tremendous and warm, but the highs feel like they lost some weight and became more tight and detailed, instead of being warm and smooth. Now, they're edged. It's not bright or fatiguing though. It's still a smooth listen. But it's not overly smooth to the point of sounding damp. I tested this with some guitar, cymbals, and some really high pitch female vocal with a lot of consonants (some French stuff that I listen to).

Verdict: I think the mid-bass hump gets tamed by the velour pads, therefor you keep the big sub bass hits that we love, but the mid-bass stops bleeding as much into the mids & highs, which results in a more balanced sound. I would call this an improvement. Even though I love the stock sound, it's so warm and musical, I also like a more detailed and clear sounding image. The velour I think takes the mid-bass hump down a notch. I just played with an equalizer to confirm this suspicion and felt like I found the same effective sound by dropping 220hz, 440hz and 622hz 2~3 dB. There's the hump by guestimation from previous thoughts on the matter of frequency response (as this headphone has an obvious mid-bass hump).

Velour pads are an excellent change. Reduced mid-bass bleed. Increase in clarity and detail by a notch. Retains sub bass slam and reverb. Still warm and musical. With the velour pads, the headphone's sound, as a combined package (costing new $50 total shipped) sounds much like $200 headphones I've sampled and have/had and feels like them too. This headphone is reminding me heavily of a mix between a DT770 and an HD650, but $50, and no amp needed, and inbetween fully open and fully closed so sound stage difference. I still feel this headphone has a great sound stage for it's closed nature and considering it's cost (when I compare to closed headphones that are fully sealed and do not have angled drivers, which have next to no sound stage I find, these things have quite a bit better sound stage).

Recommendation: Get the velour pads folks.

 
This headphone reminds you to enjoy the music. For the cost, you should definitely try one!
 

 

 





 
Very best,

[size=28.0pt]Sony MDR-XB500[/size] Affordable Pulsing Throbbing Gobs of Bass
 
The XB500 is pretty well known to all at this point, however there's more to this little headphone that the immediate and obvious, which is the extra bass that they market the XB line towards and deliver with authority. They are some of the best basshead cans for the cost. But there's actually a gem out of the line and that's the XB500 because it's actually quite capable of more than just pulsing throbbing gobs of bass. It's an interesting little headphone, so let's get to know it if you're interested in a bassy headphone that can be altered a tad through equalization to be so much more.
 
I received my XB500 second hand, so I cannot go into detail about the packaging, but I do know that you can get it for $49 shipped from Amazon and other stores, and it comes with a carry bag that is not that impressive, but it's an accessory so why not mention it.
 

 
Summary for those who are not already familiar with the XB500:
 

1. Full size circumaural closed back headphone
2. Enhanced, emphasized and delivered bass response (basshead class)
3. Comfortable big soft pillow pads
4. Style is relative, you either like them, or think they look silly
5. Short cord, terminates into 3.5mm
6. Easy to drive, no amp required
7. Massively benefits from equalization (EQ)
8. Ideal for electronic bass musics (and others, with EQ)
9. Recessed mids, recessed highs (this can be corrected with EQ, big time)
10. Did I mention bass? Gobs of throbbing pulsing bass?

 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The XB500 is made entirely of plastic, with a short flat cord that terminates in 3.5mm and has big soft pillows that are very deep. At first they look too big, too silly, but that's if you see the XB700 and higher versions which do have larger pillows, the XB500 is actually not too big, it's pretty normal and I'll show comparisons of it's size to other headphones backings to sort of drive that home. They're actually quite normal, so not silly, which was a surprise to me when I took the dive (I expected them to be a little too silly, but they were not I found).
 

 
The framing is pretty slim and skinny and does feel a little flimsy. The headband is padded, but not very much. It is however pretty broad so it doesn't cut or anything. It leaves a proper headphone dent in your hair. Deal with it. It adjusts to good sizes, so should fit any head basically unlike other headphones that I've tried.
 

 
Wearing it is pretty comfy. It's a very soft, pillowy pad and it doesn't clamp. It does however get warm, as those pads are pleather and sit on your skin, get a little oily and then get warm. So you sweat a little unless it's already really cool and not humid where you are.
 

 

 
Overall, decent build, but don't sit on them, or you'll be ordering new headphones.
 
Here's some size comparisons:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sound Characteristics:
 
What really matters about the XB500 is the sound, and there's one reason you're looking at this headphone. Someone told you it was bassy as all get out, and they are right. Alternatively, you may have noticed them on the bottom shelf at Best Buy or something, right below the Beats. Har har. So let's get into the sound more and more specifically into the interesting behavior of the XB500 and what you can do with it.
 
Quick summary for the impatient:
 

1. Recessed mids, recessed highs (very damp sounding, not harsh at all, dull even)
2. Throbbing, pulsing, gobs of bass
3. Impactful with bass, it slams you, it's not just reverb
4. Below average isolation
5. Normal sound stage for a closed headphone

 
[size=11.0pt]Music tested, from my trusty test-group that I tend to use on all headphones (all lossless), included: Ani Difranco (Acoustic, Female Vocals), Regina Spektor (Folk, Pop, Female Vocals), Sierra Hull (Folk, Blue Grass, Female Vocals), Euge Groove (Jazz, Bassy), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical, Piano), Keith Jarrett (Classical, Piano, Live Concert), Bach Cello Suites (Classical), The Cranberries (Pop, Female Vocals), Elton John (Classic Rock),  Avantasia (Metal, Fantasy), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (DubStep), JesusDied4DubStep (DubStep), Bay Area Dub (BAD) (DubStep), DJ Fresh (DubStep), Foreign Beggars (DubStep), Stinkahbell (DubStep), DeadMau5 (DubStep), Skrillex (DubStep), Robyn (EDM), BT (Trance, Techno), OceanLab (Trance, Techno). Lots of bass heavy muscis.[/size]
 
[size=11.0pt]Hardware used, Sansa Fuze, Vivid V1 Technologies DAC/AMP, Matrix Cube DAC/AMP, Schiit Lyr, Auzentech Forte Soundcard and my Droid Incredible.[/size]
 
Treble (Highs):
 
Right away, you'll notice the highs out of the box are low. They're diminished. Recessed. You feel like it's damp. The bass is slamming and humming around, but the highs are just distant sounding like they were turned down. That's because they were turned down. This is not a detail headphone. This is not a headphone for airy instrument listening. You're not getting the XB500 for the treble though. This is known, and expected, but we have a solution for this that is simple and highly effective, more on that later.
 
Mids:
 
Mids are also recessed, diminished. You feel like vocals are wet and distant. Everything for that matter is. It's all in the background, takes a step back, for the bass to come forward and just own the floor. There's not really much you can really do here, except notice they're not detailed, there's not a lot of congestion thankfully, but out of the box, the mids are just not doing work. You can however of course correct this, which is again, going to be focused on in a minute.
 
The idea here to take home is that there's nothing special about the Highs & Mids stock, other than they're really recessed and diminished. But they're actually just a sleeping giant waiting to be awaken. Move on to the Equalization section for more information.
 
Bass (Lows):
 
This is what it's about. The bass of the XB500 slams, it has impact, it hits hard and low. It's a complete basshead can where everything goes out of the window in favor of bass, hence the complete lack of anything to talk about for highs & mids. The bass is absolutely monumental. I can't even express it other than to say you've got hear it. You've probably heard some bassy headphones. Probably heard a nice subwhoofer. When you feel the XB500's slamming bass reverb tones into your skull, you'll either love it as it really rustles your jimmies, or you will think it's just too much and you will scuttle back to your non-basshead headphones a little traumatized and wonder why people like this headphone. This is a basshead headphone. You only get it, if you really like heavy gobs of throbbing, pulsating, bass. The bass quality is actually great, it's not just quantity, the quality of this bass is also nice. The impact is good, the control is good, the tightness is good and recovery is good. Absolutely nothing wrong with the bass here, it has it all, it was built for it.
 
Equalization:
 
Out of the box, the XB500 is a bassy basshead headphone, and nothing more. But there's a sleeping giant in there. I've yet to find a single headphone that equalizes as well as the XB500 does. A few bumps in the mids and highs bring the mids and highs out of the fog and into the sound stage and it's a totally new headphone. Suddenly other genres can be played, with lots of bass, but still sound right thanks to now having adequate mids and treble. It doesn't distort out either. That's why it's so special. It's like it was purposefully dropped, which leaves all that room to bring it back up should you want to. I did, and man, what a good headphone with this small easy everyone-can-do-tweak. I tested acoustic, with the highs & mids increased, and it did it rather well considering it was awful for that kind of music prior to equalization. I used FooBar2000, so here's my quick equalization settings to bring out the highs and mids to a level that makes it sound more balanced, and when done, to me, sounds like a much better and far more expensive mid-tier headphone does, yet it's only $49 for this thing, and retains all the throbbing good slamming bass that you got it for. Literally, a sleeping giant in this regard.
 

 
Isolation:
 
There's actually less than average isolation for a closed headphone here. Those pads let a lot of sound through. It doesn't do it in a way that is degrading to the sound, but be aware of it, because if you plan on using these around other people or in a quiet place around people, they will hear what you're listening to pretty easily. It doesn't dump out like a Grado. But it's definitely not isolating the way some other closed headphones do.
 
Soundstage:
 
Sound stage is pretty normal. It's not cramped, but it's ok. It has a lot to do with the depth of the pads. Sound stage seems to go up with space on headphones in general. So big cups and deep cups tend to have better sound stages. It sounds good. Especially when you equalize the mids and highs up to make it a more balanced, yet bassy, sound.
 
Conclusion & Closing:
 
The XB500 really is a basshead headphone that will deliver the gobs of throbbing pulsating bass that you crave if you're a total basshead. It can become quite a bit more if you equalize it and it can suddenly handle all genres of music pretty well. The quality of the bass is very good as well as the quantity, which is pretty distinct about the headphone, as it also has impact as well as just good bass sound and low tones. Very few headphones, especially in the price range and even in the mid-tier price ranges can get that kind of bass. It does it at a price of course, the highs & mids, but again, this headphone benefits from equalizing like no other. All headphones can benefit a bit from tweaking for your own personal sound signature. But the XB500 takes it without distorting and really just comes to life. It's an ideal headphone for someone looking for an inexpensive way to get into Dance, Trance and Dubstep for example where it's all about the bass. Equalized, it can do anything pretty well. Not perfectly of course, but very well, which is opposite of what it was out of the box, stock.
 

 

 
Quite a while after reviewing this headphone, I stumbled upon a headphone that covers the same bases as the XB500, it does the bass, it does the slam, and it actually sounds so similar that it's scary, but already has increased mids & highs, unlike the XB500, so it doesn't need to be equalized to make it balance out for all music genres. And it happens to be $20 cheaper, so it's only $30 shipped. It's the Panasonic RP-HTF600-S. Plus it looks nicer, is constructed better, and sounds better out of the box with all the bass. All for less. So if you're interested in the XB500, please, take a look at the RP-HTF600. I consider it the replacement of the budget-bass-head-king from Sony.
 
Basshead Approved.
 

 
Very best,

[size=24.0pt]KRK KNS6400 [/size]A detailed monitor
 
So I had to give the KNS6400's a shot because they were recommended to me based on my love for the SRH940 and other headphones that are all about mids and details. The KNS6400 is only $80 from Amazon, but I was lucky enough to have Tdockweiler let me borrow his pair for a while to audition and get a feel for them, so a huge thanks to him for letting me borrow the cans. So the KNS6400's are supposed to be a very detailed, clear, studio monitor and I had to know because I've tried other studio monitors in the past, which are often passed as being a headphone for casual music listening, and felt they were nothing of the sort. So, let's put another one to the test or figure if it's something for casual use or if it's something for more professional uses (mixing, monitoring, producing, etc).
 

 
Here's a quick summary of what you'll read about in this review:
 

1. Closed back, isolating
2. Over-ear, full size
3. Details, details, details
4. Clear & accurate
5. Absolutely unforgiving of sources
6. Very shy on the bass

 
Since I borrowed this pair, I cannot comment on what came in the box or the package itself, so I'll have to skip to the rest of my typical approach to reviewing the headphone. I imagine it comes with an adapter to convert 1/8th" to 1/4th" plugs, and I don't think it came with a case or bag, but not many headphones do.
 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The overall appearance of the KNS6400 is very simple and built for use. They're clearly not made to look like something stylish or poppish, they're literally studio monitors. The materials are hard plastics, very sturdy and seemingly built to take a lot of rough abuse. Again, this just further shows that it's a real studio monitor and not just labeled one. For it's cost, $80, it's quite a tank.
 
The cable is pretty long, solid, rubbery and detachable which is a nice detail. It locks in with a twist, so if yanked, it doesn't give, so it's not there for protection. It's just there to be able to take it off and replace if damaged basically, and that, again is indicative of a professional product that is likely to take a lot of abuse from use.
 
The pads are pretty comfortable. It's a memory foam and it isolates pretty well as far as typical closed headphones go. That sort of material is not my particular favorite, simply because it can be sweaty and oily on your skin after hours of use, but that's my own personal preference, not a fault of the headphone. From my understanding, the pads are upgradable and swappable with other models of other brand headphones. They slid right off if needed.
 
Clamping force is good enough to secure and isolate, but not so much that it makes you feel like you're getting pinched and squeezed to discomfort.
 
Overall, comfortable to wear for hours on end.
 

 
Sound Characteristics:
 
The real meat & potatoes of this headphone is how it sounds. It's not much to look at, and it doesn't come with fancy stuff. It's not supposed to. But how it sounds is what matters here. This is a studio monitor, so let's see just how much it lives up to that or if it's just labeled that like so many.
 
Quick summary for the impatient:
 

1. Detailed mids & highs
2. Clear
3. Noise floor (hiss)
4. Isolates
5. Analytical/critical listening in nature
6. Absolutely unforgiving of source
7. Not for all genres (see Bass)
8. Bass shy (not adequate for some genres of music or some tastes)
9. Adequate soundstage (not congested)
10. Easy to drive

 
Music tested, from my trusty test-group that I tend to use on all headphones (all lossless), included: Ani Difranco (Acoustic, Female Vocals), Regina Spektor (Folk, Pop, Female Vocals), Sierra Hull (Folk, Blue Grass, Female Vocals), Euge Groove (Jazz, Bassy), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical, Piano), Keith Jarrett (Classical, Piano, Live Concert), Bach Cello Suites (Classical), The Cranberries (Pop, Female Vocals), Elton John (Classic Rock),  Avantasia (Metal, Fantasy), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dubstep), JesusDied4DubStep (Dubstep), Robyn (EDM), BT (Trance, Techno), OceanLab (Trance, Techno).
 
