The Lowdown
Overall, these are a good choice if you’re attracted to the design and the brand, if you want white headphones, and you are a DJ who is likely to use them just as much away from your gigs as you are in the DJ booth. They sound good (you’d expect that), they’re tough, and if the white, silver and grey appeal to you, they’re stylish too, good choice if you’re attracted to the design and the brand…
Video Review
First Impressions / Setting up
A familiar design
The Denon DN-HP500S headphones are remarkably similar to the Allen & Heath Xone XD:40s. They have exactly the same headband, only differing aesthetically as far as I can tell in the driver department, the Allen & Heaths having small semi-circular indents all around the earphone casing, whereas the Denon’s are smooth. They appear to have identical drivers.
Where the Denon DN-HP500S’s differ from the Allen & Heath ‘phones is in the cable and the plug adaptor. Whereas the Allen & Heath ‘phones have a coiled cable and a screw-in 1/4″ to 1/8″ plug adaptor (for altering the plug to suit an MP3 player or DJ gear), the Denons have a straight cable and a plug-in adaptor.
In Use
Street-friendly features
Having a coiled cable is good for DJing because the cable stays out of your way when you’re close to your DJ gear, but you can stray away if you need to without taking your headphones off.
However, it’s not as good for street use as you would never need that and it’s extra weight, plus it doesn’t look as good. The Denons, with their straight cable, have nodded to the street.
The adaptor screwing in on the Allen & Heath phones means you’re less likely to lose it or accidentally pull it out, but when you’re using the phones in MP3 player mode, there’s a thread exposed, whereas with the Denons, you’re more likely to lose/accidentally detach the adaptor, but the 1/8″ plug will fit more snugly into MP3 equipment. Again, another nod to the street from the Denons.
The earphones rotate for one-ear monitoring, and they fold into themselves as is normal with this type of design for portability. There’s no carry bag provided, though.
Conclusion
And that’s it, really – they sound good (you’d expect that), they’re tough, and if the white, silver and grey appeal to you, they’re stylish too, good choice if you’re attracted to the design and the brand…Overall, these are a good choice if you’re attracted to the design and the brand, if you want white headphones, and you are a DJ who is likely to use them just as much away from your gigs as you are in the DJ booth. Otherwise, you might consider the company’s more expensive headphones, the high-end [dn-hp1000] or the mid-range [dn-hp700]. Or alternatively, just stick with these but go for the black versions – they do have the coiled cable and screw adaptor.
