[navii]

I havent heard enough headphones to be able to determine how close the models are to each other in the world of headphones. But I would have to say that they dont sound close to each other in my perception. I guess they both produce music.
 
Quote:

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Anybody with both the Denons and Yammys agree? I don't have the Denons anymore so this is going off memory.

 

[tseliottt]

Quote:

I havent heard enough headphones to be able to determine how close the models are to each other in the world of headphones. But I would have to say that they dont sound close to each other in my perception. I guess they both produce music.
 

Really? Why? The only difference I can remember is less sibilant treble on the Yams and vocals on the Denons sounded more artificial. Sound signature was similar though. But then again, I went from D600 -> a900x -> esw9 -> Pro 500, so maybe the middle two are skewing my memory.

 

[navii]

Another review by CNET for the 500s
 
http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/yamaha-pro-500-blue/4505-7877_7-35590872.html
 
They briefly mention the M100s and HE4s.
 
 
 

Really? Why? The only difference I can remember is less sibilant treble on the Yams and vocals on the Denons sounded more artificial. Sound signature was similar though. But then again, I went from D600 -> a900x -> esw9 -> Pro 500, so maybe the middle two are skewing my memory.
 

 
I think the Denons are much darker and slower with far more sub bass rumble. The Denons also sound smoother. 
 
I guess the ultimate sign for me is that I wouldn't sell either the D600s or the PRO500s as I believe they offer something substantially different.
 
But I would like to hear the general consensus around here as having 2 users with different opinions is not enough to form a consensus.

 

[Swimsonny]

I just unboxed these:
 

 

[tseliottt]

Cool, tell us what you think of them.

 

[roma101]

X2 looking forward to your impressions.

 

[TheBanker]

I bought my Yamaha 500 PRO on NewEgg the moment headphones came out, back in Dec 2012. Use them daily, my Senns 280 PRO are now for movies/games mainly. This is the review I left on New Egg and Amazon - enjoy. I didn't go too much into the sound, for me the dramatic sound with dramatic, tight, super not-fatiquing bass is perfect.
 
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[size=small] The best portable Hi-End portable headphones, use only 23 Ohm of resistance - my Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3 drives those easy, no PowerAmp pre-amp boost is needed. I am comparing to 64 Ohm Sennheiser HD 280 Pro, where I have to boost PowerAmp pre-amp all the way to the top for headphone's soundstage to open up and expand, in other words, to achieve the full covered frequency range of headphones. Yamaha's 23 Ohm of resistance shows all the way - I keep the volume on my Samsung Galaxy S3 connected to Yamaha 500 PRO on the lowest volume level, next to silent - low impedance ensures full loud sound on the low volume level. While listening to Yamaha, PowerAmp pre-amp level is in the middle, bass boost off, treble boost off, equalizer off - the sound in Yams does not need no help. For my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro volume level is 5/8 up, and if I want loud bass, 3/4 up, with the pre-amp level all the way up and bass boost on. While breaking in the Yamahas, on 1/2 the volume I could hear headphones playing loud and clear from across the large living room, 12-15 feet away. 500 PRO are very loud (high sound output, powerful 50mm magnets) headphones.[/size]