Hardware used, Sansa Fuze, Vivid V1 Technologies DAC/AMP, Matrix Cube DAC/AMP, Schiit Lyr, Auzentech Forte Soundcard.
 
Noise Floor:
 
I noticed a noise floor on these headphones. A hiss, if you will. I tried them on several pieces of hardware to try and differentiate between my hardware and the headphones to ensure I wasn't indirectly adding the noise floor due to over amplification or simply putting the wrong impedance with the wrong outputs so to speak, so I removed all amplification beyond minimal from most devices and it was still present. This is actually normal for headphones that are extremely detail oriented in my experience. So this can be a negative or positive depending on your uses. For music, I personally did not like the noise floor and hiss, even though you do not hear it during most playback, it is there during quiet moments (I would notice it during acoustic sessions when there's no complex playback or some light vocals). Again, please understand, this may not be the headphone itself, but rather, a quality of it's impedance or sensitivity compared to the outputs of what you'll plug it into. I had a lot of hiss coming from my setup, which on all of my other headphones doesn't have that hiss, so I could only assume it was this particular headphone or something about it. I'm not a sound-science person, so take this with a grain of salt. I don't quite know why it was hissy.
 
Treble (Highs):
 
The treble of the KNS6400 is detailed and clear. That literally sums it up.  Another way to describe them would be analytical or critical. Details crawled out of the walls into your ears on this thing. It's an absolute detail monster, which is a very good thing for some, but can also be a very bad thing for others because it's so detail oriented that it becomes completely unforgiving of source. Again, this can be great for some, while for others it may be very hard to cope with. I did not notice any out of control sibilance in particular at my listening levels, there was some on particular pitches, but overall did not come across as being too brilliant (in a good way). Definitely a crisp sound with good definition. It's a pretty fast headphone too,  I felt it could snap and keep up with things nicely. Overall the response is pretty flat sounding.
 
Mids:
 
The mids are probably the most this headphone has to offer of all its attributes. It definitely just bubbles with mids as that's the primary frequency response of this headphone when I judge by ear. The mids are very detailed and clear as well. In some tracks, I could definitely hear the artist shuffling, breathing, moving parts on instruments being played, etc. Hearing the audience (silent audience mind you, not live rock albums, I'm talking about classical recordings here specifically) in the background of some live performances was pretty clear. Vocals came across nicely and very articulate. I felt the mids were less musical however compared to some other headphones, largely due to the mids not having a relatively equal bass component. Again, unforgiving to source. Anything low quality, or poorly recorded, or simply with subtle details recorded in the background will be pretty apparent. This again can be a good or bad thing depending on what you're after. Mids were not very warm sounding to me (again, like the comment on musical) largely again due to the shy bass. If a critical listening session to mostly mids is what you need, this would be the headphone for the job. This pretty much is in line with what a studio monitor is like in my experience. The sound is quite flat.
 
Bass (Lows):
 
The bass is probably the most apparent lacking section of the frequency range of the headphone, and a pretty start attribute for pleasure listening compared to professional/critical/analytical listening. Most analytical headphones are not going to have gobs of bass, so that detail and clarity can be as crisp and present as possible. That seems to be the roll here too, as a studio monitor. The bass is quite shy. Likely the most shy I've ever heard in a closed back headphone. The frequency response curves from HeadRoom and InnerFidelity are so completely off that it really doesn't represent this headphone at all. The flatness is gone, as it sounds like the roll off happens very early. This makes the headphone less neutral and more of something that has emphasis on mids/highs. The graphs display a very neutral/flat response from top to bottom nearly but this is not at all what I hear when I listen. Instead, it sounds like the bass response is absolutely vanished by the time you get to the 100hz stuff and below that just is so shy that you can't even tell it's happening sometimes unless you really listen for it. These are definitely not for someone who needs at least even neutral bass. These are for detail critics or someone who really doesn't like bass or prefers a very light bass. The idea of reverb is definitely not in this headphone. Accurate bass is there, it does have an impact and snap, it will let you know some bass just happened, but the lingering bassy reverb needed in some applications is not there and I think that easily makes or breaks this headphone in terms of who will want to use it and for what it will be used for. For me personally, this really shy bass makes it less of a musical headphone, it's not warm at all. Very apparently, just for reference, the SRH940 and Grados (SR60 and SR325) were quite a bit more bassy and musical (the SR325 being the bassiest of the bunch) when comparing other detailed mids oriented headphones.
 
A Special Note on Frequency Response Graphs:
 
Here are the two graphs from HeadRoom and InnerFidelity. Again, I just wanted to point out, that these graphs do not represent what you will hear. Sometimes, the graphs are very close to what you hear. Other times, they're so far off that it's quite unbelievable. Needless to say I was shocked by how shy the bass response was, especially after having seen these graphs because these graphs indicate that you will hear the same volume of some very low end bass as you will the mids essentially, and this is entirely false. I found that very interesting, and quite critical to know, if interested in these headphones for music-listening purposes.
 
Again, warning, these headphones do not sound like these graphs suggest at all.
 

 

 
Soundstage:
 
Soundstage is pretty good for a closed headphone. It's not quite as expansive as some other headphones that have different methods of achieving larger soundstages, but it was not cramped or congested in a way that took away from the sound. They could probably be used as gaming headphones for competitive-foot-step-listening (FPS's) due to the detail and clarity and super shy bass, but don't expect a wide expansive sound stage unless you have some kind of emulation means (like the Mixamp, or Dolby Headphone, etc). Imaging is good.
 
Closing Thoughts:
 
The KNS6400's are definitely not for everyone. They're not a musical headphone to my ears. They're very shy on bass. But they're murderously detailed and unforgiving which makes them a very good critical or analytical headphone for that kind of listening. That pretty much says "real studio monitor" to me, instead of just a labeled monitor that has tons of bass (the M50 comes to mind, in a bad way). Detail monster definitely describes the KNS6400.
 
Again, not for everyone. It was fun to audition them and listen to music in a very different way, basically, critically. But not quite my cup of tea for pleasure listening as I like to have some warmth and musical properties in my pleasure listening.
 
I directly compared them to the SRH940 and found them to be very similar in detail levels, but I didn't have the noise floor on the SRH940 that I had on the KNS6400. Also, I found the SRH940 to have truer bass response and able to really give those low tones without becoming a boomy or bassy headphone, instead, staying neutral to bass lite even, but still being warmer and more musical than the KNS6400. Likewise, I found my Grados to have much more impact and bass than the KNS6400, but the KNS6400 was more clear and detailed.
 
Overall, an excellent detail headphone, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone for pleasure listening in general who didn't already express an interest in analytical sound with very shy bass response.
 

 

 
Very best,

Koss UR 55 Studio Pulse An inexpensive performer
 
There's a vast array of inexpensive headphones out there. Thousands of them. But every now and then, if you sample around, much like wine, you can fine something inexpensive that is actually pretty good. The Koss UR 55 Studio Pulse is a headphone that fits that description. I picked it up for $35 from Amazon (was on sale, goes on sale now and then, just watch for it if interested) because at a price like that, it doesn't matter. So I took a shot at it to see. I've seen some information out there on them, which is limited, so for the most part this was a shot in the dark. That's fine by me though, I like trying things. I wanted to see what kind of application an inexpensive headphone could be used for. Mainly though, I really wanted to find a decent headphone that had good imaging, was open to semi-open air, had a good frequency response and was inexpensive. Hard to find all that in a cheap little package. That's where the Koss UR 55 Studio Pulse comes in.
 
So a little summary to see if you're interested, in which case, the rest bellow is for you.
 

1. Open-air
2. Over-ear (but snug, so they're smallish)
3. Soft pads (foam)
4. Good sound stage
5. Good extension both in highs and lows (can do bass well)
6. Good for gaming, movies and music listening
7. $35 on sale
8.  

What Comes In the Box:
 

 

 
The package is rather simple, it's very small when you first see it. The headphones are classed as over ear, but they're not very big, so they are over ear on normal and small ears, and snug at that, but on someone with wombat ears, these are likely going to be too small. There's no accessories or adapters. You simply get a set of headphones with an attached cord and the mandatory wasteful slips of paper that either advertise or tell you how not to strangle yourself with the cords.
 

1. The headphone itself
2. Paper junk and plastic packaging
3. No accessories or adapters

 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The headphone is build of plastic with some metallic grills and a metal band within the headband, likely magnesium and/or aluminum. But you never really know. Might cause cancer, right? Regardless. The construction is actually kind of flimsy. Everything is tight and holds together, but the entire headphone feels very light almost toy-like. I've had mid-tier headphones that felt like that, so I didn't let it really sway me, but be prepared for that.
 
The foam pads are just foam. Nothing special. But also, not plastic or vinyl which is a plus in my mind. They're actually pretty comfortable. They don't clamp too much, so they're not too tight, and the pads fit over my ears and touch a little. Again, they're a little small, so these are not likely going to fit someone with old man ears that are huge like kites, har har. The headband has a memory foam that is within a vinyl type material that is nice and soft, not a foam that is exposed that will keep scent, so that's a plus.
 
The grills are simple. You can see into them. They're semi-open to open-air (depends how you define it I guess). Point is, they're open, so they leak and you can hear things around you. This is a good and bad thing depending on your needs and wants. I think it's a good thing and that's why I went for them, inexpensive open-air headphones to try. The style is not over the type nor completely bland. They look kind of nice.
 
The cord is very small and short and terminates into 3.5mm. I would have liked a longer cord. But inexpensive models don't tend to have all the bells and whistles so I can't really fault them for this.
 
A huge note about the headphone is size. They're not very big. I had to extend the headband extensions to get the ear cups down to my comfort zone around my ears. These are not going to fit on someone with a massive head and massive ears. Keep that in mind. I almost felt like they were kid sized. I've never had to "max" a headphone's extensions to wear them. So that sort of took me by surprise. Keep this in mind if interested in this headphone, they're not huge, they're not micro, they're smallish though.
 

 

 

 
Sound Characteristics:
 
I wasn't expecting the world, nor did I expect absolute rubbish, so I had to just slide into them and see. I did not bother letting them pretend to burn in over a long period of time. They're $35 headphones. And I'm not in the camp of magic phenomenon anyways. I went straight to listening and put some time in. Played some tunes, watched some YouTube stuff in HD, played a movie, and then tried some gaming fun to see how they handle everything.
 
Quick summary for the impatient:
 

1. Relatively neutral sound
2. Clear treble that is not fatiguing
3. Mids are solid
4. Bass is actually good and can extend low with a bit of reverb
5. Good sound stage, good imaging
6. Good for listening to virtually any genre, good for movies, great for games
7. Easy to drive

 
Music tested, from my trusty test-group that I tend to use on all headphones (all lossless), included: Ani Difranco (Acoustic, Female Vocals), Regina Spektor (Folk, Pop, Female Vocals), Euge Groove (Jazz, Bassy), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical, Piano), Keith Jarrett (Classical, Piano, Live Concert), The Cranberries (Pop, Female Vocals), Elton John (Classic Rock),  Avantasia (Metal, Fantasy), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dubstep), Ephixa (Dubstep), JesusDied4DubStep (Dubstep), Robyn (EDM), BT (Trance, Techno), OceanLab (Trance, Techno).
 
Movie tested, Priest "2011".
 
Game(s) tested, Oblivion, Bad Company II, Star Craft II, Torchlight
 
Hardware tested included Sansa Fuze, Vivid Technologies V1 DAC/AMP, Matrix Cube DAC/AMP, Schiit Lyr, Auzentech Forte Soundcard.
 
Treble (Highs):
 
The highs of the UR55 are pretty good, they're not too bright, they don't fatigue me, and I didn't really have an issue with sibilance. There was some noise floor present, but that was likely due to my equipment, so I cannot say for sure. But then again, I don't expect a hiss-free inexpensive headphone. The detail was pretty good, pretty clear sound. I felt that the highs sounded a little bit like there was a fog around them, so I'm guessing there was some odd spikes in the 5khz to 10khz range, both up and down, but likely a bump around 10khz compared to before it to get that edge sound to it. I could hear the flicks on guitar strings, cymbals sounded right and were not too harsh or hot, and there was a good snap but not enough to punch you deaf.
 
Mids:
 
The mids stand out as being the main sound you hear (as it should be, really). I felt like the mids were full and gave you a good sense of body. Rock sounded good. Voice had some body to it. Instruments had a good solid sound behind them. The mids were pretty clear with some detail, but I also felt at times like there was a touch of congestion which may be due to the driver being a little slow, so I'm not quite sure there. It was clear most of the time though and pleasant to listen to.  Just from ear, I think it may be flat from around 2khz to about 500hz or so perhaps. It's a good sound.
 
Lows (Bass):
 
The mid-bass definitely comes through, which is usually a hard thing to get in an inexpensive headphone, especially open-air. Usually they're bass light, but this is not a bass light headphone. It's not a bass monster, but it simply has good impact and can manage low tones that reverb and sound good for moments where bass becomes important. It makes it have a relatively warm sound, and richens it up. It was nice to have some rumble in games and movies, and of course, during music that called for some tones down there. Cello and bass sounded good. Explosions were nice and rumbly. Again, the bass doesn't pound you down, it's not a subwhoofer, but it definitely is more present than the likes of other popular headphones that are similar (to give you an idea, it sounded quite bassier than the AD700, so in a very good way).
 
Isolation:
 
There is no isolation, it's open/semi-open. Leaking will occur both ways.
 
Soundstage:
 
The idea of getting an open-air headphone is for the benefit of the usual decent sound stage and the UR55 delivered there nicely. Sound stage is pretty good. Lots of nice separation, not cramped feeling at all. Music playback was nice, you were in a room, not a closet. Movies had a nice amount of space. Games sounded good, great positioning and imaging was good. The sound stage is not overly expansive to the point of artificial sounding, but it's not a tiny little cramped space either. Overall a good soundstage for it's type and cost.
 
