[gikigill]

That's what they sound like out of the box. Put some bassy music and lock them away for 2 weeks and report back.

 

[7S Cameron]

I've had them for about 2 weeks.


I actually think the Downtowns are much more clear and detailed than the S500. 

What bothers me? Well, everything, in short.

The bass is far too overdone 

The mids sound too invasive.

The highs are relatively dark, yet fatiguing for me for some reason.

 

They will get massively better after burn in. Believe me, don't sell them yet give them a chance.

 

[tds101]

I've had them for about 2 weeks.


I actually think the Downtowns are much more clear and detailed than the S500. 

What bothers me? Well, everything, in short.

The bass is far too overdone 

The mids sound too invasive.

The highs are relatively dark, yet fatiguing for me for some reason.

 

If you do decide to sell pm me,...if the price is right we can meet up and I'll relieve you of your cans.

 

[Circuitbender]

Has anyone tried putting V6 pads on these? I've got a pair of velour ones from an old V6 I sold a while ago, Would probably feel better than the stock pads (if they fit)
 

 

[tds101]

The V6 pads are too big. But ppl seem to luv modding the larger sized pads to make 'em fit. Try it and see if the results are to your liking,...

 

[xkonfuzed]

Quote:

The HA-S500 has got to be the most disappointing headphone that I've ever heard, IMO. 

People said it was so good, and I thought I would have loved it.
Nnnope. Gives me a literal headache just listening to it. No amount of EQing has been able to redeem it either. I'm gonna post them to the FS/FT forum soon. I'm going back to my Downtowns

Oh come on. I've been waiting 9 days for my pair to arrive and i read this. 
 
But then again, they're $40, i cant lose anything

 

[Dsnuts]

I remember the last time a headfier didn't like these. They gave them a chance only to become a big favorite of theirs after some use and time...Sure these aren't the best at anything but it will be difficult to do one better than these for the cost.. Carbon nanotubes are the stiffest drivers in all of audio. This is fact..Give them some time to mature. If not sell em and move on. All I can say is all these guys can't be wrong and when I say all these guys. I have lost count. Lol.
 
But there is no such thing as a 100% like in any phone so these will be no different. Everyone has their preferences in sound so you try it, give them a good burn in and try again and if they aren't good for you. Sell them and move on. It is as simple as that.

 

[pro1137]

Quote:

They will get massively better after burn in. Believe me, don't sell them yet give them a chance.

I'll give it a shot. What should I burn them in with? Pink noise? Bassy music? Other?
 
Quote:

I remember the last time a headfier didn't like these. They gave them a chance only to become a big favorite of theirs after some use and time...Sure these aren't the best at anything but it will be difficult to do one better than these for the cost.. Carbon nanotubes are the stiffest drivers in all of audio. This is fact..Give them some time to mature. If not sell em and move on. All I can say is all these guys can't be wrong and when I say all these guys. I have lost count. Lol.
 
But there is no such thing as a 100% like in any phone so these will be no different. Everyone has their preferences in sound so you try it, give them a good burn in and try again and if they aren't good for you. Sell them and move on. It is as simple as that.

 
One of the main things I have against these are the pads. I just can't stand the stock ones. Far too stiff for me. Soft, but not flexible whatsoever. I WAS considering buying some Senn pads for them before I sold them though.

 

 

[Oregonian]

I'll give it a shot. What should I burn them in with? Pink noise? Bassy music? Other?


One of the main things I have against these are the pads. I just can't stand the stock ones. Far too stiff for me. Soft, but not flexible whatsoever. I WAS considering buying some Senn pads for them before I sold them though.


 

I just got these for fun. They are months old and well broken in. I'm amazed at how good they are for the price. Truly sound higher cost.

Thar said, I put HM-5 pads on them as those tiny crappy stock on ear pads are terrible. Fitting the HM-5 pads was not simple but worth it. I now have an over ear portable basshead phone that is pretty darn amazing for the price. Does it compete with the top 6 in my signature? No but for a fun thumper for portable use they blow away phones like XB500 in my opinion. And yes I've had the Sony's.

 

[penmarker]

Quote:

I'll give it a shot. What should I burn them in with? Pink noise? Bassy music? Other?
 
 
One of the main things I have against these are the pads. I just can't stand the stock ones. Far too stiff for me. Soft, but not flexible whatsoever. I WAS considering buying some Senn pads for them before I sold them though.

 

There's nothing wrong with your set at all. Yes they sound veiled and dark and the bass could be boomy/bloated to some. Burning in do help but only so much.
 
I had the same thoughts as you but then people kept telling me there weren't any veils and they're the perfect little headphones and for $50/$45/$60 shipped they can't go wrong at all.
 
No, it's all based on your preferences. If you can't get over the sound signature, then I'm sorry you probably won't like it any time sooner even after >10k hours of burning in on dubsteps with bass deeper than the depths of hell.
 
