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Mi cabeza pequeña no podÃa con ellos. He forzado el aro a preparándolo y todo OK. Ya no se deslizan para abajo. Y el audio es espectacular..con un increÃble espaciado 3D y Rico en graves, unos medios espectaculares (guitarras y voces de lujo) y algo excesivos en agudos…. Pero muy buenos en general…. Solo cabezones o forzar el aro.. Superior al Beyerdynamic dt 990 y senheisser 599…pero muy lejos de la pegada y potencia de hifiman xs
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★★★★★
CY –
I’m not an audiophile, but could be considered an Audio enthusiast. I regularly enjoy DTS from Blu-rays or discreet listening on a FiiO X1 (my library is entirely FLAC). My ‘computer speakers’ are a pair of DefTech bookshelf driven by a Denon.
I stumbled upon these headphones during my search for a gaming headset. I had not planned to spend much on a headset, given I don’t use it often. I was primarily interested in something more comfortable with less brittle treble than the stock xbox headset. Without first auditioning, I decided to take a chance on the Audio Technica ATH-AD500X, rigging it with a separate mic and Sennheiser PCV 05 Combo Audio Adapter.
Music: Compared to the common & popular closed types, open back headphones are an entirely different listening tool, for an entirely different type of experience. Exposure to the openness of the sound stage has changed me in a permanent way, I just cannot go back to closed (except for active noise cancelling which are designed for that specific purpose). I’m rediscovering my music library with new details and nuances revealed. An advantage of open headphones is there’s no ‘booming’ which may fatigue the ears during long listening sessions. It took me a few hours to acclimate to the lack of overpowering bass that I’m accustomed to. I’ll admit, that I heavily boost the lower frequencies on the FiiO’s equalizer, sculpting the sound to meet my preference. Doing so may make the sound ‘innacurate’, but I don’t care…i’m in awe–for sound is just about as personal and subjective as it can get. When I listen to Bach’s Cello Suite No.1, I like to *feel* the bass resonate with my core. Some favorite benchmarks include Enigma’s “Mea Culpa” executed with clean-deep bass, or the drums vigor of AC/DC’s “Thunderstuck”. I can sense the transition of the drums in Cranberrie’s “Dreams”. I’m able to detect more details from “Amadeus” and “Bram Stroker’s Dracula” soundtracks. These cans have an aptitude for vocals. Any tracks from Bocelli’s “Romanza” or Carey’s “Daydream” will shine. I somehow felt closer to Bowie in “Heroes” (original and Live in Berlin 2002).
Gaming: When connected directly to my XB1 controller the bass is sufficient, not anemic nor overbearing/fatiguing. I find myself flinching to the vivid screams of enemies sneaking up behind me in Borderlands 2. At times I struggle to determine whether a sound is from the game or from within the living room. I’ve read that some improve their game because they can pinpoint the footsteps of opponents. Everything is very ‘open’ on these headphones, it cannot be adequately described in words or with fancy detailed sound graphs–it must be experienced first hand.
Quality & Comfort: I’m picky and uncompromising when it comes to the bands. (I had a negative experience in the past with an HD280 Pro band cracking & falling apart in less than a year despite gentle usage). The ATH-AD500X band is a durable and light-weight design. Some people find the 3D Wings design awkward or uncomfortable, fortunately for me they work great for my average size head. The wings are a unique design, the actual band never touches your head. The fabric pads are comfortable and properly fit around my ears. I’ve read that some people use different pads from other manufacturers, something I may try out in the future. The cable appears sturdy (I would have preferred a removable cord design to swap with a shorter one).
Conclusion: If you’re looking for a great overall open-back headphone, this is an excellent entry point at a great value. The price point makes it relatively low risk if you cannot audition them first. I’ve read that competitors in this class are either too tight/uncomfortable, or too bright in the highs, or clarity masked by a veil. This is not designed for the typical bass-head, instead you may discover new details in a very open sound stage. I’m confident that a quality amp with some equalizer adjustments could drive the AD500X to meet most of my bass needs. It’s a different kind of bass–different kind of experience I highly recommend.