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[size=small]With rich bass, wide stereo field, Yamaha PRO 500 sound is fantastic, coming in your ears, appear in your head out of nowhere - you don't feel "pointed-in-your-eardrums" sound of music, it is rather that wave after wave envelopes your eardrums, making you stop and listen, kinda like then you were a child and you wanted to hear what is coming next in your mother's bedtime story. 500 PROs are that good. Nice array of accessories, nice hard luxury-feel-emitting quality hard carrying case, 2 detachable cables (one 4 meter long for receiver and one shorter with remote for portables. Cables are very high quality, thick, beefy, substantial and light at the same time, with nice silk-screened Yamaha logo, gold-coated jacks, flexible but both cables do not pass thump/sound of touch along to earcups - what I mean is if you touch or bump cables 3-4 inches away from headphone cups, you cannot hear the thump of the sound - cable isolation material is sound-deadening - unlike on many of mine IEMs, where sound of touch or bump will travel all the way to the ears from any distance of the cable being touched or bumped. You can also connect cable to both sides of headphones, and it is normal 3,5 mm cable, so will be easy to replace if needed. I am right handed, so I connect to left side, but if you are leftie, you can connect to the right cable ear-cup, You can also daisy-chain Yams with another pair of headphones, but I haven't tried it yet. Looks like you can change the headband cushion too - I can see 4 little metal screws on the sides of headband - headband is made of some gel-like silicone-filled balloon cushion, triangular in shape, with one of the angles pointing towards the head. My Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphone's headband is still ok looking after 7 years of constant use. Let's see how Yams will stand the test of time. Headband is durable-looking, like the whole rest of Yams, will probably last, since synthetic silicone is stronger material by itself comparing to leather.[/size][size=small][/size]
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[size=small]NO ANDROID powered remote. Yamaha, are you listening !!!???!!! I paid top buck for 500 PROs, I will pay top buck to get my Android-compatible remote, please make sure I can buy those separately once you produce this Android remote, and please make it happen soon, Thank You, Yamaha !!! ))[/size][size=small][/size]
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[size=small]On Android-powered SGS3 the remote's middle button works (play/pause/next track/previous track), volume buttons and mic do not work, if you receive incoming cell phone call, S3 switches the sound to the phone's speaker/mic, thus I do not hear the caller in the headphones and have to take them off. I always think of Thinksounds' Ts-02 mic/remote, where the genius inventor made them (button and Mic) work with Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S3 AND Apple iPhone 5 at the same time, what a genius that guy is ... Even Yamaha couldn't do it ... and Yamaha is the world biggest music equipment creator for pros ...[/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]The PRO 500 is an around-the-ear, circum-aural design, very comfortable to skin and ears, though you will feel some slight pressure on the top of your head, seem to only happen during long listening periods. Adjusting the band helps, ear pads are very comfy to ears and plush, so is the underside of headband, overall the around-ear design works just as good for comfort and the overall listening experience as Senns HD 280 PRO larger-more-around-the-ears design, sound isolation is also on par.[/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]The materials used and the surface finish on the PRO 500 are top-notch. Mine were chosen in racing blue, and the paint job is NICE - has two-tone, automobile quality clear-coat duo-tone finish, looks super to the eyes, and is durable - I already banged them on my head into the walls and corners (by accident, not intentionally (headphones sit quite high and wide on the head, easy to hit objects with them), and I thought for sure I have made a dent or at least scratched the finish of Yams - but no, even the clear coat lacquer finish didn't show no blemishes after those hard, against the hard-objects knocks.[/size][size=small][/size]
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[size=small]The only con as I see it the Yams are a little heavy cos of high-quality materials used and for being foldable design. Foldable design means there are two metal hinges one inch away from ear cups, those metal hinges allow headphones to collapse into itself in order to make them truly portable and ready to fit into whatever bag you carry with you to go on the road. Nevertheless, in my very humble opinion, high quality dense plastic resin and metal of the frame and hinges material, and portability enhancing duo-fold are all the more important to me, comparing to just being "feather-weight". So no stars detracted.[/size][size=small][/size]
