Sony MDR-V500DJ Monitor Series Headphones with Swivel Earcups

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [250kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.5 x 2 inches ; 14.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001W0DG
• Item model number: MDRV500DJ
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Muddled high-end for this price!? NO WAY!, March 1, 2003

By 

Stevan Eidson "Steve-man" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sony MDR-V500DJ Monitor Series Headphones with Swivel Earcups (Electronics)

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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pros and Cons -, December 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sony MDR-V500DJ Monitor Series Headphones with Swivel Earcups (Electronics)

There are some pros and cons to these headphones. Most importantly though, the sound quality is quite good. Strong Bass performance and clear, smooth sound. Bass is strong and defined without being overly agressive.

The headphones don't cup your ears quite as well as a lot of other headphones; for instance, I doubt you could listen to these too loudly on a plane or a train without others around you noticing. Although I found them generally comfortable to wear, they don't grip your head that well - if I lean forward, they fall off.

What I do like though, is the fact that these can be folded up so if you need to put them in your bag like I do, then they won't get crushed and they won't take up so much room.

All in all I feel positive about these, but they are a little on the expensive side.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great sound / hurt the ears, November 28, 1999

By 

Matt Newell (mp3 raver in soma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MDR-V500DJ Monitor Series Headphones with Swivel Earcups (Electronics)

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.