Additional Comments:
Open ear headphones are not designed or intended for noisy environments. These don’t block out any sound, they perform best in a quiet environment. Also, there’s significant sound leakage so it may disturb others around you.
These cans are easy to drive without an amp. However many recommend the use of an amp to bring out the best performance. My next upgrade will be something from FiiO or more likely the Magni 2.
If I were going to upgrade, I would jump straight to the AD1000X. The AudioTechnica flagships are manufactured in Japan and constructed of premium materials. However at that pricepoint, other options like the Philips x2 Fidelio or venturing into Planars from HIFIMAN become attractive. The planars may require some amplification to be enjoyable.
There’s conflicting viewpoints regarding the ‘burn in’ of headphones. I put mine through 3 days of shuffle play at normal listening volume prior to using.
Update 12/05/2018: These headphones are still holding up quite nicely, I use them more frequently for gaming and discreet listening of FLAC files. I also replaced the earpads with Brainwavz Hybrid Memory Foam Earpad – Black PU/Velour, making them even more comfortable.
I purchased this for games, movies and general use. I will be using these at home for my PC pretty much exclusively.
I did a lot of research to find what would be the best headphone at the best price for my own personal needs, and this is what I wound up picking.
These are open backed headphones which have a large soundstage and accurate sound. They will leak noise because that’s what open backs do, but in return they will give you a great soundstage and will also sound more like speakers rather than sound being pumped directly into your head. This was important to me because I plan on using them for long sessions, and did now want fatigue from listening. I also, although I’m not certain if it’s medically true, believe that it’s better for your hearing not to have that sound pumped right into your head and isolated. You still shouldn’t put sound too high, but this helps.
The headphones are extremely comfortable. It doesn’t really say it, but they are indeed circumaural, they fit around your ears. Your ears might very slightly touch the outer edge of the pads, but you won’t really notice it and it’s a good fit.
The fit is also in general very nice. You don’t need to adjust anything, you just put it on and it automatically rests on your head. Now you may have read that these will fall off your head if you have a smaller head. I do not think this is the case if you simply aren’t gyrating and slamming your head around. If you are someone that spazzes around while having headphones on, I can see that it might fall off. I would assume lots of headphones would fall off. When I run with headphones on they fall off too, even if they’re very secure regularly. However when I am listening I generally make only small regular motions with my head, and it’s secure. It’s comfortable. There isn’t pressure, but for me that’s a positive. I don’t like pressure on my head, because then it starts to hurt after awhile and you certainly are very aware you’re wearing headphones. With the way it is, while you know they’re there, you don’t feel them there really and can just be immersed in whatever it is you’re doing.
The materials on the earpads are very nice. They’re soft cloth, not leather or pleather or anything like that.
To me comfort and ease of putting it on were huge factors, as well as the soundstage and accuracy. If they are for you as well, maybe these will be good for you too.
There are multiple models for this. They are fairly similar, pretty much identical outside of max input power. Now depending on your level of audiophileness, that may or may not matter to you. For me these are more than good enough. I doubt I will ever try the higher end models, as I don’t even actually know what input power would do. The impedence is low enough that I don’t need an amp, in fact it’s very similar to any other cheap headphone in terms of power needed to drive it. Except the quality is much higher.
The sound quality will really strike you. I have equalizer inputs and surround sound off of my soundcard. With proper equalizer you can pretty much adjust any headphone to what you want really. However, these are so accurate and already so good I don’t see the point for that. Also surround side is completely unnecessary with this soundstage, it’s really just a gimmick that I’d suggest passing on for headphones in general. With the proper speaker setup surround sound can be great, but for mere headphones it’s kind of a gimmick.
These drivers are very large. 53mm, and for a good price too. I was amazed at the sounds I was catching that I wasn’t before. With proper equalizer and cheap headphones you can get to a certain level, but I noticed this went beyond that, and fiddling around it was clear where the sound was artificial with the equalizer and surround sound. I could hear signs swinging in games, windmills turning. I’d look around and I’d see these things that I don’t remember noticing before like that.
I know after a week or so the sound will be even better. But right now I’m already happy and think it’s 5 star.
