Sennheiser HD555 and HD595 internal comparison shots - Page 9

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Originally Posted by Quaddy 

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Originally Posted by lucky Very interesting. I wonder what they sound like with-vs-without the foam.

i de-foamed my 555's and actually preferred them as they were, they sounded harsher without IMHO, a bit thin.

I may be the only person who agrees that this mod makes the sound harsher.  It takes away the laid-back sennheiser sound that I have come to love.  I put my foam back on.

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Originally Posted by webegrubbin 

It takes away the laid-back sennheiser sound that I have come to love.  I put my foam back on.

Ewww, gross....

I know what u mean. I just did this to mine and it seems harsher. I'll give them a few weeks without foam but I may end up putting the foam back in.

I went ahead and ripped the foam out of my own 555s, since I've had a tinkering itch that's needed scratching for the longest time.  I gotta say, I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand, the sound stage "size" has doubled, like going from a school auditorium to a proper concert hall.  Everything seems a lot more separated, clear, and crisp/sharp.  On the other, it also feels like everything is spread out so far that the "background" is lost or muddled.  Bass isn't as deep, it feels, and lacks presence (a problem, since I listen to a lot of rock and electronica), whereas treble seems to meander in and out of the bass that -is- there.  There's more detail, but it's also harder to pick out amongst the muddied mess.

I think the foam is acting as a sort of sound trap, rather than letting the drivers work unobstructed.  It's that sound trap that makes them sound really good with my music, I think.  I'm still on the fence though - I'm going to test them with my Xbox here in a moment (I swap them between my PC and my console systems - PC uses X-Fi Analog Out [24/192] to Fiio E9, 360 uses Marantz SR6003 w/ straight effect [no processing]), and report back.  I'll also test them with my new Fiio E17 later today and see if a better DAC makes a difference.

For now, though...

iTunes Playback (mix of 128kbps MP3 to 24/96 AIFF files), analog out from X-Fi to Fiio E9:

• +more detail
• +clearer overall sound
• -flatter sound
• -treble can meander around inside bass
• -bass isn't as quick or punchy

YouTube Playback:

     Goldfish - We Come Together

• +Snappy Bass
• +Crisp Highs
• +"Higher" Soundstage
• -Sections of heavy music can get muddled
• -Less separation than before mod ("tighter" sound stage, like it was very high, but terribly narrow)

    Maroon 5 - Move Like Jagger

• +Fast, punchy bass
• +Clear whistles with much higher cut-offs than before
• -Synthesizer likes to get lost in chorus sections.

Video Playback:

     Daria - s05e01 - Fizz Ed (DVD)

• +Dialog is Clear and intelligible throughout
• +Music & Dialog are clearly separated and distinct

     Darker Than Black - s00e01 - The Black Contractor (Subbed, MKV 720p)

• +Dialog is clear
• +Music & Dialog mix well, and overshadow each other when appropriate
• -Bass seems lacking, with a higher cut off.

UPDATE:

After more testing, I decided to put my foam back on. I liked the character it gave my 555s.