Sennheiser HD555 and HD595 internal comparison shots - Page 7

Anybody?

I didn't read the whole thread before.  I did just now.  I bought the HD595 at full retail, in Australia....not cheap.  They have a very good tonal balance and give a very nice approximation on "neutral".  If I had my way again...I'd steer clear away from the HD595 and save up to get a HD650, or HD600 depending on preferences - they really are in a "reference" league, the HD595 falls short of "reference" and I would describe them as an audiophile can for mass consumers.

From a purely business perspective, I fully believe that it wouldn't be out of line to believe that the HD555 and HD595 are virtually the same can with the differences in signature due to the grill cover...and perhaps the grille material as well. 

Buy a HD650/HD600...problem solved. 

Is this based on measurements or guesswork?

I'm not someone who guesses. :-D

I did my own measurements, see #88. While my equipment is far from accurate the results line up perfectly with what you can see in the headroom graphs. This is also true for the slight attenuation in deep bass if you remove the foam.

However, from what I've seen, most people doing the mod will just tell you how everything improved... "more bass", "more impact" ... - that is pure guesswork / psychoacoustics if you ask me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCC 

The part numbers for the drivers for both the 555 and 595 are 512806 (right) and 512807 (left). I had to buy a new driver for my 595 and it arrived in a package stating that is was for both models. I've compared the 555 and 595 and the foam rectangle was the only difference I could see.

It's a bit late, but here we are: the proof. The bag clearly states that the pictured part is the same for the 555 and 595. This is the complete driver assembly that I replaced with an identical part from this bag.

Acoustically, the 555 becomes a 595 when the foam rectangle is removed. Any differences in sound are due to manufacturing variances and differing amounts of wear on the drivers.

I'm sorry, but there are people here that will still argue the 595 is different (read better), even with overwhelming evidence to support the contrary.

I personally think the 555s are cursed by a witch to never sound  the same just before they are boxed. The foam piece is there just to alleviate any suspicion of audiophile black magic, so you are wrong. Ner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by danzal 

I'm sorry, but there are people here that will still argue the 595 is different (read better), even with overwhelming evidence to support the contrary.

Yeah, some are beyond help. 

Anyway, black magic you say? Why didn't we think of that one before, that's ingenious! 

Gee. How about we start a DT770/DT880/DT990 thread.

I've never had "big" Senns before, although I have the PX-100's for years and absolutely love them.

So I'm starting to look at the 555, 558, 595, 558, 600, 650, etc.

I figured I was going to start with the 595 to at least get my feet wet in terms of their sound.  Now, I know that I can get the 555's, play with the foam, and get 2 headphones for the price of 1!

Quick question, earlier in the thread, there was a suggestion that the 515 might also be similar to the 555 and 595.  Any details there?  I actually have a pair of 535's I haven't listened to in a long time.  Got them with some surround sound box gizmo I never tried.  Just curious if these actually might be related to the 555's at all.

Kevin, the 515 is not similar to its brothers; it uses a different driver. As for the 535s, they were bottom of the heap in the old 535/545/565 series, of which the latter was king. I've owned them all and would rate the current series as far better than all except the 565. Senn headphones really have improved over the last 20 years, though I'm not sure yet if that trend is continuing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 

Kevin, the 515 is not similar to its brothers; it uses a different driver. As for the 535s, they were bottom of the heap in the old 535/545/565 series, of which the latter was king. I've owned them all and would rate the current series as far better than all except the 565. Senn headphones really have improved over the last 20 years, though I'm not sure yet if that trend is continuing.

 Cool, I obviously had no idea the 535 wasn't in between the 515 and 555.  (Same vs different eras, I mean.)

I do see the 580's get a lot of good press though.

So then I'm back to a good 1st step being to get the 555's and try the foam in or out, and then decide what to do from there.  I am aware that the 600 seems to have a fundamentally different sound than the 555/595's, so I'm keeping that in mind too.

Funnily enough, the 580 are of the same era, more or less. I can remember tossing up between a 565 and a 580 many moons ago and choosing the 565.

You're welcome! I think you've done an excellent job with your write-up of this mod.