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[size=small]I got mine 500 PROs on the site for the new fresh egg dot com, I am a new egg and the Banker in the real life !!! The deal was too good to pass from financial standpoint, so after having carefully reviewed hours after hours of reviews on Momentums and PRO 500 on Amazon, CNET.US (for 500 PRO review) and CNET.UK (for Senns Momentums review), New fresh eggs and PCMag (Thanks for the excellent review, Mr. Gideon), I bitten the bullet and got 500 PRO. I have 500s' for over a month now, use them daily. Very happy experience. Thank You, Yamaha team, you made my life more bearable with better and nicer sounds of music to my ears !!! [/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]In my life I use In-Ear Monitors are Thinksound TS-02 with mic, Klipsch S4-A Image with mic, Klipsch Reference S4 Premium, and Klipsch Image X10 no mic, on the go driven by Samsung GS3 US spec (Qualcomm DAC, not Wolfson DAC, as in International version - I presume 500 PRO will sound even better with Wolfson DAC), at home I listen to Yamaha Pro 500 headphones driven by Yamaha RX-V671 Receiver, Bi-Amp wired with C2G 12AWG speaker wires to Polks Monitor 70s Series II. PC-Build rig is used with Senns 280 Pro (for movies, games, music, all driven by Creative SB ZX sound card with PC headphone amp). I mainly listen to 320 kbps MP3 and Apple or FLAC Lossless (ripped from my CDs) music files stored on 64 Gb Micro SDXC flash on my Samsung Galaxy S3/IPod Classic 5th Gen (bought my 4 IPods when I still respected Apple brand, no more respect for Apple) or on computer hard drive (DLNA to Yamaha receiver).[/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]Update 02/23/2013[/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small]Excellent overall, Depeche Mode's "Wrong" shines, Yams handle complicated and deep bass sound stages with aplomb, with multiple octaves, and all from Samsung Galaxy S3, no headphone amp, just Android software PowerAmp pre-amp on the 60% level. Music feels like you have 3-4 speakers blowing into each ear, separate speaker for bass and low frequencies, separate for high, separate for mids, Yams are very articulate, each dimension of music has its own very separate sound space, and you can hear it clearly very spaced out and coming off a different angle, each instrument separate ...[/size][size=small][/size]
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[size=small]Also, if you have a small head, be advised, these headphones are big. They are even larger than Sennheiser HD 280 PRO's headphones. Initially when I bought headphones, I had them on the smallest setting. Now I extend hinges for 2 or 3 mm (1/16 of an inch) on each retractable hinge side, on my medium-to-large head. The headband is wide too, I guess for extra comfort, even though they sit tightly on my ears. After first month of use headphones loosened up on the sides, becoming more comfortable to wear, and as a result sitting a little bit higher on the head, so I started retracting them 2-3 mm outwards to keep them on my ears. Yams are still comfortable though, for their size and those huge magnets in ear-cups speakers (50 mm diameter magnet on each side, real rare earth metal neodymium magnets). So if they don't feel right away, do not give up, Yams loosen up on the sides and sit higher, so if originally they are too big for you, they may fit in a month of use ...[/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small][/size]
[size=small]update 03/23/13[/size][size=small][/size]
[size=small]sides are much looser now, clamping force is on par to worn-out Senns HD 280. Found out due to the differences in music soundscape requirements it helps to adjust amp level in Power Amp Android App - if I want the music to be soft, "Enigmatic", whispering, non-fatiquing for hours to go, so to say the background fone music for studying, I lower the pre-amp level below middle point, somethere to 35-40% of the bar, and music becomes very unobtrusive and relaxing. If I want the music to shine to full potential and the treble/bass to be agressive, and frequency bands booming, for Depeche Mode, LP, Deep Purple, Pendulum, DDT, Cure, Pink Floyd, Adele, anything strong, heavy, loud, powerful, I move pre-amp to 70% or even 80% of the bar. I never have to use 100% pre-amp, like on Senns HD-280, as with Yams music becomes too harsh, they are too powerful to over-amp them, and yes, you can over-amp Yams with little output of Power Amp on Galaxy S3 ... Om some tracks I listen volume gradient one notch up from silent/off - and the music is still loud, but there is no where to go lower. Yams are loud and powerful, but you can control them.[/size]
[size=small]>>>[/size]

