Rating: 
Summary: Excellent headphones, great balance, not very portable
Review: I am on a quest to find the ideal portable headphones, and the Sennheiser HD 497 is a great contender in this category. On the other hand, I did not keep them. I purchased two different Sennheiser models over the past month, and both were excellent. For my money, the HD 497 is better than the HD 212, but it is a matter of taste. The HD 497 has great clarity of reproduction and balance, whereas the HD 212 really are DJ headphones for drum-laden music.Now, to the main reason I did not keep either pair. Although I knew neither pair folded or had a convenient storage unit. I was not prepared for the size of either set of headphones. Neither is what I would call portable. I travel frequently, and the jet engine noise ruins my entertainment experience as I am sure most people would agree. The closed design appeals to me, but there is no way to fit these phones in my carry-on bag. If you are planning to use these at home or at your workplace, they are a great buy. If you plan to take them with you all the time, I would suggest looking elsewhere as I am. Both headphones are very comfortable, and I have a fairly large head (no jokes please). I do recommend these based on sound quality, but not on portability. They are probably the best headphones I have tried during my search for a pair of portable headphones.
Rating:
Summary: Lightweight and Good Sound
Review: Like an earlier review, I too was looking for a replacement for my Koss Pro-4AA headphones. I had bought them used 22 years ago and while they still sounded great, the cushions were flat, I had to wiggle the cord to get both sides to work, and I was tired of regluing the headband. The HD-497s are extremely comfortable and lightweight especially when compared to the Koss. But I knocked off one star on sound quality. Because of its not fully closed design (it completely covers the ears, but has vents out the outside) it doesn't isolate from external noise as well as the Koss and also doesn't have quite as much bass response. I was able to set my equalizer to partially account for the bass (still not quite the same), but I still hear my son playing video games in the next room. I can however, wear these for a couple of hours without having to massage my ears and scalp when I take them off like I had to with the Koss. So in summary, I'm going to have to keep these for general use, but I think I may have to get another pair of Koss Pro-4AAs (or the new Pro-4AATs due out this year) for the times that weight doesn't matter as much as sound quality does.
Rating: 
Summary: Good sound, bad comfort, bad build quality
Review: I don't quite like the cheesy look of the headphone (Silver color like a toy). But I have to agree I do like the sound of it. The highs are crisp, the mids are warm, I don't care too much about the bass. This headphone is good for classic and vocals, but apparently not for trench and heavy metals. The sound is open and tansparent, and relatively smooth. Because I have a massive head, this headphone hurts my ears like hell. It is too tight for me. Pulling both side down to the end helps a little but it is still somewhat uncomfortable for me. So be aware, if you have a big head like I do, think before you make the purchase. I don't like the all-plastic feel of the headphone, and I think I already saw small cracks on the inner side of both part (left and right) of the bands (When I received this from Amazon it's like this already). I don't know how long this one is going to last, but I am afraid it might not be very long. Usually I place comfortablity after sound. But not this time. I do like the sound coming out of this headphone. But it is just too tight for me and I am not fond of the build quality of the headphone. (I do like the build quality of all the other sennheisers I own though)
Rating: 
Summary: Top choice for the price
Review: There is not much more to be said about the performence of this set. You do get the deep bass and clear treble as you would expect from a top of the line product. And for the price, I don't think you can do much better. The set is also light and ergonomic. My only complaint is that airflow is not as good as people claim and my ears do get a little sweaty after about an hour of use. Be careful about buying larger, better headphones for your portable devices, as most portables don't have to power to drive them. You wouldn't have that problem with the HD-497.
Rating:
Summary: Great Headphones, though never actually received from Amazon
Review: These headphones simply are the best sounding headphones on a portable player I've had to pleasure to own. They are comfy too! One thing about them though, they are kinda big. But I actually kinda like that. When I have them on, people don't talk at me thinking I'll hear them like they would with ear buds.
Rating:
Summary: I'm returning it
Review: I wanted to buy a good headphone for my iRiver Slim-X 350. Before buying Sennheiser HD-497, I read lot of reviews and finally decided to get this one because it seemed to have what I wanted: great sound, comfort wearing, light weight and long cord. When it arrived, I was surprised to see that it came in such an [enexpensive] plastic package compared to the price I paid and the quality seal was off the place where it should be. But I was still excited to try it on. The first impression I got is it was big and felt very tight on my head. Then I was somewhat disappointed about the sound it delivers. It is not as good as I expected. It does deliver clearer layers of sound from different instruments, but not that great. I tried lot of regular CDs and mp3. The conclusion: the earbuds that came with my iRiver SlimX is not that bad at all in spite of lot of people saying so. Another big problem I got is it is really TIGHT. My head feels pressed and very uncomfortable. So After just two days with Sennheiser HD-497, I'm returning it. The ... return shipping fee is the price I paid to try this product. I will look for something [less expensive] but more comfortable.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Cans
Review: These are excellent headphones, especially for the price I paid - I feel I got much more for my money that I would expect at this price, especially since lots of other name brand headphones are in a similar price range. I listen to CDs while I work often using my computer's CD-ROM. I never realized audio CDs sounded so good! I always thought my soundcard was weak, but it must've been the old headphones I used to have. The highs are high, the bass is loud without being obtrusive - all in all, I'd say these headphones give a very 'honest' sound, and that's a great thing. I find them very comfortable, even for long periods of time. They're light, but can get a little sticky after an hour or two. Highly recommended. ** Just a word of warning: I've had a few people tell me at work that the sound from these leaks pretty badly... not that I mind of course, but your colleagues could get a little irritated, so beware! **
Rating:
Summary: Excellent sound, comfy too.