Gaming & Movies:
 
Ideally, I was looking for an inexpensive headphone to review that was good for games and movies, basically, an inexpensive alternative to the popular, and highly over-rated, AD700. And I was pleasantly surprised to find a $35 alternative that has a good sound stage, good imaging and some bass, all at nearly a third of the cost of the aforementioned. Games sounded good, the sound was full and immersive, not hallow sounding. Positioning was good, and you could navigate with sound as you should be able to with surround effects. Movies also benefited from this and it was nice to hear some rumble and good imaging. Combine some good comfort and you have yourself a very inexpensive good-for-gaming headphone that also can be used for movies.
 
Closing Thoughts:
 

 
The UR55 is a smallish headphone with foam cups with a good enough soundstage for gaming and enough bass to satisfy genres that call for it, making it quite a decent headphone for it's humble $35 price tag. I could only really fault the cord for being too short and tiny diameter, and overall the headphone's size was relatively small, making me max it out to wear it in my comfort zone. But beyond that, it had surprisingly good full bodied sound with some detail to it. I was impressed enough to recommend it over the AD700 for gaming and general music listening. But it doesn't quite stack up to the other alternative, the Fischer Audio FA-011 (which I think is the best budget headphone for games, movies and music that is open-air and bass capable in the $100ish range). But this little guy competes rather well with the $100 tier headphones, even though it's only $35 on sale. If you have a friend, loved one, or just yourself, looking for an inexpensive headphone for these applications, especially a gaming headphone, this would be a good route to take. I didn't keep the headphone myself, as I have no need, but it was fun to try it out and put it up against some far more heralded headphones and see if $35 could stand in the crowd so to speak, and I felt that it did quite well.
 
Great headphone for rock and jazz, also good for acoustic and indie or folk. It performs decently for electronic musics like Trance, Dance and Dub (not quite a bass titan). So it can handle most genres pretty well. It's not too bright, and it's not anemic.
 

 

 
Very best,

Sennheiser HD448 A sub-$100 champ, or a stinker?
 
I picked up a pair of HD448's after reading about their sound out of curiosity, while looking at closed back headphones for the purpose of having a good sounding portable, and having enjoyed the signature of Sennheiser (HD580's) for over a decade, I figured they would make a quality headphone. So let's take a look at what the HD4xx series had to offer on it's higher end. These headphones are in the sub-$100 bracket (usually $99, and found them down in the $60's on a sale; can be had for much less if used).
 
Construction, Materials and Comfort:
 
When you pick them up, they feel like a toy. I'm not accustomed to a Sennheiser that feels like this. My HD580's feel sturdy, 10 years later after I bought them. But these HD448's creek and torque and feel like they're literally just going to snap. The pads are made of a cheaper vinyl like material that is not very attractive. The grill backing is nice on the HD448, it's attractive and metallic and classy looking, but the lower HD4xx series headphones look awful (the HD428 looks completely plastic, and not very nice, and the HD438 looks like gaudy trashy wheel wells). Even though they share the same characteristics in sound, I went with HD448 for the classy look (reviewers stated the HD428 and HD448 really sounded about the same in general; the HD438 being colored towards bass).
 
They fit very poorly. When I put them on, and adjusted them, they were not very natural feeling. They felt like unfitted plasticy junk that creaked when I moved around and they ear pads didn't stay in place very well. They got hot very quickly too and I don't like sweaty headphone cups (this happens with all closed back vinyl/leather cup headphoens though for me). I couldn't believe Sennheiser released such a poorly constructed and fitting headphone, especially in this price range. Their HD5xx series are far more comfortable and in general feel like a better constructed headphone for a similar price, and that's saying a lot.
 
Due to the poor construction and fit, the isolation was rather unimpressive.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
The headphone itself actually sounds pretty good. It was supposed to be excellent for most genres, and especially good for things that require mids and some bass response, like rock.
 
Treble (Highs):
 
The highs were pretty clear, crisp, and non-fatiguing with no sibilance. Everything sounded pretty detailed, but it wasn't exactly transparent. The highs often lost their etch as the headphone moved, because they creak and don't isolate well, so it can become a sound that is not pleasing. Otherwise, when held in place and you don't move, they sound excellent.
 
Mids:
 
The mids are nice and forward, generous and not congested. They are direct and warm too. Great headphone for rock, and frankly any genre that benefits from forward mids that are not recessed. The sound is crisp and detailed. The bass does not bleed over and power down the mids, nor are the highs so piercing that they make you lose capture of the mids. This is the strongest aspect of the headphone.
 
Lows (Bass):
 
The headphone is advertised as having enhanced bass response. They do have good bass response. They're not a basshead can, but they're not anemic by any stretch. They have good response, and can reach pretty low. The quality of the low is not exceptional though, it's rather unremarkable and sometimes had a grainy sound to it even when amplified (to rule out clipping). The bass was largely lost often though when the headphone was not isolated, due to poor fitting and again, distracting to hear creaking of the structure of the headphone. The pads didn't isolate well, so a lot of times, the bass just lost it's oumph. When held in place and given a little more pressure on the grip (which could not be accomplished with just the headband, you had to use your hands), the bass was nice.
 
Isolation:
 
Isolation was poor. It was even more poor due to the headphone moving around and not having much grip. It was poorly fitted and adjustment was not very flexible. Overall, not great.
 
Sound Stage:
 
Sound stage was rather normal for a closed headphone. Unremarkable.
 
Closing Thoughts, Conclusion:
 
For the cost of the headphone ($99 retail in general), I simply could not keep it nor spend much time on it (hence the lack of pictures even). The build quality completely takes away from the headphone. They are otherwise good sounding headphones, nice response and balance. Not overly bright and not anemic. Good warm sound. It was rather surprising to pick up a Sennheiser and think "What is this junk?" I was basically confused. I looked at a lot of their headphones and it just seems like a few stand out that we talk about a lot here on Head-Fi. But Sennheiser flooded every market tier with a headphone from their line and it seems a lot of them are straight up bad, even if the drivers are decent.
 
Returned.
 
Very best,

Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Over-rated or worthy of praise?
 
We all know the AD700. It's recommended far and wide by literally every gaming community out there, and a lot of audio/headphone communities. But why? Why is this headphone so popular? I've tried a lot of headphones and of course, I had to know. I previously picked up it's little brother the AD500, and was really curious to see if the AD700 was that much different. Plus, I wanted to test the AD700 against other headphones to see if they really are worthy of all the praise and recommendations they receive across the web, or if it's just a cultural thing. Anyone that knows me knows I really don't like it when headphones are blindly suggested when the folk suggesting them don't have them or never even listened to them and are just doing "copy pasta". But that's me being over excited and bitter, so excuse that, and take it as humor. Anyhow, I like to put my money where my mouth is, so I buy headphones and try them out, or borrow them. Whatever it takes. So let's dive into the fabled AD700.
 
Quick reference to what these are, if you're not familiar with them:
 
Note: These are not my recommendations of use here, merely why I wanted to try them.
 

1. Open-air headphones
2. Sub-$100
3. Huge full-size cups
4. Focused on highs & mids, very light on the bass, with a wide sound stage
5. Often recommended for gaming. Less often recommended for other listening experiences (?).

 
I bought them to check out if all the hype and talk is true, or if it's just a bunch of internet copy & paste type stuff. Plus I just wanted to hear them, I like the look and I love huge cups on headphones, so I naturally wanted to try another Audio-Technica (as I was not overly impressed with the AD500, which I had picked up for a steal of $30).
 

 
What Comes in the Box:
 

1. The headphone itself
2. 1/4" adapter (cable terminates as a 3.5mm jack)
3. Paper stuff that we don't care about (manual)

 
If you care about packaging, the box is attractive. Other than that, there's no carry bag or carry case or anything, so we're definitely not talking about a prized set or package like some brands put out with their headphones. Not that you would likely want these for portables or need a case, because they're so huge. Inside the box you simply have a headphone with a long cord attached that terminates into a 3.5mm jack with the typical (but good) screw-on 1/4" adapter. There is some paper included, but we don't read those do we?
 

 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
The AD700 right away strikes you as being a huge headphone. I mean big. These cups are massive. So if you're like me, and you like big headphones, these will satisfy you in terms of their size. The drivers are open with a simple grill made of a light material and the color isn't too distracting (though some don't like it, I didn't mind, though I prefer black, grey, silver, white myself). The phones are padded with a soft velvet material that is very soft, but backed up with a firm foam underneath. The material can be comfortable, but some people also find this material to be a little itchy or scratchy to them, so that's a relative thing. I would have preferred velour, naturally.
 
The materials used are basically all plastic with some soft metal parts (the grills). They are not built like a tank by any means, they're actually rather fragile headphones. So sitting on them or throwing them into a messenger bag is likely going to result in you buying new headphones or duct-taping them back together. In other words, take care of them, they are not beaters.
 
Per typical Audio-Technica in the line, the same shape and built follows through. It's a floating design where the pressure results nearly all on the cups themselves. The floating pads have a foam which is not remarkable and then the tension bars that create the clamp force (which can be bent to adjust clamping pressure either way). Some are a fan of this design. Some are not. So that is going to be a relative thing.
 
The drivers are angled. This may, or may not, have something to do with the sound stage generation and the relative fatigue-free sound as it takes less pressure to generate volume. This may or may not be accurate, I suggest you verify with the Sound Science folk if you're at all interested in this. I'm clearly not one of those folk, so this is completely speculative on my part.
 
I personally cannot get any of the AD500/AD700/AD900's to fit well on my head and I would think I have a normal sized head. The cups seem to rest with a lot of pressure on the lower side of the cup and I don't even feel them touching (yet they do) on the top of the cup. They felt like they were going to fall off all the time, even when they didn't. So I always felt like they were not fitted well. A few folk recommended I bend the bars, which I did, to make them tighter. That helped a little. But I still felt like they simply were not fitting like a glove the way I wanted them to feel. Some people seem to think these are some of the most comfortable headphones there are. I guess I'm unfortunately someone who doesn't agree. The materials feel ok to the touch, but overall, I didn't feel like they were fitted well and the cups didn't have even distribution of pressure which I find uncomfortable. That said, the headphones are very light weight and the clamping pressure is quite low, so I can see why some would call them rather comfortable (combining materials used and weight and clamp pressure).
 



 

 

 
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
On to the heart and soul of any headphone, how does the thing sound, right? Before ever putting them on, you should definitely be aware that they are not fully balanced or neutral headphones. They are colored. What does that mean? It means they are going to sound like certain parts of the frequency spectrum are more forward and emphasized than others. Knowing this, you won't be sound-shocked by what you hear, hopefully. I say this because going from headphone A to headphone B, when they are drastically different, it can cause very odd hearing perception and one may sound incredibly different simply due to a frequency range being emphasized or not, and your preference to a range will really impact how you listen to a headphone that lacks it. So keep that in mind. You'll understand what I'm referring to here in a moment.
 
Quick Summary of the AD700 for those that can't be bothered reading much:
 

1. Emphasized full Highs & Mids, mostly Mids
2. Non-fatiguing at moderate listening level, no sibilance noted (at high volumes, it is fatiguing).
3. Shy, anemic Bass (this is why the Highs & Mids are emphasized)
4. Good for genres that do not need a strong bass presence
5. Easy to drive, no amplification is necessary
6. Excellent sound stage, but maybe too large for some listening applications

 
Music tested, from my trusty test-group that I tend to use on all headphones (all lossless), included: Ani Difranco (Acoustic, Female Vocals), Regina Spektor (Folk, Pop, Female Vocals), Euge Groove (Jazz, Bassy), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical, Piano), Keith Jarrett (Classical, Piano, Live Concert), The Cranberries (Pop, Female Vocals), Elton John (Classic Rock),  Avantasia (Metal, Fantasy), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dubstep), Ephixa (Dubstep), JesusDied4DubStep (Dubstep), Robyn (EDM), BT (Trance, Techno), OceanLab (Trance, Techno).
 
Hardware used ranged from a Sansa Fuze, Matrix CUBE DAC, to Schiit Lyr to test amplification needs and benefits. Quick note: no amplification is needed and it doesn't do anything more with massive amplification, merely done for test purposes. Your sound card or portable device or simple DAC/AMP are more than sufficient for this headphone.
 
Even though frequency response graphs do not display any sort of whole picture of the sound of a headphone, it at least helps us to have a common language or grounds to speak from or refer to.
 

 
As you can see, the AD700 is flat from 100hz to 1khz. That's supposedly what you're hearing the most of, when I say emphasis, which is primarily mids in the builk of that range. After that, there is a dip from 1khz down to 6khz which is the upper mids and lower highs. Then a spike up from 8khz to 10khz, which gives a bump in `detail' suggestion. And then back down again right after 10khz to roll off quickly, which likely helps reduce the fatigue effect of higher treble frequencies at moderate to high volumes. What I interpret from this graph is that it actually sounds like what this graph says (for once). The mids are forward and emphasized and the highs are forward, but not fatiguing in general at moderate volumes. The bass is light and anemic though, as the bass rolls off quickly after 100hz. So you'll hear some bass, and it has punch and impact, but it doesn't have that reverb that satisfies someone who wants to hear some long bass tones.
 
Treble (Highs):
 
The highs of the AD700 are pretty detailed, a smoother airy and fatigue free. They're not quite analytical in nature, so you don't have to worry too much about them making things sound harsh or grainy. Just enough detail to give you the perception of a level of detail associated with critical listening, without the overly critical aspect of headphones like that which have more emphasis in the upper mids and highs in general. Overall the highs present themselves very well and are not what I consider too smooth (not like a veiled Sennheiser model), but are smooth enough to avoid fatigue. I did not experience sibilance either. However at higher volumes, I did have some fatigue, mainly due to the volume and likely that spike around 10khz which would be considered normal fatigue and not a fault of the headphone. They can also be described as breathy, not overly bright, clear and transparent, with good definition and detail. The highs do have a little aspect of being mellow, which comes across nicely for long listening sessions.
 
Mids:
 
The mids (250~400hz and up, depending on how you define mids) are essentially what this headphone is all about. They're solid from 100hz to nearly 2khz in a near flat line, so they make the bulk of what you hear and are the most forward combined compared to other frequencies. The sound actually reflects that too.  The mids are detailed, have ambience, balanced and pretty clear with a great resolution and are fast and are the focus. Great transparency here. This is the strongest aspect of the sound of the headphone and why you likely would like these headphones, for their mid-response and emphasis. It comes across clear and without congestion and isn't drowned out by bass nor made harsh with spikes in the highs. It's a good smooth sound, but with detail and character. Nothing to fault here at all, an excellent renderer of the sound.
 
