[Azure]

After 11 months (NOT a year) of searching for and debating with myself the perfect pair of headphones for me, I finally got the A500s and tested them out last night:

Right when I saw them in person the first thing I said was "Holy ****, those are HUGE!" They're size is unbelievable! Biggest headphones I've ever seen. The other thing that I noticed was the cable is long as hell. So long that it become a problem as it goes all over the place and I need to wind it up if I plan to walk around with the headphones on. But what I DO like about the cables is that they have this nice fabric on them unlike that ghetto material on most headphone cables. When I first put them on my ears popped and hurt just a bit since it was a little weird and uncomfortable experience though that was just a one time thing. Everything seemed good and I was excited the whole time, then I plugged them in and tested them out...

When I first heard sound through them on my PS2 I literally got goosebumps. It sounded different and LOUD. I played a few songs and the main difference I heard was just volume. Quite disappointing as I just spent $100+ on them. After playing songs for about an hour, trying to proove to myself that I didn't just get tricked by the whole head-fi community into buying $100 headphones that don't do anything special. I then stopped and went to my cd player and played a few songs there. Same sound quality. Main difference was just sheer volume. At this point I was the most disappointing I have ever been in my entire life. I took off the A500s and tried my regular crappy headphones and was astonished. They sounded muffled, lifeless, and weak. The music sounded like it was recorded with a tape recorder's microphone and then digitized into mp3. I then immediately put on the A500s and the music sounded normal...something's not right here.

Before the A500s my music sounded like "X." When I got the A500s my music still sounded like "X" but now my music with my crappy headphones sounded like "Y." As I listen to songs that I listened for hours on end when my crappy headphoens, I realize that they sound exactly like how I remembered them to. The only difference is that when I go to play them with my crappy headphones they sound like crap. So, in the end I paid $110 to have my old headphones sound like crap and have my new ones sound like how my old ones used to sound. Is this right? I just tricked my mind into thinking that my old headphones sound like crap. What the heck is going on here? It can't be burn-in since the A500s aren't supposed to require that much burn-in. Plus, I used them for 6 hours yesterday, I burned them in for 9 hours as I slept, and I used them for another 3 hours this morning. 18 hours and they still sound like how my old headphones used to sound. I don't hear any of this "soundstage" or "instrument separation" stuff that you guys always use to describe headphones.

 

[philodox]

Something is seriously wrong with your playstation.

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox Something is seriously wrong with your playstation.

I had to gut it out to play imports. Anyways, what about the problems with the sound quality? Why doesn't it sound any different than how my old headphones used to sound?

 

[philodox]

I'm probably not the best person to ask as I did not find their bigger brother, the A900, to be all that good at all.

 

[Cyrilix]

Maybe you just got used to what the A500s sound like and then going back to old headphones made the previous ones sound bad.

 

[blackreplica]

I had a very similar experience when i swapped to westone um2 from shure e2c. I know, they are canalphones, but the experience was almost exactly like yours. Put the UM2s on, dont hear anything special, then go back to shure e2c and OMG they sound like crap (when they sounded pretty good to me before i got the um2s). I think its a psychoacoustics thing, maybe the human brain has very poor memory when i comes to judging headphones. But look on the bright side, at least objectively, you know your a500 is better than your old phones.

Oh yeah, i thought i'd also say, that over time, a few days or so, and as time went on, i realised the improvement more and more and started to enjoy them a lot more. brain burn-in at work? Anyway give yourself some time, dont dump the phones just yet.

 

[Ferbose]

You may have to let you brain get accustomed to the better sound of A500.
Maybe in two weeks or so, your brain will recognize: "Hey, this stuff is better than anything I have heard."

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrilix Maybe you just got used to what the A500s sound like and then going back to old headphones made the previous ones sound bad.

But when I FIRST heard them they didn't sound special at all. Just louder. Keep in mind that I had only ~1 hour to get used to the A500s. It was like I was being tricked. If I were to listen to the A500s for the first time for 10 seconds, then immediately go back to the old headphones, the old ones would sound like crap and the new ones would sound like how the old ones used to sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackreplica But look on the bright side, at least objectively, you know your a500 is better than your old phones. Oh yeah, i thought i'd also say, that over time, a few days or so, and as time went on, i realised the improvement more and more and started to enjoy them a lot more. brain burn-in at work? Anyway give yourself some time, dont dump the phones just yet.

Yeah, I know they are better, but I can't hear that they should be better. Maybe this whole audiophile thing is just bogus to begin with and the only perception that we receive of headphones being good is the contrast in sound quality between them and worse headphones. It's weird. The A500s aren't supposed to benefit from burn-in, right (At least not a noticeable benefit)? I don't think it's going to get any better than this, unfortunately...

 

[gshan]

Give it some time. Listen to different types of music. Find a good recording to put it to the test. Play a pc game with it. In short, try different things. In the end if you still don't find them worthwhile perhaps the a5/7/9 sound isn't for you.

