Sony MDR-V500DJ Monitor Series Headphones with Swivel Earcups

Customer Reviews

Well, I embarked on finding a new set of travel headphones after my last long plane ride. The earbuds just weren't hacking it, even though the pair I have are quite good. The jet engine noise finally got to me.
I have an old pair of Sony MDR-M77 headphones which are quite good, but I wanted something new. So, I studied what was available and settled on the MDR-V500DJ headphones. After purchasing a pair, I regret my choice and I am returning them.
When I got these headphones, I immediately plugged them into my iPod and picked a favorite cut from XTC (Mayor of Simpleton). As I listened to the song, I kept wondering what was wrong, Then, it dawned on me, the treble was entirely muffled. I grabbed the MDR-M77 and did a A-B test with several tracks. Same result. The MDR-V500DJ has little or no high-end. Just as a sanity check, I grabbed my Sony MDR-V6 phones and did the same test. I consider the MDR-V6 one of the best headphones ever made by the way. Yeah, the bass was definitely richer than the MDR-M77, which seem bright in comparison, but both were much closer to what I expected than the MDR-V500DJ.
I thought it might be the iPod, so picked a coupled of CDs (MFSL Dark Side of the Moon ; Bernstein in Berlin-Beethoven Symphony no.9) to try in my portable CD player. Same result. While the MDR-M77 was the brighest of the three, the lack of high end on the MDR-V500DJ made neither CD sound good. Once again, the MDR-V6 was the best and most balanced of the three.
Still seeking the perfect lightweight headphones, I went to a local Magnolia Hi-Fi to try a better comparison. I tried both noise cancelling models from Sony, several Sennheiser models, the MDR-V600, MDR-V500DJ, and MDR-V300. First of all, forget the noise cancelling models. None of them sounded as good as MDR-V500DJ. The MDR-V600 was the best of them all and reminded me of the MDR-V6 (which I understand they replaced). The MDR-V300 is definitely better than the MDR-500DJ by a long shot, and I would say the MDR-V300 is comparable to Sennheiser HD-212. I am going to try them side-by-side at home soon.
Although many of the Sennheiser phones sounded good, they seemed over-priced compared to the MDR-V600. The only one that was close in price and quality was the HD-280. By the way, the HD-280 was uncomfortable and put a lot of pressure on my head.
Unless you like listening to bass only, do not buy the MDR-V500DJ headphones.

i've always been skeptical of sony sound products, but these are really great sounding - with a lot of range and not choking on big bass beats. my only complaint being that they dont cup the ear like i had expected. listening to music for more than 7 hrs a day while coding a website can make your ears a lil sensitive.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.5 x 2 inches ; 14.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001W0DG
• Item model number: MDRV500DJ
  

Price : $71.99

Product Description

Revel in high-quality audio with the MDR-V500DJ Studio Monitor Series DJ headphones. Featuring reversible earcups with remix applications, these comfortable headphones are the ideal DJ companion.

Technical Details

• Supra-aural design for excellent listening comfort
• Folding design for compact mobility; extremely lightweight (7.9 oz.)
• 40 mm diameter drive units for delivery of broad frequency range
• Tangle-free, single-sided, oxygen-free copper cord is 10 feet long (3 meters)
• Swivel earcups are also reversible; comfortable single-sided monitoring
• Allows Users To Listen To House Sound With 1 Ear While Queuing Up The Next Track With The Other
• Exceptionally Clear Sound For Professional and Hi-Fi Applications
• Swivel Earcups For Dj and Remix Applications