The Yamaha PRO 500 are youthful headphones for people who don’t want to compromise. Their shiny piano black or racing blue exterior suggests that you are in for a powerful sonic experience. The question is whether or not does the quality of these headphones matches the rather expensive price.

Design and Build Quality

It’s difficult not to compare the Yamaha PRO 500 to the Beats Studio headphones. Apart from the logo, the two look remarkably similar, due to the smooth, elegant construction that favors gentle curves over more aggressive, angular shapes. The high-gloss finish reminded us of racing motorbikes and the furious sound they make – a good sign of things to come.

The headband is reinforced with steel, and the earpads are soft and spacious. If you are lucky to have the exact head shape that matches the fit of these headphones, you won’t experience any issues with comfort at all. We weren’t so lucky, and the lack of horizontal and vertical pivoting ranges introduced a handful of problems that manifested with a painful sensation around the back part of our ears.

Included in the box is a 4-foot flat cable with a connector designed to work with Apple devices, and also a plain 10-foot flat cable intended primarily for home listening. Of course, you can also use the headphones with any 3.5mm audio cable you buy online or find laying around your house.

Sound Quality

Compared to many other bass headphones, the PRO 500 are much more well-mannered. The bass is still there, but it never crosses the fine line between powerful and ridiculous. What’s also there, however, is an audiophile level of detail and clarity.

This combination gives the sound an exquisite texture that you can immerse yourself in and forget about the world around you. What’s more, it gives you the ability to use the headphones for everything from casual listening during your morning commute to analytic listening later in the day.

What’s in the Box

The headphones ship with a semi-rigid carrying case and two cables – a tangle-resistant flat cable (4 ft/1.2 m) with in-line remote/mic optimized for Apple devices and a longer, detachable, tangle-resistant, flat cable (10 ft/3 m). You also get a gold-plated 1/4″ adapter as a nice extra bonus.