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Maybe this whole audiophile thing is just bogus to begin with and the only perception that we receive of headphones being good is the contrast in sound quality between them and worse headphones.

I think there may be a point of diminishing returns certainly but it's definitely not crap. My first high end phones where the Senn 595s and I certainly didn't have to listen to any of my old cans to hear a difference.

I could suddenly hear all of the instruments, they were crisp, when they stopped there was no residual noise, notes were clearly defined. I could hear instruments that I didn't think existed in that song before, the bass actually had some texture to it, etc.

It was pretty obvious that they were in a different league. Sometimes it didn't even seem like the same song I had been listening to. Even knowing some things are there I still can't hear it in my old phones.

Ant

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apostate I think there may be a point of diminishing returns certainly but it's definitely not crap. My first high end phones where the Senn 595s and I certainly didn't have to listen to any of my old cans to hear a difference. I could suddenly hear all of the instruments, they were crisp, when they stopped there was no residual noise, notes were clearly defined. I could hear instruments that I didn't think existed in that song before, the bass actually had some texture to it, etc. It was pretty obvious that they were in a different league. Sometimes it didn't even seem like the same song I had been listening to. Even knowing some things are there I still can't hear it in my old phones. Ant

Well, I'm not hear any new instruments or anything else to that degree with the A500s compared to my old headphones prior to hearing the A500s.

You noticed it with the Senn HD 595s? Ugh, did I buy the wrong headphones then? Did I buy headphones that were too crappy? Do you have to start in that price range to notice a difference in sound quality? I don't think I can fork out the cash to get something in the league of the 595s.

Quote:

Give it some time. Listen to different types of music. Find a good recording to put it to the test. Play a pc game with it. In short, try different things. In the end if you still don't find them worthwhile perhaps the a5/7/9 sound isn't for you.

Not the sound for me? But wouldn't I still notice a decent difference upon my first hearing it since I'm going straight from crappy headphones to A500s?

Man, all of this just sucks. I'm not getting any of that hearing new instruments and experiencing a soundstage that I've been looking forward to all this time and now I have a feeling that I might have just gotten crappy headphones and needed to start with higher quality ones.

 

[fatp3nguin]

Well, the A500s are supposed to be very nice. Perhaps your music just isn't demanding enough? What sort of music are you listening to?

Either that or maybe spend some time listening more critically?

 

[Imyourzero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Not the sound for me? But wouldn't I still notice a decent difference upon my first hearing it since I'm going straight from crappy headphones to A500s?

Perhaps you happened to get a set of headphones with a sound signature that vaguely resembles that of your other ones--maybe that's why they sound like your old ones "used to sound." The good news is that now that you've tried the A500s, you'll probably be able to better distinguish the different characteristics of other headphones. I mean right now you could go to a Grado or some HD 580s or a Beyer DT 770, and it would be a totally different world!

I know those A500s probably aren't returnable, but the good news is you can always pass `em on in the classifieds if you want to try another headphone.

 

[Cyrilix]

Azure, you say that you can definitely notice a difference between your current headphones and your old ones which you now deem to be crappy. Try listening to the two to see what differences there are and then think about whether or not that difference was previously existent.

Anyway, I'm just giving you ideas to appreciate your new cans. You may be surprised at what you notice.

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Not the sound for me? But wouldn't I still notice a decent difference upon my first hearing it since I'm going straight from crappy headphones to A500s? Man, all of this just sucks. I'm not getting any of that hearing new instruments and experiencing a soundstage that I've been looking forward to all this time and now I have a feeling that I might have just gotten crappy headphones and needed to start with higher quality ones.

I've never heard the A500s but I kind of know what you are going through. My second set of cans were woodied Grados 225s that hadn't broken in yet. For a few hundred bucks I can definitely say I was expecting more that I heard at first.

After some break-in time, listening to a lot of different types of music and, perhaps most importantly, switching pads on them, I've really come to enjoy them. Some headphones definitely seem better with certain types of music. I still dislike my Grados for large orchestral music and most recordings where there should be a very large soundstage due to their presentation. IMO They're great at rock and smaller jazz ensembles, etc.

So I would agree with the recommendation to listen to as many different types of music as you can with them and see if a different type of music gives you a different perspective on them. If not they may just not present a type of sound that you like or that draws your attention to the differences between them and your previous headphones. You may also want to try some different sources and see if that helps. My Senns sound horrible out of my Kenwood receiver's headphone port while the Grados are ok. The Senns and Grados both sounded fair out of the little JVC "executive system" but nothing to write home about. Both sound pretty decent out of the iPod. Never actually tried my PS2 as a source.

If you really dislike them and decide to try something else I would definitely recommend looking in the for-sale area of this site. It will save money in the long run if you don't have anywhere local to listen before you buy or if you decide to experiment with something different....

FWIW - The only time I typically heard an instrument I didn't realize was there is generally on classical. For the most part it is a distinction of something that is already there but for whatever reason (mixing, coloration, etc.) wasn't clear enough to be readily distinguished (some bass lines, vocalists intake of breath and things like that).

Ant