JBL Synchros S700. Why no talk?

[RPGWiZaRD]

While not interested in S700, what about S500? Dropping an amazon comment made me curious:
 

 I got them all, well im taking about synchross 300, s400 Bluetooth, s700 them s500, when I thought I was very pleased with s700 so far, I got s500 and blown away s700, even without turning on the live stage function.

What I do is I use a 3.5 splitter plug it into my cell, note that I play my music through an app that enhances my music 4x, its like having an extra amp. Then I plug both headphones, and play the way you make me feel of michael Jackson, lot of punch, then I can hear every differences between headphones, definitely s500 sounds louder and much more bassy, then the live stage works much better than the 700s wich is useless and crappy, I never use it. Actually 500s are more expensive now, 700s dropped the price to 185dl. Listen to the headphones old man, I really know my stuff. Thanks

 

[athlon64]

I was looking for a pair of headphones with a very rich low end, i tried out the audio technica ath-m50 on a decent DAC, they sounded very very detailed buy the bass just sounded... i wouldn't say empty, but there was just not enough of it. Fantastic headphones other than that. 
So when i came to an audio store a few days ago and explained the guy in the store what i like to hear. He took the S500's off the shelf and gave me a listen. I only listened to them for a few minutes but i'm quiet sure that is the sound color i want. 
I allready use jbl headphones for my iphone (the jbl J33) and i love the sound balance. They all have the JBL sound, the entire synchros series and my j33's have a similar colour and bass/treble balance. And i really like it.
 
The problem is these don't get much attention by audiophiles. And that constantly makes me think there is a better alternative for my money.
What do you think? Are the s500's a best buy if i want bass heavey rich/greasy/warm sounding headphones? 
 
I currently have AKG K512mk2. And as it is with all other AKG headphones i have heard. No bass. It's there but there is far to little of it. The treble and mids are very clear but no punch at all. And i just don't like that. 

 

[BillsonChang007]

  I was looking for a pair of headphones with a very rich low end, i tried out the audio technica ath-m50 on a decent DAC, they sounded very very detailed buy the bass just sounded... i wouldn't say empty, but there was just not enough of it. Fantastic headphones other than that. 
So when i came to an audio store a few days ago and explained the guy in the store what i like to hear. He took the S500's off the shelf and gave me a listen. I only listened to them for a few minutes but i'm quiet sure that is the sound color i want. 
I allready use jbl headphones for my iphone (the jbl J33) and i love the sound balance. They all have the JBL sound, the entire synchros series and my j33's have a similar colour and bass/treble balance. And i really like it.
 
The problem is these don't get much attention by audiophiles. And that constantly makes me think there is a better alternative for my money.
What do you think? Are the s500's a best buy if i want bass heavey rich/greasy/warm sounding headphones? 
 
I currently have AKG K512mk2. And as it is with all other AKG headphones i have heard. No bass. It's there but there is far to little of it. The treble and mids are very clear but no punch at all. And i just don't like that. 

Wow! For the first time, I have ever heard someone find the ATH-M50's bass is not enough. I am suspecting that you are looking for something with deep sub bass then? 
 
I have tried the S500 as well and no, they did not impress me in the other region except for the overwhelming bass as you have already mentioned. Look into Denon AH-D600, they have deep bass and slightly boosted but not all that strong as V-Modas.
 
Hope it helps
Billson 

 

[athlon64]

  Wow! For the first time, I have ever heard someone find the ATH-M50's bass is not enough. I am suspecting that you are looking for something with deep sub bass then? 
 
I have tried the S500 as well and no, they did not impress me in the other region except for the overwhelming bass as you have already mentioned. Look into Denon AH-D600, they have deep bass and slightly boosted but not all that strong as V-Modas.
 
Hope it helps
Billson 

I don't know what to tell you. I felt the bas on the m50's. It went deep and was full. But there was far to little of it. When i started adding power they got the kick but then mids and highs became way too harsh. I just wanted les mid-higs and more bass. 
A day after that a friend brought me 150$ pioneer DJ headphones telling me i might like them because of extra bass. But i don't remember when was the last time i heard something that sounded so crap. They are unusable for anything other then electronic music. I mostly listen to metalcore, industrial and new age metal. I just like very greasy fat low end sound. And the JBL seemed to be first headphones that provided that bass with very little comprimise in high/mid frequencies. I listened to them only for a few minutes so i will give them another listen before i buy them. 
The v-modas turned out to be not as good as JBL's in reviews. The denons, i need to see where i can give them a listen. 
I also can't believe anyone can say that ath m50's are bass heavey headphones :/

 

[BillsonChang007]

I don't know what to tell you. I felt the bas on the m50's. It went deep and was full. But there was far to little of it. When i started adding power they got the kick but then mids and highs became way too harsh. I just wanted les mid-higs and more bass. 
A day after that a friend brought me 150$ pioneer DJ headphones telling me i might like them because of extra bass. But i don't remember when was the last time i heard something that sounded so crap. They are unusable for anything other then electronic music. I mostly listen to metalcore, industrial and new age metal. I just like very greasy fat low end sound. And the JBL seemed to be first headphones that provided that bass with very little comprimise in high/mid frequencies. I listened to them only for a few minutes so i will give them another listen before i buy them. 
The v-modas turned out to be not as good as JBL's in reviews. The denons, i need to see where i can give them a listen. 
I also can't believe anyone can say that ath m50's are bass heavey headphones :/

I personally find the ATH-M50 myself. I am currently bottowing my friend's unit with HM5's new pads.

