JVC HA-V570 Supra-Aural Headphones

For a sub-$10 it is a very good headphone. The box has a claimed 8-20,000 Hz and my simple test is to run a tone generator (Audacity) and see if I could hear anything. A 15Hz it is not problem, at 10Hz it is clear, at 9Hz it is a little rough and at 8Hz it is very dirty. This is not a clean scientific test and maybe doing this tone generator test is not the right way, but I was pumping the sound wit the same computers that I would be using the headphones on and so this is a good indicator of performance for my needs. So...blah, blah, blah, how do they sound? Well, I would say that they sound good in most applications. Music from a good old CD play reveals that the response is very good, but not as good as my $40 set. My go to CD has very subtle sounds and a very hard to hear bell that starts off in a song. Only a hand full of ear buds and headphones can reveal this. A friend's $100 old high end set separates this sound out from the rest of the instruments well. The set of headphones gives some clarity and does put to shame a few $20+ phones, but still not as clean as a $40 Sony set I used to have.

I have nothing really against the JVC HA-V570 Headphones in terms of quality for the price. You get what you pay for. I was just looking for a cheap pair of headphones that I can use to listen to DVD's on my laptop. These headphones don't have sound definition in bass, midrange, or treble. Although the bass and midrange are definately better than most cheap earbuds. They sound 'adequate' which means that they don't suck and they don't excel in anything clearly. My biggest complaint is that I don't like the Supra-Aural/Monitor-style nature of the earcups on this headphone. From the picture I guessed incorrectly that the pads would be extremely soft and cushiony on my ears. They are soft, but not as soft as that! And the cups heat up my ears after just 20 minutes of usage. So just imagine a 2 hour movie! They were sweaty and uncomfortable, especially when lying down. I have a set of Sony Supra-Aural headphones that are extremely light-weight and just sit lightly against my ears. Plastic construction should hold up to normal abuse/wear-and-tear. The added 1/4" connector is nice and the extra cord length is great for moving around (although tangles are a pain). The volume control included inline is also a great reason to buy this if you need a cheap pair of headphones; great addition. This is great if you are using it with a PC so you don't have to keep changing the sound level on the computer. Now that I have more experience, I will avoid all closed-type/monitor-style headphones in the future. These JVC's are good quality for the price but they are bulky and not very portable. So research and test out headphones in stores before you buy online! I also own a pair of GRADO SR225 that I can reference these JVC to. Not even close! GRADO is superb quality. But the GRADO also suffers from listening fatigue after 2 hours of use! Not very comfortable earpads either. :(

We found these on Home Depot's website (of all places) in 2017 when trying to find headphones with in line volume control. First chance it seemed reasonable, we got back up pairs for whenever these finally start to fail, but I don't expect that to happen anytime soon as these are really good quality. They're light, but don't feel cheap; they're comfortable, even without a padded head band; the sound quality is better than any at this price point and even higher. They're not for audiophiles and especially not "audiophiles", but you not going to get a better pair at this price. I gave our back up pairs as Xmas gifts to a couple who were looking for something for TV watching and immediately ordered new back ups in case they quit making them. I expect that they will stay in storage for years to come before being needed.

First off, the good: These headphones are comfortable around my head and the audio is great on them. However, I'm not much of an audiophile, so just about any headphone set sounds great to me as long as it isn't static. The problem with this set is the cord is unbelievably long (about 10 feet)! For many people, that's a positive thing, however, I bought these headphones specifically to use to listen to music through my phone while I'm running on the treadmill, so it's a huge negative. I tried several ways to shorten them: wrapping the cord with a rubber band, taping the cord to my chest while I ran, even wrapping it around my neck loosely! No matter what I tried, the cord bounces all over my arms and chest while I run, getting tangled up and generally being a nuisance. These are the perfect regift gift for that not-so-special someone.

The ears pieces on this are comfy and cushy. For the price these are some good little headphones only problem I have is having to keep my kids from constantly borrowing them. lol Update... It's been almost a year since I bought these and they are still going strong. I have two sons who are hard on headphones. They have different brands of headphones than mine and have gone through 2 each since I bought mine. My JVC has survived them borrowing it, an accidental sitting on, and normal use without missing a tone. Heck it even outlasted the mp3 player I bought these to go with. I love the in-line volume control and the long cord! The earpieces are still cushy and comfy. I do wish the part that goes over the top of your head was padded but for the price I can't complain too much about that. The headband part is plastic but if it can take almost a year of my youngest without breaking its quality.

In order not to disturb neighbors I use head phones to watch TV, movies, and listen to music. The sound quality of these is not bad. But they are an uncomfortable, loose-fitting contraption, always falling off your head if you look up or down. You can't adjust them to a tighter head fit. The ear pads are not attached in a fixed position to the headband so they dangle downward on a swivel when they're not on your ears. Every time you put the contraption on your head you have to adjust the ear pads, holding them with your hands in a straight up position before you can slip them over your ears. I find these ear phones are just too inconvenient and irritating, so I don't recommend them. (I thought I wanted a longer cord like these have so that I could walk around the room with them on. However, have found that a long cord gets in the way, is rather dangerous to trip over. Next ear phones I'll try to find a coiled cord and a volume adjustment button on each ear pad--features which I've found convenient on previous ear phones.)

We have been searching for headphones that blocked out the sound so my husband could watch or listen to whatever he wanted while I got some sleep (I work odd hours). These are wonderful - totally block the sound out and the quality for the person listening is top notch - according to my husband they are excellent quality and he is picky, being a jazz musician. There is a switch on the line so the person listening can change the volume independent of the TV or other device which can have the volume turned off entirely. They are reasonably durable considering he falls asleep with the headphones on more often than not and have lasted longer with better sound and less sound leakage (that is, NO sound leakage) than other headphones we have purchased for many times more money. No point in wasting your money on anything else outside of the recording studio, in my opinion.

I'm only subtracting one star due to the rather flimsy cord. For some reason, the cord is prone to getting tangled. Perhaps because it is so thin but it just has a way of getting itself wrapped around and tangled unto itself. If I can get a year's worth of use out of this, then I've gotten more than my money's worth. Other than the cord issue, the ear cushions are very comfortable. The volume control works perfectly and the overall fit is just right. The length of the cord is perfect but as I've mentioned, it is rather flimsy and can get tangled quite easily. If this one breaks within a year, I would still most likely buy it again. The fit is really nice for me and I'm not an audiophile so the sound quality is good enough for what I need. EDIT Oct 2016: I've had these a few months short of 3 years and the left side died. Definitely got my money's worth and just ordered another. I've used this almost every single day for 3-4 hours a day. The thin cord getting tangled really is annoying and I almost didn't buy it again but it really is a good deal for the price and I need a long cord with volume control.