The other day I was in my local apple store, comparing some headphones I was thinking of buying, such as the B&W P5, and the Harmon Kardon CL (which were a disappointment in themselves). I noticed that the folks at apple decided to have a wall showcasing to all the colors the Beats Solo came in. I smirked, and returned to the B&W P5, and reveled in that sound for a little bit longer, until thinking "There's got to be something more to the Solos than I give them credit for, I mean I haven't even put a pair on." Well there wasn't something more, in fact it was exactly what I thought it to be, comfort, build, and a cool look, in fact almost entirely a cool look. Each can houses two drivers, and as far as I understand it, one of those drivers attributes to bass and the other is left to do everything else. I didn't plug in my own ipod, which sounds like I didn't put much thought into it, but the idea going through my head was "If the apple store thinks these songs will sound good on the Solos, they're going to sound good, right?" Wrong. I played the first song I recognized "Somebody that I Used to Know" which isn't the best song in the world, but it would have to do. I was astounded how awful the sound was. The guitars bass tones were all I could hear. The vocals, the glock, and even the high tones of the guitar were so recessed I couldn't listen to the whole song. It amazes me that people find this sound enjoyable, and can listen to anything on them. This is the first negative review I have ever given, and the Beats by Dre Solo "HD" heaphones earned that title. Congrats Dre, worst >15 headphones I have every put on my head.

I had to make a choice ladies and gentlemen. The Sennheiser Hd 439 or the AKG K-240s. After hours of video watching, review reading, and talking to friends, the hd 439 came out on top. In part because of the fact I got them refurbished for 60 bucks, and because of some common problems people had with the K-240s. After a few days of burning in, I feel safe saying that I made the correct choice. I'll do my best to give you an accurate representation of the Sennheiser HD 439s. Lets start of with the Negatives (that way you'll finish with the good stuff, and a smile ) namely the build quality. These headphones aren't built incredibly well, considering the 100 dollar price tag. The plastic is the same as the HD 201 (for those of you who don't know those are a 20 dollar headphone). That being said, there may be metal reinforcements inside the headphone. One part of the build that I was happy (and surprised) about is the detachable cable. These are one of the two >100 HD headphones with this feature. Basically these headphones aren't made for snowboarding. I think they will do fine in daily commute (even the hd 201s did). Well thats all for the cons, lets move on to the good stuff.

 This headphone features a type of padding I have never had touch my ears. Its a plush, and breathable cloth that reduces sweat by 100% compared to plastic or pleather. The cups encompass my ears completely. This allows the headphone to rest completely on my head, and not my ears. This creates extreme comfort, as an over ear should. After about 2 hours I started to notice the pressure of the headband a bit, but not enough to make me take them off. Overall these headphones are very comfortable, not the most comfortable, but no complaints.

 The Isolation is next on the list, and I guess I'll throw in cable quality. The isolation is excellent. Being a closed back headphone the only way the sound can really get out is through the pads. I plugged the headphone straight into my ipod for this, no amp, and at 50% volume my dad said he couldn't hear anything. 75% he could here it, but not very much. 100% was noticeable, but this is in a silent room, so in commute, or in any place with people talking, it will be drowned out. Noise doesn't enter these headphones when music is above 50-60 percent (excluding quiet acoustic music, and stuff like that). Quite a few headphones boast superb passive noise cancellation, but these are the second best at it I have ever heard (second to the Shure SRH-840). These easily destroy the Beats by Dre's ACTIVE noise cancellation. Moving to the cable, its nothing special. I noticed heavy cable noise before playing music, which worried me, but didn't end up being an issue at all. any music will drown it out. The headphone includes a 4' cable for daily use, and a 10' cable for hifi use. Any speaker amp's headphone jack will power these well.

 Onwards to sound quality. The main reason I chose this headphone over the AKG is because I have come to know Sennheiser as a company who cares an extreme amount about their products sound quality. I have never owned or tried a Sennheiser product that that has disapointed me sound quality wise. The highs are clear, and upfront. The highs are anything but harsh. They do their job without harming the users ears in any way. The mids are extremely crisp and accurate, female vocalist shined right through the mix, making me laugh with pleasure. The low end was a pleasant surprise. When initially reading the box which claims "Extended bass response" I was worried I was going to get sickening bass. I misunderstood one word. "Extended". Sennheiser really spent their time making the bass clear, responsive and accurate. The bass isn't upfront, or sickening by any means. The sound stage is as good as open back headphones of the same 100 dollar price tag, making the experience of wearing these headphones a real treat. I also have to mention that the instrument separation is excellent as well. I heard things I never expected possible with 100 dollar cans. These headphones provide a refined sound experience that blew my expectations away.
 