Given your preference, if you do not mind going open, the Philips X1 will perfectly suit you

 

[athlon64]

I personally find the ATH-M50 myself. I am currently bottowing my friend's unit with HM5's new pads.

Given your preference, if you do not mind going open, the Philips X1 will perfectly suit you

Damn... i'm afraid i can't try out those philips anywhere in my country. 
One interesting thing. Yesterday i got an oportunity to try out AKG K240 MK2. Now they had the tipical AKG sound. Clear, balanced, it's all there but there is not too much of enything. I wasn't fascinated by the clarity but the 240's are not a very expensive model so that's okay.
 
However one thing was WOW to me. The soundstage. Instruments sounded like they are in the room. It was really nice. But they have no punch at all. I see the AKG 700 series seem to look the same as akg 240 mk2 but it's a new series. Are there any models from akg in that series that have got a bit more punch/bass. They all sound so good but so shallow.

 

[BillsonChang007]

Damn... i'm afraid i can't try out those philips anywhere in my country. 
One interesting thing. Yesterday i got an oportunity to try out AKG K240 MK2. Now they had the tipical AKG sound. Clear, balanced, it's all there but there is not too much of enything. I wasn't fascinated by the clarity but the 240's are not a very expensive model so that's okay.

However one thing was WOW to me. The soundstage. Instruments sounded like they are in the room. It was really nice. But they have no punch at all. I see the AKG 700 series seem to look the same as akg 240 mk2 but it's a new series. Are there any models from akg in that series that have got a bit more punch/bass. They all sound so good but so shallow.

AKG Tiesto K267 hands down!

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

The S500 looks very nicely measuring. Better than S700, so the guy on amazon.co.uk knew where he'd come from saying S500 actually sounds best in the series. The left and right consistency isn't perhaps the best though but could be a bad sample. For me the subbass could be a tad more extended but digiZoid ZO amp I use usually takes care of that very well.
 
S700:

 
 
S500:

 

[athlon64]

Okay, so after having a discussion here and reading tones of reviews i went to a store, with the money this time and a plan to buy S500's or S700's. 
I first tried out both of them. Honestly, they sound different, quiet a bit different. And i liked the S500's more. They are somewhat less muffled in the highs. 
So then i took the s500's again and gave them a proper listen trough a decent DAC. I also listened FLAC files. But simply... when i gave them some heavier music...
i don't know what to say. Both the s500's and the s700's sound slightly muffled and muddy in the highs. Not fantasticaly clear and open. The bass was awesome
and it wasn't killing the highs when it punched. But overall i didn't find some amazing clarity. And we are talking about an ear that hasn't heard many very expensive headphones.
 
And then the gamechanger came. I told the guy... i don't know, they are so good but just not very clear . It's like they are great DJ headphones. So the guy looked at me an told me
you know what.... give these a try. And he took the AKG K545 out of the box. They are in the same pricerange as the s500. 
The moment i have put these on my head i realised that the only reason i taught JBL's have clear highs is the fact that i don't really know what clarity means. These AKG's just
destroyed everything i have ever put on my head. Including the audio technica ath-m50x that sounded lifeless but precise. And the JBL's that sound beautifull in the low end but muddy everywhere else. I didn't realise how muddy untill i tried these. They are absolutley amazing, i can't explain how happy i am. 
And there is one more thing about them. These are the only AKG's that actually have bass. And yes they have very decent bass. Nice, tight, clear and just as much of it as there needs to be. After them i also tried the AKG Q702 witch are even more expensive. They sound similar as the k545's but more open and have sligtly less bass. Great headphones but i didn't find them worth the price difference. 
So i ended up with a pair of black K545 and i still can't stop listening to them. 
The main reason i'm writing this. If you are planning to but the synchros and you like rock/metal music. Please compare them to something precise and clear before you buy them. They are just not very clear in the highs and you won't realise that untill you compare them to headphones in that pricerange that are actually really clear. 

 

[at81]

  Okay, so after having a discussion here and reading tones of reviews i went to a store, with the money this time and a plan to buy S500's or S700's. 
I first tried out both of them. Honestly, they sound different, quiet a bit different. And i liked the S500's more. They are somewhat less muffled in the highs. 
So then i took the s500's again and gave them a proper listen trough a decent DAC. I also listened FLAC files. But simply... when i gave them some heavier music...
i don't know what to say. Both the s500's and the s700's sound slightly muffled and muddy in the highs. Not fantasticaly clear and open. The bass was awesome
and it wasn't killing the highs when it punched. But overall i didn't find some amazing clarity. And we are talking about an ear that hasn't heard many very expensive headphones.
 
