[alpha10]

Isolation is not that good, the only real minus with the M500, the sound is amazing for it's size and price, I'm deeply impressed, I have no idea what the others are talking about

 

[MaceHane2]

I just wanted to thank the folks who responded to my queries, it's really appreciated. I'm not at all wanting to pre-judge the quality of the M500's, just wanted some thoughts from those who know more and have been using them for a while.
I'm very aware that I'm not feeding them from the best source material right now.
 
Straight out of an iPod Nano's headphone port is of course not going to give the best sound quality, but I bought them for listening to on-the-go and right now I can't even use the Zo because of the damaged dock connector(incidentally, I only really used the Zo in it's 'flat', most green setting, where there is no bass boosting happening. Sometimes nudged it one or two steps higher, but rarely)
One little concern I have is that yesterday I was out and about with it for the first time and they are microphonic(is that the right word?); as in my feet hitting the ground was 'heard' as light reverberances through the earcups. Five days each week when I go out, I am actually walking 'round a LOT, so this was a disappointment. It wasn't a massive problem, but it is noticable. I've come from BeyerDynamic Galactic's and AKG K450's and neither of those had any hint of this in their usage when I was out. Hopefully I'll just get used to it.
They aren't(as previously noted)the most secure fitting of 'phones but I could quite easily still cope with it, and it's a price worth paying for the unbelievable level of comfort they bring.
 
So, yeah, they're brand new and perhaps burning in will help a lot, and I also need to figure out the best out-and-about way to give them the chance to show what they're capable of. This likely means an amp connected to Nano with LO cable.
 
It would be nice to know what all you folks contributing to this thread are using with your M500's. I'm wondering if anybody here uses an Astell & Kern or Colorfly for example.
 
Lastly, has anybody, through using these had any nicks or dents in the aluminium? I ask as it looks identical to the aluminium that my Apple 24" Cinema Display enclosure is made with, and several times, through the merest of contacts, that enclosure has been marked over the last few years even though it's hardly ever moved. Obviously if one is taking these out a lot and constantly using them, there is considerably more likelihood that they are going to be coming into contact with things.
 
Thanks.
 

 

[navii]

To contribute to the M500 sound debate. I usually try to stay out of these debates as I don't think my ears can appreciate headphones as well as some of the other users here as such I don't want to give an incorrect assessment.
 
I agree with a previous comment posted here that they sound "brittle", I can see where the "horn" comment came from. That was my initial impression when I put them on. I believe that this quality helps them sound so "airy"... with use the brittleness has either disappeared or I adjusted to it and appreciate this "delicate and floaty" quality of these babies.
 
I think these headphones sound damn good, bass has power with presence and the vocals have great texture, I can never detect soundstaging differences between my headphones, but I detect no issues there. I also experience no listening fatigue so the highs must be fine too.
 
I especially love them out of my Fostex HPA8c DAC/AMP... of course its many times the price of the headphone, but I love to use it with them. I really feel it makes a difference then going straight from my iPhone or MacBook Pro.

 

[dweaver]

If the M200 is as good I'm reading it deserves an appreciation thread over in the portables forum actually so does the M500

 

[dweaver]

My pair should be here next week:
 
I started this appreciation thread over in the Portables forum since these are both portable based.

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

 
Correct, Tylls measurements are more trustworthy I'd say. Would of course be nice to read a full review...
 
The comments regarding materials used give a bit more credence to the effort I guess. Nevertheless it does still look like plastic to me.

 
:O am I alone in thinking the look horrible q.q

 

[MaceHane2]

Don't know whether you are alone in that view, but I have sublime taste in pretty much everything and I think
they look elegant, restrained, classical and not a little lovely.
.
I've been listening to them more over the last couple of days(unfortunately still just straight from my Nano 5g)
and the sound has improved quite a bit. As has previously been mentioned, I think their sound is one to become
accustomed to after using in all likelihood, coloured headphones previously, and the more I listen to them the more
I am able to appreciate their sound. It does indeed come across as very neutral and also unforgiving of lesser
quality files.
.
I think one downside for me is that they are so beautiful and so 'perfect' in their feel that I am probably not going
to use them out and about, for fear of them getting to look scruffy perhaps. I routinely, when out, finish my day with
a four mile walk home at a punishing pace(almost as fast as I can walk) I do this as exercise instead of running.
I'm really not sure how these(in particular the earpads)will hold up to that, and as they are so lovely it would I
think pain me to see them not look so nice over time.
I've been using a pair of AKG 450's for the last 18 months and boy have they been put through the ringer - in that
time I've walked hundreds of miles where I end up wet through by the time I get home; thrown them in bags left,
right and all over the joint and also all through winter walked home many times in torrential rain. Not once have they
failed in any way and although the plastic enclosures are quite scuffed they still look okay and the lovely soft earpads
are almost the same as the day I got them. Only needed to change the cable twice.
Now I could be mistaken but I do feel that were I to replace them with the M500's as normal that they possibly wouldn't
hold up as well. I appreciate that my portable usage is not what most would consider 'normal' portable usage, but
it is what it is. Saying all that, yesterday I took them out with me(left them in my bag for the walk home!)and the leap
in sound quality is really, really something else(as it should be of course when they cost fives times as much)
 
Anyway, on we go ...
 

