Sennheiser HD-497 Traditional Over-Ear Open Hi-Fi Stereo Headphones (Silver)

Rating:
Summary: First rate headphones! Third rate cord!
Review: These headphones are just great. Never thought headphones could sound this good. You can barely feel them when worn and it even beats my Logitech Z-5300 speakers hands down. The only problem with them that I can see is that the detachable headphone cord is very cheap both visualy and to the touch. My $20 sony pair has a really great cord compared to this thing. I mean you can easily say that it construction is not all that great. Its probably Sennheiser's attempt to sell replacement cords over the lifetime of these and make more money. Other than the cord great headphones for this price. I think they sound better than the Bose Triport even though then are less than half price.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Set of Headphones
Review: Here are some things I noticed within the first week of using them:

1) nice frequency response; pretty much handles anything 30Hz-24kHz; but from 29Hz and lower, the bass may be a little lacking for some; I noticed some harmonic distortion when very low or extended bass signals of 3 seconds or longer were put out; besides that, it punches hard and sounds clean: rock, pop, hip-hop, trance, classical, whatever.

2) the headband is snug/very tight around your ears; if you wear glasses, it'll hurt after a while; I just put my contact lenses on and do a little fiddling until it fits just right; after that I barely notice them on my head--very light; I hope the tight fit might become more manageable after some usage.

3) the cord is extra long, so it can get in the way if not twisty-tied to the appropriate length.

4) this works very well with Xbox or Playstation2; just attach a volume control (I use the one from my CD Player) or use your TV's audio controls because believe it or not it's pretty loud and easily driven; the stereo effect comes through very nicely.

5) the design is over-ear/semi-closed NOT circum-aural, meaning they don't cover your entire ear; they just sit on top of them; if you have big ears, this could be a problem; I had to play around with them until I figured out and memorized the most comfortable fit for my head and ears.

6) since they are not fully closed, they let some sound in and out (but not that much).

Overall, I'm happy with this for PC/console gaming, TV, CD player, and mp3's (you WILL notice the difference between 128 and 192kbps with these). It's not an audiophile's pair of cans, but it's very good for those on the budget and with similar applications.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, way better than Grado SR60's
Review: My previous headphones were the SR60's. They took a while to break in comfort wise, lasted me a couple years, then I began to experience trouble with the headphone wire, one channel would always cut out unless I arranged the wire just so. Must have been a crimped section inside the wires. I contacted Grado and they would not sell me another wire, or fix the current one since it was out of warranty.

So, instead of fixing the old headphones myself, I decided to try these.

My review is based on a comparison between the SR60's and the HD-497.

Design: The HD-497's are more comfortable than the grados, I like the way the phones cover my ears, they block more outside noise and also keep others near you from hearing your phones. The detachable headphone chord is great. Its a much cheaper thinner chord than the grado chord, but its longer, which is a huge plus. Grado charges a ridiculous amount of money for their extended chord. It also detaches so it will be easy to replace should it ever fail like the grado cable did. The phones are also easy to adjust and hold their adjustment well in use.

Sound: The first thing I noticed was far better bass than the grados. Its deeper, more accurate bass. The highs started off a little tinny, but soon mellowed out after about 1 hour of listening. Second thing I noticed is far more accurate sound stage. Grados tended to blend together various instruments. All of the instruments tended to sound like they were played at the same volume. The HD-497's are far more dynamic, cymbals are soft, snare's snap, guitars roar, instruments have more air around them. The treble is also more accurate without being overly bright.

These are a great buy and I highly recommend them over the SR60's, which USED to be the best bargain in headphones.

Rating:
Summary: Great Headphones
Review: I didn't know much about headphones. I thought a headphone was a headphone. I began to read other reviews of this product and decided to buy them. I have to say they are great. I own a Creative Zen Micro and they have terrific sound. They are very light and the padding around the ears and on the headband is very comfortable. I can wear them for long periods of time without having to take them off. At first I didn't know if they were going to fit over my ears, but they do. They virtually block out all outside sound while you are listing to music. I would definatly recomend these to anyone who wants a great set of headphones at a great price. The only thing I guess people shold know is that the cord is long. This doesn't bother me, but for some it could be a problem.

