Yamaha PRO 300

Recently, Yamaha released its PRO line of headphones; the PRO 300, at $199.95 (direct), is the entry-level offering. Its glossy plastic design is spare, but logo-focused, not unlike the bass-heavy Beats by Dr. Dre lineup, although the PRO 300's audio performance is far more in line with flat response, reference headphones. The PRO 300 is a capable pair that can handle deep bass without distorting at high volumes, and yet it does so without deliberately boosting the bass to levels that destroy the balance of the mix. It's too bad, then, that the PRO 300 is uncomfortable to wear for long listening periods. It's highly-rated as it stands, but it had a shot at greatness.?

Design
When I think of Yamaha, from a pro-audio gear standpoint, I think of no-frills products like the famous, industry-standard NS-10 studio monitors. The design of the PRO 300 throws me off a bit. It's not ugly, but it doesn't look like no-frills pro gear. Instead, it has a glossy, trying-to-compete-with-Beats by Dr. Dre look, flaunting the Yamaha tuning fork logo on each earpiece on a shiny headband that comes in blue, black, or white.

The actual ergonomic design throws me off, a bit, too. To get it out of the way immediately: These headphones get uncomfortable pretty quickly. In the interest of full disclosure, I wear glasses, and the PRO 300 uses a lot of pressure to secure itself against the ear?and in my case, it presses my frames hard against my head, behind my ears. With glasses off, things improved, but only slightly. Adjusting the fit of the headband didn't seem to make things more comfortable. The fit isn't miserable, and the audio performance makes up for it quite a bit, but the PRO 300 is not going to win any awards in the comfort department.

The design is listed by Yamaha's website as on-ear (supra-aural), and indeed, that's what it seems closest to. But many on-ear pairs, like the Bowers & Wilkins P3, seem to have a slightly smaller circumference on the earpiece, so that the ear cups actually do feel like they're sitting on the ear itself. The PRO 300 feels more like it's mainly on your ear, but large enough to sort of sit off of the edge at certain spots and press against your head. It may seem like a nitpicky distinction, but I think this is where the root of the discomfort lies.

My last gripe is that the cable should be removable, like it is on the PRO 300's more expensive sibling, the excellent Yamaha PRO 500. Detachable cables are relatively new as a trend, and they add tremendous overall value to a pair by allowing you to easily replace the thing that is usually the culprit when headphones stop working (rather than having to pay for repairs or a replacement unit).

The cable also has a microphone and controls for Playback, Volume, and Calls on iOS devices. Used with an Apple iPhone 4S, call clarity was par for the course for inline mics. You'll be able to hear your call partner clearly, and vice versa, but we're still dealing with cellular audio quality here.

The PRO 300 ships with a soft, zip-up protective case that the headphones fold into, as well as a??-inch adapter, a cleaning shammy, and a couple of Yamaha logo stickers.

Performance
The PRO 300 does not distort on deep bass tracks, even at maximum volume?an unsafe listening level, but a good test of the pair's drivers. The Knife's "Silent Shout" and Thom Yorke's "Cymbal Rush" both contain different ranges of deeply resonant low-end frequencies?the former has some serious sub-bass content and the latter has some powerful lows just above the sub realm?but neither track produced distortion on these headphones.

This isn't to say the PRO 300 is a bass lover's dream?the sonic signature is far more balanced than many popular current options that boost low-end dramatically. Compared to the bass-heavier Beats Pro by Dr. Dre, the PRO 300 sounds like a flat response pair. Though it does reproduce sub-bass and low frequencies, it does so cleanly and without pumping them up drastically.

On instrumental tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," the balance of the PRO 300 serves it well. The bowing of the higher-range stringed instruments has a nice treble edge to it, without ever sounding harsh, while the lower-register strings are delivered with a richness that adds some depth to the mix without weighing it down or making things muddy. The highs are a bit less prevalent here than they are on some headphone pairs that boost the bass, and thus boost the high-end to try to match things. The end result is that wooden percussion hits and truly high-register instruments sit well in the mix, but don't quite standout like they might on a pair with more sculpted highs.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the attack of the kick drum loop, which can sound overly bright on a pair with sculpted highs, is delivered with a nice balance of its treble edge and the lower-register thump that follows the initial attack. The sub-bass synth hits that occur every few beats sound deep without taking over the mix. So, while the PRO 300 isn't going to trick you into thinking it's hiding a massive P.A. system in its modest frame, it certainly provides enough sense of the deep bass frequencies to give you a solid idea of the mix engineer's intent.

If it's deep bass on a booming level that you seek, the aforementioned Beats Pro by Dr. Dre is a powerful option. But if that one's a bit out of your price range, consider the Shure SRH440 Professional Studio Headphones?a fine option with a bit more bass boost at a lower cost. Our current favorite option in this price range, however, is a bit cheaper than the PRO 300, and offers some amazing all-around audio performance?the Sennheiser HD 558. The PRO 300 can't quite match the expanded sound field and rich lows of that pair, and I'm not a huge fan of its overall design, but it nonetheless offers some excellent audio performance.

?More Headphone Reviews:
??? Beats by Dr. Dre Powerbeats
??? Yamaha PRO 300
??? Yamaha PRO 500
??? Logitech UE 9000
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