[SkyBleu]

For the price, the sound is very good. My main issue is they are very uncomfortable. They've got to be some of the largest on-ear earcups ever. At that size they should really have been over ears.

Time for you to grab some HM5 over-ear earpads, and make your comfort issues disappear.

 

[PeterParker]

These are very hard to beat for the price. As I stated in my initial impressions, to my ears these outperform headphones well above its price bracket. From my limited experience, the M50s are too clinical. They are geared to identify faults in recordings, whereas the SHL3300 make every type of music I have thrown at it enjoyable.

They strike a happy medium between a neutral reference headphone and a glossy, fun headphone. The only thing going against it is the pronounced bass, although I never felt fatigued while listening to bass driven genres (e.g. house, trance, hip hop). If you are fortunate to get a copy with tighter bass, the listening experience is near nirvana.

 

[YBG613]

For the price, the sound is very good. My main issue is they are very uncomfortable. They've got to be some of the largest on-ear earcups ever. At that size they should really have been over ears.

I agree with the comfort issue, but its only because of the tight clamp and small padding on the cups. So its nothing a pad replacement can't fix. The clamp force does loosen up over time because mine have improved in comfort over the 8 months i've had them and I don't even think I'll be doing a pad replacement anymore. I do wonder why they made them on-ear because the cup is large and covers my entire enough to feel like an over-the-ear type of headphone.

 

[Dregur]

I'm getting my today, with replacement Brainwavz HM5 pleather pads in tow. I'll post some pics and impressions later this week if anyone is interested.

 

[SkyBleu]

I'm getting my today, with replacement Brainwavz HM5 pleather pads in tow. I'll post some pics and impressions later this week if anyone is interested.

Looking forward to your first impressions.

 

[Dregur]

Quick first impressions:
 
Right out of the box, the bass was incredibly boomy, one could almost say, "skull rattling" and the treble sounded...off (probably rolled off). The midrange was present, not incredibly forward, but it was definitely getting covered by the quantity of bass. I will say I was coming from a pair of Donscorpio Dolphins that I really like, but don't fold up, so are not as portable.
 
Comfort wise, it wasn't horrible for my above average sized ears, but I had more problems with keeping it on my head (I have a rather large head), it kept slipping off, especially when I looked up. However, I could easily tell that I would get annoyed by the small amount of padding and clamp of the headphones if I kept using the original padding for a long period of time. So, with that in mind, I took off the original circular pads, and put on the dark red Brainwavz pleather memory foam pads that I also got with the headphones. And compared to the less than 5 minutes it took me to replace a pair of Monoprice 8323 pads with velour pads that I got for a friend, this was a bit tougher. It wasn't just the fact that it was trying to put an oval pad on a circular driver, but the opening was a smaller as well. Took me about 30-40 minutes of fiddling to get them on, but I didn't have to mod the Brainwavz pads at all. 
 
Word of advice, don't worry about lining up the pad vertically at first (the pad doesn't stretch enough to match the drivers), first get the pads fully on the driver first with an approximate place within 45 degrees where you would wear the pad, then you can just rotate it slowly to the appropriate position that you would want. 

After replacing the pads, completely different headphone. The almost-skull rattling bass that was covering up with the midrange that you could you feel was gone, replaced with a headphone that is still bassy, but in the fun kind of way. The midrange is still not prominent, but it's not being colored too much with the bass. Treble is still rolled off, but now it doesn't sound off, just not as prominent as my Dolphins. The comfort is increased 10x, and now doesn't slip off my head. The clamp force is now working for you by keeping the headphones on your head, and giving you a good seal, instead of pressing against your ears. I can see myself wearing this for hours and hours. Also, with the dark red earpads, the headphones look pretty snazzy.

That's all for the quick impressions, I'll post a comparison with my Donscorpio Dolphins and modded ATH-M50's with Beyer Velour Pads (I absolutely hated the original pleather ear pads, as they pressed against the bottom of my ears) at a later date, but so far, I'm really liking this 50 dollar investment. The impressions of the sound, of course, might change as I use the headphones more, and comparisons with my other headphones. 

Edit: Now with photos! Pardon the variable colors, using my phone camera. 
 

 
Comparing the thickness of the original ear pad to the Brainwavz Pads:

 

 
This pic probably has the most accurate colors of what the earpads look like. 

 

[YBG613]

looking forward to your comparison with your other headphones. I wish I could post pics too, but my phone's camera is too crappy to get a clear shot.

 

[Dregur]

I will say that between the Dolphins, M-50, and the SHL3300's (which are all modded in someway), the sound stage on the 3300's are so vastly superior. It is most likely due to the mod causing the drivers being so far away from my ears. However, still, compared to the other headphones in my possession, there is a certain transcendental quality to them. I also bought a pair of Velour DT770 pads, and see how that changes the sound and comfort as well. I bought them because I realized that the headphones were rather large on my head, and sort of looks like I'm wearing worker's ear protection.

 

[YBG613]

^how did you wanage to fit the d770 pads on it? Arent they a little too big for the headphones? Plus arent they of a different style with vinyl therefore not fitted the same way as the stock pads?

 

[Dregur]

^how did you wanage to fit the d770 pads on it? Arent they a little too big for the headphones? Plus arent they of a different style with vinyl therefore not fitted the same way as the stock pads?

Honestly, not sure yet. I haven't received them yet (they come in tomorrow). I measured the diameter of the driver and the pad, and they both came out about 95-96 mm, which the original DT770's pads apparently come out to 100, so not that much bigger. The vinyl I don't think is that much different from the pics I've seen. 

 

[Dregur]

I got the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pads today and they fit perfectly. Even better than the Brainwavz M5 pleather pads. They also stick out less than the Brainwavz Pads. Comfort is very similar, but less sweaty ears due to the velour pads instead of pleather. Sound wise, the bass has lessened in quantity, but I think the bass definition is a little better (especially the sub bass). The mids are a smidge more forward (most likely due to the reduction of bass), while the treble remained pretty much the same. The Soundstage is still good, but due to the pads being closer to the ears, the sound stage isn't as wide. 

Pics below:

 

 

 

 

[SkyBleu]

Just got the new HM5 pads in the colour brown, and they are some comfy pads for the SHL3300! Also great for the sound too!

 

[MalArmWA]

Hi. Do you know if SHL3300 is better than Sennheiser's HD 439?

 

[ksio89]

I was so impressed with the favourable reviews,that I sent back the SHL3200 I've bought and ordered the SHL3300 model, as I got a rebate and purchased them for a great price. I hope I won't regret my decision.

 

[Dregur]

So...my comparison review is going to be delayed awhile. I was planning on doing the comparison when I got back from my vacation, but on the way back, the jack broke on the SHL 3300 somehow, just the metal bit that unhinged from the rest of the cable. I am planning on buying another pair in a bit, but decided I needed something smaller and a little more portable with a detachable cable.

All aside, being the true head fi'er that I am, I actually had two pairs of iem's on me for back up.