My HD497's are killing my ears

S

Slider19

Gawd
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
903
I love their sound and especially the price, but after more then 30 mins of use, they start to really hurt my ears. I'm looking for a similar (or better) sounding phone that can cover my entire ear (circumaural?) and is comfortable enough for long durations.

I'd like to stick with the sennheiser brand, I like their sound. As for price range, I guess $100 or less.

Thanks
 
Have you tried stretching out the headband?
Put them in the sun for a few hours to get warm and then stretch them out over..... say.... a volleyball for a couple of hours and the clamping force becomes a lot more tolerable.

As far as a replacement goes I would suggest the HD555s but you are going to have stretch your budget out a little bit. :p
 
Heh, the 555s are a little pricey.

I've tried stretching them but not too much, was always afraid I'd snap them in two. The biggest problem is that they rest on the ears instead of over them. I guess stretching would help that. What other full-size headphones are there in my price range?
 
my 580s are the most comfortable set of cans ive ever had. a bit pricey though.. but WELL worth it.
 
You can get HD555s for right around 100 bucks if you know where to look. Provantage has them at that price point. www.provantage.com. Also hit up ebay or the head-fi for sale forum.

I recently upgraded to Beyer DT770s after using the HD 497s for about a year. I never experienced any discomfort using them, in fact I found them a bit on the light and flimsy side.

Its sorta hard to recommend a really great circumaural can at 100 bucks or less...if you were to stretch your budget some (say, out to 150) you'd have many more to choose from.
 
Let's say I get the HD555's. Are they worth the ~$100 in terms of sound quality and comfort? And how do they sound with no amp?

I guess comfort is very relative, since my ears are literally burning after wearing the HD497's for 20+ mins!
 
Literally burning, huh? :)

It's odd when you think about it, but the human ear is actually quite flammable. Should your ear actually catch on fire, the flames will have no trouble finding a fuel source. A deadly combination of cartilage and wax our ears.

Back on topic, the HD280 Pros would be a step down in terms of quality, but they're quite comfortable for two hours or more, cheap, and very easy to drive.
 
Slider19 said:
Heh, the 555s are a little pricey.

I've tried stretching them but not too much, was always afraid I'd snap them in two. The biggest problem is that they rest on the ears instead of over them. I guess stretching would help that. What other full-size headphones are there in my price range?
Click to expand...
Zip Zoom Fly has them for $110 w/ free shipping. That's only $10 more than your max budget for some kick ass cans.
 
Slider19 said:
Maybe I have excessive wax?
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Well, I don't think that would lead to outer ear fatigue, but I'd shoot down to an audiologist and get a good cleaning regardless. It feels a bit weird (an understatement), but you can't imagine the difference it can make. Wax has a nasty habit of screwing around with the transmission of higher frequencies which can end up making everything sound a bit "muddy".

The shitty part is that wax will probably build up again so quickly as to be noticeable, so you end up feeling like your hearing starts to degrade rapidly a few days after you get the cleaning - but it's real neat for a couple weeks at the very least.
 
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