dinosauract
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2002
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I've been using the Senn 497's for about a week now, as a portable phone for listening while laying around soaking up sun at a local pool. I paid $34.99 at a local CC for an opened package. Everything about the phones looked brand new and undisturbed, so with the assurance I could return them if necessary, I took the plunge. My previous phones were the Optimus Pro-35's, a clone of the Koss KTX-Pro. Well, the Optimus phones definitely had some positives; easy to lug around, pretty durable and passable sound. They're not the most comfortable and are too bass-heavy.
I use a newer Panasonic PCDP, an entry-level model, about $50, with non-defeatable ESP. Immediately after putting these things on, I caught a glimpse of my shadow. Man, these things are pretty big, and they stick out pretty far from my head. They've gotta be looking pretty geeky. Oh well, I'm married anyway, so despite the plethora of beautiful college girls at this pool, it really doesn't matter how they look. The next thing I noticed is how long that cord really is. The 3 meter cord is great at home, but for portable use, that thing really gets in the way. The next thing I noticed was that I could barely tell I had them on. They had been a little tight when I tried them on immediately after purchase, but they seemed to have loosend up nicely. And they stay put, something that was always a problem with the old Pro-35's.
Well, how do they sound? Damn good! I use Senn 580's at home with a Cal Audio CD player and a Bryston pre-amp. I never thoght that this could be compared to that set-up, but I was hoping for a noticeable improvement over the Pro-35's. Well, this set-up doesn't match my home gear, but its a lot closer than I would've dreamed.
The 497's seem to be easy to dirve, the PCDP's volume being set at about 15 out of about 50. The sound is very detailed and dynamic, almost exactly the opposite of how they sounded out of the box before break-in.
The mid-range is excellent, very smooth and detailed. Vocals sound right on, sibilants being reproduced perfectly, a very difficult thing to achieve in low priced gear, and something that plenty of expensive stuff doesn't get right. Subtle changes in pitch of vocals, guitars, and piano are reproduced with realism.
The top end is very well extended and detailed as well, but it doesn't throw the sound in your face. Cymbals, shakers, and violins sound like the real thing. Violins can sometimes have a little bite, and this is reproduced very well with the 497's. They don't exaggerate the high end, but it definitely is not rolled off. Nearly perfect, at least to my ears.
The bass region is good, but is not quite up to the standard of the rest of the frequency range. Extension is excellent, electric bass, string bass, cellos and even synthetic bass are all reproduced with weight and detail. I love cellos, the subtle overlays of texture are an excellent test of the resolving powers of any piece of equipment. The 497's excel here. The negative aspect of the bass area is that electic bass seems a little pronounced. There seems to be a slight boost in the mid-bass, meaning that certain notes seem to linger a little longer than they shoud. It is not severe, and on certain tracks it provides a nice warm feel, but it is a coloration.
I tested the same tracks with the 497's on my home rig to see if the problem could be the PCDP. Although lessened, there was still a little added warmth in this region, compared to the 580's. The amazing thing about this experiment was just how close the 497's come to the 580's sound. Swithching back and forth between the two also allowed for comparison of comfort and sensitivity. The two phones definitely have a different feel on the head and ears. The 580's are of course very comfy, with that nice velour padding. But the 497's are very good too, being lighter without undue pressure on the head or ears.
If I didn't have the 580's I could easily be happy with the 497's as my main headphone. They have everything that's important to me: comfort, detail, resolution, extended frequency response.
At the price I paid, these phones are an unbelievable value. At the full retail price, they're still an excellent value. For $20 less list price, the 477's could be considered. I've never heard them, but I would think they sound similar and do have the cloth earpads. The Grado 60's could also be considered. To my ears, the 497's and the Grado's have a lot of similarities. For me the comfort of the 497's easily beats the Grado's. The Grado's are more forward in their presentation but they don't have that slightly over-warm mid-bass. I believe the 497's are a little more accurate overall, but I'm sure some would prefer the Grado's.
There are some drawbacks for portable use, as I mentioned. These things are a little bulky. But the main problem is that 3 meter cord. It's great for home use but a major pain on the go. I'm going to investigate ways of keeping that thing under control. I suppose a simple twist-tie would work, Radio Shack also sells a little gadget for this purpose that only costs a couple of bucks. You won't look too cool with these things on your head, they tend to stick out at the sides of the headpiece and also the earcups are pretty deep. But the plusses of these phones easily outhwiegh the drawbacks. The sound is phenomenal, and they are easy to drive.
Some people have criticized the build quality. They are totally plastic, but they seem well put together. I think they will stand up to normal use and even some abuse without having problems. The pleather on the earpads looks a little cheap, but it's nicely padded and comfortable. Sennheiser claims the pleather actually makes a favorable contribution to the sound, that cloth would have dulled the highs on these phones. The cloth earpads from the 477's will fit the 497's and can be purchased from Sennheiser if desired.
