[Doc-holliday]

S500 Vs M50

i think its a Draw, but it will depended on personal preference me thinks,  some will find better the M50 beacuse of the soundstage and the mids. 

In terms of SQ, I don't like them better than my M50s.  

Oh yea and BTW I would have to FIRMLY disagree that the M50 holds up to the S500 with my HD25 pleathers. I simply stopped using my M50 because with those pads all i can think when using them is "man these things have NO mids"... Particularly lower mids.

Thats the nice thing about these is you can tweak your sound where as the thread I read on the M50 trying different pads is a nightmare and just makes them sound bad.

Agreed on the comfort being far superior with the M50. I don't feel the soundstage is improved it is just more distant which makes it seem bigger IMO.

 

[Dsnuts]

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ear-Pads-Audio-Technica-ATH-SJ5-DJ-Style-Headphones-Black-/251153859791?_trksid=p4340.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D2161013199116348615%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26 Another positive of the ATH leather pads..These are the same exact size as the velours which are physically bigger than the stock pads. Semi Circumaural. More comfortable as a result. These are more over ears than on them to my ears. Much more comfortable than the stock pads. Not to mention it fixes the driver size to pad ratio issue of the stock pads. You get the full high end sound from these pads plus they are more comfy..
 
Worth every single penny they ask to get a pair. For the guys that have the velours. Yes these are worth getting. The sound does change and are even better. I think it will be more of a matter of taste in how you like your sounds. The ATH velours does have the most open wide flattest analytical sound out of the 3.. If you want a more engaging sound from the ATH velours. Yes these are worth the money to try out. As of now I am much like cute. Between these and the velours version there is nothing better for this headphone.
 
Lol. I haven't stopped listening to my HA-S500 ever since I put on these pads. Oh my goodness. The better sound isolation and sound channeling from the leather pads made these headphones for me go into the stratosphere. I thought Cute was joking when he mentioned how this combo has him listening to these over his others . Ghost I know how you mentioned you prefer your HA-S400 for music.  Wait till you hear this..This is ridiculous. This with my Fire Phoenix. Just crazy. I am eager to hear from you guys that got the Fire Phoenix.

 

[rickdohc]

WOW.. thanks DS!!! im buying mines today!!!

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

WOW.. thanks DS!!! im buying mines today!!!

From what I am hearing now.. The M50 don't touch these. Not in the same league. The M50s are way too colored for my taste now a days. Wait till you hear your HA-S500 with these pads. Then do some A/Bing.

 

[Achmedisdead]

Listening to Eric Clapton Unplugged in ALAC via my Classic-->LOD-->E11, and the frequency response does seem pretty well balanced on these with the stock pads. That said, as good as the imaging is on these, a well-recorded live performance like this does remind you that these are closed-back 'phones. Not that I'm complaining, because these still sound better than the low-end open 'phones that I have.
 
Just ordered the HD25 velours off Amazon.....bummer is, 18-25 days to ship. Expedited shipping of 1-3 days would have added $55 to the cost 

 so I'll be patient.

 

[Apo0th3karY]

I all of a sudden need these....
 
 
 
 
And apparently a set of HD 25 velours to match however, I'm curious now that the ATH leathers are in the picture, which would be best for my tastes...
 
I'm a bass head, but a stickler for clarity and smoothness in the sub bass regions. I listen to primarily drum and bass but I also listen to a fair bit of bass oriented metal (Pelican, Isis, Tool) as well as a healthy dose of Marley and Sublime. I'm also not one to like to miss out on my highs or mids.
 
Which would you (Dsnuts or anyone else, really) recommend for me. I'm thinking of ordering two of these headphones, one for on the go, the other for my DJ rig. So If one combo would be better for one than the other, I'd like to hear some opinions.

 

[rickdohc]

Quote:

From what I am hearing now.. The M50 don't touch these. Not in the same league. 

 
 
you said it.. i didnt.. i dont no need hate from forum members and M50 fans.

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

Oh yea and BTW I would have to FIRMLY disagree that the M50 holds up to the S500 with my HD25 pleathers. I simply stopped using my M50 because with those pads all i can think when using them is "man these things have NO mids"... Particularly lower mids.

 
You forgot to quote the part where I said I thought they had more mids than the the M50. 

 And that's with the stock pads. The lower mids are definitely more recessed in the M50s. 