 

[TheBanker]

And those are comments to the same thread:
 

Initial post: Feb 27, 2013 3:14:31 PM PST​

How is this headphone standing compared to Sennheiser Momentum? I can't decide between this from Yamaha and Sennheiser Momentum.  




>>


Hi, Mr. Suherman. My answer to your question is my question to you - do you know how many nights I spent reading reviews on both to choose between Senns Momentum and Yams 500 PRO ? My answer is - five. At the end, there is a magazine I have loved, adored and learned a lot from since 1990s, it is called PC Magazine. Its staff writers includes some some names which are legendary, like Mr. John C. Dvorak. And then there is Mr. Tim Gideon . If anybody can judge headphones as a deep art of music science, that is this expert. Read his review on Yamaha 500 PRO on PC Mag. And I bet Mr. Gideon have listened to Momentums. He reviewed many Sennheisers on pcmag. And then, yet, Mr. Gideon placed Yams on top. That, after all, was the biggest factor that made me to get 500 PRO. The others were the fact that Yamaha is number one in the world creator of pro music equipment, and another relatively new product from Yamaha - in ear monitors EPH-100. I just bought X10, couldn't pass on bargain sale of 89$ for world's lightest and one of the best iems, and also just got XBA-S65 for jogging, will update on those later .... So, once I summon enough cash, and at the right moment of sale, I will get EPH-100, the www is flooded with rave reviews on them. ..I don't like the design of B&W C5, I don't want anything sticking to the insides of my ears .. I haven't decided yet... I may get them too, you loose or break iems easy, so to have several iems is ok .. So I got X10, and will get EPH-100, and if I need iems that are sticking to my ears, let them be waterproof and jog with me, and be called Sony XBA-S65, just got them today on sale in one of the NYC audio retail stores ... Hope my reviews will help you and the others to make a peaceful decision, just like other reviewers' opinions helped me numerous times. Cheers from Brooklyn, New York !!!
other thoughts: At one point I almost got Momentums, they are half the weight of Yams (190 grams against 369 of Yams), even lower 18 ohms impedance versus 23 for Yams (less impedance is less work for my SGS3), and have luxury leather wrapped earpads. They look cooler too. 50 quid cheaper didn't sound bad either. But asking myself, where will I use either headphones - not on the streets or public transportation, for sure not in NYC, $400 headphones on your head is kinda asking for it (have mine X10, S4 Image and S4 Reference for the streets....) I needed closed-back ambient-sound reducing phones to replace and better my still excellent Senns HD 280 PROs. And I only wear my phones while making breakfast in the morning and occasionally relaxing on my off-work days or after work, not for too prolonged wear time, so weight wasn't really mattering that much. And I realized - most important for me is the quality of sound. And now I can say Mr. Gideon was right - bass on Yams is dancing with the music, and each instrument is spaced away in distance and time fields. As per weight, you only feel it after an hour or more of wearing Yams, then you have to kinda move phone's headband a little, to move the pressure point up or down contact path on the skull...and I still want to get the Momentums, I kinda like them, the looks, but now I have no reason to get them.

 

 

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[sofastreamer]

wow, great impressions. still afraid of the somewhere mentioned "hot" treble. and the frequency graphs i found show some early sub bass roll off, which i would hate. can anyone test, if the go straight down to 20hz?

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

wow, great impressions. still afraid of the somewhere mentioned "hot" treble. and the frequency graphs i found show some early sub bass roll off, which i would hate. can anyone test, if the go straight down to 20hz?

 
Wrong and wrong. And they do the 20hZ test tone just fine...the driver housings are bolted to solid metal.

 

[tseliottt]

Quote:

 
Wrong and wrong. And they do the 20hZ test tone just fine...the driver housings are bolted to solid metal.

Yup just tested with a sine wave and they do go that low. Lower than many studio subs.

 

[sofastreamer]

damn, i have to test them than.

 

[davidgotsa]

Got a chance to get a quick listen to these yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised but there was a little bit too much bass for me to fully enjoy them. The bass was just drowning other frequencies out quite clearly. 

 

[Beagle]

That's what happens with quick listens...

 

[Bruin9999]

I have had the pro 500's for about two weeks and honestly say the sound is great, but they are the most uncomfortable headphone I have ever owned. The mold is too round and they dig into my jaw and the top of the band doesn't even touch my head not to mention the shallowness of the ear cups. I have tried cotton under the rim of the cuff to deepen them a bit, but they still dig in the sides of my head. I guess I have a small head or at least narrow. Very upsetting because they really do sound great. I was able to pick these up for 3 bills a couple weekends ago on amazon, too bad for the comfort. The headphone search will continue I guess.