All in all, a fantastic headphone, and an unbeatable bargain, especially at what I paid. I didn't think this kind of sound could be achieved at this price.
I use a newer Panasonic PCDP, an entry-level model, about $50, with non-defeatable ESP. Immediately after putting these things on, I caught a glimpse of my shadow. Man, these things are pretty big, and they stick out pretty far from my head. They've gotta be looking pretty geeky. Oh well, I'm married anyway, so despite the plethora of beautiful college girls at this pool, it really doesn't matter how they look. The next thing I noticed is how long that cord really is. The 3 meter cord is great at home, but for portable use, that thing really gets in the way. The next thing I noticed was that I could barely tell I had them on. They had been a little tight when I tried them on immediately after purchase, but they seemed to have loosend up nicely. And they stay put, something that was always a problem with the old Pro-35's.
Well, how do they sound? Damn good! I use Senn 580's at home with a Cal Audio CD player and a Bryston pre-amp. I never thoght that this could be compared to that set-up, but I was hoping for a noticeable improvement over the Pro-35's. Well, this set-up doesn't match my home gear, but its a lot closer than I would've dreamed.
The 497's seem to be easy to dirve, the PCDP's volume being set at about 15 out of about 50. The sound is very detailed and dynamic, almost exactly the opposite of how they sounded out of the box before break-in.
The mid-range is excellent, very smooth and detailed. Vocals sound right on, sibilants being reproduced perfectly, a very difficult thing to achieve in low priced gear, and something that plenty of expensive stuff doesn't get right. Subtle changes in pitch of vocals, guitars, and piano are reproduced with realism.
The top end is very well extended and detailed as well, but it doesn't throw the sound in your face. Cymbals, shakers, and violins sound like the real thing. Violins can sometimes have a little bite, and this is reproduced very well with the 497's. They don't exaggerate the high end, but it definitely is not rolled off. Nearly perfect, at least to my ears.
The bass region is good, but is not quite up to the standard of the rest of the frequency range. Extension is excellent, electric bass, string bass, cellos and even synthetic bass are all reproduced with weight and detail. I love cellos, the subtle overlays of texture are an excellent test of the resolving powers of any piece of equipment. The 497's excel here. The negative aspect of the bass area is that electic bass seems a little pronounced. There seems to be a slight boost in the mid-bass, meaning that certain notes seem to linger a little longer than they shoud. It is not severe, and on certain tracks it provides a nice warm feel, but it is a coloration.
I tested the same tracks with the 497's on my home rig to see if the problem could be the PCDP. Although lessened, there was still a little added warmth in this region, compared to the 580's. The amazing thing about this experiment was just how close the 497's come to the 580's sound. Swithching back and forth between the two also allowed for comparison of comfort and sensitivity. The two phones definitely have a different feel on the head and ears. The 580's are of course very comfy, with that nice velour padding. But the 497's are very good too, being lighter without undue pressure on the head or ears.
If I didn't have the 580's I could easily be happy with the 497's as my main headphone. They have everything that's important to me: comfort, detail, resolution, extended frequency response.
At the price I paid, these phones are an unbelievable value. At the full retail price, they're still an excellent value. For $20 less list price, the 477's could be considered. I've never heard them, but I would think they sound similar and do have the cloth earpads. The Grado 60's could also be considered. To my ears, the 497's and the Grado's have a lot of similarities. For me the comfort of the 497's easily beats the Grado's. The Grado's are more forward in their presentation but they don't have that slightly over-warm mid-bass. I believe the 497's are a little more accurate overall, but I'm sure some would prefer the Grado's.
There are some drawbacks for portable use, as I mentioned. These things are a little bulky. But the main problem is that 3 meter cord. It's great for home use but a major pain on the go. I'm going to investigate ways of keeping that thing under control. I suppose a simple twist-tie would work, Radio Shack also sells a little gadget for this purpose that only costs a couple of bucks. You won't look too cool with these things on your head, they tend to stick out at the sides of the headpiece and also the earcups are pretty deep. But the plusses of these phones easily outhwiegh the drawbacks. The sound is phenomenal, and they are easy to drive.
Some people have criticized the build quality. They are totally plastic, but they seem well put together. I think they will stand up to normal use and even some abuse without having problems. The pleather on the earpads looks a little cheap, but it's nicely padded and comfortable. Sennheiser claims the pleather actually makes a favorable contribution to the sound, that cloth would have dulled the highs on these phones. The cloth earpads from the 477's will fit the 497's and can be purchased from Sennheiser if desired.
All in all, a fantastic headphone, and an unbeatable bargain, especially at what I paid. I didn't think this kind of sound could be achieved at this price.
