The only exception to this high level of build quality is the controls, which give a slightly cheap vibe due to the way they rattle a bit in the housing. Still, they’re (mostly) intuitive, easy to use even with gloved fingers, and offer excellent tactile response.
None of this prepares you for the YH-L500A’s incredible comfort. Those large ear cups swallow up your ears as the plushly padded (and replaceable) ear cushions give your head a big, warm hug. The combination of clamping force, excellent headband padding, and their featherweight mass makes these cans an exceptional choice for long listening sessions, even while wearing glasses. My only note is that those with very small heads may have trouble. If my head were any smaller, the ear cups would sit too low, even at the headband’s shortest setting.
Photograph: Simon Cohen
Part of what gives these cans such a comfy fit is their seal, which also creates substantial passive noise isolation. When walking down busy urban sidewalks, traffic and construction sounds were still quite audible but not annoyingly so. At home it was a similar story, with mildly intrusive sounds kept at bay but louder ones getting through.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say it obviates the need for ANC (especially for travel), but it’s not the deal-breaker I expected. What I missed more than the absence of ANC was the lack of a transparency mode. Without one, voices (both yours and others’) were muffled; I had to routinely pull the headphones down to my neck even for quick conversations.
Unfortunately, this means that even though the YH-L500A’s dual built-in mics have decent voice pickup and background noise canceling (especially indoors), using these cans for wireless calls can be exhausting. I quickly tired of not being able to hear my own voice clearly. At home, you can get around this by using the analog connection with a desktop USB mic.
Highly Detailed Sound
Headphone Control via Simon Cohen
Headphone Control via Simon Cohen
Equipped with a pair of 40mm dynamic drivers, the YH-L500A deliver precise, highly detailed sound, with excellent clarity. The factory tuning is conservative on bass and a bit too bright in the highs for my liking, though the midrange is just about perfect.
The Yamaha Headphones app gives you five EQ presets to play around with (Energy, Gentle, Vocal, Groove, and Openness), but none gave me the tweaks I was looking for. Thankfully, you can roll your own presets (up to two can be saved) via a five-band equalizer, and you can make your adjustments from neutral, or from any of the factory presets. By decreasing the levels of the highest frequencies, while giving a small boost to the lowest, I found a mix I really enjoyed.