Now a quick note on sound cards: if you have a mid or upper tier motherboard you probably have about as good sound or better than a cheap dedicated soundcard. The Asus Xonar is a popular card at a cheap price, but I don’t think you need to actually get it if your onboard is good. My onboard can actually sample higher than that card and besides that the specs are quite similar. Chances are yours are too if you care enough to pay this much for a good pair of headphones.
If you need a mic you’re better off getting a stand alone mic too. But since I play single player games there’s really no need.
Mostly I wanted something comfortable, with accurate sound and good soundstage, that wouldn’t get too hot because they’re closed. These might get a little hot after very long periods of time, but it’s going to be less than pretty much anything other than the ear bud or internal around the ear type styles, which are all going to have much worse sound and also will be putting sound directly into your ears which I don’t really like, and certainly won’t give you much in the way of soundstage as a result.
I don’t write too many reviews, but I liked this so much that I really wanted to, and I hope it helps someone else out. If the price drops even more I’d say to really jump on it. I got mine for just under $100 and am happy with that price. The other set that I was really considering were the AKG K 240 Studios at around $68. But those are semi-open, with higher impedance and much smaller drivers. I think these are better for my purposes. Also, I got mine from Beach Camera, who were super quick on shipping. Whereas when I tried getting the AKGs the seller hadn’t shipped it for several days. In retrospect I am very happy they lagged so much, as these are far better and worth the extra money.
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Arthur Amorim –
Fone excelente. Conforto impecável e som de primeira. Tem uma assinatura sonora semelhante ao M40x porém, por ser aberto, tem uma espacialidade muito melhor e o som embola menos do que nos M40x, que tem mais graves mas com uma pressão que me causa dor de cabeça após algumas horas de uso. Pra quem quer um fone de entrada e não busca um isolamento sonoro está recomendadÃssimo.
Gabriel Riera –
Son una verdadera sensación, realmente me encontré con una mejora significativa de sonido en toda perspectiva, sin usar un dac ya sonaba muy distinto a otros auriculares, sin duda mejores que cualquier otra adquisicion que puedas tener antes, para el Gaming, pelÃculas y sobretodo música es el mejor auricular.
Guilherme Frange –
Excelente qualidade de áudio que é de se esperar de um fone da Audio-Technica e super leve e confortável. O único problema é que este fone é tão confortável que ele vai te deixar mal acostumado quando for usar outros.
Cliente Amazon –
Mi cabeza pequeña no podÃa con ellos. He forzado el aro a preparándolo y todo OK. Ya no se deslizan para abajo. Y el audio es espectacular..con un increÃble espaciado 3D y Rico en graves, unos medios espectaculares (guitarras y voces de lujo) y algo excesivos en agudos…. Pero muy buenos en general…. Solo cabezones o forzar el aro.. Superior al Beyerdynamic dt 990 y senheisser 599…pero muy lejos de la pegada y potencia de hifiman xs
CY –
I’m not an audiophile, but could be considered an Audio enthusiast. I regularly enjoy DTS from Blu-rays or discreet listening on a FiiO X1 (my library is entirely FLAC). My ‘computer speakers’ are a pair of DefTech bookshelf driven by a Denon.
I stumbled upon these headphones during my search for a gaming headset. I had not planned to spend much on a headset, given I don’t use it often. I was primarily interested in something more comfortable with less brittle treble than the stock xbox headset. Without first auditioning, I decided to take a chance on the Audio Technica ATH-AD500X, rigging it with a separate mic and Sennheiser PCV 05 Combo Audio Adapter.
