[xanlamin]

Bass is never an issue with yammy. In fact, I find it still somewhat lacking as compared to amperior.

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

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. 

 
Quote:

That's what happens with quick listens...

 
just curious what you mean by that statement. if someone demos a pair of headphones & finds the bass too overwhelming, does a longer listening session cause the sound signature of the headphones to change? does shorter listening sessions inherently cause bass to be emphasized?

 

[Beagle]

I'm not taking the bait this time. Go troll somewhere else, please.

 

[gelocks]

Lol!
I don't think money4me was trolling, actually he probably just thinks that your reply was a bit of, how can I put it, let's just say a bit out of line. Short impressions are also valid in this game. Heck I can listen to 3 to 5 of my usual 'test' songs and I know if I will like a headphone or not. That amounts/count as short.

Will a longer listening session change sound sigs? Of course not, BUT I'm a big believer of the power of the mind. Even if I don't particularly like a headphone, my mind CAN GET USED to the sound signature and maybe would Not bother me as much. But no, there should not be drastic changes. I do think the bass on these can sound a bit boomy, but it will be track dependent (i.e. i cannot hear the bass in Jon Cleary songs overtaking other frecuencies... But on some reggaeton tracks, bass becomes way powerful still THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT IF YOU WANT A BASSHEAD CAN!!!)

Anyway, that's what I think...

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

I'm not taking the bait this time. Go troll somewhere else, please.

it was a honest question. I can see how a longer listening session can be more revealing for a more very detailed description of the sound signature, but i would imagine the basic sound signature & the amount of bass you hear with a short demo would be pretty accurate and unchanging, so i was wondering what you meant.
 
however, i do know many people here believe in burn-in or like gelocks said the power of the mind, which I have definitely noticed in my listening sessions. for example, i initially thought the m100 was too bass-heavy, but after 2 weeks, I really enjoyed the sound.
 
but yes, i do kinda agree w/ gelocks that your initial comment "that's what happens w/ short listens" did give the impression that you were discrediting his opinion, and I've noticed that you often do give off that vibe in your comments, so i wanted to bring that to your attention in a non-confrontational way. i feel like impressions gathered from short listening sessions are usually pretty accurate for an individual's preferences.

 

[davidgotsa]

If you could explain what you mean, that'd be great. 
Quote:

That's what happens with quick listens...

 

[TheBanker]

Yamaha 500 PRO is not not bass heavy, it is bass powerful though, I can tell it after owning them for 3 months. Bass is very controllable. I listen most of the time to FLAC/AAC/MP3 (128 to 320 kbps) on Samsung Galaxy S3 equipped with PowerAmp music app, PowerAmp has software control of output level of S3 (Pre Amp function). Rarely do I have to lower Pre Amp down or reduce bass freqs to clean bass from mids, because on Yams bass has tonality, octaves, I went to musical school in the past, and can hear the bass "dancing with music" - in other words it flows very much with mids, supporting mids if mid are present during bass frequencies spikes and happens to be delivered  
at the same time - mids and bass are very separate, and bass bounces below and around mids, it will only blow all frequences away if you boost the bass or over-equalize it.
So, do not be afraid of bass on Yams, but you will enjoy bass on them very much, huge aluminum-alloy metal housing of the drivers make bass very quick and tight, it flashes/spikes/tones up and down instantly, letting you hear all in between the flashes/spikes/tones changes. 
Now I understand why is the extra weight is on them - it is the price for that exceptional quick-dancing and bouncing bass. I never heard such quick bass before Yams.
Also, as per comfort, you will get used to them, and they loose considerably over time (now they slide off my head if I tilt my head forward, just like my Senns 280 HD do
P.S. under influence on Yams I also got Yamaha EPH-100 SL, I was so impressed with 500 PRO.

 

[roma101]

If you could explain what you mean, that'd be great. 

To do a headphone justice with solid impressions, it is best to use that headphone for good amount of time. Sure you can tell the sound sig right away with a quick listen but can you really be the judge of the SQ? Not IMO. I've auditioned the M-100 but all I would choose to comment on is the sound sig - it would be irresponsible of me to say more since I haven't spent much time with them. From experience, I can say much more about a headphone after listening to it for a while.

I agree with Beagle, especially in this case, because the particular comment about the bass drowning out the mids and highs is complete hogwash. Mids and highs shine and are very present and owners of the headphone can vouch for that. This is why quick listen impressions are not always credible.

IMHO when you post any kind of impressions, you should do the headphone justice with time and more listening (just as you would do a headphone justice with a proper source). This gives newcomers very good input so they can make an informed decision about their headphone choice. I never post anything without keeping that in mind. Just food for thought.

 

[davidgotsa]

I must have listened to a defective pair then.
 
I went back and forth between these and my EPH-100, which are far from bass light, and the Pros were very clearly taking away from the mids in all the songs I tried.

