[ourfpshero]

I spotted these a few months ago, and being an audio technica fan, they caught my attention. these are the highest model in the 'T' lineup and are only available from Japan at the moment. I took the plunge -from audiocubes- cost about 110$ shipped- and 2 weeks later they are here!
 
these are very lighweight and feel plasticy but well made(normal audio technica). the headband is very wide but looks like an audio technica mostly. the cups are metal and plastic, the earpads soft leather-ish, like the type on a shure 840(a good thing). oval cups/pads encase my ears easily. comfortable.thick rubber cable.
the sound- no burn in- forward and aggressive highs and mid highs, slightly recessed mids. nice full mid bass, small tight low end thump.sound among its siblings is between an ath-a900 and atm-m50
or
even better comparison- its between a shure srh840 and an ultrasone hfi780- the forwardness/high end of the 780 with the low end of the srh840.
 
 
will do an ovvernite burn in and post more impressions
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

[ddoingwell]

Looks good, pics clearly show a headphone that's not really aimed at casual listener. More commentary will be interesting and your comments about the sound could be elaborated on please. How is sound isolation from outside noise?

 

[daigo]

The headband and ear pad materials seem to be made of sturdy faux leather.  Wonder if it's comfortable. 

 

[ourfpshero]

these are very comfortable. the way-too-big headband suspension for the medium sized cups actually results in a very comfy setup. decent isolation. like a dj type headphone isolation but without the squeeze!
 
overnight burn-in- not much change. highs mellowed a little, but could be my perception only. spent some time with these today, sound is fairly neutral for an audio technica with a little aggressiveness in the mid highs and highs. still medium sized soundstage, did some gaming, worked well in l4d2.
 
needs an amp. played straight from an mp3 player these are bassless and harsh

 

[blesschild]

Do you mean that this T500 is better than ath m50 and HFI 780? 

 

[ourfpshero]

no, just different. i probably like the m50 better, but the hfi780 less

 

[Farelistic]

Quote:

no, just different. i probably like the m50 better, but the hfi780 less

better in comparison? I'm confused

 

[ourfpshero]

Quote:

Quote:

no, just different. i probably like the m50 better, but the hfi780 less

better in comparison? I'm confused

exactly- my opinion of course

 

[Farelistic]

are they bassy? I mean, if you eq your music and crank the volume, do they do the ear massage deal?

 

[ourfpshero]

 
Quote:

are they bassy? I mean, if you eq your music and crank the volume, do they do the ear massage deal?

 yes they will, not as much as the m50, but they will pound if pushed

 

[antonio_zth]

I had recently purchased the T500 just for fun and wasnt having high expectations for them, but my God! They really blown me away...Below are some few shots;
 
 
The cups, the headband

 
 
Audio Technica ATH-T500

 
Comfy headpads

 
Comparison from left; Bayer DT440, ATH-T500, Grado G-Cush

 
ATH-T500 53mm Driver

 
Back of the driver

 
No holes.....yet

 
Grado magnets??

 
Completely Closed

 

[ourfpshero]

nice pics

 

[Yoga Flame]

Quote:

 
Grado magnets??

 
 

Wait... what?

 

[antonio_zth]

nahhh..just a grado magnet i decided to stuck on the back of the original magnet...

 

[cce121]

aww...nice pic..

I am living in singapore,I got a pair of this in Malaysia for 209MYR (around us$70) and,it's indeed very good for its price!
 
I found out that da cups produce some weird noise in 1 o 2 super bass heavy tracks of mine. 
So,I did a bit mod on it. Burn 1 more bass vent on each side of the cups using hot screw driver (really tiny 1), and damp the cup with blu tag and cotton(cotton????!!!). YES,I am not sure y i use cotton( i should have used a proper fabric),1st time mod-der though. the bass improved,with slightly deeper thump n amount. da noise disappeared.
 
this is b4 mod.
Yes,it's too bright and sibilance at first,but da bass come out a bit n annoying mids+highs smooth out a bit after around 20hr burn in with pink noise. not much really.
 
The clamp force is slightly painful 4 me at first. Just clamp in on tissue box when I m not using it. after few days,waalaa...it's just nice now.
The materials are nice and comfy,but my ears touches the inside of the housing. Long hour makes my ears hurt. So,i stuff some fabric(those used in bandage) rolled into long shape, between pad n cup to elevate da pads. or i can get a thicker pad(i could not found 1 yet). Now da fit feels like a beats studio(maybe better!) slightly better isolation n bass as well. although it does get hot after 1 hour.

I'm still not brave enough to attempt some irreversible mod like making hole near the driver. Any1 can tell me how does it advantage the sound?