 

[Dsnuts]

These have fantastic sub bass. I think you will be happy. For DJing I think the stock pads will be fine as they will isolate the sound much better than the velours. For casual listening I would go with the HD25 velours as it will throw out the bass and provide hours of easy listening comfort. Though I have to admit these ATH leather pads sound too great not to recommend..Not to mention the price is right on them. Not too expensive.

 

[rickdohc]

ohh sweeet lord jeezuuz.. switched to my Sony XB500 for half an hour.
 
 
I still dont know how i resisted so much time with those things on my head, man.. they sound horrible, the bass is Ok, big boomy and all.. but man, theres NOTHING there, all i am hearing is bass exploding and hitting all the "walls",  no mids, no details, no clarity no nothing.. only BASS
 
If you want a bassy headphone then the XB500 is a good choice, but thats all you are getting from those things. with out the Bass it would be a mediocre headphone.  Hope nobody hates me, but i am telling it how i hear it.
 
The S500 is at least 2 leagues above them,.. AT LEAST.

 

[RoMee]

@Dsnuts
 
Will these break when pushed hard?
 
I'm kinda hesitant after the HTF600.
The bass on the HTF600 didn't hit as hard and the drivers blew when I hooked it up to my E11 on the normal settings my HDJ500 was on.

 

[jwong]

Hey DS, I got my Fire Phoenix yesterday. The only DAC I've had outside a sound card is the Dragonfly, so I'm no expert. Also, I don't have the Dragonfly anymore to do a side by side, but from memory I'd say the Fire Phoenix is at least that SQ level (at less than half the cost) and has more power.
 
It definitely opens things up a bit and provides more detail. For me the difference isn't huge... I mean, the S500s sound awesome even through my onboard audio. Headphone quality makes a lot more difference IMO. But it's a step up, and definitely a cleaner signal, which is shown best by my IEMs where I can hear a faint hum from the onboard audio but nothing from the Fire Phoenix.
 
Overall a very nice piece of equipment at a bargain price. I'm going to hook my powered monitors and sub through its rear outs and see how those sound on it tonight.

 

[adman164]

*Newb Alert*

Coming in late on this one... can someone help me out?
1. Simply for music, most likely straight from an iPod, would you recommend the S400 or the S500? Also, does anyone have any experience with the current eBay suppliers since the one previously mentioned "ace of bicycle" is not currently supplying them.

Help greatly appreciated.

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

@Dsnuts
 
Will these break when pushed hard?
 
I'm kinda hesitant after the HTF600.
The bass on the HTF600 didn't hit as hard and the drivers blew when I hooked it up to my E11 on the normal settings my HDJ500 was on.

 
The only issue I have with these is they fold in many a places, sometimes they fold when you don't want them to fold that kinda thing, but beyond that they have a solid build quality. I have yanked my headphones off several times by accident and they have taken the yank like an champ. SO far they have been perfect for me.
Quote:

Hey DS, I got my Fire Phoenix yesterday. The only DAC I've had outside a sound card is the Dragonfly, so I'm no expert. Also, I don't have the Dragonfly anymore to do a side by side, but from memory I'd say the Fire Phoenix is at least that SQ level (at less than half the cost) and has more power.
 
It definitely opens things up a bit and provides more detail. For me the difference isn't huge... I mean, the S500s sound awesome even through my onboard audio. Headphone quality makes a lot more difference IMO. But it's a step up, and definitely a cleaner signal, which is shown best by my IEMs where I can hear a faint hum from the onboard audio but nothing from the Fire Phoenix.
 
Overall a very nice piece of equipment at a bargain price. I'm going to hook my powered monitors and sub through its rear outs and see how those sound on it tonight.

 
Nice glad to hear you got them. The Fire Phoenix sounded even better after a few days of using them. Are you using the USB cable they provided if so. You might want to look into another USB cable. The one I got was crap.. Was cutting out the sound and heating up my DAC.

 

[rickdohc]

Quote:

@Dsnuts
 
Will these break when pushed hard?
 
I'm kinda hesitant after the HTF600.
The bass on the HTF600 didn't hit as hard and the drivers blew when I hooked it up to my E11 on the normal settings my HDJ500 was on.

 
no way man, build quality is very good.
You can pump these babys with bass and they will still hit hard and low
 
i got them hooked to my E11, setting 2..bass is crazy here.
 
The Panas got like 70-80% of the S500 bass.