[roma101]

I have owned the M50s longer than my time here at HF and I am pretty fond of them for the price and how fun and portable they are. Because I know their sig so well it makes it easier to use them as a benchmark when comparing and listening to other cans.

That all said, I could not disagree with you more. IMHO these are worlds apart from the M50 when it comes to balance, speed, detail retrieval, soundstage, layering, imaging, and overall refinement. The SQ differences and subtleties are what puts this headphone on another plain from anything under $200. Since you bring up the M50, to my ears, their frequency response is like a check mark: punchy and decent bass extension, slightly recessed mids, big treble emphasis. It's a bit sloppy and unrefined especially when listening to fast-paced music. Perhaps one might find the 500 veiled if they are used to treble-heavy headphones but I would not say they have a veil at all. To give you my perspective, the 1R has a warmer and more veiled sound in the mids - definitely a warm coloration. Meanwhile the Amperior has a bit of edginess to them - you can hear it in the treble and listening to female vocals is a big indicator. Both of these headphones sound great but because of those characteristics and if you're as nitpicky as I am, they just don't sound as natural as they could. Either slightly bright or slightly veiled. In the case of the 500, I have never heard a headphone so perfectly balanced - linear across the frequency. When I listen to them I don't feel that anything is missing or overpowering the other. I have also never heard a headphone sound so tonally correct. It's very hard for a headphone to sound lifelike in which it stops sounding like a headphone. This is first headphone where everything sounds near-perfect and the headphone sound more like an instrument than a headphone.

Anyway, we all have different ears and perhaps you may have a preference for a more aggressive brighter sound. I honestly was baffled when you said the M50 sounds better because to my ears, these are a 110% upgrade in every way possible to the M50. For me, the 500 can be anything you want it to be - you just have to press play.

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

Anyway, we all have different ears and perhaps you may have a preference for a more aggressive brighter sound. I honestly was baffled when you said the M50 sounds better because to my ears, these are a 110% upgrade in every way possible to the M50. For me, the 500 can be anything you want it to be - you just have to press play.

 
Agree!
I hated the M50s though so... I'm not going there...

 

[roma101]

Haha it's a love or hate thing with those cans at this point. It was one of my first quality pairs and still holds it own in terms of decent SQ, BQ, ergonomics/portability, isolation and style in one package - for that I'd say they're good entry-level cans although there is more and more competition now. Still SQ-wise it doesn't hold a candle to cans like the 500 to my ears.

 

[pioferro]

Guys, I spent the day breaking in the Pro 500's and I gotta tell you, the more I hear them the more I like them. Most of my initial listening was done through my iPad. Today, I used them with the Woo and Benchmark - the combo of the Pro 500's and the Benchmark is simply outstanding.  They pair up OK with the Woo, but that combo is way too syrupy for my taste. Really happy I got them! ITook a few snap shots to share:
 

 

 

 
The different hues of blue between the P500 and the Beats Studio's
 

 
Did a lot of listening today!!
 

 

 

[sofastreamer]

pro300 arrieved today. will probably post first impressions tonight...

 

[Habu]

Quote:

pro300 arrieved today. will probably post first impressions tonight...

If it sounds anything like Pro 500, it should be good

 

[Greeni]

Had a listen to the Pro 500 at dealer's showroom, the pair probably not fully broken in but initial impression promising. High resolution, snappy, dynamically agile.
 
However I was testing it in a system I am not familiar so not conclusive, especially when it comes to timbre and tonality it is not better than the Logitech UE6000 I had on hand for comparison. If the Pro 500 do well in this regard probably will be my next phone.
 
Another phone I am interested in is the Mr.Speaker Mad Dog, it is actually cheaper but its 450 gram weight probably too heavy for me. Anyone heard both and like to offer some opinion ?
 
Thx

 

[PereUbu]

How do the 500 compare to the hd25-1 II?

 

[roma101]

Bigger soundstage, better bass extension, much more precise imaging and layering, everything is more balanced and no treble peaks and valleys to my ears. Where the HD25 can sound a bit edgy up top, the 500 has plenty of sparkle while still remaining smooth and not edgy or harsh. Both are great cans IMO but the 500 is an overall upgrade in every area except for maybe portability. The HD25s are definitely lighter and more portable and I feel like I can just throw those in a bag and not worry. While BQ is good on the 500s, I always keep them in their case and not treat them the way I'd normally treat the HDs because of their price tag.

 

[PereUbu]

Quote:

Bigger soundstage, better bass extension, much more precise imaging and layering, everything is more balanced and no treble peaks and valleys to my ears. Where the HD25 can sound a bit edgy up top, the 500 has plenty of sparkle while still remaining smooth and not edgy or harsh. Both are great cans IMO but the 500 is an overall upgrade in every area except for maybe portability. The HD25s are definitely lighter and more portable and I feel like I can just throw those in a bag and not worry. While BQ is good on the 500s, I always keep them in their case and not treat them the way I'd normally treat the HDs because of their price tag.

All of the above stands true even if both cans are unamped?

 

[sofastreamer]

whatever the PRO500 might have, the Pro300 do not. The 300s sound extremly boxy and cheap. no comparison to hf like s500, cal, and what not.

 

[pioferro]

I had a similar experience the first time I heard the 500s, but they sounded so much better after just a few hours of play.
 
my opinion: p500's are just OK with my iPad or iPod. They sound too syrupy through the Woo, but they KICK ASS with the Benchmark Dac HPA's. so, IMO, very dependant on the amp that's driving them. 

 

[Habu]

I tried with Fiio E17 and without. Did not notice any big difference. Pro 500 is very easy to drive anyway. You can get it crazy loud even straight from the laptop.
 

Impedance	23 ohms @ 1kHz
Maximum Power	1,000 mW
Sound Pressure Level	106 dB ±3 dB (1 kHz, 1 mW)

 

[roma101]

All of the above stands true even if both cans are unamped?

Yep although I don't have an amp anymore. The HDs are nicely improved with amping but it is not drastic (I used to have the p51 mustang and ttvj slim) and IMO still does not compare to what you get with the PRO 500, unamped or amped.

 

[SpiderNhan]

Quote:

whatever the PRO500 might have, the Pro300 do not. The 300s sound extremly boxy and cheap. no comparison to hf like s500, cal, and what not.

I couldn't bear listening to the Pro300s for more than 20 seconds. It is sounded very congested and bloated and was easily out shined by $35 Portapros.