Impressions of the Sennheiser HD 595 (Should've gotten the MS1)

[shampoosuicide]

So after much deliberation, reading hundreds of posts on Head-Fi, testing headphones for hours, I got the Sennheiser HD 595 on Tuesday.

Now, at 50 hours of pink noise burn-in, I am saddened to have to say, this is still not my sound. My previous headphone was the Sennheiser HD 497, my first 'real' headphones. I am not using an amp.

I am having second thoughts that I should have gotten the MS1, and spent more time with them at the shop.

Please take note that these are very amateur observations. Prior to this the only real headphones I'd heard were the 497s. I'm also quite hesitant about qualifying things like "bass" and "sound stage". These impressions might also be quite premature, as the headphones may not have been burnt-in sufficiently.

Impressions of the 595

• Decent sound stage
• Decent bass
• Smooth
• Laid back
• Good detail
• Great for movies
• Balanced and neutral sound
• Warm

On the other hand,

• Not aggressive sounding enough
• Dark, dull, dim. Might not be burnt-in sufficiently, though
• Not really 'rock' headphones
• Neither bright nor lively
• Much more open, airy and refined compared to the 497

I regret not listening to the MS1 closely. I am still burning in the 595's, and then I'll see how. But for now, I think I made the wrong choice

[Pangaea]

I got the 595s recently and while I do like them the jury is still out. I also find that I still use my SR60s more. I do not consider myself an audiophile either and I certainly barely understand the terminoligy but I def. understand where you are coming from when you say "not aggressive enough. And I am using a tube amp with them. But again both the 595s and the amp are relatively new so they may need more burn in.

[dissembled]

This veil, darkness, dullness...It's not a quality inherent in the Sennheiser line is it? Because right now, I don't hear it at all with my 3 hour old Senn EH350s.

To my ears, the 350s ($50) have great instrument separation, lively, warm sounding and very detailed. Vocals are in the forefront of the music because these babies do awesomely in the midrange frequencies.

Now why would Sennheiser 'incorporate' this veil (eg darkness,dullness, recessed midrange freqs) onto the HD555/HD595 pair of phones and not onto the lesser EH350 model instead which is considerably less expensive???

Is it only inherent to the HD series of phones and not the newer EH series?

[qazwsx]

Originally Posted by dissembled

This veil, darkness, dullness...It's not a quality inherent in the Sennheiser line is it? Because right now, I don't hear it at all with my 3 hour old Senn EH350s.

To my ears, the 350s ($50) have great instrument separation, lively, warm sounding and very detailed. Vocals are in the forefront of the music because these babies do awesomely in the midrange frequencies.

Now why would Sennheiser 'incorporate' this veil (eg darkness,dullness, recessed midrange freqs) onto the HD555/HD595 pair of phones and not onto the lesser EH350 model instead which is considerably less expensive???

Is it only inherent to the HD series of phones and not the newer EH series?

The eH series is a very, very strange series of headphones. None of the headphones in the line sound alike or improve each other, and previously (4+ years ago) they were basically Senn's experimental line and most of those (like the eH2250) are known as total crap today. The 150 is some decent budget headphone with a hollowness, the 250 is muffled, and the 350 is the flattest headphone Senn has in current production under $200. Plus all of the headphones in the eH line are all priced way below MSRP. Even the eH150 which is fairly popular. The eH350 has a MSRP of $140 but is sold at $70 on average.

[F107plus5]

I guess when I go back and forth between my MS2i and HD600 on material that's more intimate where the MS2i seems natural, the HD600 seems a bit too laid-back and perhaps a little dark. On the big classical pieces they seem perfectly normal.

Maybe it reflects more on what types of music the cans were intended to excel at.

.....oh; and terribly sorry about the dis-satisfaction with the Senns. Perhaps in addition to equipment burn-in, a bit of Brain Burn-In may help as well. Hope so; anyway.