You are obviously right about not being too quick to judge and that's why I clearly stated that I had, in fact, spent very little time with them.
Quote:

To do a headphone justice with solid impressions, it is best to use that headphone for good amount of time. Sure you can tell the sound sig right away with a quick listen but can you really be the judge of the SQ? Not IMO. I've auditioned the M-100 but all I would choose to comment on is the sound sig - it would be irresponsible of me to say more since I haven't spent much time with them. From experience, I can say much more about a headphone after listening to it for a while.

I agree with Beagle, especially in this case, because the particular comment about the bass drowning out the mids and highs is complete hogwash. Mids and highs shine and are very present and owners of the headphone can vouch for that. This is why quick listen impressions are not always credible.

IMHO when you post any kind of impressions, you should do the headphone justice with time and more listening (just as you would do a headphone justice with a proper source). This gives newcomers very good input so they can make an informed decision about their headphone choice. I never post anything without keeping that in mind. Just food for thought

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

I must have listened to a defective pair then.
 
I went back and forth between these and my EPH-100, which are far from bass light, and the Pros were very clearly taking away from the mids in all the songs I tried.

You are obviously right about not being too quick to judge and that's why I clearly stated that I had, in fact, spent very little time with them.

lol guys, all davidgotsa said about these headphones are that there was too much bass for HIS TASTES. remember people have different ideas of how much bass is a good amount.
 
i see that most of you responding think that the pro 500 have a well-balanced amount of powerful bass which is also a valid personal opinion, but please don't discount other people's opinions just because they don't agree with yours. of course a longer listening session over a period of ownership allows for a more detailed analysis of the sound, but initial impressions can be very accurate as well. i'm sure most of you simply did a quick demo of the Beats rather than purchasing them and quickly determined that the bass was too muddy for your tastes.
 
initial impressions are perfectly valid especially when the poster is straight up says it is an initial impression & didn't go into any in-depth analysis about the sound. he did a short demo & a direct comparison. his statement is also one of personal preference, so you can't really seriously say his impressions are wrong. perhaps if he did a longer listening session, he might decide that he likes the sound signature more, but if he did a direct comparison with a pair of headphones he knows well, i would say that his idea of the sound is accurate. so sure, suggest a longer listening sessions, say your personal experience with the headphones are different, but discounting someone's impressions doesn't seem very cool to me.

 

[jazzman7]

Quote:

I must have listened to a defective pair then.
 
I went back and forth between these and my EPH-100, which are far from bass light, and the Pros were very clearly taking away from the mids in all the songs I tried.

 
I don't think your pair was defective, davidgotsa.   

The published frequency response curve at soundandvisionmag.com (the only place I have found a test of the Pro 500) shows a recessed midrange.  Compare the curves of the Yamaha, the V-MODA M100 (also known to have a recessed midrange), and the Sennheiser HD598 (flat response headphone as a control):

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-yamaha-pro-500-headphone

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-v-moda-crossfade-m-100

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-sennheiser-hd598

In fact, if the curves are to be believed, the Yamaha Pro 500 sounds more like the M100 in the bass and midrange, but with a brighter treble.  

When I directly compare the sound of the Pro 500 and the M100 and focus on just the mids and lows, they both appear to have a recessed midrange to them (I have both).  They image differently for me, however, and I prefer the Pro 500 if sound is the only factor. 

As I said earlier, I hope Tyli at InnerFidelity tests the Pro 500s.  I'm curious to see a better set of measurements on them.  
 

 

[m8o]

re:  the only place I have found a test of the Pro 500
 
Any reason to ignore the review I linked-to and freq-resp graph I provided from it in this thread?
 

 

[money4me247]

Quote:

re:  the only place I have found a test of the Pro 500
 
Any reason to ignore the review I linked-to and freq-resp graph I provided from it in this thread?
 

He probably just didn't see it bro. If you provide a link to it, that would be helpful. Not everyone has time to go thread digging.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

 
I don't think your pair was defective, davidgotsa.   

The published frequency response curve at soundandvisionmag.com (the only place I have found a test of the Pro 500) shows a recessed midrange.  Compare the curves of the Yamaha, the V-MODA M100 (also known to have a recessed midrange), and the Sennheiser HD598 (flat response headphone as a control):

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-yamaha-pro-500-headphone

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-v-moda-crossfade-m-100

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/photogallery/measured-sennheiser-hd598

In fact, if the curves are to be believed, the Yamaha Pro 500 sounds more like the M100 in the bass and midrange, but with a brighter treble.  

When I directly compare the sound of the Pro 500 and the M100 and focus on just the mids and lows, they both appear to have a recessed midrange to them (I have both).  They image differently for me, however, and I prefer the Pro 500 if sound is the only factor. 

As I said earlier, I hope Tyli at InnerFidelity tests the Pro 500s.  I'm curious to see a better set of measurements on them.  
 

 
If you own them, why do you need a set of measurements?

 

[jazzman7]

Quote:

 
If you own them, why do you need a set of measurements?

For EQing purposes.  It is easier to use measurements then to do it by ear.