[Seidhepriest]

Detail of the cable & plug (plug off AH-D1000).

 

[Seidhepriest]

 

[AkTheRipper]

would you recommend these (at £65) over the akg k 518's (£40)?
=P

 

[Seidhepriest]

Yep, but it can be cheaper to get them from the store on the World's Greatest Flea Market Site.

$69+$25 International USPS priority shipping=$94. However the pound is, it ought to be cheaper from there.

These were bought here:

Denon DN-HP500 HP 500 DNHP500 Collapsible DJ Headphones

Yep, it's slightly cheaper, 65 pounds translate to $97 by http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-co...BP;amt=97.8179

 

[Seidhepriest]

K-81DJ/K-518DJ were the biggest disappointment. Awful stock cable, not comfortable, and nauseatingly, exaggeratedly bassy and hard-hitting. Like a boombox on ears. Or pneumatic drill on ears. They just added bass to anything. Electric guitar ambient (no electric bass, no drums, only guitars) was nauseatingly bassy. DN-HP500 are also bassy, but they'll just bring forward drums and bass without exaggerating the bassy instruments.

 

[shinobi00]

Have you heard the rp-htx7? How would you compare these to the denon line.

 

[Seidhepriest]

No idea. Try the Bear's mod?

 

[AkTheRipper]

ah o.k thanks seid
thats settled it i think, dn-hp500s all the way (Y)
hmm i think ill stick with buying from the u.k
i can afford an extra couple of dollars if it arrives earlier =P

 

[Seidhepriest]

Well yeah, UK prices used to be nasty when the pound was at $2

$2, not $20. Bother. It was at $20 in the national currency here.

 

[AkTheRipper]

haha yeh
well ive ordered them
ill try and give my amateur impressions when they arrive in a couple of days =D

 

[AkTheRipper]

o.k so the dn-hp500s arrived yesterday and ive been listening for an accumulated 1 and a half hours aprox.

ive been listening with my creative zen 32gb unamped but i will put my impressions of the phones when amped with my ickle fiio e3 in my next post.

firstly, the build quality is great, sturdy hinges, hard plastic, thick cable. the cable is also coiled for about a quarter of its length, allowing it to stretch up to 3 meters. they have a nice healthy weight to them and they are very comfortable. my old hd228s were more comfy but the clamping force was next to nothing, where as the hp500s will grip enough to stay put, but are still very comfortable.

the outside noise is still quite prominant even when on about 70% volume but the sound is trapped very well inside the phones, only leaking when getting up to about 80% which is unnessasary anyway as they are powered fine at 70%.

as for the sound; the hp500s excel in the mids, with viola, voice and guitars coming through with impact and clarity. the bass is clear and defined but does not over do it, it is powerful but doesnt drown out the other instruments. the highs are very will defined but seem a little harsh to me, maybe this is down to the fact that ive only ever used sennheisers before, i dont know.

I listened to faust arp by radiohead and was blown away by the violin and guitar. i have to say that the phone has lots of energy and is quick and precise.

overall this is a great phone, and i can use it at about 60%/70% volume and still have a very reasonable volume. they look great, sound great and seem very durable.

AKER

 

[Seidhepriest]

Try boosting the 250 Hz EQ slider by one notch. That should help midrange, which some say is sagging. Which it is, slightly. Who knows why, but most Asian headphones have a drop in the 2nd-3rd octave...

And it's not the high frequencies themselves, it's the overall veil of the stock cable that makes treble sound "dry". Recable fixes that.

Bass is slightly exaggerated (DN-HP500 have some kind of a bass boost that makes them contrast drums & bass more than other headphones), but DJ headphones usually mean "bassiness & boominess". DN-HP500 aren't like that. They're quite refined.

 

[Seidhepriest]

The K-81 have a rougher build, cheap plastic, they look better in photos than they're in reality. Cable jacket and cups' plastic say "cheap".

 

[AkTheRipper]

lol o.k yes seid i can see it now
hehe i should be more careful, my ears arent brilliant tbh
i tried them with my e3 and it just produced a muddy mess of overblown bass
i would not recommend it!
unless of course you have a propper amp in which case i encourage it!

AKER

 

[KLS]

I saw someone wearing these in my campus. The look is quite nice.