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HD595 "cold", "harsh", "odd bass"?

post #1 of 33
6/28/06 at 6:30pm
Thread Starter 
This Austrailan headphone site "headphones.com.au" says the Sennheiser
HD595 is "cold", "harsh", and has an "odd bass".

The "Headroom" site says the HD555 is warm.

Yet most people claim the HD595 improves the highs and lows of the HD555.

So why forsake the "warmth" of the HD555 for the "cold" HD595.

Or is the HD595 only worth getting if you're going to do recabling and use a specialized headphone amplifier?

http://www.headphones.com.au/prod_on...oductID=81#top
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post #2 of 33
6/28/06 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.Sade
This Austrailan headphone site "headphones.com.au" says the Sennheiser
HD595 is "cold", "harsh", and has an "odd bass".

The "Headroom" site says the HD555 is warm.

Yet most people claim the HD595 improves the highs and lows of the HD555.

So why forsake the "warmth" of the HD555 for the "cold" HD595.

Or is the HD595 only worth getting if you're going to do recabling and use a specialized headphone amplifier?

http://www.headphones.com.au/prod_on...oductID=81#top
despite my criticisms of the HD595 in comparison to the HD650, it's still a great headphone. i had the HD555 for 3 weeks (after burn in) and found it rather muddy, unextended in treble and bass, undetailed, unnatural, and lacking in dynamics in comparison to the HD595. Yes, it doesn't have the warmth of the Hd650 or 555, but it still is a better, more neutral headphone.
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post #3 of 33
6/28/06 at 6:47pm
HD595 is no way in hell cold! Yes, its more brighter than sennheisers generally, but it still has sennheiser sound. I prefer Grado sound, so for my ears hd595 was really muddy and warm.
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post #4 of 33
6/28/06 at 7:09pm
Agreed, I don't find the HD595's cold. They are a little brighter than my HD600's, but the HD595 is a very fun headphone to listen to.
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post #5 of 33
6/28/06 at 7:38pm
Alright sooo... I've come to the conclusion that I might spend the rest of my life figuring out how sound is interpreted by the ear and brain (i.e. what type of biological DSP occurs in our bodies), and then finally find a way to quantify crazy words like "warm" and "bloom". Right now I have a strict feeling that "warm" to one person may not be "warm" to another... kinda like how I live in Canada and 20 degrees is warm for me.

EDIT: 20 degrees CELSIUS that is... that's 68 Fahrenheit... my bad.
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post #6 of 33
6/28/06 at 8:02pm
I'm not too sure, but I think we (head-fi) had some discussion about some threads on the forum of that website before. I hope I didn't get the websites mixed up.

Somebody there (I think it was the guy that runs the forum and maybe the headphone store too) made some threads claiming that the AD700 and AD900 are the best price/performance headphones ever. Well, something to that effect. Quite frankly, the guy sounded like an Audio Technica fanboy.

He also seemed to be biased against Sennheiser somehow. If you listened to him, you'd think that the AD700 is better than any of the Sennheiser headphones.
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post #7 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:26pm
My HD595's were sounding cold and harsh when I first got them. After a while they changed dramatically. I think before 200 hours of usage it's too early to talk about their sound.
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post #8 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:28pm
Frankly, I think the HD 595 only sounds "cold" if you are used to a very, very veiled and muddy sound.
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post #9 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cclragnarok
... Somebody there (I think it was the guy that runs the forum and maybe the headphone store too) made some threads claiming that the AD700 and AD900 are the best price/performance headphones ever. Well, something to that effect. Quite frankly, the guy sounded like an Audio Technica fanboy.

He also seemed to be biased against Sennheiser somehow. If you listened to him, you'd think that the AD700 is better than any of the Sennheiser headphones.
Hardly, a grado fanboy he might be. More to the point I believe the comments were based upon price to sound quality. On the otherhand, I _am_ a woodie AT fanboy - for some reason wood and leather does that to me!