Music:
Compared to the common & popular closed types, open back headphones are an entirely different listening tool, for an entirely different type of experience. Exposure to the openness of the sound stage has changed me in a permanent way, I just cannot go back to closed (except for active noise cancelling which are designed for that specific purpose). I’m rediscovering my music library with new details and nuances revealed. An advantage of open headphones is there’s no ‘booming’ which may fatigue the ears during long listening sessions. It took me a few hours to acclimate to the lack of overpowering bass that I’m accustomed to. I’ll admit, that I heavily boost the lower frequencies on the FiiO’s equalizer, sculpting the sound to meet my preference. Doing so may make the sound ‘innacurate’, but I don’t care…i’m in awe–for sound is just about as personal and subjective as it can get. When I listen to Bach’s Cello Suite No.1, I like to *feel* the bass resonate with my core. Some favorite benchmarks include Enigma’s “Mea Culpa” executed with clean-deep bass, or the drums vigor of AC/DC’s “Thunderstuck”. I can sense the transition of the drums in Cranberrie’s “Dreams”. I’m able to detect more details from “Amadeus” and “Bram Stroker’s Dracula” soundtracks. These cans have an aptitude for vocals. Any tracks from Bocelli’s “Romanza” or Carey’s “Daydream” will shine. I somehow felt closer to Bowie in “Heroes” (original and Live in Berlin 2002).
Gaming:
When connected directly to my XB1 controller the bass is sufficient, not anemic nor overbearing/fatiguing. I find myself flinching to the vivid screams of enemies sneaking up behind me in Borderlands 2. At times I struggle to determine whether a sound is from the game or from within the living room. I’ve read that some improve their game because they can pinpoint the footsteps of opponents. Everything is very ‘open’ on these headphones, it cannot be adequately described in words or with fancy detailed sound graphs–it must be experienced first hand.
Quality & Comfort:
I’m picky and uncompromising when it comes to the bands. (I had a negative experience in the past with an HD280 Pro band cracking & falling apart in less than a year despite gentle usage). The ATH-AD500X band is a durable and light-weight design. Some people find the 3D Wings design awkward or uncomfortable, fortunately for me they work great for my average size head. The wings are a unique design, the actual band never touches your head. The fabric pads are comfortable and properly fit around my ears. I’ve read that some people use different pads from other manufacturers, something I may try out in the future. The cable appears sturdy (I would have preferred a removable cord design to swap with a shorter one).
Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a great overall open-back headphone, this is an excellent entry point at a great value. The price point makes it relatively low risk if you cannot audition them first. I’ve read that competitors in this class are either too tight/uncomfortable, or too bright in the highs, or clarity masked by a veil. This is not designed for the typical bass-head, instead you may discover new details in a very open sound stage. I’m confident that a quality amp with some equalizer adjustments could drive the AD500X to meet most of my bass needs. It’s a different kind of bass–different kind of experience I highly recommend.
Additional Comments:
Open ear headphones are not designed or intended for noisy environments. These don’t block out any sound, they perform best in a quiet environment. Also, there’s significant sound leakage so it may disturb others around you.
These cans are easy to drive without an amp. However many recommend the use of an amp to bring out the best performance. My next upgrade will be something from FiiO or more likely the Magni 2.
If I were going to upgrade, I would jump straight to the AD1000X. The AudioTechnica flagships are manufactured in Japan and constructed of premium materials. However at that pricepoint, other options like the Philips x2 Fidelio or venturing into Planars from HIFIMAN become attractive. The planars may require some amplification to be enjoyable.
There’s conflicting viewpoints regarding the ‘burn in’ of headphones. I put mine through 3 days of shuffle play at normal listening volume prior to using.
Update 12/05/2018:
These headphones are still holding up quite nicely, I use them more frequently for gaming and discreet listening of FLAC files. I also replaced the earpads with Brainwavz Hybrid Memory Foam Earpad – Black PU/Velour, making them even more comfortable.
Far Kray –
Estos son por mucho los mejores audÃfonos que he tenido, tengo ahora mismo también los momentum 4 y no tienen comparación estos son mejores por mucho. Lo único que no me gustó es que no se les puede quitar el cable, fuera de eso es lo mejor en audio no lo pienses más valen cada peso.
Zahid H. –
I purchased this for games, movies and general use. I will be using these at home for my PC pretty much exclusively.
I did a lot of research to find what would be the best headphone at the best price for my own personal needs, and this is what I wound up picking.