Lows (Bass):
 
Well, we know there's a big drop off after 100hz. So your bass is likely to be lacking. And when you listen to the headphone, it's true. The headphone is pretty anemic. It's not void of bass, as you do have some punch from 100hz to 250hz, but that just gives you that snap, the punch, the impact of bass like sounds be they an instrument or a synthesized tone. You simply won't get that reverbing bass that a lot of music, movies and games have that someone who enjoys good visceral bass would want. This headphone is shy on bass, light on bass. This is a good thing for some people, as it allows the mids and highs to really project forward (note, the highs and mids are not actually forward, they're flat, it's the lack of bass that makes them seem forward). For others, this is a deal breaker (like me), because I want a headphone that is capable in all areas, not just a few. I tried equalizing up the bass a little to see if it could do it, and it did help a little, but by the time I got to levels where I was satisfied with the sound, I felt the overall sound of the headphone had degraded and that the bass distorted and simply didn't reach volumes on low frequencies where I wanted it on some tracks. This is the biggest flaw, next to the comfort/fit, that I found with the AD700. And frankly, I would rather have to equalize down the bass, which won't distort sound, rather than equalize up the bass, which does distort sound. This is why this headphone is not widely received as an all-around listening headphone, as it really does simply lack bass response--but does provide punch and snap. This is good or bad, depending on your application. For me, the overall picture, this is a hard fault.
 
Isolation:
 
They're open-air, so there's no isolation what so ever. This is a no brainer, but sometimes, you still have to say it for someone to realize that their friends, family and folk on the street (if you dare to wear these outside of course) will hear what you hear. That said, they do leak, but don't seem to leak nearly as loud as a Grado, but are not as subdued in leaking as a Beyer I find. Simply my observation there, if it matters at all.
 
Soundstage:
 
This is the other big point of the AD700 in terms of its sound, next to its good flat forward section of mids. The soundstage is actually quite large and wide. It has great separation and imaging. But it literally has an unnaturally large sound stage when compared to some other open-air headphones that I've tried. For music listening, I found this to be distracting, as it took away from some intimate feels of some tracks like some acoustic sessions that I enjoy. It reminded me of how the K701 did the same thing, making the sound stage so wide that it could become a little too wide for some applications. This sound stage is where the gaming application hype really comes from, because few headphones, if any, in this price range, have the wide soundstage that the AD700 has. Again, this can be a good thing, or a flaw. I have mixed thoughts on this, because in some things, I like that huge sound stage (it was fun in some games), but in others, it was distracting and I felt took away from the music (like in some acoustic and piano that I listened to, where I wanted to be up next to them, intimate, not just in the crowd, so to speak).
 
Gaming & Movies:
 
I of course had to test this aspect specifically with the AD700 since it is so widely recommended for gaming. The sound stage does lend to a neat experience in games as I felt it did make you feel more like you were in a space, and not just hearing a sound. That aspect was positive. However, the anemic bass made it seem like a hallow experience. I felt the same way during movie play back as well. The wide sound stage was great for generating a large space, but unfortunately, the lack of the low end just made it seem like a flat and hallow experience that didn't rustle your jimmies. The imaging is good, but most headphones have good enough imaging for gaming--this aspect of positioning which is often attributed to the headphone is actually the processor that does the positioning emulation that the headphone renders. A standard recorded stereo sound signal will not suddenly be 3D or sound like it's "over there." It requires specific recording or 3D emulation processing to produce the 3D effect or positioning effect that is commonly referred to when this headphone is talked about, or when gaming and movies in general are talked about. That said, I enjoyed other headphones much more for gaming and movies than the AD700. I can understand and appreciate the use of the AD700 for gaming where the concept of "competitive-foot-step-listening" critical listening is important (these folk want zero bass, all detail, accurate imaging, which well, this headphone does). These happen to specifically be first-person-shooter games. So if you're not playing those, and you're not an online competitive player, then I don't see any reason what so ever to be recommended this headphone for gaming. And certainly not for movies either. I would say this headphone is definitely over-rated and over-hyped for gaming use in general. The word "gaming" comes up, and without a doubt, a few people are doing to spam "AD700!" which I think is not founded. Again, I think the headphone does have its place in the gaming community where online competitive-foot-step-listening (FPS games) is critical. But even these games are variable, because it's only effective for games that are not team-based, since discerning a team-mate from an enemy is not going to happen without visualization. But in a free-for-all, or death match situation FPS, this is where positioning of competitive-foot-step-listening is important and the only place I agree that the AD700 is good for.
 
Basically, for other applications in gaming and movies other than the situation described exhaustively above, another headphone is a better deal in my opinion. So this headphone gets my "over-rated stamp of approval" for gaming. Note, this is not to say the headphone isn't nice to listen to.
 
Closing Thoughts:
 
The AD700 is a nice headphone to look at. However, I felt the construction, like all of the AD-series could benefit from better materials, and the AD900 does improve in that area with better construction material. The comfort was relative, I think it could be comfortable if it fit better, but overall, I didn't find it all that comfortable. This is merely my preference, as I do prefer a glove-like fit and some grip, not a floppy flimsy setup on my head. The sound is good. I think if all you need are mids, some smoothed highs with a touch of detail, and a little touch of bass impact, this headphone will work for you--acoustic and some single instrument (like violin, reed instruments, etc come to mind). The lack of total bass response however takes away from the headphone in my opinion for a wider application. It was a hallow experience for pop, some bassy jazz, some classical that involved piano & cello and symphonic tracks where low end is quite important and reverb is important. It didn't do any sort of electronic music (EDM, dub, techno, trance) justice with its lack of bass too. I felt it to was also way too weak in bass for progressive and modern rock, alternative metal and metal in general, but was ok for classic rock (which traditionally had less bass anyways).
 
So this headphone isn't an all around listening experience. I certainly didn't feel it was the holy grail of gaming, the opposite in fact, as it has less application in gaming as a whole (let's face it, the bulk of gamers are not competitive online foot-step-listeners). It wasn't the kind of headphone I'd want for movies with its lack of bass. And the span of music genres that it simply didn't render well due to lack of bass was a lot larger than the few genres that it seems to be pretty good with.
 
So unfortunately, I think the AD700 is largely overrated and overhyped. I think it's application is warranted for a specific gaming genre and a few musical genres. But they are quite small and limited. I think other headphones do a better overall job. I would say right away that even in this price range (usually $90ish retail, it fluctuates), there are other headphones that are superior (an example would be the Fischer Audio FA-011 around $118) and in a lower bracket, the Samson SR850 (around $50). But that's simply my take on it.
 
Very best,

Samson SR850 An inexpensive semi-open high performer
 
First let's get some information across. The Samson SR850 is a clone of the Superlux HD668B. Same headphone. They simply rebranded it and changed the style of the headband. The Samson SR850 more resembles the AKG series headphones. The Superlux HD668B more resembles the AudioTechnica series. Keep that in mind depending on which style you may prefer, as they are the same headphone and virtually cost the same. I went with the SR850 because I like the look better and the headband way better than the HD668B. This headphone is low impedance and sensitive, you will not need an amplifier at all.
 
Why: Well, I wanted to try out various inexpensive (budget) headphones to get a feel for what's all out there. Here at HeadFi, and other online communities, there seems to be a lot of blind suggestions when it comes to a headphone that is popular when mentioned in a thread. My favorite example is the AudioTechnica AD700 for gaming specifically. The problem is that a lot of people are recommending that headphone for someone who wants a headphone for gaming, who have never even heard that headphone, let alone gamed with headphones sometimes. Anyhow, I wanted to find another headphone that was even more inexpensive and capable of being great for gaming and music and movies all the same. After doing some hunting around, that landed me on the SR850. Part of the deal was that it had to look good and feel good, not just perform good. Again, landed me on the SR850.
 
What Comes in the Box:
 

 

 

 

1. The headphone itself of course.
2. 1/4" adapter (cable terminates into 3.5mm).
3. Owner's manual (gee, thanks).

 
The packaging is very simple. No extravagant packaging extras, no accessories. It's just a headphone with a cord and an adapter for the termination plug. This is not a plush or luxury item. It's an inexpensive budget item. Note, I didn't say cheap as that comes off as a negative and that's not to be implied here. It's inexpensive and budget in a good way. You're not paying extra premium for junk that you throw away anyways.
 
Construction, Materials & Comfort:
 
Right away, you'll notice it looks a lot like an AKG headphone. It definitely clones their look, which is a really good thing to grab attention (which is what these kinds of marketed items are made for). The cups that house the drivers pivot, so they are not broad-straight, they adapt to whatever surface they press to. The bars on top are sturdy and provide the grip needed to keep the headphones in place. The grip is not forceful, so it doesn't cause discomfort, nor is it so completely lite that the headphone wobbles off. Very easy to wear. The headband is a vinyl that is molded/stamped to look like leather. Nothing fancy, but it's actually a nice detail compared to just getting bare vinyl I guess. The way the cups attach to the headband and bars is exactly like the AKG sets. There is an elastic band on each cup that pulls it towards the headband, that extends when you place it on yourself and pull down to increase the size of the headband for fit. Literally, the same as AKG (I compared the mechanism to my K701, it was pretty much the same build). The headphone is of course semi-open, so you can see the vents that open to the driver housing. Inside the cups, there is a filter.
 
The cord is long and terminates with 3.5mm, and you get a 1/4" adapter.
 
The pads are where the budget comes into play. The pads are decent, they are relatively large, definitely envelope the ear with some room to spare both in circumference and in depth. The material is another vinyl type material with a semi-soft foam inside. They're not super soft, but they're not hard. The vinyl material is the only part of the build quality that sort of makes me grimace, but that is because I'm hyper sensitive to non-velour/velvet pads. I don't even like the AudioTechnica M50's pads, to give you a reference point. So this fault is more my preference, not necessarily a fault of the headphone for someone else who prefers non-cloth pads.
 

 

 
Overall, the headphones are pretty light weight and are fairly comfortable to wear. I've put many hours into it so far and often found myself realizing, "Oh, I'm wearing the headphones...". When you hold them, they don't have a heavy metal feel, they feel like very light plastic, which they are. Plastic and vinyl. They seem to sit just fine over my glasses too.
 

 

 
Sound Characteristics:
 
When you first put on the headphones, you realize right away, they are not what you expect. These have a big sound. They have full rich bass and generous mids. The highs are very present, it's actually a sort of bright headphone and the highs are the only weak point in the sound if that's a problem for someone. It gives them a nice full sound feel with some detail etched around it.
 
Quick summary of the sound of the SR850:
 

1. Bright treble (highs).
2. Full bass, great impact.
3. Full mids, no recession here.
4. Great for literally all genres of music from acoustic to dubstep. And I tested it extensively.
5. Easy to drive, no amplification needed.
6. Good sound stage and separation of sounds.

 
Music tested included: Ani Difranco (Acoustic, Female Vocals), Regina Spektor (Folk, Pop, Female Vocals), Euge Groove (Jazz, Bassy), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical, Piano), Keith Jarrett (Classical, Piano, Live Concert), The Cranberries (Pop, Female Vocals), Elton John (Classic Rock),  Avantasia (Metal, Fantasy), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dubstep), Ephixa (Dubstep), JesusDied4DubStep (Dubstep), Robyn (EDM), BT (Trance, Techno), OceanLab (Trance, Techno). All in lossless format.
 
Treble (Highs):
 
The highs forward and bright. Too bright sometimes to the point of sounding like they are going to be sibilant and fatiguing, but the more I listened, the more this became less of an issue. I only noticed it really bothering me at higher volumes. At normal listening volume, I had no problem with the highs and I didn't experience sibilance. But at high volumes, beyond my listening level, it definitely goes that direction. So keep that in mind if you listen to headphones very loud. This headphone is bright and can fatigue you. Otherwise, the detail of the highs is great, it's airy too. They felt like they etched a level of detail across audio that made things like acoustic really interesting and clear to listen to. The highs are not rolled off on this headphone. This is not a laid back sound at all.
 
Mids:
 
The mids are forward and present, very rich and with good clarity. The mids are not recessed or drowned out by the bass. The sound is very full and I find any headphone with solid mids and even a hint of bass will perform well in nearly all music as mids make up the bulk of what we listen to (from instruments to voice). Vocals are great, guitar sounds wonderful and piano was very powerful. I was very pleased in general with the mids as a lot of budget headphones are recessed in mids to make a bassy/treble headphone which tends to be more fun and popular. That's not the case here. Mids are full steam ahead.
 
Bass (Lows):
 
One thing you always wonder is whether an open or semi-open headphone will have any real bass to talk about. Sure they have impact and give you a touch of snap, but they don't usually have great reverberating bass that makes you want to shake your head or dance. Well, that's not the case here. This headphone has some bass. I was completely surprised how low this thing went. I'm not used to open-air headphones being able to perform bass like this. I was listening to dubstep and it was keeping up with other headphones that I have that are colored for bass. I was thrilled to say the least, being a basshead in general anyways. These SR850's provide some serious kick even though they're semi-open. Decay is not too quick, so you get a pleasing rumble, but it's not so fast that you hear no bass at all. It's a fast response too, it kept up with everything rather well.
 
Isolation, or rather, Sound Leaking:
 
Make no mistake, these are semi-open, which might as well be open-air. They leak. You will have no isolation. Everyone in the room will hear you. I suppose I can rate how much they leak, but I can't measure it really beyond my perception. Grados leak like mad. Beyers don't seem to leak that bad. These are some where in between. If privacy is needed, these are not for you. The compromise is that you get that open sound stage.
 
Soundstage:
 
Soundstage is pretty good, it's an open headphone though, so you expect that. Instruments and vocals all had great separation from each other, not congested into a cramped clump of mush. The channels fade back and forth nicely and it's easy to generate a 3D field depending on what's powering them. I say that because these are excellent for movies & gaming where position is important and pleasing. In other words, here's a $59 headphone that is great for gaming that is less expensive than the common "gaming" headphones that get recommended left and right blindly. The difference on top of that is that these have plentiful rich bass, so they're great to listen to music and watch movies on too. Not just focus on little foot steps in a FPS game. Everytime I see "AD700 for gaming" I think "No, SR850 for gaming, AD700 for foot steps in FPS games only."
 
