Sennheiser MM 550

Hi,

I just bought a Sennheiser MM 550 and since I've been unable to find much info on these before buying too, I'm going to comment a little on them here.

I'm not a pro when it comes to headphones and the best one I've had so far was a Koss Portapro. Lastly I was mainly using a pair of Sennheiser CX 270 to listen my music in the transports (Paris noisy metro mainly ...), and as I'm going to do a few travels by plane I wanted an active noise reduction enabled headset (and bluetooth to replace my crappy Jabra Halo that died a few month ago). So, now you have an idea of what I'm comparing it to, let's start over.

Build quality seems good, on par with what I would wait from a headset with this price tag. The earcups are smaller than I though by looking at the pictures but still comfortable, but gets real hot when keeping the headset on for a long time (that will be pretty usefull for this winter, but last weekend we had some nice weather here and my ears were sweating under the earcups)

Sound quality is pretty good. Actually it's the best sound quality I've ever had on a bluetooth headset, and it's pretty much on par with the portapro (it's the first bluetooth headset that makes me realize the urge to re-encode some mp3 I have, making me hear the compression artefacts).

About noise reduction now ... Passive noise reduction on this headphone, while being quite good, is way less efficient than intra models like the CX 270 or Koss Pathfinder I used before, but enabling the active noise reduction does makes me able to listen to my music even in a metro with open windows without having to push up the volume. By the way, I will comment more on this after taking the plane with them (next week) if someone is interrested on my impressions in a really noisy environment.

I Hope it helps, don't hesitate to ask for more details, if I can provide them I will.

I bought MM 550 about half a month back, I also have QC 3 Quiet Comfort 3 as comparison. 

Sennheiser Travel MM 550

1. The sound is clearer than QC 3 even with bluetooth. Noise Cancelling is good enough but not up to my expectations. When I am driving my car, I will still be able to hear the humps and bumps that my car go over but it does cancels out the sound from my car engine. Sounds like children screaming, or any other loud noises can still be heard, which is normal for most noise cancelling headphones. 

2. With the bluetooth, it's very convenient for me to shop, walk or do any activities without any wires being entangled anywhere.

3. The Talk Through function is also average, not able to hear clearly when the other party is speaking on a softer side.

4. Battery Life. If you are using noise cancelling plus bluetooth, the battery life is only about 8hrs, which is pretty short for heavy user like me at times. I am ordering my 2nd battery but will take abt 1-2 months to receive it where I am from. 

5. Volume control is limited when using bluetooth, the volume will not be as loud as connected through a wire but that's the point of noise cancelling isn't it? Not to spoil our ear drums by increasing the volume to compensate the surrounding noise, so yes it's adequate for normal usage.

6. When the bluetooth is on, there is a slight ruffling noise on the background, I only noticed it when I am in a more quiet environment.

7. When talking in a conversation using the bluetooth, my voice can't be heard clearly by the other party, so for normal conversations it's ok but not for important phone calls. 

8. Yes, the padding can be quite hot if you are not in a air-conditioned environment.

Overall, I like this model because of it's multi-functions and convenience. There's no comparable wireless headphones out there in the market as yet for now. I am looking forward for more high quality wireless noise cancelling headphones/earphones. If anybody come across any do share with me, thanks.

If you want high-end wireless, we have a few sets that we hope will knock your socks off

sennheiserUSA.com/RS160

sennheiserUSA.com/RS170

sennheiserUSA.com/RS180

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDeliveryMan 

If you want high-end wireless, we have a few sets that we hope will knock your socks off

 

sennheiserUSA.com/RS160

sennheiserUSA.com/RS170

sennheiserUSA.com/RS180

Nobody's socks are coming off for non-BT models; most people aren't going to carry a proprietary Kleer transmitter with them on the bus.

I'm glad to finally see some decent BT headphones from Sennheiser in the MM 550's (with all of the ones so far inexplicably being supra-aurals)--these look solid and comfortable.  Hopefully they'll be released in a model without active cancellation soon to reach a more sane price point; there are simply no good BT circumaurals on the market.  I'm having trouble even finding a cheap, mediocre pair to hold me over until something decent comes out...