My Ipod nano (which ever one has the camera) couldn't quite drive these, but when I added my fiio E6 to the mix, the headphones really shined. I plan on using these for everything from daily use in school to Live mixing at concerts. I am extremely happy with this purchase and hope they last me forever. I would pay 100 for these in a second, but the 60 dollar price tag certainly helped. I suggest everyone have a pair, even if just to use as a portable headphone.

EDIT: I didn't mention it before, but these headphones look pretty nice. Most of Sennheiser's products aren't eye pleasing, but these are an exception. You won't be ridiculed by your peers for wearing these, don't worry.
 

Considering ten years of wear and tear, these phones are in great shape, they don't even distort at low volumes! The Treble is upfront, but not fatiguing, the mids are clear. The bass is a little thick, but an eq fixes that. The open back design give these sound an incredible sound stage. Sometimes I plug them into my amp, put the speakers on, and pretend I'm at a concert. It would work if not for how uncomfortable they are. The pads are plastic, with very litle actual padding. The headband has a fabric hanging off it, but no real padding. The phones are mostly held up by the user's ears then the users head. The adjustable headband is very smooth, so you can find the sweet spot, but its a pain. As far as amping these headphones go, its fairly easy. I have found they really shine through any speaker amplifier's headphone jack. Ipods are a no go. I have found that they work fine with the Fiio E6, and they don't drain much of the battery. Overall these are a great Hi-Fi headphone. I have also used them on long carrides, and for watching movies on my computer. They are not very good for portable use, and you might look stupid anyhow, cause the cans are very thick. Even when I had very long and think hair, they were a litte too big. I gave an overall rating of 4, because the sound quality was very good, and they are probably comprable to some 150 dollar heaphones on the market today. They may not have any new technology in them, but thats a nice change, because its so simple. You just plug it into your amp and enjoy. If you could find these heaphones for anything less than 100 dollars, you should go right for it. Again this was a review for the HD 525 not the 535, because Head-Fi doesn't have the 525s listed at the moment, and I thougt this would be easier. (Side note: I may have gotten these for free, as a birthday present, but they originally retailed for around $100)
 

On christmas 2011 I opened a gift from my mom that not only surprised me, but made me grin with anticipation. The sony mdr XB500, dynamic open backed headphones, where not exactly what I expected. I have to say that as much as I expected a lot of extra bass, I thought it was almost pointless how internally eq'd they were, even if I turned on a bass reducer, or put them through a headphone amp, they wouldn't do what I wanted them to do. All that aside though lets get into a formal review. The XB-500 are made almost 100% of plastic, which would be okay, if it wasn't the same cheap plastic you find on their 10 dollar ear buds. Considering the plastic their made of however, they have held up very well, and I take them everywhere, including to snowboard once. So the build isn't top notch. One thing about these headphones that is top notch, however, is the comfort. These headphones have two insanely plush, and thick, leather pads. Its literally like putting two pillows on either side of your head, if the pillows were blasting dubstep in your ears. Its almost worth having them to just put on your head every now and then. Another thing I was pleased with was the cable. Its a flat cable, which doesn't tangle, but it still can get into knots, and it also has very minimal noise. If you turn of your music completely and rub the cable, sure you'll hear some noise. If you have your music at 50 even 25% you won't notice. The only problems with this cable is 1: It goes into both cans, and 2: its not removable, even though it has a design that makes it look like it is. The sound quality is not bad by any respects. The Highs are very clear, and the mids are pronounced, which would be great if the bass wasn't overshadowing them... completely. I have come so close to getting them to a flat enough tone that they sound amazing, but have never quite pulled it off. That being said, these headphones have a amazing soundstage for the price, so plug in some Bon Iver and close your eyes, and he might as well be playing a personal concert for you. The instrument separation is fine, not to go crazy over but no tracks get muddy, and you can always tell everything apart. Overall these headphones are a great buy, but only if your a bass head. Overall I would give them a 7/10, because their definitely not audiophile grade, but they totally kick the beats by dre's sorry ass.