Conclusion & Closing:
 
The SR850 is an inexpensive high performer. It exceeded my expectations. I'm not completely pleased with the headphone, as I would prefer the highs to be a little tamer (I use an equalizer and dropped the highs down a tad and all that fatigue went away while still sounding excellent). And I would prefer different pads on the cups (cloth!) but that's my main preference anyways on headphones (velour). The bass was surprising. Very low and full. The mids are forward and present. The headphone in general is warm (warm in my definition references bass and fullness). The highs add a nice etch of detail to the whole image. I'd really like to get a pair of Beyer pads and see if they fit around these, because if they did, bam, it would be awesome. These headphones are excellent for all musics and great for gaming and movies. They're inexpensive and yet give so much. This is to be expected being a hidden Superlux HD668B which we all know is an excellent budget headphone.
 
By the way, if you want a closed version of this headphone, the CAD Audio MH310 is this headphone, but closed back.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Very best,

Monoprice MHP-839 the budget performer
*Note, this review also applies to the Kicker HP541 which is a rebrand of the same headphone. So I have both reviews with the non-model-specific info simply copy & pasted. Same headphone!
 
A couple of us here on Head-Fi were looking for some budget performers that could compete with higher end headphones that are constantly being suggested to new people who have never owned a pair of good headphones (that they know of). And we all know the problems associated with "flavor of the month" stuff. I will specifically be referring to the Audio-Technica M50 for the most part because that's the headphone that the HP541 and MHP-839 directly compete with for sound and application. The price differences being $20 (MHP-839), $50 (HP541) and $150 (M50). I sounds completely rubbish to assume a $20 headphone can compete with a $150 headphone with so much praise. I had to try it myself to calm the curiosity. So I compared all three headphones together for this, which means I bought all three. So if you're interested, the following is what I've learned about them.
 
What Comes in the Box:
 

 

 

1. The headphone itself.
2. Two detachable cords, a shorter smaller portable cord, and a very long cord for desktop use.
3. A 1/4" adapter (both cords terminate into 3.5mm).
4. HP541 comes with a carry bag. MHP-839 does not come with a bag.

 
Construction and Materials:
 
The construction is all plastic. The HP541 has a hard rubber on some of it's bits, including the driver backing, whereas the MHP-839 has matte finish plastic every where instead. I much preferred the hard rubber material, as it was much like Ultrasone headphones I've had in that sense (all plastic, some hard rubber). They are built rather well, they don't feel like cheap break-in-your-hands toys. They are incredibly lite, and I felt like they were too lite even, but that's a relative issue depending on the person. The cups on both headphones are a little smaller than the AudioTechnica M50's. I had to move them around a little to make sure my ear was completely inside the pad. This is a con to me, as any smaller and they would become on-ear instead of around-ear headphones. So someone with big wombat like ears would not like these cups, someone with average or even small ears would likely be fine. The pads are the same on both headphones, it's a vinyl type material and very smooth. I personally don't like it, I prefer harder material like real leather to plastics and vinyls and ultimately I prefer velour to everything because I don't like wet sweaty rings on my pads while wearing them. So this issue is relative to the user, I don't like the pads. Someone who normally uses pleather/plastic/vinyl pads will likely not notice that material difference the way a velour user would. The foam inserts in the pads and headband are the same, stiff, but not like a board.
 
A huge mention goes to swivel cups. These are the only cups which I've had that swivel only 90" that swivel so that the back of the driver faces up (ie, the logo side of the cup faces the world) when worn around your neck. All other headphones seem to face the driver out to the world, when they're worn around the neck in between listening. This is a huge plus in my book because I like to know something isn't dropping down into the driver house. Instead, the back plate is out, and it's more protected that way from spills, food, sudden splash, objects, etc.
 
The cords are detachable, they will pull right out of the headphone when snatched, so pretty protective if that's a thought. They both terminate with 3.5mm jacks that plug right into the left cup on each model. No extra pinning to make it stay. So it breaks away very easily. In other words, if someone yanked it, it would come out and not just pull the headphone off your head or you to the ground in the process. The cords are two lengths. Very short, and very long. Obviously one for portable use and one for desktop home use. It comes with a 1/4" adapter since both cables terminate with 3.5mm jacks. Both cords are otherwise unremarkable.
 
The bag that comes with the HP541 says "Kicker" on the side. The MHP-839 does not come with a bag.
 

MHP-839 backs.
 

MHP-839 Drivers House.
 

HP541 and MHP-839, the same headphone, rebranded. $20 vs $50. Difference? Logo and a bag.
 

HP541 size compared to AudioTechnica M50 size.
 

HP541 (and MHP-839) cup size compared to M50.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
I'm not a proponent of burn-in, so I will not discuss that here. However, I will discuss what it's like to just put on some headphones and listen and compare to some other headphones, without voodoo and unmeasurable "sciences" being talked about. Let's see if I burned any hairs with that statement, hah.
 
Right way, first thing to note, both the HP541 and the MHP-839 sound exactly, literally exactly, the same. They are the same headphone in all ways except for minor cosmetic differences and one is packaged with a bag. That's a $20 vs $50 difference, yet same headphone. Keep that in mind. The MHP-839 right away is the better deal for the sound.
 
Quick reference to sound of the HP541 (and MHP-839):
 

1. Smooth treble.
2. Forward lush mids.
3. Deep, controlled bass.
4. Great for all genres, from EDM to Acoustic.
5. Sound stage is average for a closed headphone.
6. Easy to drive, no amplification necessary at all.

 
I ran various music from Ani Difranco (Acoustic), Regina Spektor (Folk/Pop), Euge Groove (Jazz), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical), Avantasia (Metal), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dub), Robyn (EDM/Pop) for testing purposes (and enjoyment, of course).
 
Treble (Highs):
 
We have no frequency response graph of this headphone, but if I had to guess based on my experience with a lot of headphones, the HP541 (and MHP-839) has a dip in the high treble, probably around 10khz or so. The highs roll off. It reminds me immediately of how a Sennheiser typically has rolled off highs that make it smooth. That's the sound of the HP541 & MHP-839 in terms of treble (and only treble). The highs are smooth. No sibilance at all. The highs are easy to listen to, no fatigue inducing shrill. Just ultrasmooth. This is not an analytical headphone or detail monster. This is an easy listening headphone that focuses on something other than treble. However, the treble is sufficient to allow for beautiful extension and highlight of sounds that are upper range frequency like some vocal accent, some instruments during acoustic, etc.
 
Compared to something like the M50, the M50's treble is more forward and more fatiguing, so the M50 is more of an analytical and detailed associated sound in the treble.
 
Mids:
 
This headphone is all about the mids. The mids are projected very nicely forward and not recessed at all. Without a frequency response graph, they're higher than treble on the curve and the bass curve. The mids are the headphone's body. They're lush, very well rendered. Vocals sound great, guitar sounds great, etc. Mids make up the bulk of the frequency range, so someone who favors that sort of headphone will like this. This makes this headphone excellent for rock, jazz, acoustic, folk, indie, R&B, etc. I would say the sound is very lush and full and is the most enjoyable aspect of the headphone. This is a mid-monster on a budget. This headphone will perform on all genres due to this. Mids make the music, so to speak.
 
Compared to the M50, which has recessed mids, the HP541 and MHP-839 really stick out more in music where you realize you're hearing mids instead of just treble & bass.
 
Bass (Lows):
 
The bass of the HP541 and MHP-839 is actually excellent, it extends low and powerful. It's very present, this is not an anemic headphone, it's also not a bass monster. It provides good present rumbling low bass without it taking over and it does not interfere with the mids. So someone looking for a headphone that can perform well with EDM and bass centered music, these headphones will do it just fine, but they will also turn around and allow you to play intimate acoustic without it sounding like someone turned up bass where it shouldn't be. The bass is fast, it's an easy to drive and doesn't clip at high volumes without amplification.
 
Compared to the M50, these headphones have the same bass roughly. It's just as deep, smooth and controlled.
 
Isolation:
 
Both headphones isolate well. This would not be the case if your ear doesn't fit inside the cup, so keep that in mind. Size of ear will change isolation on these headphones. Otherwise, they're closed back with an average isolation perceived wearing them.
 
The clamping of the headphone is normal, not too much, not flimsy feeling.
 
Soundstage:
 
The sound stage is that of an average closed headphone, but it doesn't feel extremely clamped. There's good imaging, but you're not whisked into a 3D world without a source that does that for you. During acoustic playback, it sounded good, which is normal. It didn't sound like I was too distant nor all up in their junk. So sound stage for a closed headphone is good, which I would rate as average.
 
Compared to the M50, the soundstage is a little better. I felt the M50 to be very cramped in soundstage.
 
Retail Modification (interesting!):
 
The HP541 has retail decals you can buy that are vinyl that fit to the side of the driver backings so you can change the headphones to a different cosmetic look. They're non-permanent so you can swap them. And they're only $4 a piece. I bought some dark wood ones. It's a great way to spruce them up and get rid of the annoying spammed Monoprice/Kicker logo off the sides. They work for both headphones perfectly fine. I got them off Amazon, just search "HP541 Decal" and you'll find them, they work for both the HP541 and MHP-839.
 
Conclusion & Closing:
 
The HP541 and MHP-839 are surprisingly good performers. I actually prefer their sound to that of the AudioTechnica M50. They are smoother to listen to with more mids, yet are still very bass capable. For $20, the MHP-839 is every bit as good as the $150 M50 in sound. So if you're looking for a budget closed performer, the MHP-839 is it. It's a really good budget headphone that has the sound of far more expensive headphones.
 
The main issues I have with the HP541 and MHP-839 are the materials and quality of the pads. I don't like the size of the cups, they're a little too small for my liking, I like huge headphones, so this may be a relative issue and more my own preference. Otherwise, the materials feel like ok plastic, and are sturdy, but I still would prefer a more weighty material. The pads are my biggest, most fatal issue with the headphones, they're a budget vinyl that accumulates sweat very quickly which I don't like because I wanted these for portable use. I much prefer real leather, which is of course much more expensive, and overall prefer velour or cloth pads which absorb and don't get sweaty. This is more of a complaint of my own preference as I prefer cloth/velour over all other types. Some people like pleather/vinyl/leather. I don't. So take that as it is.
 
If you're looking for something like the M50, this is a better sounding headphone for it's cost. These things are inexpensive. I don't like using the word cheap since that can be taken as a negative. They're inexpensive, budget oriented, but don't sound that way at all. They sound like excellent gear sounds, that is well into the $100+ area. So someone looking for a great closed headphone on a dime or a gift for someone looking to get more interested in headphones, these would be a good place to start with perhaps.
 

That's an Amberbock and my HE-500 on the desk by the way. Yet I still tried a $20 headphone. Yea!
 
Very best,

Kicker HP541 the budget performer
*Note, this review also applies to the Monoprice MHP-839 which is a rebrand of the same headphone. So I have both reviews with the non-model-specific info simply copy & pasted. Same headphone!
 
A couple of us here on Head-Fi were looking for some budget performers that could compete with higher end headphones that are constantly being suggested to new people who have never owned a pair of good headphones (that they know of). And we all know the problems associated with "flavor of the month" stuff. I will specifically be referring to the Audio-Technica M50 for the most part because that's the headphone that the HP541 and MHP-839 directly compete with for sound and application. The price differences being $20 (MHP-839), $50 (HP541) and $150 (M50). I sounds completely rubbish to assume a $20 headphone can compete with a $150 headphone with so much praise. I had to try it myself to calm the curiosity. So I compared all three headphones together for this, which means I bought all three. So if you're interested, the following is what I've learned about them.
 
What Comes in the Box:
 

 

1. The headphone itself.
2. Two detachable cords, a shorter smaller portable cord, and a very long cord for desktop use.
3. A 1/4" adapter (both cords terminate into 3.5mm).
4. HP541 comes with a carry bag. MHP-839 does not come with a bag.

 
Construction and Materials:
 
The construction is all plastic. The HP541 has a hard rubber on some of it's bits, including the driver backing, whereas the MHP-839 has matte finish plastic every where instead. I much preferred the hard rubber material, as it was much like Ultrasone headphones I've had in that sense (all plastic, some hard rubber). They are built rather well, they don't feel like cheap break-in-your-hands toys. They are incredibly lite, and I felt like they were too lite even, but that's a relative issue depending on the person. The cups on both headphones are a little smaller than the AudioTechnica M50's. I had to move them around a little to make sure my ear was completely inside the pad. This is a con to me, as any smaller and they would become on-ear instead of around-ear headphones. So someone with big wombat like ears would not like these cups, someone with average or even small ears would likely be fine. The pads are the same on both headphones, it's a vinyl type material and very smooth. I personally don't like it, I prefer harder material like real leather to plastics and vinyls and ultimately I prefer velour to everything because I don't like wet sweaty rings on my pads while wearing them. So this issue is relative to the user, I don't like the pads. Someone who normally uses pleather/plastic/vinyl pads will likely not notice that material difference the way a velour user would. The foam inserts in the pads and headband are the same, stiff, but not like a board.
 
A huge mention goes to swivel cups. These are the only cups which I've had that swivel only 90" that swivel so that the back of the driver faces up (ie, the logo side of the cup faces the world) when worn around your neck. All other headphones seem to face the driver out to the world, when they're worn around the neck in between listening. This is a huge plus in my book because I like to know something isn't dropping down into the driver house. Instead, the back plate is out, and it's more protected that way from spills, food, sudden splash, objects, etc.
 
The cords are detachable, they will pull right out of the headphone when snatched, so pretty protective if that's a thought. They both terminate with 3.5mm jacks that plug right into the left cup on each model. No extra pinning to make it stay. So it breaks away very easily. In other words, if someone yanked it, it would come out and not just pull the headphone off your head or you to the ground in the process. The cords are two lengths. Very short, and very long. Obviously one for portable use and one for desktop home use. It comes with a 1/4" adapter since both cables terminate with 3.5mm jacks. Both cords are otherwise unremarkable.
 
The bag that comes with the HP541 says "Kicker" on the side. The MHP-839 does not come with a bag.
 

What's in the HP541 box.
 

HP541 backs.
 

HP541 Driver House. Did you get enough Kicker logo yet?
 

HP541 and MHP-839, the same headphone, rebranded. $20 vs $50. Difference? Logo and a bag.
 

HP541 size compared to AudioTechnica M50 size.
 

