Sennheiser HD 518 Headphones (Black)

Got these for $79.99 this year around January. I had previously owned a pair of Sennheiser HD 428s which I had acquired for $30 from a pricing error, but decided to try these to test out to hear what a decent pair of Sennheiser headphones sound like.First off, these are open headphones, sound will leak, that's kind of the point, but it also gives the headphones a much greater sound, akin to actually being in the room with the band/DJ/whatever.Now that that is out of the way, the first thing I'd like to note is the design. The build quality is quite solid, it is plastic, but not rickety and it definitely does not feel cheap. The actual cups feel heavy and solid and are a pleasure to touch. The padding is quite comfy, it's not a "pillow" cushion, in fact, the foam is rather firm, but it fit my head very well and I can wear them for hours without having any issues. You will not be able to wear these around your neck (and not look awkward) the cups are fairly large as you may have guessed and make this act uncomfortable. The only issue I have with the design so far is the adjustable band seems to be fairly loose and may pop up or down a few notches quite easily, although that's not a big deal at all. The cable is a 1/4" by default and it is also detachable from the headphones. Because of this, you will need to use the 1/4" --> 3.5mm converter that comes with the headphones in order to use it with an iPad or a typical computer. The converter is a bit bulky (no real way to solve that problem since 1/4" jacks are so large) so if you want, you can purchase a 3.5mm cable from Sennheiser for around $15, although I have yet to run into an issue with it.Now for the sound.These things sound incredible. Overall they sound great with any genre of music, the highs are crisp, the mids are clear, and the bass is deep and rich. I have yet to hear any distortion on these, which is definitely great! Due to the open design, the sound stage is great and you'll immediately fall in love with it over a closed ear. However, due to the open design, if you are trying to block out the world, you will be unable to do so, although it does make for an interesting experience when you can still hear the outside world but with its own background music. Just as an example of how great the sound on these is: I've used these with my guitar amp via the 1/4" jack. As soon as I plugged them in, I played a chord and thought "Whoops, I guess I didn't plug them in all the way, the amp is still playing the sound!" So I adjusted the cord and played again and thought, "What the heck? How is my amp still playing the sound?", so I took them off and played another chord, and I discovered the headphones were the only things creating sound that entire time... it sounded so perfect and the soundstage was so amazing, that I mistook their sound for the real deal. Just incredible... The one thing I'd like to note is that these headphones are supposed to have powerful bass, and that's true, but mostly for the very low bass, the mid/high bass is still there, it just won't be shaking your ears like the very low stuff will. Although, due to this, all of your electronic music will sound much more crisp and clear, and for me, it was a welcome change. The only negative I can say about the sound is the volume level. For the most part, these headphones are quieter than other pairs of headphones I've owned (although they aren't too quiet, just not particularly loud, so when I'm in a mood to listen to loud music I need to follow some extra steps), that is easily remedied by plugging them into something else to boost their sound (like an amp). I have pair of speakers I plug them into that I use to amplify the sound, and it works well enough. When using them with an actual amp though, these things are plenty loud!Finally:At $80 (heck even $100-120) you will NOT find a better deal, I mean, you may be able to find a pair with better sound quality (I have been hearing that about the Grado SR80i) but finding a pair of headphones excels this well in sound quality, build quality, and comfort would be quite a difficult task!

