[se7enty7]

Alright, I finally bit the bullet and picked up a set of HD-497's. They were $69.99 at circuit city..

I am not really sure about them. They sound great and everything, but I feel a little... I dunno, like I should have gotten the HD-570's for $60, or the RS-65's for $88....

Oh well, the deal is done... I am satisfied..

The only thing is that they do not seem as comfortable as the 570's.... And I REALLY do not like how they are adjusted by moving the actual earpieces.. It seems cheap..


se7


EDIT:
Do I have to "break" them in?

 

[Burger]

Definately give them some break in time before you pass final judgement. I believe 40+ hours is the consensus time, but they will start to sound better gradually as you use them.

Don't feel bad about buying the 497's over the 570's. I have both, and although the 570's are more comfortable to wear and have a wider soundstage, their insistent treble causes listening to most music, other than classical or accoustic, to be fatiguing.

Burger

 

[se7enty7]

After now listening to them for only about an hour I am 100% satisfied. At first I was a little leary of spending $70 on headphones.... but not anymore. This is really amazing...


Another question, when they are hooked up to my sb audigy sound card, should I have speaker settings set to headphones, 2 speakers, 4 speakers or what?

 

[Burger]

The headphone setting, using the Soundblaster drivers for either a SBLive or Audigy, tries to simulate how you would hear sound emanating form normal speakers. It's similar to a crossfeed where the signal from each channel is partially routed to the opposite channel. They are attempting create the image of sound originating from a source directly in front of you, instead of from the sides. In my opinion, all Soundblaster's headphone setting does is norrow the soundstage and muddy the sound. But others may have a different opinion, and you should definately listen to it yourself and see if you like it.

Burger

 

[Hamsterball_Z]

Yep, 40 hours break-in is required to get the best out of the 497s. So Se7enty7 you can look forward to enjoying these even more as they get closer to the 40 hour mark. It is unfortunate that Senn went with such a cheap construction for the 4x7/2x2 line but the sound is what counts most and they definitely got it.

If the fit is too tight, stretch them over some large object overnight. Also there seems to be a consistent issue with the cable plugs at the earcup end. If you notice any cutout just pull the plug out fully and insert it back in. It seems to only a problem when they're new, might be a quality control issue, more likely it's just something that happens in packaging or shipping.

(HBZ)

 

[se7enty7]

Hampsterball:

I've already had the problem. It appears to be an issue in that there is NO contact cleaner or anything at all on the connections.


To make a long story short, I applied a bit of contact cleaner and all is good. I agree whole-heartedly about the contruction, but other than they are great. I wear glasses (when I don't feel like putting in my contacts) and they are a bit uncomfortable with glasses on. I have already let them sit for a bit stretched over the top of my computer. They fit a little better now.

for open air headphones I sure can't hear a whole lot of background noise...

All in all they are great... much better than I first thought

 

[se7enty7]

When burning them in should I turn up the volume, bass, or treble?

thanks in advance

 

[Burger]

I've found that listening at normal volumes does the trick quite nicely. No equalization is required. You might try a good mix of musical styles by listening to your entire CD collection through your new phones. You may discover things you missed the first time around.

Burger

 

[delenda est Sony]

Se7---

enjoy them! They're good phones and only get better over time. As for burn in, you should probably keep your EQ flat. In general, you should probably try to listen to most music that way in general, especially if you are not using a really good equalizer. Others may disagree though!

As for volume, burn in at whatever volume you normally listen to.

 

[r4z0r]

Having a flat EQ certainly works, but from my experience, having a boosted low end tends to speed up the burn in process.