HP541 (and MHP-839) cup size compared to M50.
 
Sound Characteristics:
 
I'm not a proponent of burn-in, so I will not discuss that here. However, I will discuss what it's like to just put on some headphones and listen and compare to some other headphones, without voodoo and unmeasurable "sciences" being talked about. Let's see if I burned any hairs with that statement, hah.
 
Right way, first thing to note, both the HP541 and the MHP-839 sound exactly, literally exactly, the same. They are the same headphone in all ways except for minor cosmetic differences and one is packaged with a bag. That's a $20 vs $50 difference, yet same headphone. Keep that in mind. The MHP-839 right away is the better deal for the sound.
 
Quick reference to sound of the HP541 (and MHP-839):
 

1. Smooth treble.
2. Forward lush mids.
3. Deep, controlled bass.
4. Great for all genres, from EDM to Acoustic.
5. Sound stage is average for a closed headphone.
6. Easy to drive, no amplification necessary at all.

 
I ran various music from Ani Difranco (Acoustic), Regina Spektor (Folk/Pop), Euge Groove (Jazz), Ludovico Einaudi (Classical), Avantasia (Metal), Buckethead (Alt. Metal), Rusko (Dub), Robyn (EDM/Pop) for testing purposes (and enjoyment, of course).
 
Treble (Highs):
 
We have no frequency response graph of this headphone, but if I had to guess based on my experience with a lot of headphones, the HP541 (and MHP-839) has a dip in the high treble, probably around 10khz or so. The highs roll off. It reminds me immediately of how a Sennheiser typically has rolled off highs that make it smooth. That's the sound of the HP541 & MHP-839 in terms of treble (and only treble). The highs are smooth. No sibilance at all. The highs are easy to listen to, no fatigue inducing shrill. Just ultrasmooth. This is not an analytical headphone or detail monster. This is an easy listening headphone that focuses on something other than treble. However, the treble is sufficient to allow for beautiful extension and highlight of sounds that are upper range frequency like some vocal accent, some instruments during acoustic, etc.
 
Compared to something like the M50, the M50's treble is more forward and more fatiguing, so the M50 is more of an analytical and detailed associated sound in the treble.
 
Mids:
 
This headphone is all about the mids. The mids are projected very nicely forward and not recessed at all. Without a frequency response graph, they're higher than treble on the curve and the bass curve. The mids are the headphone's body. They're lush, very well rendered. Vocals sound great, guitar sounds great, etc. Mids make up the bulk of the frequency range, so someone who favors that sort of headphone will like this. This makes this headphone excellent for rock, jazz, acoustic, folk, indie, R&B, etc. I would say the sound is very lush and full and is the most enjoyable aspect of the headphone. This is a mid-monster on a budget. This headphone will perform on all genres due to this. Mids make the music, so to speak.
 
Compared to the M50, which has recessed mids, the HP541 and MHP-839 really stick out more in music where you realize you're hearing mids instead of just treble & bass.
 
Bass (Lows):
 
The bass of the HP541 and MHP-839 is actually excellent, it extends low and powerful. It's very present, this is not an anemic headphone, it's also not a bass monster. It provides good present rumbling low bass without it taking over and it does not interfere with the mids. So someone looking for a headphone that can perform well with EDM and bass centered music, these headphones will do it just fine, but they will also turn around and allow you to play intimate acoustic without it sounding like someone turned up bass where it shouldn't be. The bass is fast, it's an easy to drive and doesn't clip at high volumes without amplification.
 
Compared to the M50, these headphones have the same bass roughly. It's just as deep, smooth and controlled.
 
Isolation:
 
Both headphones isolate well. This would not be the case if your ear doesn't fit inside the cup, so keep that in mind. Size of ear will change isolation on these headphones. Otherwise, they're closed back with an average isolation perceived wearing them.
 
The clamping of the headphone is normal, not too much, not flimsy feeling.
 
Soundstage:
 
The sound stage is that of an average closed headphone, but it doesn't feel extremely clamped. There's good imaging, but you're not whisked into a 3D world without a source that does that for you. During acoustic playback, it sounded good, which is normal. It didn't sound like I was too distant nor all up in their junk. So sound stage for a closed headphone is good, which I would rate as average.
 
Compared to the M50, the soundstage is a little better. I felt the M50 to be very cramped in soundstage.
 
Retail Modification (interesting!):
 
The HP541 has retail decals you can buy that are vinyl that fit to the side of the driver backings so you can change the headphones to a different cosmetic look. They're non-permanent so you can swap them. And they're only $4 a piece. I bought some dark wood ones. It's a great way to spruce them up and get rid of the annoying spammed Monoprice/Kicker logo off the sides. They work for both headphones perfectly fine. I got them off Amazon, just search "HP541 Decal" and you'll find them, they work for both the HP541 and MHP-839.
 
Here's what the dark wood ones look like (they are removable):
 

 

 
Conclusion & Closing:
 
The HP541 and MHP-839 are surprisingly good performers. I actually prefer their sound to that of the AudioTechnica M50. They are smoother to listen to with more mids, yet are still very bass capable. For $20, the MHP-839 is every bit as good as the $150 M50 in sound. So if you're looking for a budget closed performer, the MHP-839 is it. It's a really good budget headphone that has the sound of far more expensive headphones.
 
The main issues I have with the HP541 and MHP-839 are the materials and quality of the pads. I don't like the size of the cups, they're a little too small for my liking, I like huge headphones, so this may be a relative issue and more my own preference. Otherwise, the materials feel like ok plastic, and are sturdy, but I still would prefer a more weighty material. The pads are my biggest, most fatal issue with the headphones, they're a budget vinyl that accumulates sweat very quickly which I don't like because I wanted these for portable use. I much prefer real leather, which is of course much more expensive, and overall prefer velour or cloth pads which absorb and don't get sweaty. This is more of a complaint of my own preference as I prefer cloth/velour over all other types. Some people like pleather/vinyl/leather. I don't. So take that as it is.
 
If you're looking for something like the M50, this is a better sounding headphone for it's cost. These things are inexpensive. I don't like using the word cheap since that can be taken as a negative. They're inexpensive, budget oriented, but don't sound that way at all. They sound like excellent gear sounds, that is well into the $100+ area. So someone looking for a great closed headphone on a dime or a gift for someone looking to get more interested in headphones, these would be a good place to start with perhaps.
 

 
Very best,

[size=16.0pt]The Shure SRH940[/size], [size=9.0pt]a Subjective Opinion-Based Analysis Subject to Scrutiny[/size]
 
[size=18.0pt]         The Shure SRH940: "I can hear the smoke in the bar."[/size]
 

 
Background (A Preface)
 
Before even beginning to describe my journey with the Shure SRH940 headphone, I should explain where I'm coming from to help explain some of my perceptions, expectations and generally how my opinion is formed. I'm a basshead at heart. I like thundering, pant shaking, jaw rattling bass. I like it low, tight and with impact. I don't like muddy uncontrolled flabby bass, even if it's full and wall shaking. Because of this, my headphone collection is pretty centered around bass heavy headphones such as the Ultrasone Pro 900, BeyerDynamic DT990 and the Sony XB500. My reference point for determining neutrality and color is usually done with my Sennheiser HD580 headphone. I keep my Audio-Technica AD500 and Sony XB500 as reference points for inexpensive headphones to make references to between a closed bass heavy headphone and an open air headphone with good soundstage. After all, what's the point of a $300 headphone if a $50 headphone can do it too. It's good to have a wide spectrum of things to sample from to get an idea of quality, sound spectrum, extension, rendering, well, the total package.
 
Too Long; Won't Read (TL;WR): I'm a basshead going after a detail monster headphone for vocals and acoustic.
 
Why I Chose the Shure 940
 
I already have a Sennheiser HD580, so why would I want to get a Shure SRH940? Simply put, I wanted a headphone that would deliver clarity, crispness, detailed highs and likewise mids that wasn't a bass centered headphone like most of my other headphones. I wanted something specifically for classical music, female vocals, acoustic, indie, folk and jazz. The Sennheiser HD580 already performs this task very well, but is laid back and is open air so it's not very ideal for portable use. I wanted something a bit more forward with the highs and mids that was specifically closed so that I could use it while going portable as well as when at home for isolation if quiet-time is needed. Very few headphones that were closed fit the bill in terms of the sound signature I was looking for and the style and comfort that had to pair with it. Searching around landed me the Shure SRH940. A closed back headphone with velour pads and an easy-going-headband grip that has forward mids and highs with good bass extension that is not too bright and little to no sibilance that is relatively easy to drive and sounds excellent for acoustic and female vocals (primarily for me) with incredible detail and clarity while being very comfortable and able to be used portable and it had to have cloth pads, as I will not wear anything else when going portable.
 
Too Long, Won't Read (TL;WR): Closed back headphone with forward highs and mids, neutral bass, that is bright and clear with a great sound stage and good extension. Perfect for vocals, acoustic, jazz, indie, folk, etc. Basically, if you want a personal studio session with Ani Difranco, this is your headphone.
 
What's In The Box
 

 
Some people do not really care about what package, and others do. I like to have accessories and extras that supplement and actually are useful. When it comes to a headphone, the things I'm looking for in terms of these things are extra ear pads, additional cables, a carrying case, etc. The Shure SRH940 has a really good offering in terms of it's package, aside from it's headphone. The carrying case it comes in is a sturdy semi-hard rubber finish-feeling plastic case with a good sturdy zipper. The case does not have a lashing or band, it's just a case, so you have to hold it to carry, it doesn't turn into a hard bag so to speak. It compresses if you press with force, so a crushing force will destroy the contents, but it's sturdy enough to protect the headphone and contents in your luggage bag, backpack, messenger bag, piling books on it on the table, etc. Inside the case, you get two detachable cables, one straight cable and one coiled cable. Both terminate with a 3.5mm jack and come with a 1/4th adapter that screw locks onto the cable. It makes for quick swapping and adapting to your source device. There are additional velour pads of the same color included. The case has a zipper bag inside the case for the additional cable. And of course the headphone itself. The middle of the case has a hard rubber place holder for the headphone to hug. When in place, the headphone does not move around making it a great travel case with some pretty good protection.
Overall, the contents are great which enhances the headphone as a package. By comparison, this package is far superior to what came with my BeyerDynamic DT990, which did not include detachable cables, and was a very flimsy pleather case-bag essentially with a big foam insert in a big tear drop shape where the headphones are cradled. On the other hand, the Ultrasone Pro 900 case is superior to the Shure SRH940, as it is a more sturdy case made of vinyl material that is less prone to show dust and finger prints and comes with a lashing so you can hold it like a hard bag for carrying (and the contents from Ultrasone included extra pads, extras detachable cables and something really neat, a CD with recordings to test the sound stage and rendering ability of the headphone). Shure could have included something like that and made a better case. I've seen a lot of people really liking the case, but the Ultrasone case and contents are superior in my opinion. If you need absolute protection, none of these cases will do. If you want total protection, I recommend an inexpensive hard gun case with foam insert.
 

 

 
Construction & Style
 
Specs:
 
Driver Size: 40mm
Weight: 11oz (320gram) without the cable
 
The headphone itself is made entirely of plastic except for a few internal bits which are definitely not plastic (more on this in a moment). The color is two tone, grey and silver, with black pads, band and cords. The headphone is not flashy like an Ultrasone back plate for example. The plastic itself is very sturdy. Note, it's easy to scratch the plastic. I noticed this right away compared to the hard rubber material of the Ultrasone. I've already scratched mine a bit just from heavy use and tossing it around with other objects. The headband is lined with a pleather material and foam. The pads are velour and very comfortable, they're not a rigid foam like the Ultrasone, the pads more resemble the soft squishiness of my Sennheisers. The cups themselves swivel 90 degrees and completely flip (you can literally turn them inside out). The cups are shaped like an oval, not a circle, and are circumaural. The headband extension is actually labeled with measurements, so you can match both sides without having to eye it, it's labeled, so you can put both sides to "4" for example and it will be equal on both sides (I found this feature to be a nice detail). The cables are detachable, and lock in place (via a twist lock mechanism, if they are yanked they do not come out, they will simply pull the headphone, so beware). Speaking of cables, it comes with two detachable cables. One is straight, one is coiled. Both are thick and feel durable. They terminate with 3.5mm jacks and come with a single 1/4th adapter that screws on. The design is a single cable (ie, both cups do not have a cable extension).
 
There is an odd thing to the cups, the swivel mechanism has a spring mechanism inside which was not really documented anywhere and this is my first flaw that I found. The spring (or whatever it is in there) makes the cup snap back to it's position where the drivers face each other, ie, listening position. That seems nice, but the spring feels like a cheap spring mechanism, not a tight tense spring or tight swivel. And I worry that years from now, if that spring loses it's potential that it will start to just be loose and freely swivel around or possibly rattle or something. I don't like the spring thing in there. I don't notice it while wearing. I only even know it's there when I move the cups manually while holding them in my hands just to turn them around.
The construction of swivel cup allows the headphone to easily drop around your neck which makes it a decent full size headphone for portable use while being closed back. I flip them so that they're backwards when portable, so that when I drop them around my neck, the back plates face outwards (instead of the driver). It allows your headphone tell everyone what they are (great conversation starter for people interested in higher end audio equipment).
 
I've never been a fan of the Shure look. The Shure SRH940 is a deviation from there typical look with velour pads, the color, and the cups themselves. This flagship's look is a definite improvement to their line and is one of the only reasons I even started to entertain getting a Shure headphone (their IEM's look fine of course). I wear these in public without worry at all, they look great. I don't think they're as classy looking as my Ultrasones and they don't have a nice mechanical look the way my BeyerDynamics do. But they definitely look better than other Shures do. I have ugly headphones, and I won't wear them where someone can see (ie, Sony XB500's). So the Shure SRH940 is an attractive headphone for being out and about representing higher end audio to the community. I'm not sure if it looks like a $300 headphone (I think the Ultrasone Pro 900 and the BeyerDynamic DT990 look like their price tags) though.
 

 

 
Comfort
 
I find the headphone to be more comfortable than my Ultrasones and even my BeyerDynamics. The Beyers have always been one of my most comfortable headphones, due to big pillow velour pads. My 10 year old Sennheiser HD580's are the only thing that come close to the comfort of the Shure SRH940. The grip is loose, but not `fall off your head' loose. I don't even notice the headband while wearing them unless I think about it. They're not heavy, but they're not so weightless that you think they're falling off all the time (the way my AD500's feel). They weigh 11 ounces (320 grams) without the cable.
 
