Customer Reviews

Sony MDR-V500DJ Monitor Series Headphones with Swivel Earcups

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Let me begin by saying that these headphones are advertised as "for DJs/for studio use." Given this, one would expect Sony to be targeting their DJ audience with these headphones.

Which they most certainly did not!

While the audio quality of these headphones is quite impressive for the price (surpassing the similarly priced v600s, if you ask me), the fact that these are designed for DJ use bothers me because they lack in volume. Even with both headphone & master volume maxed on my mixer (pre-amp), I find myself struggling to hear what's happening on the channel B while channel A is playing over the speakers.

Kick in the extra cash and get the v700s, which outperform these in every way possible and are much better suited for live performance use. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a set of headphones for home use, these are a reasonable consideration.

I purchased these headphones 2 weeks ago from the Sony Store. When I tried them on at the Sony Store, they were very comfortable and blocked out most of the noisy background of the shopping center. The sound was pretty clear, warm strong bass, but not loud enough. It was probably because my Network Walkman wasn't powerful enough to drive the 40mm drivers. They also seemed a little too heavy for portable usage (running after the bus), but 1-2 hrs should be o.k. After trying them for 10 mins, I decided to purchase a pair, and so far no regret. If you have a lower budget and a Sony fan, check out the MDR-V300.

By the way, these headphones actually block more noise and sound much better than those expensive noise-cancelling headphones (including the $150 Sennheinser PXC250, but probably not the $300 Bose Quiet Comfort 2). So, don't waste your money on those.

The sound is fine enough (maybe a little lacking in substance) and it seals off any outer noise very well. However, my biggest complaint is that I can't really wear them for more than an hour at a time. They pinch quite tightly around my ears and if I'm wearing glasses as well, it's downright uncomfortable. I'd say they were the opposite of cushy. In hindsight, I should have spent a little more and gotten a pair of headphones with the double headband.

I bought these headphones because I wanted fuller base and sturdy portable design. The MDR-V500DJ is definitely built well, but when you use them with a notebook or cd player or mp3 player they sound cheap and thin. The cd players and all just don't have enough power to push those 40 mm drivers. These headphones have an impedance of 40 ohms making them useless unless you have a preamp in your sound card, an external preamp or a good size home theater amp. The non-professional headphones that will work with your smaller devices have an impedance of around 20ohms or so. I would recommend Panasonic RP HT355 Ear-cup Headphones. They don't fold, but they sure do give a lot fuller bass response and cost about half as much.

I have experience with high end headphones, but have even more with DJ headphones(4 years alone, with this pair). I've never really loved ANY Sony products, as most are for the masses, and not really catered for any specialty use.
This model has honestly worked more than "good enough" for my DJ needs. While it isn't for audiophile listening, or reference-grade mastering work, the sound quality is very good. I am not sure what some reviewers here mean. I have never found the sound on this pair to be anywhere near muffled or veiled. The bass was clean, crisp, and very deep. The high frequencies are never harsh; they are rather laid back and balanced. The tonal representation and overall balance works VERY well for beat matching, and blending in sounds. Will you feel as if you're in the front row of a concert....or on stage, or hearing a singer breathing or spitting on their mic, probably not. You will feel as if you're in the center of the dance floor, which is what I am guessing its intended use is for. Accurate reproduction of the source is what you get, with a bit of dark coloration, rather than reference-quality neutrality.

With the exception of earcup-padding deterioration (after 4 years of continual use...and serious abuse), these have never failed me, faltered, or fallen apart in any way. They have and do serve their purpose; (professional, bedroom DJ'ing, casual reviewing of material on your home system, game playing, or simply listening to a good tune- regardless of genre) with enough (coiled, and irreplaceable) cord length for all of the above. They're driven very easily, which is great for mp3 listeners with an I-pod.....or any other portable audio device/player. They're very user- friendly, as the cups move in most needed directions (perfect for DJ's, when in need of shouldering the phones during a mix, or folding a cup in... all the way- for simple one-ear monitoring). I found them to be extremely comfortable, enough for hours of work at a time, as well as hanging out on your recliner ....enjoying a CD. They're light enough to never be a burden, they fold away so you can store, or transport them wherever you wish. These headphones are simply an all- around great pair that you will not regret purchasing if you accept its limits, which are not many at all. I just ordered a pair of Denon d2000's for mid-level critical listening, I own Sennheiser 650's with Equinox cables for a serious musical experience, and these headphones will never be outdone for their special purposes. Very fair for their price, and well worth it. I'd spend $100 on these (if I ever needed to)in a second. Give them a try and see if it fits your bill. *no headphone amp required! If you want high-end, then be prepared to spend $350 on AKG, Senn, Grado, Proline, or Beyrdynamic, upwards to $4,000 on Stax ear-speakers + specialty cables (yes, you do need those also, $200+ on top of that). Good luck =0)

I love it! Nice sound and noise reduction capability... and my friend says the girls them love it too.

It got caught in a taxi door and it still keeps on kicking too so that is a plus.

As a freelance broadcast engineer, I was looking for something that was reasonably compact and durable for the road kit, in addition to being useful for evaluating sound even in high noise environments. These cans did an ok job on the compactness and durability, but I was a little disappointed in the sound.

The construction is solid, and the folding design is nice. The cord is strong enough to take a bit of a beating but is not replaceable. The ear cushions and general construction seal out ambient noise well. For those who complain that this headset is too tight, just tweak the headband spring a little bit to make it looser.

As for the sound, I found the frequency response to be lacking definition in the low end. Mids and highs are clear and clean. This would not be the tool of choice for critical sound evaluation, but that would not be expected of a headphone that costs $55.

Overall, this headphone will fill my need for a bang-around set of cans, and is about what you would expect for the price. With these I can hear gross problems with the audio and know that its there, but thats about all.