Can anyone tell me how these compare sound-quality wise to the IE8? I love my IE8 to bits, but really want to get an over the ear/ active cancelling pair. 

Apologies - by "these" I mean the mm 550!

Hello-

You'd be surprised ...Kleer has several advantages over BT...low latency, superior battery life...for listening only they're an easy choice. MM 550 will be available as a PX 360 BT soon. We're moving a ton of Kleer models, more than we ever anticipated. The sound quality is undeniable. If you get a chance to give them a shot, please do. Maybe Kleer will do 2-way communication down the line, who knows.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gffm 

Nobody's socks are coming off for non-BT models; most people aren't going to carry a proprietary Kleer transmitter with them on the bus.

 

I'm glad to finally see some decent BT headphones from Sennheiser in the MM 550's (with all of the ones so far inexplicably being supra-aurals)--these look solid and comfortable.  Hopefully they'll be released in a model without active cancellation soon to reach a more sane price point; there are simply no good BT circumaurals on the market.  I'm having trouble even finding a cheap, mediocre pair to hold me over until something decent comes out...

Hello-

Its Apples vs Oranges, but the two share the warm bass quality, and both have a fair bit of detail. I feel like the MM 550 has faster transient response, and with NoiseGard kicked in, its a very neutral headphone with a nice, natural sound...everything is represented evenly, not much coloration. Without NoiseGard or with SRS on, you get some low end kick. With SRS you also get a boost in hi's...head-fi'ers may not use it at all, but anyone who likes a lot of excitement in their sonic signature can add it to taste.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crock 

Can anyone tell me how these compare sound-quality wise to the IE8? I love my IE8 to bits, but really want to get an over the ear/ active cancelling pair. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crock 

Thanks! Anyone with a slightly less biassed review?

I take it your no Sennheiser fanboy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDeliveryMan 

Hello-

 

You'd be surprised ...Kleer has several advantages over BT...low latency, superior battery life...for listening only they're an easy choice. MM 550 will be available as a PX 360 BT soon. We're moving a ton of Kleer models, more than we ever anticipated. The sound quality is undeniable. If you get a chance to give them a shot, please do. Maybe Kleer will do 2-way communication down the line, who knows.
 

Oh, I don't doubt that it has advantages--BT audio certainly has its issues.  But, there's just too much versatility lost with a separate, proprietary transmitter.

Good to know about the PX360BT's, though I already broke down and ordered the PX210BT's in spite of them being supra-aurals.  There are simply no good BT circumaurals on the market.  (Sony's look comfortable, but even totally ignoring sound quality--the elephant in the room--the things are a gag.  Bluetooth headphones without USB charging?  Seriously?)  Guess I'll have to decide whether it's worth the bother to return them and wait for the more comfortable version...

The PX210BT's are going back; after wearing them for just four hours my ears are pounding and I'm close to a headache.  Even bargain-bin $10 Walmart specials handle extended use more comfortably.  Hopefully the PX360BTs are reasonably priced when they're released in the US; the 210's are around $160, and the 360s are £181 ($292) in the UK--a rough comparison, but suggesting far too much of a premium just to get headphones that aren't painful.  Back to tethering myself to the desk for the time being...

I'm going to bring this thread back from the dead... mainly because I am so excited that my MM 550's are ordered and I want to blab on the internet about how excited I am to be getting them.  I can't blab to the people in my house because I'm not supposed to be buying new headphones.  How could I resist?  I have a friend who works for a company that partners with Sennheiser somehow and they get amazing deals on their headphones... he was nice enough to pass the deal on to me :)  That's going to be my excuse when I get busted for buying new headphones.... "But I got a great deal on them!!!...."

I will let you know how that excuse works.  Also, I will report back when I get them in a couple weeks :)

I just ordered the mm 550 off of best buy where can I an extra battery at.