The overall comfort and feel is very satisfying.
 
Portability
 
The headphone was meant to be a headphone that can travel. It's portable. It's a full size portable that comes with a carry case, swivel and folding cups and detachable cables that is easy to drive and doesn't require amplification to enjoy. So in a nutshell, yes, it's portable. I found it was very natural and easy to drop the headphone down around my neck. I tend to wear my full size headphones backwards when I'm going portable because when I drop my headphone down around my neck, I like the driver to face my chest so that the back plate faces everything else (essentially showing the back of the headphone to everyone). I like knowing you can see what the headphone is, not just open drivers. Plus, spilling coffee into the driver compared to the closed plastic back of the driver is an obvious perk of doing this. Clearly, I know from experience regarding that and do not recommend it (hah!).
 

 
Sound
 
Let's get to the heart of the matter: how the SRH940's sound. The Shure SRH940 is a bright treble, forward to neutral mid and bass neutral headphone that has strength in details, clarity, soundstage, extension, and isolation. Again, this is why I went for this particular headphone, it has the sound signature that I wanted for listening to things like acoustic, classical, folk, indie and female vocals, while being a closed headphone for isolation. My first impression after listening a while was that the headphone lived up to it's reputation and immediately performed exactly what was expected of it and more.
We should probably at least have a basis here, so I'll share what hardware I used as my source(s) and what music I used to test the range and rendering ability of the headphones.
 
Hardware
 
I used my Shure SRH940's with a few different bits of hardware for both desktop home listening and portable listening. For desktop use, I used my Matrix Cube DAC as both my primary DAC as well as my solid state amplifier. To compare solid state to tube amplification, my tube amp is the Little Dot MKIII. And for my portable setup, the Vivid V1 Technologies is my DAC/AMP combination.
 

 

 

 

 
Music Samples Used
 
Overall, I tested mostly vocals, acoustic, jazz, folk, indie and pop. I added in some electronic (house & dub) and rock just for comparison sake. All my music is lossless FLAC via Fubar2000 or my Sansa Fuze when portable.
 
               Strong: Acoustic, Classical, Folk, Indie, R&B, Jazz, Vocals.
               Capable: Ambient, Metal, Rock, Scores, Pop.
               Weak: Electronic (House, Dance, Dub, Techno).
 
[size=11.0pt]Ani DiFranco - Both Hands[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Ingrid Michaelson - Corner of Your Heart[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Regina Spektor - Samson[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Dar Williams - Calling the Moon[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Diana Krall - 'S Wonderful[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Norah Jones - Young Blood[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Marie-Jo Therio - Cafe Robinson[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Paul Simon - Love and Hard Times[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Ludovico Einaudi - Ora[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Pawnshop Jazz - Limehouse Blues[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Euge Groove - A Summer Night's Dream[/size]
[size=11.0pt]The Cranberries - Such a Shame[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Jackie Evancho - Nella Fantasia[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Lustmord - Primal[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Rush - Tom Sawyer[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Journey - Keep On Runnin'[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Opeth - Windowpane[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Ronald Jenkees - Disorganized Fun[/size]
[size=11.0pt]BT - Rose of Jericho[/size]
[size=11.0pt]OceanLab - Satellite[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Parov Stelar - Libella Swing[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Justice - Genesis[/size]
[size=11.0pt]DeadMau5 - Some Chords[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Crystal Castles - Black Panther[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Dirtyphonics Remix)[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Bay Area Dubstep (BAD) - Tip Tap Toez[/size]
[size=11.0pt]Nero - Act Like You Know[/size]
 
Highs
 
The highs are forward and bright, however they are not so bright that they immediately cause fatigue. The highs are not laid back the way my Sennheiser HD580 presents. Instead, the highs are rendered very clearly, forward, a bit bright, airy, and with a bit of energy. The lovely thing is that even though it's forward, sibilance is minimal to non-existent. This was important to me because I was going to be listening to a lot of female vocals with acoustics with this headphone. Compared to my Ultrasone Pro 900's which have forward bright highs as well, but they were often fatiguing for intense female vocals for me--this is not the case with the Shure SRH940 at higher volumes which was completely impressive. Female vocals are hauntingly good with this headphone because it's able to present a good neutral mid with a forward high, so it projects and isn't subdued by what else is going on in the music. It's all about the details here, when listening to acoustic and vocals for example, it's very pleasing to hear the little things that are not even musical, but rather the human counterparts making the  music (of course not all recordings have it, it greatly depends on how the recording was done, like studio to live, concert, etc). Hearing the gentle scratches on the strings, shoes moving over the sustain pedal on a piano, breath sounds, the sound of a mouth when it opens after swallowing and prepares to sing (that may sound weird, but it's amazing), etc, is the detail of the headphone I was looking for--again, it has to already be present, recorded, but you then need a good headphone that is able to render it in a way that allows you to hear it. The quoted title of "detail monster" is pretty accurate. And this is where my saying "I can hear the smoke in the bar" comes from. Because of this attention to detail and ability to render it, your source matters a lot more than perhaps with another headphone. My Sennheiser HD580 for example is a very similar headphone sound signature wise, but it's highs are not forward and that's where imperfections are often heard or not heard. The Shure SRH940 will reveal every little perfection. It will be more important than ever for someone interested in these headphones to have the absolute highest quality possible recordings that they can get their hands on. I tested some various bit rate MP3 compression levels and absolute lossless and it was easy to tell which recordings were compressed and which were not. 320kbps simply doesn't cut it in my opinion here. It's pleasing to listen to, but I found it obvious which was 320kbps and which was FLAC when comparing music from acoustic to electronica. The devil is in the details.
 
Compared to my Ultrasone Pro 900's, the highs are bright, but the Pro 900's are even more bright at the same volume. The Sennheiser HD580's have great highs but are not bright, they're more laid back and not as engaging. The BeyerDyanmic DT990's are bright and forward and more similar to the Pro 900's than the Shure SRH940. The XB500 have no highs to really speak of, they're completely recessed and shallow. The AD500 has forward airy bright highs that are sort of similar.
 
Mids
 
The mids are neutral and the center of the headphone's signature. The mids sound gorgeous, very generous, and are the bulk of what you're going to hear. The mids are not lost to the low end frequencies and essentially tie together the top and low end nicely. The mids are where you find most of the frequencies involved with vocals  and various instruments and the highs top it off and give some of the detail. In this sense, the mids are absolutely clear and a bit bright, but not as bright as the highs. I would describe the mids as neutral, airy, articulate, breathy, detailed, open and transparent. I think the mids have to be a strong, but not over the top presence in a detail headphone like this because it's producing the bulk of what you're hearing. This headphone delivers in mids and highs as a single end of the spectrum. Primarily I focused on vocals and acoustic instruments and the detail and richness of voice and the detail of a guitar or saxophone (including the sounds associated with reed use and wind instruments in general) were incredible. Voices are projected forward when I compared to other headphones and literally take center stage with a full forward sound. Instruments were incredibly detailed (dependent on recording of course). Listening to some jazz, I was listening to various details such as the mechanical working of the saxophone specifically, the sound of a wet reed after prolonged playing, the gentle taps and thumps of a guitar body during play and especially the body of a piano and it's mechanisms that you can hear through the tones being played. The detail was there. The notes were crisp and separate. Absolutely clear and detailed, not muddy or congested, and they didn't drown out the highs.
 
Compared to my Ultrasone Pro 900's, the mids are forward and neutral, where as with the Pro 900's they're more recessed, I noticed a big difference in vocals and acoustic. The Sennheiser HD580's have excellent mids and are much more similar to the Shure SRH940 but are still a bit laid back and less forward. The BeyerDynamic DT990 has more recessed mids compared to the Shure SRH940. The XB500 mids are there, but are muffled and recessed with the mid-bass. The AD500's have forward mids that are similar to the Shure SRH940's but lack the detail and fullness.
 
Lows
 
Right away it should be repeated, I'm a basshead, so these are a huge break from my typical headphone. My biggest fear was always that I'd get a detailed high/mid focused headphone and immediately reach for my Ultrasone Pro 900's or BeyerDynamic DT990's. The bass extension of the Shure SRH940 is actually quite impressive. The Shure SRH940 was able to render low frequencies when I tested it on various tones and music that had incredibly low bass and it was there, very tight, very controlled, but not forward and definitely not the focus of the headphone's sound signature. The bass is there and very capable, but it's neutral and sometimes you have to listen to even realize that there's a really low frequency playing. The detail is still incredible and you can pick out separate sounds with ease and the bass is like this too. The bass is satisfying in the setting of vocals, acoustic, jazz, indie, folk, classical and some rock. I tested some electronic music with some very extensive bass and bass focus, and found it rendered nicely, but definitely wasn't the strong point of the headphone. In a bass-lite headphone, when listening to dubstep for example, you immediately realize you're not wearing basshead cans. This is not a flaw, but rather, what the headphone is not all about. I tested the bass to see if the headphone was capable of being made more bassy with equalizer setting changes and found it was able to become quite forward and very rich. So the headphone is actually capable of quite a bit more if you do need to be able to make it more bassy, it definitely can do it. It still is not nearly as monstrous as headphones like Sony XB500's or Ultrasone Pro 900's at all, not even in the same league what so ever. But the bass presence is enough to satisfy me, a basshead, while listening to things that are not focused on bass. I was actually impressed how low the headphones were capable of going and it was clear and controlled, simply not forward and not at all covering up the mids. This was a very refreshing sound and when I compared to my other headphones, immediately liked this sound much more for music like vocals, acoustic, jazz, indie, folk and classical. But the bass is present enough that I get a satisfying low hum from a cello, piano and bass saxaphone. If you need present bass, these headphones are not for you. However, I will say again, with an equalizer tweak, it was impressive how much the headphone could change in the bass department.
 
Compared to my Ultrasone Pro 900's, the bass of the Shure SRH940 will immediately sound like it ran away from the fight, but that's because the Pro 900's are monstrous with their controlled extended low powerful bass. The Sennheiser HD580's are more similar to the bass of the SRH940 in that it's rather neutral, not forward, present and has good extension capability. The BeyerDynamic DT990 bass is also much more powerful, full, rich and forward than the Shure SRH940. The XB500 has ridiculous bass that just rattles your jaw and is the absolute opposite of the Shure SRH940 in every way. The AD500 has very light bass that is not full, less rich than the Shure SRH940, so the Shure is more bassy than the open air Audio-Technica by quite a bit. Overall, bass shouldn't be why you're getting the Shure SRH940. I'm merely giving a bit of a comparison should you own one of these or heard one of these headphones to get an idea of what kind of bass you might expect.
 
Soundstage
 
The soundstage of the Shure SRH940 is good for a closed headphone. Instruments are all over the place, even though it's heavily recording dependent. I have a lot of music that is acoustic and vocal based, and when something is not centered it really stands out and is different. In a headphone with poor soundstage, you hear most everything separate, and in some headphones, the channels are so separate that there's too much left or too much right and it just sounds artificial and very poorly recorded. Electronica music generally is very central, no variation on channels, other than movement from direction to direction for fun. But classical, folk, indie, jazz, etc, with several instruments really let the SRH940 shine by allowing you to easily pick out which instrument you want to pay direct attention to and it's relative orientation in the sound field. The soundstage is not the same as that of an open headphone, but it's still quite impressive. I had a few recordings I listened to that I thought I heard someone knocking on the door, or something was happening in the house, but realized it was just something in the background of a recording. Separation of the left and right channel is very subtle, it's not pronounced, so when you hear a recording, things are not only left or right, it's very well mixed. Things can be centered or just slightly off centered, without too much obvious "one channel" sound.
 
Isolation
 
A big reason I went with the Shure SRH940 is because it's closed back, so I could have some isolation. It helps to have the headphone available during travel and helps to enhance detail. Isolation is a big deal if living and listening around other people, be it at the house or in an airport. Direct comparison to the Ultrasone Pro 900's, I noticed right away that the higher frequency sounds like "sss" were more hushed with my Shure SRH940's than with my Ultrasones. So overall isolation was a tad better with the Shure SRH940's. I tested how well they isolate at home and found that when the drivers are open to the room, you can hear them like speakers from two rooms away. I was hearing music in the bathroom of a bedroom next to the office room which had my Shure SRH940's playing away with the drivers exposed to the room. Vise verse, when the headphones are clamped on something for listening, isolation is quite good for natural passive isolation and you can barely hear them from a few inches away and not at all from another room. None of the noise cancelation gimmick stuff is involved. I had the opportunity to test the headphones at home and on the go, I tested them in Miami and Jacksonville airport and their respective flights for several hours. I used them in the airport in Miami and I could not hear anything except music. In the actual airplane, I couldn't hear people or announcements, but I could certainly hear the rumble of the jet engine, but it was still muffled enough to where I could enjoy listening to acoustic at normal listening level. It's very difficult to completely isolate out a jet engine next to you. I was impressed.
 
Here's a video with audio to give an idea of isolation at 8 inch distance and high volume:
 

 
Amplification Notes
 
Specs:
 
Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW
Impedance: 42Ω
 
Testing amplification has been a bit tricky, but I've made a few notes that are worth mentioning. When I play various music through my Sansa Fuze without a portable amplifier and with a portable amplifier there are small differences. When I test my Sansa Fuze with and without my Vivid V1 Technologies portable DAC/AMP, I noticed that the bass is slightly different. When amplified the bass is a little more pronounced (which is still not forward at all compared to the mids and highs). I think I notice more of a bump in the mid-bass range that gives it a bit more of a full sound. It does not suddenly make the headphone bassy at all, to be clear on that. I do not think the headphone needs amplification beyond what your portable player can provide (depending on the player). These headphones are not power hungry and are not hard to drive. But again, I think you will squeeze a tiny bit more out of their lower ranges with an amplifier should you be interested in these headphones for portable use.
 
