Yamaha YH-WL500 Wireless Headphones Reviews

I waited to write this until I had put probably 30-35 hours on these.

I live in an apartment in Southern California so not quite New York city density with wireless interference but probably worse than most people reading this. Some reviews regarding interference and dropouts had me concerned when purchasing but I'm pleased to say they have been almost completely flawless.

Not having to deal with a cord coming off my head and no latency has improved the quality and frequency of my practice time especially once it gets late. Sound is excellent and overall I really don't have anything to say except how awesome they are.

The only other product in the ballpark is the Waza Air which is also cool but really only designed to work with it's own internal modeling whereas I can use this with my normal rig which is rad.

Long range wireless functionality. Good audio quality. No clicks until reaching end of range, which was through 2+walls and about 25-30 feet. Compared wired sound vs unwired and not much if at all difference in fidelity. Compared wired sound vs other headphones and they do have a character that is not unlike Yamaha monitor speakers which can be harsher. These are fine headphones. And the low latency is a major breakthrough.

I compared the sound quality from my DT880 and could not find a discernible difference. I am not sure why there are poor reviews. Think as you like its your world too.

Wasn't sure how it would work considering lots of negative feedback about it in forums and other reviews. But it works suprisingly well and I'll be keeping it. Here is my experience so far, for whatever my opinion is worth. Also let me say that I'm using these headphones along with a wireless guitar system. So I am completely unbound from any cables.

Pros: The earphones are very comfortable. I've used them up to an hour at a time without discomfort. That could vary based on ear size etc. Also, the biggest factor for me, I have experienced no noticeable lag or delay at all. I put it through its paces with a few Yngwie covers and it handles everything I can throw at it. (Again, this is using them WITH a wireless guitar system, which you'd think there would be at least some lag introduced, but none so far). Another important factor is that it doesn't color the tone. I tried it back to back with my usual set of wired headphones and there is no perceptible sound difference.

Cons: As others have mentioned, I also experienced some popping/choppy sounds depending on how far away from the base unit I go. If I'm in the same room as the unit, there are almost zero issues. But if I go to the living room about 20 feet away, there are definitely noticeable pops and clicks. Turning off my router helped but I'd rather not have to disconnect the internet when I want to take full advantage of the headphones because there are others in the house who use wifi. Still, I am happy to be cordless and free to move around. And per the instructions, if you do have an issue with sound cutting out, you can re-pair the headphones to the base and sometimes that helps.

Conclusion: I am satisfied with this purchase despite it not being 100% perfect. Unfortunately, this type of technology is what it is, and probably not possible to get zero interference without sacrificing some lag. I'd rather take the zero lag. Your mileage may vary. Thanks to my rep Danny Mosco for always getting my orders out incredibly smoothly.

Lets answer the million dollar question: Yes, Yamaha has nailed the latency issue. I can't detect any latency with these headphones, which includes while using wireless (Line 6 G10TII or Sennheiser XSW-D) to my amp. Walking around my little office/studio playing my guitar untethered is wonderful. Sitting at my keyboard with no wire tugging behind me ... pure joy.

Now for the reservations. They are far from perfect. The fit/feel/quality/audio is mid-grade consumer. They're over ear, but small inside and press slightly on my big ears, which drives me a little nuts. The outside gives you the idea that they're kinda open, but they feel completely closed and are stuffy/hot. Compared to my good old Sennheiser HD580's they're pretty sucky. In my opinion the sound feels "tuned" instead of neutral and lacks depth (compared to the HD580s and Yamaha HS5 speakers with all of them plugged into the same Scarlett 8i6 interface). There is significant white noise even with no signal or the transmitter unplugged. You don't hear it while playing of course, but it's something to be aware of. At one point I had a really bad interference(?) problem, with a bup, bup, bup, bup... going on in the background. I moved the transmitter around, turned it off/on, tried it another day and that "fixed" the problem, so we'll see how that goes. I also get the occasional pop/dropout/artifact (even when wired into my amp). I experimented with the level going into the transmitter wondering if it was clipping, and it seemed to help, but now the volume is a little low and the issue isn't totally gone. More experimenting to be done there. Oh, a small, but annoying thing, the power cord is literally 18" long. WTF Yamaha? Want to put it on a desk with a power strip on the floor, forget it. Be ready to have your own USB A to C cord if you're not putting the transmitter right next to a plug.

So, am I going to send them back? No way! Did I mention OMG!!! Wireless!!!! For me, the price/feature/problem ratio is acceptable. Toss em on for a quick practice session, feel the freedom, and it's all good even with the flaws. But if these were going to be my primary headphones it'd be a big fat NOPE.

What I want is something like wireless HD650s with undetectable latency and no noticeable noise floor and no additional weight. But, even if that comes around, it'll probably have an extra 1 on the front of the price tag. For $ the YH-WL500s ain't so bad given what you get and so long as you're realistic about what you don't.

Can't wait to actually have them on my ears! Just wonder where they are. Ordered in April. It's almost August.

I have been dreaming of low latency uncompressed wireless studio headphones for YEARS! When Yamaha announced the YH-WL50, I though my prayers had been answered. I would FINALLY be free of my 20 foot headphone cable and able to roam my studio at will. Unfortunately, it was not to be. At least, not YET.

I'm not sure if I received a bad transmitter, or that the tech is just not there yet. I lean towards the latter. While Yamaha clearly nailed the latency on these, I could not rid them of a sort of 'zippering' artifact when playing back harmonically rich higher frequency content. They worked fine for basic YouTube listening, but failed miserably when monitoring my synths, which is what I bought them for. Needless to say, I am QUITE disappointed, but I have high hopes for the future.

I had hoped that these headphones would let me ditch my Shure wireless transmitter pack, and IEM wires, but my first experience was pops and low fidelity sound and my second experience was higher fidelity sound with pops and audio drops.

So back to my Shure IEM's I go!