Design and features:These earphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected to standard audio devices. When Bluetooth connected the noise-canceling feature is always on; when cord connected they work with or without the noise-canceling feature being turned on. You can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. When cord connected the headphones have high sensitivity regardless of whether the noise canceling feature is turned on or off, so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and lower-powered portable audio devices. The ATH-ANC500BT has an integrated microphone and volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls that work with paired Bluetooth devices. Additional features include earcups that fold and swivel to flat for ease of storage/transport. This model comes with detachable 48-inch long standard audio cable, and a USB charging cable.
Sound quality: We found the ATH-ANC500BT provides Very Good active noise reduction and that it sounds the same regardless of whether the headphones are Bluetooth or cord connected or if the noise cancellation feature was turned on or off. It delivers sound quality that falls in the Fair range, meaning that it has sonic shortcomings that leave a lot to be desired when listening to music but don't rule it out for dialog and communication. The overall sound can best be summarized as boomy and somewhat muffled. Bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is a bit grainy, although somewhat muffled has a slightly etched upper midrange, and has a noticeable plasticy resonance. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is somewhat sizzly and the upper treble is muted. The sound lacks a sense of liveliness, is closed-in (sound-wise it is obvious that you have something covering your ears), and only does a so-so job of recovering the room ambience of a recording (the sense of the acoustic space in which the audio program that's being listened to was recorded). These headphones provide Very Good noise reduction across the entire frequency range with the low frequencies reduced the most. The noise cancelation feature produces a very faint hiss that can be heard in very quiet environments when there is no audio program material to mask it. A slight amount of background hum may be heard when these headphones are used in the noise canceling mode and are cord connected to AC powered audio equipment.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure around the ears. as typical of over-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. Users with larger ears might find that the over-the-ear fit of the ear pads feel cramped, or that the ear pads sit on, rather than around their ears; in that case the less-than-ideal fit around the ears might interfere with the earpad seal and reduce the noise reduction capabilities of the headphone. Users with smaller heads may find they can't get a good earpad seal and that the bass becomes a bit subdued (earpads gap at the top), and that when they lean far forward the headphones feel unstable and shift forward, but not to the point of falling off. When wearing this model while walking muffled vibrations from each foot step can be heard slightly through the headphones. When using this model with the audio cable model the sound of the cable rubbing on clothing may also be heard faintly through the headphones.