As for amplification at home in the desktop setting, I tested both solid state and tube amp with my Matrix Cube DAC and my Little Dot MK III. I noticed the tube sound really warms up the headphone at least in my setup and the bass was a bit more full under the tube. Solid state seems to be a better amplifier for the headphone in regards to detail and producing a neutral and more true to the recording sound for this particular headphone. I noticed a little more sound stage with my tube amp as well, but it's very slight. I think overall I enjoyed the sound of female vocals on my solid state amp more because it seemed to have less of a bloom and less of a tubey echo sound. They both sounded great, but I think I simply enjoyed the quiet, detailed, nothing added amplification that comes from a good clean solid state amplifier. The tube made it a bit more fun. So depending on what you're looking for in sound, one way or another could be important. Overall, I think the solid state approach is better for a detail headphone that is meant to be neutral, or neutral with a color towards mids/highs.
 
Too Long, Won't Read (TL;WR): Amplification is not necessary. It enhances the fullness of bass response when used very slightly. Solid state amplifier I think sounds better than tube amplifier for this headphone due to detail and not adding any particular sound to the render the way a tube amp tends to.
 
Closing Notes
 
I have to say that I've spent over 100 hours on these headphones at this point constantly switching and comparing to my other headphones and trying different combinations with my gear to see what I find works best out of what I actually have. I am more and more listening to my Shure SRH940's than my other headphones, largely because I'm listening to more acoustic and vocals. I immediately change to my Ultrasone Pro 900's when I get into more dance and house, without hesitation of course. But I find I don't even want to use my Sennheiser HD580's when I have these Shure SRH940's. The Shure is just more engaging and the mids and highs are just gorgeous, and being close and portable, and easy to drive, it's my headphone of choice between the two so that I can basically use it anywhere.
 
I've not noticed any specific changes with the mystical burn in, as I've just listened to the headphone the whole time and it sounds just like I put it on, except that I'm used to hearing it now and of course either continue to like it or not.
 
I'm definitely happy with the headphone. If you're looking for a headphone for acoustic, jazz, vocals, indie, folk and classical, that is closed back, portable, full size, very comfortable, that can handle high volume female vocals without sibilance or shrills, this is the headphone for you. I don't think these are the headphones you want for rock, metal, pop and ambient even though it's capable. And you absolutely will not want these headphones for hip hop, dance, house or dub (electronic) music because the bass is not emphasized. The headphone is quite a good reference headphone should you want to do professional work. But in general, I would call this a good monitoring headphone for the above genres mentioned that it works well with.
 

 
 

 

 
Thanks for reading my opinion and thoughts.
 
Very best and happy listening.

Heya,
 
So I received the AD500's today. Let me just say this now, I cannot stand FedEx. I didn't get to choose the courier. I always use UPS or USPS. I absolutely cannot stand FedEx. They're the only courier who leaves packages on door steps, knock and walk away. I wouldn't be completely devastated if a $30 pair of headphones were stolen. But what if that was one of my other headphone orders? Or my DAC? I would lose my mind. FedEx is not worth my business. I would never have even used them had I had the opportunity to choose the courier. Walmart used FedEx without an option. Gah! Ok, enough of that, let's get on to the headphones.
 
Audio Technica AD500 Open-Air Full Size Headphone Review First Impressions
 

 
First, let's open up the package and see what we have and talk about the headphone build, structure, mechanism, driver position, cord, pads, and their size. And let's do it with some little pictures to help get an idea of things with commentary. The package isn't anything special. There's no carrying case. No additional cords. No extras of any kind. No CD will free audio to test your headphones on. But I'm not expecting anything in the $30 range. And we're not here to judge the package, right? Right.
 

 
Physical Attributes of the AD500:
 
The headphones are huge. I was surprised how big they were. The cups are a bit bigger than all my other headphones. The construction of the headphone is plastic as expected in this price range ($30). They're actually pretty light weight. My first immediate impression was the total lack of the ability to tighten the headband. These things are one size and either grip you or they don't depending on your headsize. Now I don't have a huge head, but these do not grip me. I worried at first thinking that without at least a bit of grip that they wouldn't seal right and it would affect the sound. I've read about mods to keep the headband pads closer via bands and other methods and bending the tension levers into a "V" shape to produce more grip. I didn't bother. I want to know what they're like out of the box first. Mods come later. Pads are very soft, very smooth and plentiful. Putting them on, they are light, I don't feel a huge weight on my head, but they don't grip me like my other headphones, or at least don't sit in a manner that makes me feel like I can move my head around without them shifting. They are quite loose to me. So I moved around, they didn't shift. But I felt like they were going to if I did anything crazy. Point is, very light grip. The headphone swivels only slightly and they're on a simple bar mechanism that lets them turn as seen in the 4th image above. Right away I noticed when looking in the cups that the drivers are angled so that sound travels from your front to your back which represents the natural shape of your ear any ways. Nice detail. They're not just dead center and perpendicular out from there. The pads are pretty comfortable, and cloth. I will not own/keep headphones without cloth pads, so this is a plus and the only reason I even was willing to try these headphones for fun. The cord is very long, thick and is not detachable. Comes with both connections of course (mechanism of changing adapter is a simple plug in, doesn't screw in or anything, just plugs, I don't like that because you can pull it it out of your headphone jack and leave the adapter behind potentially which is annoying). The color is simple, they're black with silver grills. So crazy purple or anything silly. There's a little notch on the left headphone swivel to denote Left from Right if you can't see or if you don't remember the cord is attached to the Left cup. Overall, I can't decide if they feel cheap, or if they're just so big and loose that it's like wearing a hat too big for you so it feels awkward. I'm going to go with both, they feel cheap (and are, so that makes sense) and they are loose and and big. Someone with a huge wide hide would probably fit into these a lot better than me. I say this because if you attached a microphone to this headphone it would probably slide down on that side a bit which is annoying.
 

 
Comfort Impressions of the AD500:
 
When I first put them on, I felt like they were loose and didn't grip. Didn't know if this was normal compared to it's bigger brothers and sisters. End of the day, it's the same as the others. I wore them a while, while listening. I got used to the feel within a few minutes. Didn't really notice it any more. I'm attributing that initial feel because I was previously wearing my Beyers and Ultrasones already this morning, so going from a grip to something loose was different. I get the same feeling when I put on my Sennheisers which are 10 years old and very loose. But the headband sits, so you feel like you're wearing a comfy old shoe. The AD500 doesn't feel like that. Maybe it will in the future after some use. For now, I will say it's not the most comfortable headphone to me. I like to have a little more grip. And I like it to feel like it's not going to fall off. Again, maybe someone with a bigger wider head would like the feel more than me. And someone with a skinnier head may not like this at all. I didn't have any issues wearing glasses with them.
 

 
Sound Signature and Listening Experience, First Impressions, of the AD500:
 
I didn't let them burn in. I burn in while listening. I also don't like to think there's a huge change when burning in. But then I also noticed a change in my Ultrasones, so I always have an open mind about the concept of burning in. These are $30 headphones. I'm not terribly worried if the sound doesn't change. So what it's like out of the box is the first impression, with no secondary burn in. I'm playing it from several sources to get an idea of how the sound changes, volume, etc. These headphones do not require an amplifier at all. I simply pair it up with different ones to see how it sounds. I'm using my Sansa Fuze on it's own, then the Vivid V1 Amp, then output from my Little Dot MK III tube amp to see if there's a difference in sound stage, warmth, highs, lows, etc. Just an initial walk through the spectrum.
 
I'm using a variety of music. Ani DeFranco (acoustic, female vocals, indie folk), Opeth Damnation (acoustic, male vocals, synth, this is not like their other albums at all if you are familiar), The Cranberries (one of my passions, deal with it, her voice is haunting, has acoustic, bass, lots of mid range usage), Jazz at the Pawnshop (great sound stage representation, good ambiance test), Rush (let's here some guitar), Steely Dan (guitar, different percussion instruments, male vocals, lots of little details like chimes and stuff, great for testing), Norah Jones (female vocals, some bass, some airy jazzy country sound to it), Evanescence (female vocals, haunting, some metal aspect, heavy bass, lots of congestion for testing), Justice Cross (some electronica, punchy, in your face, good test of the driver's speed), Elton John (piano, guitar, male vocals, very revealing), Crystal Castles (electronica, lots of different tones, good test of speed of driver, good congestion for testing, punchy), DeadMau5 (house/dub, crunchy, test of bass, highs, and general use as a headphone for someone who likes bass and impact), BT These Imagined Machines (electronica, house, good test of use for the genre, lots of different vocals, punchy, bass presence), Ludovico Einaudi (classical, piano), Euge Groove (Jazz, heavy on bass, lots of instrumental, good test of extension of all ranges and clarity).
 
Treble: The highs are bright and breathy. They don't pierce. I noticed some sibilance during female vocals sometimes. Sometimes they felt congested and dry.
Mids: I felt like most of the headphone's sound was basically the mid-range. It was a very flat sound. Not dynamic sounding. It was a bit mellow and hazey. Very punchy, it had impact, it attacked very aggressively on mid-range-percussion and instruments.
Bass: Very little low end bass presence, punchy, but rolls off to non-existent low end bass, has some bass, it's not absent, it certainly doesn't take over anything, but it's not even remotely a basshead can, it's the least present in the spectrum compared to the mids/highs. Bass light.
 
Sound Stage: I tested with some binaural recordings and the music. The sound stage is wide when a recording takes advantage of it. You don't feel like you're cramped into a little box and the sound isn't just in your head. Good separation and good wide feel when listening. Positioning is very good, so it will function well as a gaming headphone and for listening to films with lots of positioning is the recording (even though it's bass light, but this is likely preferred for gaming as to not lose detail sounds like foot steps to big boomy bass or rumbles that would otherwise conceal the sound).
 
Impact: This headphone hits you in the face when a drum is tapped for example. If you're playing a game, the machine gun is almost too much it impacts so hard and fast, it's like a snap. Some love that. Some don't.
 
Clarity: Limited clarity. I felt like a lot of the mid/high was congested and so detail and clarity was sort of gone. I felt like there was an foggy overlap to everything and less distinction and separation of sounds.
 
Congestion: Definitely some congestion in the mids/highs. I felt like they were all the same thing at first.
 
Fatigue: The highs being bright with some sibilance sometimes in vocals and the fast impact of the driver (it hits hard and fast) had me in fatigue pretty fast at my listening volume. Granted, I listen at high volume. By high, I mean super high. Just to the point where any more would hurt. When I turned it down to what some would call a normal listening level, the fatigue was greatly reduced and the impact was less of a problem. At high volume, the impact is seriously fatiguing though.
 
Richness: This headphone is not rich. It's airy and light sounding. It's a mesh of the mids/highs and the bass is very light. It was a cold thin foggy sound. Even on my tube it wasn't very warm afterwards. Still sounded about the same.
 
EQ: I played around with EQ to see if I could make it sound more like what I wanted to hear. The mid-bass definitely can go up. But the lowest bass simply distorts if you try and raise it. I toned down the impact in the highs to reduce fatigue and raised mid-bass. The headphone sounds completely different like this and is more enjoyable to me.
 
First Impression Pro & Con for the Value ($30):
 
Quality of construction: 5/10
Comfort: 7/10
SoundStage: 7/10
Positioning: 7/10
Clarity: 5/10
Bass: 4/10*
 
Great for rock, folk, vocals and classical. Everything sounded pretty good. They even did a good job on some of my jazz.
Not very good for electronica or anything where you want to hear and feel big bass.
Great for gaming.
 
*Equalizing made a big difference. The sound was massively improved when I lowered the highs a few Db to essentially raise the mid-lows. The headphone transformed into something more rich and bassy feeling. Still light by comparison to my other headphones (DT990, Pro 900's, DT700 Pro's, etc). But it had a much better presence. Impact from drum, etc was taken down a notch that way and the fatigue was less.
 
Overall first impression is that this headphone is worth every cent for $30. But not worth the retail price which is nearly triple that. If you want a gaming headphone and can equalize it, this headphone is amazing for $30 when I compare it to other cheap things.
 
Your biggest fear trying a cheap headphone and being objective with it is that it might sound too close, perform too well, and that you will start to feel the burn of all those expensive headphones you have or want. This little $30 is a performer if you tweak it. I didn't like the sound myself right out of the box, because I crave bass and clarity. With some EQ tweaks, the headphone came alive to me and I suddenly liked it a lot more. Rest assured, it definitely didn't come close to my other headphones even after tweaks. But I must say for $30 this headphone is worth it. If it were twice that cost, probably not. And definitely not at it's retail suggested price (ridiculous).
 
I would love to have some AD700's to test them against to see the difference.
 

 
Note that I was basically listening to them after having listened to my other mains (HD580, DT990, Pro900).
 
Anyone looking for a cheap headphone for themselves for casual use for gaming or listening to anything that has more emphasis on mids/highs, this is a decent headphone and great for $30. I don't feel like I wasted $30. I will keep listening and testing and tweaking and soon will mod them a bit to see if I can get more out of them and will share results as that comes along. For now, I need to listen more to get a better impression and see how things evolve.

If anyone was on the fence, I'd say go for it for $30. I'll probably keep them a while for now. If nothing else, it makes me go "OMG OMG" when I put on my other headphones... haha.
 
Very best,

Heya,
 
If you're looking for a beast of a tube amp that will output enough power to satisfy volume and push those drivers to get what you can out of your headphones, the Little Dot MK III is the best performer for the price out of the little dot line. I got mine used so I saved over $70 compared to new, but otherwise, be prepared to pay $244 for the unit because they're essentially $199 with $45 shipping. Build quality is solid, it's very heavy, very tight, and you don't hear any rattles or weird creek noises. Style is nice, the face is brushed, the rest of the body is black and so the tubes just stick out when you're listening in a dark room with their little lights. Gain switches are under the unit (you do not have to remove any covers). Tube rolling is easy. Just find the tubes, plop them in, and you're golden to roll. Mullards are highly regarded as the tubes for the Little Dot MK III and reviewed over and over as making the amp sound much more like something that costs twice or more the cost. But note that the stock tubes it comes with are very good tubes as it is. Sound is very good. It's tubey and warm, but not overly bloomy. It has a musical hint to it, but doesn't turn into a concert hall of echos on your music. That's the stock tubes. You can alter it of course with other tubes, which is part of the fun of having a tube amp that can roll tubes. Power is enough to push basically any headphone you plug into it. Those headphones with sensitivities and high impedance can be pushed to high volume with this amp. Warm up time is about a minute before listening, you can hear it expand through your headphones if you have them on when you initially power up as she heats up. I like to hear it, it's interesting, but if you don't, don't listen on your headphones until about a minute after turning the unit on. Then leave her on for as long as you wish.