HD595 is an OK set on its own, but when lines up against similar priced candidates, it just doesn't cut it for me either. I prefer bass that is deep and tight, for me HD595 trades in the tightness with volume.

Some people like the bass effect of a subwoofer in a car trunk, while listening to it outside - i.e. plenty of low frequencies, but distorted and ill defined. That is how I find HD595 (and my MDR-E484.) This "oddness" was not present - over the same track - with AKG (K501, K701,) Alessandro (MS1, MS2, MSPro,) AT (AD900, AD2000, L3000, W5000,) Beyer (DT660, DT880) or Senn (HD650.) And then again, _YMMV_!
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post #10 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by romistrub
Alright sooo... I've come to the conclusion that I might spend the rest of my life figuring out how sound is interpreted by the ear and brain (i.e. what type of biological DSP occurs in our bodies), and then finally find a way to quantify crazy words like "warm" and "bloom". Right now I have a strict feeling that "warm" to one person may not be "warm" to another... kinda like how I live in Canada and 20 degrees is warm for me.

EDIT: 20 degrees CELSIUS that is... that's 68 Fahrenheit... my bad.
Well, I think people's perception of how a headphone sounds is all a matter of degree. (Pun intended.)
Actually, I think almost everyone on here agrees about things like "warm" and "bloom." For instance, some say the Grado 325s are bright, their fans don't think they're too bright, but even they agree they're brighter than say an HD-650. And I haven't seen anyone with any credibility disagree that the HD-650s are warm.
On to the HD-595s. I wouldn't classify them as cold. To me the K701s are "cold" or "sterile", but not the HD-595s. They're actually on the warm side. They are, after all, a Sennheiser. As far as odd bass, I find the mid bass a bit grainy, but not "odd." They're a very enjoyable headphone, not perfect by any means, but very fun and listenable with just about any kind of music.
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post #11 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by crypt@
I prefer bass that is deep and tight, for me HD595 trades in the tightness with volume.

Some people like the bass effect of a subwoofer in a car trunk, while listening to it outside - i.e. plenty of low frequencies, but distorted and ill defined.
Wow, must be a case of different ears. I have a hard time believing anyone could attribute those qualitites to the 595s bass. The 590 maybe (though even that seems a stretch to me) but not the 595. It definitely doesn't have overly strong, bloated bass IMO. My old V-600 - certainly, my AKG K26P - definitely in anything resembling a quiet environment (it tends to be less noticeable in noisy environments).

Ant
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post #12 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:54pm
I wonder if "odd bass" actually refers to the three-blob soundstage?
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post #13 of 33
6/28/06 at 11:56pm
I don't mean to say that it's a bad thing to have a slightly cold character. for me the RS1 is cold, and the HF1 is right on natural, and the HD555 and HD650 are warm.

there are alot of good things about the HD595, that i wish i could appreciate more before my time with them runs out (which is about to happen).

considering what i think of the 595, this is one can i'd certainly like to see recabled and maybe two sided (like the two sided black dragoned K701 i saw the other day), it could sound amazing (just speculation).

refering to other post: the HD595 does win with it's clarity, nevertheless the mixing of insturment's sounds is simply alot more present on the Hd595 than on the HF1, even though the the HF1 (imho) is a tad warmer. warmness, in this case, also has nothing to do with the ability to create a soundstage or mix harmonics.
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post #14 of 33
6/30/06 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr.Sade
This Austrailan headphone site "headphones.com.au" says the Sennheiser
HD595 is "cold", "harsh", and has an "odd bass".
Of course, this is poopoo . . .
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post #15 of 33
6/30/06 at 10:00pm

I see deaf people :P

This is nonsense. The HD595 is less cold, harsh, brittle, whatever, than even a Sennheiser HD580, also having slightly better bass extension and less of a midbass hump. Admittedly, I do sometimes prefer the sound of the 580, but the 595 is nearly unique in having no major sonic flaws. Now if only they can get rid of the microphonic issues that the 580 so wonderfully lacks.
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