I'm not exactly highly experienced in the world of Audiophiles, but I'd like to think I have a fair bit of knowledge when it comes to these things so here it goes..Design and looks:The way these cans looks is pretty dang hot in my opinion. They're suttle in design, but to me they obviously stand out from many other brands. Once in awhile, I've found myself staring at them in admiration - Hopefully that's not an overstatement.Comfort and feel:The way they feel on my head is so very comfortable, truly. Sometimes I forget they're even on my head, but other times I can tell they're there, but it's never to the point of discomfort or annoyance. I've never begun to sweat with them on, even having them on for hours while gaming and listening to music.Frequency Response:I've seen a couple response charts for these cans and I feel they're mostly accurate. These are the best sounding cans I've been able to get my hands on, but I honestly see no need to get anything better-sounding. The frequency response appears to be very true to what the box says, however. The response is almost totally flat-sounding across the whole human spectrum, to the point of almost not even needing an EQ. But I wouldn't let that stop you because the headphones are so clear and true sounding that you may actually want to apply EQ settings to bring out music and other audio out more.The only downside I believe to the frequency response is the bass tones, beginning at around 90-80Hz and continuing on to about 30hz. Of course though, anything 30hz and below will always be of some difficulty to hear for almost anyone, as it's something more felt, rather than heard, and you mostly only HEAR bass tones rather than actually feel, although they will vibrate a bit if you jack up the bass and turn down the gain, WHICH THEY CAN HANDLE.Sound Imaging:For those not knowing what imaging is, it's basically how clearly represented say.. An instrument is, for example an electric guitar. Electric guitars, however slightly or heavily distorted or overdriven they sounded on all the speakers I've ever listened to my music on, always had an edge to them. But when the headphones were finally worn in a lot, and I got used to their sound, I heard suttle sounds in instruments I haven't heard before, and other suttle details were brought out more as well, also thanks in part to the Sound Stage.Sound Stage:The sound stage I don't think is absolutely perfect, and sound stage I feel has more to do with actual speakers than headphones, but it has it's place here too. The sound stage is very good, and everything is spaced out quite pleasantly resulting in a lot less listening fatigue in the long run. Unless of course, you're listening at high volumes, which these cans can go very loud to the point of causing hearing damage.I'm a huge fanatic of Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, and Extreme Metal, and just a little Blues. With the right EQ settings on these, everything sounds even better. And I make it a point to say especially for Extreme Metal music, because it is so complex, thick, and heavy sounding. But it is no match for these headphones as it plays it all back amazingly.

Estos audífonos tienen una excelente calidad de audio, la marca se caracteriza por eso. Estos audífonos son abiertos, es decir que escucharas todos los sonidos del exterior hasta el sonido de un ventilador. En algunas ocasiones es conveniente esto, sin embargo si buscas audífonos para aislarte de lo que te rodea mayor opta audífonos cerrados. El cable es grueso y de buena longitud, el adaptador de 6.5mm a 3.5mm quizá sea lo más decepcionante, ya que es muy poco práctico cuando quisieres usar los audífonos en la calle. Finalmente estos audífonos son extra cómodos por sus cojinetes como de fieltro o una tela suave al tacto, no se calientan tanto las orejas cuando los usas por largas jornadas.

Price-wise these are the cheapest of Sennheisers high-end open headphones, but that doesn't stop them from being an impressive piece of tech. They are very comfy to wear, have a tight fit, are well adjustable, look GREAT (I personally love the silver grills) and sound fantastic after burning them in (I used a mix of white, pink & brown noise to do so). The cable is removable, another plus, and I was surprised by how large these eargonomic phones actually are compared to photos. These will definitely fit over your ears well and belong in your home studio.Sound quality is of course the main highlight of all music listening devices, and certainly so for the HD 518's. The sound is vibrant with details, letting you very clearly listen to just about anything as if you were right there in the studio/audience. My biggest fear with these was that their preference for mid's and high's over bass would make them unfit for bass-heavy music, yet they still sound fantastic upon testing! If all you care about is dirty sub-bass, maybe I would look at other headphones, but the overall richness of these phones soundstage is definitely worth the cheap price and there's almost nothing else to be picky about. I upgraded to these from the closed HD 280 PRO's and I'm more than impressed. Well done Sennheiser.

Mama Mia!!This pair of headphones is awesome.This is not a closed on-ear headphone, the sound will travel out. So not for use in public spaces. If you are the one who listens to songs in tranquillity and calmness, you will love them. If you are looking for headphones to listen to songs on the go, while travelling, in crowded rooms, lounges, perhaps you need to look for closed- on-ear headphones. The quality and balance of tone is beautiful, the comfort of ear pads is soothing and doesn't get tiring after a long wear.The wire is long, too long and is good to use with professional music players. A good amplifier will be required to make an effective use of these headphones. I tried using them on my mobile, they do work. But discard your idea about listening to hip-hop, rap, explicit songs,, in a quiet room full of people. You will get a real bad obnoxious look! From everyone! Believe me, I tried. Moreover, for a mobile phone, the wire is too un-manageable... unless you have a cable manager. The tones tend to dim slightly on mobile phones, but a small portable amplifier (fiio or anything similar) will be able to help there.Overall, I love them. Great value for money. Great sound. Great comfort.Buy them.