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

Don't know whether you are alone in that view, but I have sublime taste in pretty much everything and I think
they look elegant, restrained, classical and not a little lovely.
.
I've been listening to them more over the last couple of days(unfortunately still just straight from my Nano 5g)
and the sound has improved quite a bit. As has previously been mentioned, I think their sound is one to become
accustomed to after using in all likelihood, coloured headphones previously, and the more I listen to them the more
I am able to appreciate their sound. It does indeed come across as very neutral and also unforgiving of lesser
quality files.
.
I think one downside for me is that they are so beautiful and so 'perfect' in their feel that I am probably not going
to use them out and about, for fear of them getting to look scruffy perhaps. I routinely, when out, finish my day with
a four mile walk home at a punishing pace(almost as fast as I can walk) I do this as exercise instead of running.
I'm really not sure how these(in particular the earpads)will hold up to that, and as they are so lovely it would I
think pain me to see them not look so nice over time.
I've been using a pair of AKG 450's for the last 18 months and boy have they been put through the ringer - in that
time I've walked hundreds of miles where I end up wet through by the time I get home; thrown them in bags left,
right and all over the joint and also all through winter walked home many times in torrential rain. Not once have they
failed in any way and although the plastic enclosures are quite scuffed they still look okay and the lovely soft earpads
are almost the same as the day I got them. Only needed to change the cable twice.
Now I could be mistaken but I do feel that were I to replace them with the M500's as normal that they possibly wouldn't
hold up as well. I appreciate that my portable usage is not what most would consider 'normal' portable usage, but
it is what it is. Saying all that, yesterday I took them out with me(left them in my bag for the walk home!)and the leap
in sound quality is really, really something else(as it should be of course when they cost fives times as much)
 
Anyway, on we go ...
 

I feel you on the walking, I used to power Walk with XB 700s... they got so nasty even washing them didn't get my sweat out q.q
 
Non the less back to the looks... they just look... so like Neo Urban Modernist ... 100% NOT my style as I'm super old School [ath w1000x a beautiful can, as is the Byerdynamic T90] 
 
Still the are foldable which is great and I hear the sound is very neutral, so ofc that's a good quality! Still just to... "hip" looking for me! But at the very least the hipsters and morons will get roped in by that look and finally have some decent cans! These look almost ... anti-beats. Appeals to the same kind of thinking [but in a different cultural and economic market] which isn;t by any means a bad thing! 

 

[LFC_SL]

The music note shape and brushed metal is understated nice style for me. But yes the metal-leather combination favoured by other manufacturers is easier to instantly like.

 

[Change is Good]

Quote:

But yes the metal-leather combination favoured by other manufacturers is easier to instantly like.

 
Alah the Fidelio X1

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

The music note shape and brushed metal is understated nice style for me. But yes the metal-leather combination favoured by other manufacturers is easier to instantly like.

Which makes me a sucker for that good ole fashion. 

 

[ericp10]

Well I couldn't take it any longer. I pulled some discounts I had coming and actually purchased the M500 and M200 for under $400 (you'll hate me if I told you how much under $400). So I'm hoping that I will dig both of them. But someone on one of the threads described the M200 as being a better RE-400 (and I really like the RE-400). And then I've read the same about the M500, so I couldn't resist. I have a lot of gear in classifieds now that I need to sell. 

 

[Nirmalanow]

I just got my m500s a few days ago, and finally got around to listening to them tonight. Unfortunately the sound is cutting in and out, especially if I jiggle or turn the cable where it enters the headphones. Anyone else run into this problem?
 
I am looking into sending them back.

 

[Tympan]

Quote:

I don't know, guys.

I've been trying the M500 for three days now. Two words come to my mind to describe the sound signature: fast. And honky.

Fast as lightning, really. Incredible speed and attack, never heard this in a portable can (not that I've tried many, I'll admit).

But those upper mids. It's not a treble problem: treble is smooth and controlled. There's no hint of sibilance, no screeching, no piercing snare drums. But I do find the signature honky. Even more so than with the AD2k, because here there's much less separation and soundstage. The M500 literally shouts those upper mids in my ears. It's not a terrible thing, but it does mean that I must keep the volume a little lower than I'd like... and on the other end of the spectrum, yes, I do find the M500 bass-light. There's bass, but it has very little authority. Of course, when lowering the volume, the bass is the first thing to disappear...

I probably need to spend more head time with the M500, but for now, it's not what I was expecting. Fun and exciting... but it sounds "wrong" to me.

 
Sounds familiar to me. I've had the M500 for 4 days and my first impression was: 
 
Very little bass, near no sub bass, very cristalin smooth high and lush voices BUT a snappy peak in the higher mids somewhere making them sound very fast, snappy, yet sharp in a not so pleasant way to my ears. I was listening with a Tera player, kinda notorious for being hard to match with low impedance headphones such as these M500. A couple of tera owners recommended them so I gave them a try.
 
I thought these were designed to be portable so I assumed, maybe they'll sound better with iphone... Nop! A little better but still way off to my ears.
 
Finally yesterday, I decided to try them on a HM801 DAP and WOW! The bass and sub bass were back in the picture, the undesirable peak was gone and everything sounded a lot more balanced and neutral. My M500 still need to burn in at least another 100 hrs but still. I can now hear the true potential of these cans and I know they will sound pretty good.
I played with the EQ a little to add a tad of bass and they can deliver plenty of bass and sub bass granted they are properly matched and maybe given a little boost.
 
They still have much speed  and attack (reminiscent of LCD2s that I've had in the past) but also matched with an overall liquidity that I find quite stunning. These phones are no light weight, I think it is preferable to match them with warmer sources that also offer EQ (like HM801) or amps (don't know much about desktop/portable amps).
 
If I didn't have the HM801, I'd say these headphones signature really suck. But because I have heard them better matched, I can say they sound pretty amazing already (not even being fully burned in!)
 
My two cents!

 

[Tympan]

Quote:

I have sublime taste in pretty much everything and I think
they look elegant, restrained, classical and not a little lovely.
 

 
They looked ok to me until I had them in my hands. They are gorgeous in real and feel very solid. Quite comfy too!