Review: I got these headphones as a Christmas gift and I am very pleased with them, listening to some big band music with these puppies is a real blast, the sound quality is great and the bass is phenomenal. It almost feels like the room is rattling with bass when it's just my head. The cushioned ear pieces and headband are very nice, my only problem is that they seem too tight sometimes, maybe my head is too large, but sometimes it feels like the headphones apply too much preasure to the head. All in all, a great set of headphones!
Rating:
Summary: Very good sound, lightweight, and easy to drive...
Review: I was looking for a good set of headphones for my portable MiniDisc player. After doing some research, I decided to try the HD 497's. Overall, I found them to be a very good headphone for the money. They are very efficient and even with the low output from my Sony MiniDisc player, I found that turning the volume up half way was enough to produce sound at moderate levels. I listen to mostly jazz and vocals, so bass is not as critical for me- but I did try out some dance music with lots of bass, and found that these phone have quite a bit of bass. Overall, when compared to my HD600's (Sennheiser's most highly praised headphones), I'd say these give you about 75% of the performance at 30% of the price! Bass could be a little better controlled and a little deeper, and vocals don't have the pinpoint imaging of higher cost headphones, but the sound is still very enjoyable. In terms of ergonomics, these headphones do hurt my ears a bit. Although the padded ears make it semi-comfortable for me, I have large ears and the left phone presses against the cartilage about a half inch above my earlobe. Not a sharp pain, but a dull pain more like a bruise and gets a bit irritating after a about 30-45 minutes of use. I think this may be an issue with me because open headphones(with the sponge type earpads that rest on your ears) irritate the same part of my ear as well. Also, since I use only for portable listening, the 9' cord is too long for a portable use and needs to be tied up. So here is how I would rate: Comfort- 6/10- comfortable except for the one sore spot for me
Sound- 8/10- decent bass and mids- not bright like some other headphones at this price
Weight- 10/10- very lightweight
Efficiency- 10/10- more efficient that any of the Sony or Koss headpones I've tried.
Quality- 10/10- seem to be well built and well designed
Value- 10/10- best sounding phones I've tried at this price point
Rating:
Summary: Phones to Match the Rest of Your Stereo
Review: As I'd been using my Koss Pro4A's for almost thirty years, and the poor things were literally falling apart, I figured it was time to get a new set of decent headphones. I looked over the reviews of various ones here, tried out some down at the local electronics store, and finally found these. The first item that distinguishes these headphones from the run-of-the-mill sets is their ability to block external noise, without being super-heavy, super-sized, or squashing my oversized dumbo-like ears flatter than pancakes. These work so well at this job that I found they work well as studio earphones, allowing me to really hear what I truly sound like. It's almost impossible to do this without first recording yourself and then playing it back, as your ears are normally subjected to multiple feedback paths, both external and internal. With these phones, the external influence is almost totally blocked, allowing me to perceive very close to the reality of my own voice in real time. The second exceptional attribute is their light weight, important to me as I only have about three hairs left on top of my head to serve as a cushion. Compared to my old phones, I can wear these many hours longer without feeling like someone is holding a hot brick on top of my head. The earcups make a tight, firm clamp around my ears without causing either frictional or pressure irritation, something I could not say about my old phones. Some people may not like this tight feeling, though, especially those used to today's "open" style low quality phones. Third is the full sound and exceptional frequency response of these phones. I have tried them on everything from Beethoven to Pink Floyd, and find that for all these forms of music everything is clear from the very low bass regions to super-high violin harmonics, with no one frequency range inordinately emphasized or diminished. Sennheiser lists a specification of 24 - 22000 Hz as the frequency response range, I spec I would normally look at with a jaundiced eye, as few phones really deliver more than about 30 -15000, but after listening to these, I believe it. The long cord on these phones is also nice, allowing to move almost anywhere in the room without suddenly getting them yanked off my head when I run out of rope. And finally there is the price. I would expect these phones to sell for much more than they do, and they are clearly superior to some that I have tried that sell in the multi-hundred dollar range. These are clearly a 'best buy' for those who are looking for high quality, eminently wearable headphones and a great listening experience.
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