Ho comprato queste cuffie durante il black friday di due anni fa pagandole 20 euro meno del prezzo corrente e ancora ad oggi sono uno degli acquisti migliori fatti su amazon.itLe cuffie sono di ottima fattura e già dai materiali si capisce la qualità di questo prodotto. Le plastiche sono molto resistenti e l’archetto da una sensazione di solidità che ho sentito in pochi prodotti. La parte che sta attorno all’orecchio è molto soffice e confortevole e la gomma piuma posta sotto l’archetto rende le cuffie molto ergonomiche. L’ascolto di diverse ore di musica non si fa minimamente sentire. Sono cuffie aperte quindi hanno il vantaggio di non far sudare per nulla l’orecchio. Anche su questo aspetto le sennheiser 518 sono eccellenti.Ho condotto diversi test prima e dopo la fase di burn-in e sia sulla frequenza minima (14hz) che sulla frequenza massima (26000hz) si hanno sei suoni precisi e stabili. Anche i 13 hz sono riprodotti ma si sente chiaramente il drive sforzare. Ho provato a tirare qualche cosa più dei 26000 ma le cuffie non riproducono oltre i 26500 (almeno le mie).La vera spinta delle cuffie si sente attorno ai 30 hz. Ciò si produce in bassi cristallini e molto precisi. Non fanno effetto boom ma danno una corretta riproduzione del suono basso.I medi e gli alti sono altrettanto precisi ma se sui medi queste cuffie fanno meraviglie sugli alti si difendono ma non sorprendono.In conclusione queste cuffie sono ottime per l’ascolto di musica strumentale su impianti hi-fi. Nota negativa per chi progettava di usarle in mobilità è rappresentata dal cavo molto lungo.

Ayant possédé une bonne dizaine de casque gaming (je ne les utilise pas pour l'écoute musicale) et une demi-douzaine de casques audio (Sony, Sennheiser...), j'espère donner un avis utile.Les +* Le son qualité Sennheiser que j'apprécie particulièrement, le casque n'est pas forcément aussi neutre que le veulent certains, mais il est suffisamment "fun" pour la majorité de la population* Confortable, recouvre entièrement les oreilles même avec des lunettes. Peut se porter plusieurs heures sans problème. J'ajoute également que contrairement à certains casques à oreillettes en cuir, ceux-ci en mousse ne chauffent pas (donc on ne transpire pas et on ne fatigue pas des oreilles).* Avec mes réglages, j'arrive à obtenir un son puissant de façon homogène et faire en sorte qu'à aucun moment je n'ai de saturation. Le son est alors agréable et de qualité dans toutes les circonstances.Les -* La conception peut sembler moyenne, on ne peut pas dire qu'il fasse cheap ou luxueux, on se retrouve avec un produit de catégorie hybride, ce qui est un peu dommage pour un casque hifi* L'isolation est assez faible (même pour un casque ouvert), et quand on pousse un peu trop fort le son vos voisins en profitent assez rapidement. Je cherchais spécifiquement un casque ouvert donc je savais à quoi m'attendre, mais je ne pensais pas que ce serait aussi peu isolé par rapport à mes autres casques ouvertsJe vais juste insister sur ses qualités qui sont la qualité du son, le confort, la justesse du son (hormis les basses peut-être) et le fait d'être un casque ouvert (je n'aime pas les casques fermés). Il serait dommage de prendre toutes ces qualités pour acquises sous prétexte qu'il y a mieux ailleurs (il y aura sûrement toujours mieux ailleurs). Ayant été récemment déçu par certains casques datant de 2012 et 2013, j'ai retenu la leçon et me restreindra sur les casques de qualité reconnue comme celui-ci.Pour ma part le HD 518 est devenu mon seul casque dédié à l'écoute musicale et pour le visionnage de vidéos. Je ne demande clairement rien de plus d'un casque que tout ce qu'il offre déjà, je suis donc satisfait à 100% et je le recommande très vivement!