Rating:
Summary: Great sound but with faults
Review: These are great headphones. They do what they're suppose to do and they do it well. The sound from this thing is superb. The reason why I didn't give this item 5 stars is due to the comfort factor. Maybe it's the size of my ears, but after listening to my ipod with these headphones for more than a half hour, my right ear starts to hurt. This is due to the pressure the headphones put on your head and ears. The cups and padding of these earphones do not fit around your ears, but over them. After a while, the pressure that it places on my ears takes it's toll and I can no longer wear these for extensive use. This may be due to the fact that the headphones are new, therefore the plastic band is still very tight. Maybe after the "break-in" factor the pressure won't be as great. Otherwise, I will probably either sell these or give them away and purchase headphones that surround the ear rather than right on top. I heard that around the ear headphones drown out ambient noise better too, a form of passive noise cancellation. Then Sennheiser does an OK job drowning out noise, but not as well as my friend's Bose triport. The Bose headphones are definetly more comfortable than the Sennheiser, but sound wise I'm not too sure.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying sound, a bit plastic looking
Review: I bought my 497's from Amazon about 3 months ago, and overall I'm happy. Audio performance is quite good for a sub-$50 set of cans, although it doesn't have the really deep bass that I look for (but I listen to hip hop and rap so this may not be an issue for you).

If I had anything to gripe about, it would be that the construction seems a bit too plasticy. The headband, which is all plastic, can't be adjusted (the phones themselves slide up and down on the headband) and after wearing for more than an hour, I find them too tight. Durability seems good though and the plastic makes them quite light as well.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Only one sentence about this wonderful cans: if you don't use them, you don't know what you are missing.

Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect...
Review: Like many of the other reviewers, I found the sound quality produced by these headphones to be top notch. If I were judging on that alone, for the price, these headphones would get 5 stars. I use them for gaming, listening to music, and watching movies occasionally. The bass is deep, detailed, and rich. The highs are well acentuated and not too "sharp". And the mids are not muddled. They also seal out sound very well; even at a moderate volume level, it's hard to hear my wife talking to me 6-7 feet away.

However, I find that the biggest deficiency is the comfort. The plastic body of the headphone is not adjustable (width-wise) and the tension they provide is just too much to bear for long term use, especially since I wear glasses. Bear in mind, I don't think that I have a particularly big head (5'9", 170 lbs), but the tension is just way too high compared to previous models I've owned.

My only other complaint is that the wires go to each ear piece instead of having one wire (and running it through the headband to the other ear piece).

So in summary, highly recommended...if you have a small head :)

Rating:
Summary: Great sounding... BUT
Review: it REALLY gets hot under the earpads.

After about 5 minutes, you'll have to lift the headphones off your head to allow for some air to circulate around your ears. To make sure it wasn't just an isolated issue, I had others use these headphones as well. They gave the headphones back to me within a few minutes with the same complaint... uncomfortably hot around the ears.

I've had these headphones for about a year. The audio fidelity is great. I use them to get a full appreciation of songs I really want to listen to. Unfortunately, these are too uncomfortable (heat-wise) to use for more than a song or two at a time.

It's really a shame, considering the sound produced by this headphone is exceptional. The highs are crisp, the mids are defined and the lows are accurate, yet powerful.

For day-to-day headphones, I use the Sony MDR-EX71 earbuds. They sound OK, but you can really tell the difference going from earbud (with tiny 9mm drivers) to the HD 497. There's no substitute for size when it comes to drivers.

Also, unlike some higher-end headphones that require more power, these headphones do not require additional amplification for use with items, such as the iPod.

As much as I like these headphones for their sound, I find it too uncomfortable to use regularly. This headphone is ideal for the following combined conditions:
1) for use with personal audio player
2) in cold environment, where the headphone can double as earmuffs.

Also, the cord is extremely long and does not detach from the headset. The earpads do detach. It'll be great if I can find replacement earpads that allow more air to circulate and heat to dissipate around the ear area.