Sennheiser HD 380 vs HD 555

Hi I have both the HD555 and the HD380. There are two big differnces between them. The HD555 is a open can meaning that you will hear everthing in the room and people will hear the music from your headphone. The HD380 are closed cans and provide a great deal of isolation from sounds or music in the room. The HD380 put more pressure on the head but they stay conformable but you may disagree. Second they sound quite different from each other and the HD380 has a unSennheiser like sound quality that took a bit of adjustment to get used to. The HD555 was my main headphone besides the Stax. I now use the HD380 more over the HD555.

An unboxing of the HD 380 Pro from Head-fi is available here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sennheiser-hd-380-pro-rather-large-photos-inside-378999/]. I actually didn't even realise there were HD380s, they are actually more expensive here compared to the HD555s, at least from what I've seen with a quick search.
(Ja assim como assim, bemvindo, tambem sou novo aqui - translation: "While I'm at it, welcome, I'm new here too." It's still a novelty when I find other Portuguese people on forums, having been in the UK for ages)

I had both HD555 and HD380Pro (still own HD555, while sold the 380s a long time ago). If you want to enjoy music with the headphones, HD380Pro is most certainly NOT for you IMO. It sounds very dry lacking smoothness and with a rather severe upper treble roll off. It may be good for monitoring vocals because its midrange is very forward, but when trying to enjoy music, I found the forwardness to be very irritating. Often the singers sounded as though they were screaming in my face - not a very nice feeling. The bass is reasonably tight but the upper bass is recessed and so drums sound a little thinner than they should. A good amp can perhaps fix this issue. Low bass is represented well, but overall the low frequencies sound quite unnatural on the HD380s IMO. The most weird part is the soundstage though. It's VERY wide, but also extremely upfront. This results in a very strange feeling when listening to music although if you like Grado, maybe you'll find this presentation to be OK. What this headphone is really good at is reproducing detail - micro-detials are heard especially well. Dynamics are also great. But these qualities don't help much for making these a good audiophile headphone unfortunately. It's strictly a studio can IMO.

HD555 sounds a lot more musical, even and far better extended in the upper treble to my ears. The soundstage is not as wide as on HD380 but it's got much better depth. Detail is not as good, but HD555 more than makes up for it in musicality and smoothness IMO. There is some emphasis on mid bass and the overall sound can be considered colored and not particularly suitable for monitoring, but for enjoying music, HD555 is nice fun headphone unlike HD380.

If you need isolation, I would get Shure SRH840, if you can find it at a good price there in Portugal that is. It sounds like a combination of HD555 and HD380 - it can be used for both monitoring and musical enjoyment. Overall though, it's in a league above HD380 and HD555 though, so if you can fine one at a good price, go for it. You can also take a look at Shure SRH750DJ, if you need a headphone that sounds comparable to SRH840 (with a bit less treble) and is easier to drive from weak sources like portable players, but it doesn't quite have the isolation of SRH840 from what I've read.

I still think that the the HD380 really shines with male vocals far better than than the HD555 can do and to the Byers and most headphones as well. The HD380 is more neutral as compare to the sound in a concert hall. I am gald that that I had a chance and look beyond what I was used to for so many years to move ahead. You alone can make that choice on what works best for you. Most of my budget is going to concerts live.

Well I'm not gonna say HD 555 is better and you should totally forget the the 380s...because I've never owned the 380s. BUT I do own the 555s and I must say they have been a joy to own.

If your looking for isolation though then don't get them, there really isn't isolation at all. Best when listening to acoustic music with not much bass. The sound is extremely crisp and I've heard things on them that I hadn't heard before in certain songs. Only thing is they feel about...I don't know..."airy". They are my first pair of open headphones so maybe that's why but it isn't a big deal.

well if Isolation isn't too big a deal then you can't really go wrong with the Senns (imo), I've bothered to watch one movie with them (Saving Private Ryan). Then you gotta think about sound leakage, others around will be able to here your music at higher volumes.
I think you'd be very happy with the 555's but wait a lil longer for some more feedback from people who have listened to the K518s AND the 555's

Also