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H 555 - sound leak

post #1 of 14
6/1/10 at 2:26am
Thread Starter 

I want to get the Sennheiser HD 555 headphones but I'm worried about sound leak.

 

Most of my listening will be in my dorm room, where my room-mate will be working about 2.5 metres away from me. How much sound would carry across to him, if I mostly listen at pretty moderate levels.

 

If it will be too disturbing for him, I'm going to have to get the HD 201, but I'd much prefer the HD 555...

 

Thanks for your help.

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post #2 of 14
6/1/10 at 2:34am

I have the 555s; I'd say you are better off getting closed cans; the hd238s are a decent choice in that price range I think.

 

at one metre away, my mate says that the volume is the same whether the headphones are on my head or off. lol. I guess 2.5 metres would make a difference, but I wouldn't say that it would be much.

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post #3 of 14
6/1/10 at 2:54am
Thread Starter 

HD 238 are also open... I'm going to be in London some time in this coming month. Would there be somewhere there where I could give the HD 555 a test run?

 

My room-mate spends a LOT of time studying and these won't be viable if they're going to disturb him too much. Would you mind doing a test run for me? :) Play some music at moderate level and sit 2-3 metres away and see how loud it is... Much appreciated.

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post #4 of 14
6/1/10 at 3:13am

my bad, I meant the 218/228. I wasn't looking very closely cos' I just quickly looked at the page.

 

I'll do a test for you later and I'll let you know :)

 

the issue is what level of volume will be moderate; also cos' you'll be listening to it in a quiet environment, any noise reproduction will be obvious.

 

I've just tested it an what appears to me to be a moderate level, I can make out the lyrics faintly so I guess it's up to your discretion as to how much it would affect your dorm mate.


Edited by cravenz - 6/1/10 at 3:20am
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post #5 of 14
6/1/10 at 5:17am

Why Sennheiser? Shure has very good offerings in that price range, and the closed back ATH-M50 is a very popular choice here at Head-Fi.

No reason to buy the HD218/228 if you don't need the headphones to be portable.

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post #6 of 14
6/1/10 at 5:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FirsToStrike View Post

Why Sennheiser? Shure has very good offerings in that price range, and the closed back ATH-M50 is a very popular choice here at Head-Fi.

No reason to buy the HD218/228 if you don't need the headphones to be portable.


lol. it was just a suggestion mate. and I'm sure he'd welcome your suggestion as well. the Shure from my knowledge doesn't have the best isolation if I remember reading the boards right and yes, the Audio Technicas would be a decent choice. :)

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post #7 of 14
6/1/10 at 6:00am

There is no leak per se. They're open headphones, it's not at all designed to contain noise, like speakers don't 'leak' sound 

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post #8 of 14
6/1/10 at 6:03am

You probably don't want HD555s - they leak far too much for that. I've had headphones that leak worse (HE-5s) but HD555s are pretty bad. You probably want to try something closed which is good at keeping sound in, though I have no experience with lower end closed phones so I can not say.

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post #9 of 14
6/1/10 at 6:13am

Look into the Shure SRH440

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post #10 of 14
6/1/10 at 9:27am
Thread Starter 

Just had a look at those Shure headphones. Those Audio-Technica cans are a bit expensive.

 

So now I've just stumbled upon the AKG K77s. They're much cheaper but look very good and I understand AKG is a very reputable headphone brand.

 

So it's really down the Shure SRH440, Sennheiser HD 448 and... These AKGs?

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post #11 of 14
6/1/10 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mellows View Post

Just had a look at those Shure headphones. Those Audio-Technica cans are a bit expensive.

 

So now I've just stumbled upon the AKG K77s. They're much cheaper but look very good and I understand AKG is a very reputable headphone brand.

 

So it's really down the Shure SRH440, Sennheiser HD 448 and... These AKGs?

 

If you go with Akg's you will need an amp (it happens with most of them)...Whats your budget?
 


Edited by winma - 6/1/10 at 9:37am
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post #12 of 14
6/1/10 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 

Most of my listening with whatever headphones I get will be with my Pioneer loudspeaker amp (i.e. the headphone out of my full-size amp), as I have my Ultimate Ears IEMs for when I'm on the move. Just checked the website and the AKG impedance is 32 ohms. That shouldn't be a problem surely?

 

I'd say the most I want to spend is probably £80 = $120...

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post #13 of 14
6/1/10 at 10:40am

it depends on how loud you listen. if you listen quietly or very relaxed, i don't think the leakage would reach all that far-- i use hd 555 here at my desk, i listen moderately and my neighbors in marketing cannot hear me.

 

if you like to rock out and crank it up, get a closed set like HD 380.

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post #14 of 14
6/2/10 at 4:03am
Thread Starter 

Well I'd rather not risk it to be honest. I have my B&W floorstanders for when 'leakage' isn't a problem. :)

 

Had a look at the 380. Look very nice but slightly more than I want to pay.

 

I think I'm going to go for the Sennheiser 448. Headroom has them in their 'Top 10' list (if that means anything), I prefer their looks and I know the brand better (and that it will have support where I live, in South Africa).

 

Unless someone can give me a good reason to go for the AKG K77?

 

Thanks again for the advice.

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