chones
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 7
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- 0
Hi everyone,
After much trolling and debate on a set of new headphones, I decided to buy the Denon DN-HP500. They retail for ~$70 on Amazon. I agonized over which headphones to buy (the usual suspects for my price range: Audio Technica m50s, Shure SRH 750, Beyerdynamic DT 440). Essentially, I was looking for relatively low cost, decent sound quality, and solid build. Reading the reviews on Head Fi about the m50's, I was almost ready to buy until I read one review for the Denon DN-HP500 on this site. I cannot add much to what Seidhepriest has already said but I'll try to give you my impressions.
Build Quality:
-These supra-aural headphones are built of what seems to be quite durable plastic. The top headband is reinforced with a thin strip of metal so I imagine it would be difficult to break these at the point of extension. The cable attached to the left ear cup seems to be made of durable material--it's thicker than any other headphones I've owned. The downside is that it is fixed and not removable but there is a post on this site about the possibilities of re-cabling--though I haven't tried it myself. Since these are DJ headphones, the cups themselves swivel 180 degree and the cup piece (for lack of a better term) swivels 90 degrees allowing the one ear use that DJs seem to enjoy or find necessary.
Comfort:
I've been using the HP500's for about two weeks now (during commutes, in between classes, sometimes at home) and I am surprised by how comfortable they are. The ear cups have this really soft leathery-type material which is very comfortable for long hours of listening. The head band is also has a similar material for comfort. I have a pretty large head and I have not experienced any pinching that I usually get from my old Sennheisers.
Sound Quality:
I am not an audiophile so take this with a grain of salt. I think the sound quality is quite good. There is not a lot of bass, although it's there, but isn't overpowering. I think bass heads would probably not like these headphones very much. As far as mids, highs, and the like--I have no idea. I listen to a lot of punk and ska and I have to say it sounds simply lovely out of these headphones. The trumpets are nice and clear. Guitar riffs come out strong. Vocals--well, since I listen to punk mostly, are well, punk vocals. All in all, I'd say the sound quality is pretty good but I really have nothing to compare it with. I would check out Seidhepriest's review (linked above) if you want more specifics on sound quality than I can offer.
Portability:
This was by far and away the reason I went with these supra-aurals as opposed to full sized headphones. While they are obviously much larger than in ear buds, they are not quite as large as full sized headphones. The head band is probably less than an inch wide all the way around. Since these are supra-aural the ear cups are not huge but I find that my ears fit inside them without any discomfort. The cord is approximately 3ft long -- but what I like about this cord is that it has a good 1ft-1 1/2 half of straight cord while the other foot is coiled. So instead of shoving 9ft of cord in my bag or pocket, I merely have to tuck away the coiled portion which seems to save a lot of room.
Style:
This really wasn't that important to me but for those who like the looks of headphones, I'll say a bit about the aesthetics. They are mostly black with "Denon DJ" written at the top of the headband for branding purposes. On the outside of the ear cups there is this really (I think) weird lightning-type, metal, circular plate. I guess it looks stylish but I would have preferred the cups to remain black.
Conclusion:
All in all, I would say I am happy with my purchase. For a bit more money you could probably find a lot better (like the m50s which are so popular on this site) but, in this price range $70, I think you could do a lot worse. These are comfortable, stylish, portable, and have decent sound quality (at least to my ears). One more thing, I don't think you need any type of DAC/AMP to drive these headphones because they sound good right from the box--I don't have to turn my iPod classic up too much before these become unbearable. If anything, if you are looking for sub-$100 headphones, make sure to check these out before you make your final purchase.
After much trolling and debate on a set of new headphones, I decided to buy the Denon DN-HP500. They retail for ~$70 on Amazon. I agonized over which headphones to buy (the usual suspects for my price range: Audio Technica m50s, Shure SRH 750, Beyerdynamic DT 440). Essentially, I was looking for relatively low cost, decent sound quality, and solid build. Reading the reviews on Head Fi about the m50's, I was almost ready to buy until I read one review for the Denon DN-HP500 on this site. I cannot add much to what Seidhepriest has already said but I'll try to give you my impressions.
Build Quality:
-These supra-aural headphones are built of what seems to be quite durable plastic. The top headband is reinforced with a thin strip of metal so I imagine it would be difficult to break these at the point of extension. The cable attached to the left ear cup seems to be made of durable material--it's thicker than any other headphones I've owned. The downside is that it is fixed and not removable but there is a post on this site about the possibilities of re-cabling--though I haven't tried it myself. Since these are DJ headphones, the cups themselves swivel 180 degree and the cup piece (for lack of a better term) swivels 90 degrees allowing the one ear use that DJs seem to enjoy or find necessary.
Comfort:
I've been using the HP500's for about two weeks now (during commutes, in between classes, sometimes at home) and I am surprised by how comfortable they are. The ear cups have this really soft leathery-type material which is very comfortable for long hours of listening. The head band is also has a similar material for comfort. I have a pretty large head and I have not experienced any pinching that I usually get from my old Sennheisers.
Sound Quality:
I am not an audiophile so take this with a grain of salt. I think the sound quality is quite good. There is not a lot of bass, although it's there, but isn't overpowering. I think bass heads would probably not like these headphones very much. As far as mids, highs, and the like--I have no idea. I listen to a lot of punk and ska and I have to say it sounds simply lovely out of these headphones. The trumpets are nice and clear. Guitar riffs come out strong. Vocals--well, since I listen to punk mostly, are well, punk vocals. All in all, I'd say the sound quality is pretty good but I really have nothing to compare it with. I would check out Seidhepriest's review (linked above) if you want more specifics on sound quality than I can offer.
Portability:
This was by far and away the reason I went with these supra-aurals as opposed to full sized headphones. While they are obviously much larger than in ear buds, they are not quite as large as full sized headphones. The head band is probably less than an inch wide all the way around. Since these are supra-aural the ear cups are not huge but I find that my ears fit inside them without any discomfort. The cord is approximately 3ft long -- but what I like about this cord is that it has a good 1ft-1 1/2 half of straight cord while the other foot is coiled. So instead of shoving 9ft of cord in my bag or pocket, I merely have to tuck away the coiled portion which seems to save a lot of room.
Style:
This really wasn't that important to me but for those who like the looks of headphones, I'll say a bit about the aesthetics. They are mostly black with "Denon DJ" written at the top of the headband for branding purposes. On the outside of the ear cups there is this really (I think) weird lightning-type, metal, circular plate. I guess it looks stylish but I would have preferred the cups to remain black.
Conclusion:
All in all, I would say I am happy with my purchase. For a bit more money you could probably find a lot better (like the m50s which are so popular on this site) but, in this price range $70, I think you could do a lot worse. These are comfortable, stylish, portable, and have decent sound quality (at least to my ears). One more thing, I don't think you need any type of DAC/AMP to drive these headphones because they sound good right from the box--I don't have to turn my iPod classic up too much before these become unbearable. If anything, if you are looking for sub-$100 headphones, make sure to check these out before you make your final purchase.