And then the gamechanger came. I told the guy... i don't know, they are so good but just not very clear . It's like they are great DJ headphones. So the guy looked at me an told me
you know what.... give these a try. And he took the AKG K545 out of the box. They are in the same pricerange as the s500. 
The moment i have put these on my head i realised that the only reason i taught JBL's have clear highs is the fact that i don't really know what clarity means. These AKG's just
destroyed everything i have ever put on my head. Including the audio technica ath-m50x that sounded lifeless but precise. And the JBL's that sound beautifull in the low end but muddy everywhere else. I didn't realise how muddy untill i tried these. They are absolutley amazing, i can't explain how happy i am. 
And there is one more thing about them. These are the only AKG's that actually have bass. And yes they have very decent bass. Nice, tight, clear and just as much of it as there needs to be. After them i also tried the AKG Q702 witch are even more expensive. They sound similar as the k545's but more open and have sligtly less bass. Great headphones but i didn't find them worth the price difference. 
So i ended up with a pair of black K545 and i still can't stop listening to them. 
The main reason i'm writing this. If you are planning to but the synchros and you like rock/metal music. Please compare them to something precise and clear before you buy them. They are just not very clear in the highs and you won't realise that untill you compare them to headphones in that pricerange that are actually really clear. 

 
 
Can I ask - how is the noise isolation/attenuation on the K545s?  I tried the S700 and the isolation is very poor in my opinion when listening in loud environments.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[athlon64]

   
 
Can I ask - how is the noise isolation/attenuation on the K545s?  I tried the S700 and the isolation is very poor in my opinion when listening in loud environments.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It's decent considering it's just passive isolation. I wouldn't say it's better then on the S700's. I don't think any of these headphones are a good choice for monitoring/listening in loud environments. I only use these AKG's at home so i don't care. Since i just started playing drums i was planning on using them for music listening/monitoring while playing but i'm planning to push them to very high volumes, to make them as loud as the drum kit. And then put earplugs in my ears to protect hearing. This is what i use: 
http://www.audiocheck.net/earplugreviews_nonoisemusic.php    
If you want i can let you know how this works. These AKG's should be great for monitoring/drum playing because instruments are separated so well. 
 
But i think you might be looking for something like this: 
 
http://www.conrad.de/medias/global/ce/3000_3999/3100/3110/3111/311181_BB_00_FB.EPS_1000.jpg

 

[at81]

  It's decent considering it's just passive isolation. I wouldn't say it's better then on the S700's. I don't think any of these headphones are a good choice for monitoring/listening in loud environments. I only use these AKG's at home so i don't care. Since i just started playing drums i was planning on using them for music listening/monitoring while playing but i'm planning to push them to very high volumes, to make them as loud as the drum kit. And then put earplugs in my ears to protect hearing. This is what i use: 
http://www.audiocheck.net/earplugreviews_nonoisemusic.php    
If you want i can let you know how this works. These AKG's should be great for monitoring/drum playing because instruments are separated so well. 
 
But i think you might be looking for something like this: 
 
http://www.conrad.de/medias/global/ce/3000_3999/3100/3110/3111/311181_BB_00_FB.EPS_1000.jpg

I don't need extreme isolation since I'm not ripping on drums.  I was just hoping they would be better than the JBLs.  I actually tried the SE215.  They have no where near the amount of bass I like and the fit was terrible for me.  It wasn't the looping but the actual fit of the plug in the ear - it wold never feel secure and the cable noise was pretty awful compared to much cheaper Sony products that sounded just as good beleive it or not.  Thanks for the response.

 

[athlon64]

  I don't need extreme isolation since I'm not ripping on drums.  I was just hoping they would be better than the JBLs.  I actually tried the SE215.  They have no where near the amount of bass I like and the fit was terrible for me.  It wasn't the looping but the actual fit of the plug in the ear - it wold never feel secure and the cable noise was pretty awful compared to much cheaper Sony products that sounded just as good beleive it or not.  Thanks for the response.

Honestly the isolations really seems good enough for playing drums.I have been using them for that task the last 4 days. It works really well. But the synchros seemed to have decent isolation too. I don't know now... 
 
Thanks for the opinion about the shures. Now i know i won't buy them

 

[at81]

  Honestly the isolations really seems good enough for playing drums.I have been using them for that task the last 4 days. It works really well. But the synchros seemed to have decent isolation too. I don't know now... 
 
Thanks for the opinion about the shures. Now i know i won't buy them

This headphone game is pretty hard to determine what the right pair is for each person.  For instance - before I bought the Shures (215) I read and researched and heard amazing things about them and the amount of bass was "overwhelming" for some.  On the other hand I heard the complete opposite (similar to my experience).  I bought them on Amazon since you can return them for full refund within 30 days.  They might work for you.  But I just don't want to believe that there is not an IEM that can fit securely in the ear, have very low microphonics, and have great bass without costing an arm and leg for custom IEMs.  I'm sure it's out there somewhere - I just have not found it I guess.
 
My advice for anything is if you can try them out somehow without costing you anything - then do it.  One man's trash, another man's treasure.

 

[actorlife]

So anyone of you guys still use them?