These are open backed headphones which have a large soundstage and accurate sound. They will leak noise because that’s what open backs do, but in return they will give you a great soundstage and will also sound more like speakers rather than sound being pumped directly into your head. This was important to me because I plan on using them for long sessions, and did now want fatigue from listening. I also, although I’m not certain if it’s medically true, believe that it’s better for your hearing not to have that sound pumped right into your head and isolated. You still shouldn’t put sound too high, but this helps.
The headphones are extremely comfortable. It doesn’t really say it, but they are indeed circumaural, they fit around your ears. Your ears might very slightly touch the outer edge of the pads, but you won’t really notice it and it’s a good fit.
The fit is also in general very nice. You don’t need to adjust anything, you just put it on and it automatically rests on your head. Now you may have read that these will fall off your head if you have a smaller head. I do not think this is the case if you simply aren’t gyrating and slamming your head around. If you are someone that spazzes around while having headphones on, I can see that it might fall off. I would assume lots of headphones would fall off. When I run with headphones on they fall off too, even if they’re very secure regularly. However when I am listening I generally make only small regular motions with my head, and it’s secure. It’s comfortable. There isn’t pressure, but for me that’s a positive. I don’t like pressure on my head, because then it starts to hurt after awhile and you certainly are very aware you’re wearing headphones. With the way it is, while you know they’re there, you don’t feel them there really and can just be immersed in whatever it is you’re doing.
The materials on the earpads are very nice. They’re soft cloth, not leather or pleather or anything like that.
To me comfort and ease of putting it on were huge factors, as well as the soundstage and accuracy. If they are for you as well, maybe these will be good for you too.
There are multiple models for this. They are fairly similar, pretty much identical outside of max input power. Now depending on your level of audiophileness, that may or may not matter to you. For me these are more than good enough. I doubt I will ever try the higher end models, as I don’t even actually know what input power would do. The impedence is low enough that I don’t need an amp, in fact it’s very similar to any other cheap headphone in terms of power needed to drive it. Except the quality is much higher.
The sound quality will really strike you. I have equalizer inputs and surround sound off of my soundcard. With proper equalizer you can pretty much adjust any headphone to what you want really. However, these are so accurate and already so good I don’t see the point for that. Also surround side is completely unnecessary with this soundstage, it’s really just a gimmick that I’d suggest passing on for headphones in general. With the proper speaker setup surround sound can be great, but for mere headphones it’s kind of a gimmick.
These drivers are very large. 53mm, and for a good price too. I was amazed at the sounds I was catching that I wasn’t before. With proper equalizer and cheap headphones you can get to a certain level, but I noticed this went beyond that, and fiddling around it was clear where the sound was artificial with the equalizer and surround sound. I could hear signs swinging in games, windmills turning. I’d look around and I’d see these things that I don’t remember noticing before like that.
I know after a week or so the sound will be even better. But right now I’m already happy and think it’s 5 star.
Now a quick note on sound cards: if you have a mid or upper tier motherboard you probably have about as good sound or better than a cheap dedicated soundcard. The Asus Xonar is a popular card at a cheap price, but I don’t think you need to actually get it if your onboard is good. My onboard can actually sample higher than that card and besides that the specs are quite similar. Chances are yours are too if you care enough to pay this much for a good pair of headphones.
If you need a mic you’re better off getting a stand alone mic too. But since I play single player games there’s really no need.
Mostly I wanted something comfortable, with accurate sound and good soundstage, that wouldn’t get too hot because they’re closed. These might get a little hot after very long periods of time, but it’s going to be less than pretty much anything other than the ear bud or internal around the ear type styles, which are all going to have much worse sound and also will be putting sound directly into your ears which I don’t really like, and certainly won’t give you much in the way of soundstage as a result.
I don’t write too many reviews, but I liked this so much that I really wanted to, and I hope it helps someone else out. If the price drops even more I’d say to really jump on it. I got mine for just under $100 and am happy with that price. The other set that I was really considering were the AKG K 240 Studios at around $68. But those are semi-open, with higher impedance and much smaller drivers. I think these are better for my purposes. Also, I got mine from Beach Camera, who were super quick on shipping. Whereas when I tried getting the AKGs the seller hadn’t shipped it for several days. In retrospect I am very happy they lagged so much, as these are far better and worth the extra money.