Noob Report: HD 497

[stewgriff]

After a lengthy trip to Atlanta, I managed to get my hands on the best pair of cans I could find under $100: the now-discontinued HD 497. I realize they're already not being produced (and that they're now eclipsed), but I couldn't find any Sennheiser below the HD 580 line or below $249, and Grados couldn't be seen anywhere (looked through Tweeter stores, Apple Store, CC and BB). I made a last, quick, desperate trip to a CompUSA and found one last pair of these cans...next to a freshly restocked stash of Triports. Woe is the audio world, even to this noob.

Anyway, I eventually tested those Senns vs. my Shure E2C's, gotten as a Christmas present and a hearing-loss preventer (I was afraid that I had just lost $60). Holy crap! They sounded so much better from the start, with bass extension and punchiness to match the presence and ACTUAL CYMBAL NOISES. Instrumentals were also much better; on Chameleon (I admit, a crappy fusion jazz record), the horn section came to life and had spatial presence, and Ray Charles's voice sounded much fuller and more musical. I was also surprised that: 1) They were almost as efficient as my Shures, and 2) They didn't clamp my head and melt my ears, as I've seen in several reviews. They are clearly sounding more liquid and lively as I listen to them (about 12 listening hours after purchase); perhaps the burn-in isn't psychological for this phone?

I expect to see all the Headphoneus Supremi to come here and laugh at my noob opinion, but I don't have experience in good audio or an acceptable source of equipment beyond a 5G iPod or an old Sony ES amp. I can come up with $200 in a few months as good-grade rewards; how can I use this money to further audio enjoyment and, more importantly, not piss off the family with my weird spending habits?

 

[warpdriver]

Certainly, comparing the HD497 to an the entry level Shure is going to be a TKO, so it's not really surprising.

The HD497's were my first set of "good cans" and they do deserve applause, but I can see you are already willing to upgrade. Lots of good choices, the headphone landscape is full of great discoveries, everything from the upper end Senns to the new boys like the AKG's. An external amp, and also sampling different flavours of sound signatures is a natural step.

Have fun!

 

[noiseunit]

A couple of things worth considering (IMO, YMMV of course) that have helped me along the way:

1. Listen to as much gear as you can, expensive, cheap, whatever - just try and pick out what aspects of the sound you like, what you don't like, what changes with swaps upstream (cables, source, amps), etc.

2. Buy used if possible - you'll save money and make friends in the process.

3. Have fun

 

[jagorev]

These headphones are absolutely awesome for the price. I can't think of a single other headphone at this price level which can do classical, jazz, and instruments better than the HD497/EH350. They really sound quite close to more hi-fi headphones. Also, they improved very noticeably with source and amp upgrades. It's a good sign when a headphone is revealing enough to do that. So you might want to look into that.

I feel that I could have been perfectly happy with these if it wasn't for rediscovering head-fi and catching the bug!

Better start saving up for that HD 595/600 now

 

[fmplautus]

I have a pair of Sennheiser 497s. They are one of my favorite headphones. If you are using an ipod for a source, they benefit from a small battery operated headphone amp like the CMOY which can be had on ebay for well under $50. I wouldn't spend much more than that on a headphone amp since the sennheisers are so efficient. With other sources you may not feel like you need anything. By the way, in the long run I found the 497s more satisfying as a headphone then the Senn HD-600s. I had to go to the higher end AKG's like the 501s and K1000s to find headphones that were more musically satisfying. I have kept my 497s though, and I use them a lot.

Kevin

 

[stewgriff]

A CMOY? Can I buy that from Amazon.com or any brick-and-mortar store? I've seen the Headwize site on how to make one, and I have access to solder and electronics, although I have no knowledge on electrical engineering. How exactly will they improve the sound?

 

[Oistrakh]

wow, whats with the E2c bashing lately?

 

[stewgriff]

I'm didn't bash the E2C. I believe they're still a great-sounding set of earphones, and they have the miraculous capability of saving my ears from tinnitus, bus noise, annoying student chatter, and the sound of other peoples' iBuds distorting, all at the same time.

But I did want to make the point that the HD 497's were better-sounding overall, with more soundstage, bass extension, and treble presence. I COULD make much worse topic posts, like "pretzel" posts or "Oh God, all people on Head-Fi are immature pricks with pretzel fetishes" posts, but I digress.

 

[milkpowder]

Thanks for the review! What I'm surprised about is, you just got your HD497, and you're looking for an upgrade already? If you have $200 now, wait till you manage to double that. Then get a high end pair of cans like the K701/DT880/HD600/HD650.... Or alternatively, get a headphone amplifier as a good platform for future upgrades. I highly recommend the RSA Hornet. It is small, powerful, and wonderful sounding. They are, however, $350 + shipping, so it might be a little too much for you atm. Go onto the amps forum and click on the portable amp sticky. There are many good choices listed there.

More importantly, have fun on these forums and keep a good eye on your wallet. Money seems to dissappear very quickly. I'm glad you're enjoying your 497s.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder Thanks for the review! What I'm surprised about is, you just got your HD497, and you're looking for an upgrade already? If you have $200 now, wait till you manage to double that. Then get a high end pair of cans like the K701/DT880/HD600/HD650.... Or alternatively, get a headphone amplifier as a good platform for future upgrades. I highly recommend the RSA Hornet. It is small, powerful, and wonderful sounding. They are, however, $350 + shipping, so it might be a little too much for you atm. Go onto the amps forum and click on the portable amp sticky. There are many good choices listed there. More importantly, have fun on these forums and keep a good eye on your wallet. Money seems to dissappear very quickly. I'm glad you're enjoying your 497s.

And, since your 497s are now discontinued, you could probably get a little more than you paid for them. Wait a little bit, till nobody can find em... then strike! You'll make a tidy little profit, people around here LOVE discontinued headphones; even if another phone has a slightly better sound at the same value.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio And, since your 497s are now discontinued, you could probably get a little more than you paid for them. Wait a little bit, till nobody can find em... then strike! You'll make a tidy little profit, people around here LOVE discontinued headphones; even if another phone has a slightly better sound at the same value.

Sorry to rain on your parade, but its replacement model, the eH350, looks exactly the same (apart from colour), as well as sounds exactly the same......They're even PRICED the same! But yes, people seem to like discontinued stuff here.

 

[Ypoknons]

The HD497's are $40 from J&R, which is a brick and mortar store in NYC as well as an online store. I haven't seen a EH350 go for less than $60.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewgriff A CMOY? Can I buy that from Amazon.com or any brick-and-mortar store? I've seen the Headwize site on how to make one, and I have access to solder and electronics, although I have no knowledge on electrical engineering. How exactly will they improve the sound?

I don't think you can get a CMOY at any traditional store.

I thought the PA2V2 gave a very satisfying improvement to the 497 for only $60.

 

[Firestarter]

the burn-in you noticed is certainly not psychological. when i first got my 497's, i couldn't believe how much nice the treble got in the first few hours, as well as a general warmth in the rest of the spectrum. the bass went from non-existent to boomy to more controlled but very present.

run as far away from Head-Fi as you can, i did and lasted 2.5 years with the 497's before upgrading