Downtowns are superior IMHO, several people do like it a lot compared to the S500.
 
To me, the S500 is the perfect excuse. They're dirt cheap, but solidly built, and has a fun signature. It's almost as if you're not allowed to criticize it at all. The perfect defense would be "Oh but they're just $45 shipped!". Sir with all due respect, we know the price, we bought it. But please do understand that some of us really do think they're getting more hype than they deserve.
 
BTW pro, what amp are you driving it with?

 

[kova4a]

Nah, the s500 is awesome and the price is not an excuse. My friend from Japan actually bought it as a gift to me and didn't want my money, so I have nothing invested in it and the easiest thing would have been to resell it or put it in a drawer. And yet still here I am with close to 3000 hours on them. And I don't know of what veil you're talking about but there's definitely nothing like that. I know what veil is and what dark sound is and the s500 doesn't have that - now if your personal preferences are in line with bright and more bass light signatures that's fine but you don't have to describe the s500 as something it's not. 

 

[Achmedisdead]

I don't find them veiled....

 

[TrollDragon]

They are a great little fun portable for out and about, the grocery store, at the mall and even at work.
 
I really don't understand the "Clinical Analysis" that people like to put on dirt cheap headphones. Yeah sure there are a lot of headphones that sound better, everyone says that the Downtowns are quite bit better than these, this maybe true as I have not heard them. The problem I have is, I don't live in the USA so for me getting the Phillips headphones would be close to $100 landed here if I were to buy them new... The JVC's were $35 plus shipping, I am not really interested in chasing sales and looking for used, so on the impulse and 6000+ posts I bought into the hype and grabbed a pair. I was not disappointed in the least since I just listen to music through them instead on analyzing the sonics. All the people who I have let listen to them while out and about have been literally blown away by the sound and quite a few wanted to know where to pick them up. So if the unwashed masses are amazed, there must be something to the hype.
 
On a side note I picked up a pair of Koss TBSE'1 for $29 on clearance when Staples were liquidating their stock, the lovely sizzling treble monsters that they are, if I had bought these when they came out at $149 I would have been highly disappointed in them, but at $29 they are an interesting headphone for certain music and I like them!
 
I also bought into the $4.97 of AWESOME hype with the TDK MT300's, I picked mine up at XS Cargo for $6 and for that price they were actually quite good... I am not really a big fan of IEM's so I gave mine to a friend with some ear buds, the sound difference blew him away and made his day.
 
The value of the S500's for the sound is a major plus in my books, they are not for everybody, no headphone is. So like others have said here. If you don't like them then sell them and move along it's as easy as that, or better yet GIVE them to someone who might actually enjoy having a set of portable headphones, you'll make their day and feel good in the process.
 
Give the S400's a try since they are more musical than these... Or so they say in that thread. 

 
 
S500 Love is in da House!
 

 

[penmarker]

I love these cans, but I will not misrepresent them for what they are not. This is my 2nd pair and it confirms my initial reasoning as to why I had sold off the first pair in the first place. They're veiled and dark. The treble does extend higher than the other headphones in its price point, yet they do not possess the transparency to create an 'honest' reproduction.

The bass is punchy, but unlike the PortaPros they do not color the other frequency spectrum. This is a very good thing, one that demonstrates what the S500 is capable of. If only the creators had paid as much attention to the highs as they did with the lows, it would be very very good. But at this price point one can only hope so.

I am not writing for the ones who already have these, but instead to the ones who are thinking of buying it. This is the other side of the coin, what I am writing is raw and straight from my opinion, and I understand everyone's entitled to one. But at least hear me out.

For the money, they're good. They're excellent. But they can be better, and they should be better.

This is starting to look a lot like "Grado calling Sennheiser veiled".

 

[nihontoman]

Quote:

I love these cans, but I will not misrepresent them for what they are not. This is my 2nd pair and it confirms my initial reasoning as to why I had sold off the first pair in the first place. They're veiled and dark. The treble does extend higher than the other headphones in its price point, yet they do not possess the transparency to create an 'honest' reproduction.

The bass is punchy, but unlike the PortaPros they do not color the other frequency spectrum. This is a very good thing, one that demonstrates what the S500 is capable of. If only the creators had paid as much attention to the highs as they did with the lows, it would be very very good. But at this price point one can only hope so.

I am not writing for the ones who already have these, but instead to the ones who are thinking of buying it. This is the other side of the coin, what I am writing is raw and straight from my opinion, and I understand everyone's entitled to one. But at least hear me out.

For the money, they're good. They're excellent. But they can be better, and they should be better.

This is starting to look a lot like "Grado calling Sennheiser veiled".

and for that dude, I'm grateful. really - sometimes people here forget that the phones have downsides to them and only remember the good qualities, which may be dangerous to the newcomer, as the product might turn out to be not as perfect as per the expectations.