Yamaha YHL700A Headphones with Listening Care, Black

I have purchased these twice.The first time I could not get over the price having paid over £400 for the first pair. For what they perceived to offer for that kind of money didnt seem worth it. This was until I compared them with a pair that cost £150. Now hear me out.The build of the Yamaha's is far superior to the cheaper set. They are made of plastic, but it does NOT rattle or creak. The headband is padded extremely well and has NO discomfort whilst wearing them. The earpads are big enough most most ear sizes and most importantly, they are replicable (you can buy replacements on amazon or Ali express).The headphones are reasonably heavy but not excessive and fit very close to my head, so the outline is not massive. How they look on the head is important to me. I would say they are probably unsuitable for people with small heads. They come with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, charging cable and a good hard carry case. The pads can lay flat and the headphone can be folded which makes them very transportable. The buttons on the headphones are placed in sensible places and easy to reach and use once familiar with them.To get this part of the review out of the way I do NOT use transparency mode, never will and will not comment on how good or bad it is. It has a transparency mode.The app is very basic and allows you switch between modes and operate the sound optimizer and listening care features. Since having the headphones I have not turn either setting off. Having owned the Yamaha YH-E700A which broke due to poor build quality on the arms, these are a significant step up in build quality. I will always allow the manufacturers settings to be set, if they claim to do something. Yamaha engineers spent years developing Listening Optimizer, an adaptive technology that analyzes the fit of your headphones and the wearing conditions in real time to optimize the sound for the best listening experience possible. The Listening care setting keeps the sound quality the same no matter what volume the sound source is being played.Whether these settings make a difference or not, I dont know as I have left them on, but believe they will, if only minor.Next the ANC works with the settings just mentioned and is advanced. I believe this works by checking the environment every 20 seconds. I think this is true for the ANC. Whilst the ANC strength is not the highest they are more than adequate for my use. I use these when working from home, when going for a walk for exercise and watching any content on my tablet/tv. When out walking I live very close to a busy dual carriage way that is busy most of the day due to the lorries coming towards the port I live close to. When walking I hear the ANC work and adapt to my environment. Initially I can hear the traffic on the dual carriage way whooshing past (not very loud, but noticeable) and then after time it stops, even in between songs or at the beginning/end when its usually quieter. I do not listen to music very loud, maybe 70-75% volume with Tidal.When watching films I sometimes use the 3D field, Cinema mode (have not tried any of the others) with head tracking. This makes what ever is being watched an immersive experience and a highly enjoyable one too. It KILLS the battery though.The battery is more than enough and requires very little charging.I will save the best for last and now discuss the not so good points of the headphone.The ANC is OK but for those seeking absolute solitude, look elsewhere. The lack of multipoint connectivity is a let down as much cheaper sets have this now. This setting would elevate these to be great.Now for the best part of these headphones............The Sound.The drivers that Yamaha have put into these headphones are astonishing. I have had multiple good closed back headphones (Focal Eligea, Shure SRH 1540, Fostex TH-610 and Denon AH-7200) to name a few. They have made me notice things in tracks that I havent before. For me these are exactly what I needed in my collection because of the bass. The bass is amazing due to it's size. I have Cleer Next and Dunu EST 112 which have a clean good bass, but the Yamaha's bass is just filthy in comparison. Have owned Theiaudio phantom, Audioquest Nighthawk and Quad Era-1 and the Yamaha's just blast bass. Seemingly the rest of the frequency response does not suffer as the mids are clear and the treble is fine. These sound Amazing.These headphones also work when there is NO power and they are off. I can listen to them wired from my dac/amp stack (SMSL SU-8 and SMSL SH-9) and they sound just as good as the closed back headphones mentioned earlier. Even some of the new high end Bluetooth headphones (Focal Bathys and B+W PX8) cannot do this, which makes them 100% disposable.These are a 3 in 1 headphone - you get a competent closed back headphone, a portable ANC headphone and a headphone that mimics a cinema experience.I am truly happy with these headphones and for anyone who appreciates excellent sound quality and can overlook some of its shortcomings these are highly recommended. As long as you can get them for less than £400.

Love the DSP effects and sound quality, headset physical quality is great and comfortable too. But what brings these down is the fact that there is no Bluetooth Multipoint and to connect these to another device is such a pain that I can't be bothered. Fortunately, using Samsung Music Share alleviates this issue, I can use on tablet and phone with ease (Samsung only)Android software quality is lacking also but is needed for the basics.For calls, it is terrible. Bose sounds louder and clearer. Unfortunate really. For media it's great though. Since I need a headset that has good call functionality, might get a Sony but will keep these for media.Another major downside is that if I take the headset off in evening, by morning the battery is dead. Surely it should auto power save? The function is enabled in the software so this is a huge annoyance also. There has not been a firmware/software update in a long time so no Idea when they will fix.

The standout feature of these headphones is their sound quality when connected directly via the included audio cable. The audio is exceptional, and the drivers deliver high-resolution music reproduction, allowing me to hear details I missed with my previous Sennheiser HD598. When paired with a good amplifier, these headphones really shine; the musicality and detail are impressive.The Bluetooth performance is also good, but it doesn’t match the quality of the wired connection. I keep the setting on "Cinema" to enjoy a spacious sound. However, don’t expect these to replace a proper surround sound system, as they transmit only two channels via Bluetooth. The surround effect is more like an expanded soundstage rather than true surround sound, reminiscent of Sansui's Quadraphonic system.The bass is a highlight—it's controlled, not overpowering, and free of distortion. When listening through a wired connection, the bass impact is remarkable, with a precision that I don’t find in my other headphones, except for planar magnetic models, which are naturally fast and impactful.I primarily listen to EDM, Eurodance, Techno, and Pop, but these headphones perform well with classical music and jazz, too. If you’re looking for YAMAHA headphones with that classic Yamaha quality, these are an excellent choice, focusing heavily on sound quality

I took a chance on these Yamaha headphones, and so glad I did. Very accurate sounding in my books, and not muffled. Bass heads may feel a little let down,but for me the bass is tight and definitely there when needed. I find with bass heavy headphones you are sacrificing the clarity,but with these that doesn't happen at all. Great sound stage and comfort are also top marks. The Bluetooth connection is very stable and I was quite surprised how fast these connect which were another plus. If you do take a chance on these headphones give them at least a few weeks to get used to and I promise you they will start to grow on you. There is a simple app you can download which gives you some options with head tracking which for gaming will immerse you deeper. The only let down on the app is no graphic equaliser to fine tune. I normally use these with everything turned off and to me they sound top notch and preserves the battery life quite a lot. The in audio female voice letting you know when you are changing options is very pleasant. You can also wear these for quite a long time without them feeling heavy or clamping etc. I think Yamaha have done a great job with these headphones and they do not disappoint. Snatch these up if you ever see these on offer and I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised 😎

Good product and had wonderful experience