[MasiveMunkey]

It might be due to the fact that you aren't using an amp. An amp really helps my HD555's shine even though they are low impedance. It might be a good idea to invest in a cheap amp/dac so you can get the most out of your headphones.

[dissembled]

Originally Posted by qazwsx

The eH series is a very, very strange series of headphones. None of the headphones in the line sound alike or improve each other, and previously (4+ years ago) they were basically Senn's experimental line and most of those (like the eH2250) are known as total crap today. The 150 is some decent budget headphone with a hollowness, the 250 is muffled, and the 350 is the flattest headphone Senn has in current production under $200. Plus all of the headphones in the eH line are all priced way below MSRP. Even the eH150 which is fairly popular. The eH350 has a MSRP of $140 but is sold at $70 on average.

And I thought I finally found my 'sound'. Seems that upgrading to the higher level Senn's won't retain a similar audio signature that I'm growing to love.

I seriously hope Senn would utilize the 350 sound sig in future models. I hear reports that there's still a veil/darkness inherent to the higher level Senns. ($300+)

To OP: Try to use a less transparent amp that will change the audio signature to your liking. Better than buying new cans AND an amp for that as well. ;-)

[shampoosuicide]

Originally Posted by Pangaea

I got the 595s recently and while I do like them the jury is still out. I also find that I still use my SR60s more. I do not consider myself an audiophile either and I certainly barely understand the terminoligy but I def. understand where you are coming from when you say "not aggressive enough. And I am using a tube amp with them. But again both the 595s and the amp are relatively new so they may need more burn in.

How would you say your MS2 and SR60 compare to the 595?

I feel like I can fall asleep listening tot any kind of music on the 595s.

[apatN]

I am totally with you on this one, I too find my 595s not aggresive enough and mine are burnt-in. I'm thinking of buying a MKIII, which I heard is a very versatile amp and if it's still not to my likings after that, I think I'm gonna buy a MS-1. But I will never get rid of my 595s, they're super comfortable and a perfect pc headphone.

[Pangaea]

My MS2s are still enroute so I cannot really comment on those but my SR60s are just a lot more interesting to me right now. Sometimes I wonder if I should have just called it quits after I got my iMod and SR60 cause thats all I ever really use. I do have high hopes for the MS-2s though

Originally Posted by shampoosuicide

How would you say your MS2 and SR60 compare to the 595?

I feel like I can fall asleep listening tot any kind of music on the 595s.

[DJShadow]

The HD 595 does a lot of things adequately - a jack of all trades but a master of none.

And a Broken Social Scene fan I'm guessing?

[mwallace573]

Maybe you two are just Grado kind of people (referring to posts 1 and 2). I personally find the HD595 engaging, and since I got my LD2++, I'm starting to think I'm at the end of the road on my home setup. The MS1 isn't really a better headphone than the HD595, just different sounding. Listening to them side by side, I preferred the HD595 by a fair margin, and that was unamped. Mine is also the 120 ohm version, so that might make all the difference in the world.

^^I've never listened to the MS-2, but from what I've heard, you shouldn't be disappointed. That's one of the few headphones I've still got my eyes on (that or the HF-1).

[Pangaea]

[QUOTE=mwallace573;3097403]Maybe you two are just Grado kind of people (referring to posts 1 and 2).

I've thought about that too. There is something about Grados that really appeals to me- even there construction. Its old school. But I just put my 595s on and they are nice. So don't count me out yet. I think both signatures are worth having around.

[SayNoToPistons]

LOL, they're laid back! What did you expect from the 555/595!?

[majkel]

Originally Posted by shampoosuicide

listening tot any kind of music on the 595s.

Provide yourself with a proper amp and source. These headphones can do much more than lower grade Grados. I've listened for prolonged time to SR225's hooked up to Vincent KHV-111 and a high class CD player, and there was nothing like soundstage. Music projected onto a virtual flat wall, localized only left and right, with no soundstage and with the center exactly inside my skull. These makes no sense and is both boring and annoying because no threedimensional soundstaging means no dramaturgy and reality in any kind of music.