hutzelmeier
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 30, 2015
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I have currently 8 closed headphones on my dining table and spent some days comparing them. The background is that we plan to use one of the models for an exhibition in which the visitors will use tablet computers to experience the fascination of birdsong and of research on birdsong. So in the end we will buy about 50 headphones for the exhibition, and it must not be the cheapest model because the quality of the headphone will be highly important for the experience of the visitors. We need a model that is comfortable, well isolating from background noise, and has a natural (neutral) sound quality with a relatively wide soundstage so that one can enjoy the soundscape of nature and of birdsong. Preferably the headphones would have inbuilt microphones so that visitors can record their own voices and analyze them with birdsong analysis programs (e.g., producing spectrograms).
I tested the headphones using my Burson Conductor V2+ and also when directly connected to an iPhone or a MacBook. For testing I used all kinds of music that I currently listen to (mostly progressive rock and classical music), and I also used the following youtube resources that present nicely recorded European songbird / forest soundscapes:
My everyday headphone is a HD 800S, so it might be the case that I was unconsciously, or consciously, searching for a similar sound, and unsurprisingly 6 of the 8 tested models were Sennheisers. I also read the reviews by Tyll Hertsens (www.innerfidelity.com) and am therefore influenced by that. Please note I'm not a headphone professional so I simply write down my personal impressions.
I started with comparing two noise cancelling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II (ca. $350) and the Sennheiser PXC 550 (ca. $350). I must say that against my will I fell in love with the Bose. I liked the relatively coherent sound signature of the Bose, and I agree to Tyll that the PXC 550 has a "somewhat piercing mid-treble." I can imagine that the Sennheiser is meant to be equalized, and indeed there are a number of effect modes to choose from using a button on the headphone itself, and there is also a sophisticated smartphone app, so everybody is invited to adjust the sound signature to her needs. Unequalized, however, I prefer the Bose (which to my knowledge doesn't have effect modes nor EQ on the respective smartphone app).
A main reason why I prefer the Bose, however, is that I prefer its handling. All the buttons are large enough, while on the Sennheiser the buttons are so small that with my 47-year old eyes I can hardly read what is written on them. The Bose has traditional buttons for volume and for on-off, while the Sennheiser will be switched on as soon as you put the earcups in the right position (so if I put them on the table like that, the noise cancellation is still working). Also, noise cancellation is only about half as efficient in the Sennheiser. And last not least, I prefer the Bose earcups that offer more room for my ears.
I will probably keep the Bose for myself. But for the exhibition, we finally decided not to use active noise cancelling headphones: because they are more difficult to use, and visitors may inadvertently press some button; because, when used with a cable, everything seems a bit more damageable than with ordinary headphones (and without cable and with noise cancellation switched on, the headphones would need to be recharged too often); and because we might get a better sound quality for a cheaper price with passive noise cancelling (sealed) headphones, and with models without Bluetooth connection.
So the next model I tried was the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II (ca. $150). This is a classic on-ear sealed DJ headphone (the only on-ear model in the collection). I liked its general sound signature, but the soundstage was very small and the feeling was closed-in (probably normal for an on-ear headphone?). In comparison, the Audio Technica ATH-M50x (ca. $150) felt more open, but had somewhat recessed mids so that the sound appeared dry and slightly hollow to me. More importantly, while build quality was good, the position of the earcups of the ATH-M50x can be changed in so many ways that I could imagine some visitors of the exhibition might have problems with the handling. Also, both models do not have a micro, so I did not consider them further.
Next I tried the Sennheiser Momentum 2 (ca. $200), which apparently is optimized for use on the street, when there is background noise present. The Momentum sounded more engaging than the other headphones, with a pronounced and very low bass and detailed and pleasant heights. Among the 8 headphones, I consider the Momentum the best sounding headphone (together with another one that I will reveal in a sec). For our purpose, however, I found it less suitable because of the relatively smaller soundstage and the less neutral sound signature, because adjusting the height of the earpieces could be a bit tricky for inexperienced users, and because the earcups may be a bit small for visitors with large ears.
The last three headphones I tried were the Sennheisers HD 4.30 (ca.$80), HD 471 (ca. $60), and HD 569 (ca. $140). The HD 471 was recommended by Tyll as one of the best closed headphones below $100, and considering its price tag, it is really good. It sounds neutral, it is comfortable and lightweight, and, as Tyll wrote, it is "cheap done right." However, it may feel a bit too cheap for our purpose, and I thought the representation of birdsong had a small amount of harshness. The HD 4.30 feels a bit less cheap and has a smoother sound and softer earpads, but, like the Momentum, it seems to be made for a different purpose, i.e. for use on the street: it has emphasized bass and a smaller soundstage than the HD 471. Last not least, the earpads of the HD 4.30 enclose the ears very tightly, which I consider less suitable for usage by many different persons in an exhibition, while the earcups of the HD 471 have just the right size for my ears. So after all, the HD 471 would be my second best and cheaper option for our exhibition.
In the end, I selected the Sennheiser HD 569. This headphone is truly amazing. At a quite moderate price, I found that it offered the best sound among all 8 headphones: neutral, smooth and detailed, and while being well sealed against background noises, it sounds almost like an open headphone. The sound is not as direct as with the Momentum, and one has a nice feeling for the whole of the music, or, in our case, for the soundscape of nature and birdsong. The HD 569 had the most impressive soundstage among the 8 headphones, and in fact it comes closest to my HD 800S (although of course it is a closed headphone and has somewhat more bass, and less detail and openness than the HD 800S).
Indeed, the HD 569 nicely creates the illusion that you are in your own comfortable and spacious room together with a realistic sound source, which is exactly what we would like to achieve in our exhibition. The only things I could complain about are that my ears slightly touch the inside of the headphone, so the earpads could probably be a bit thicker; and it would be nice to have a volume control on the cable in addition to the microphone. Initially I was a bit worried that the earcups would be too large for smaller heads, so I gave it to three teenagers sitting on my sofa (between 13 and 17 years, two girls, one boy) without telling them anything about the headphones in advance. Among the three models HD 4.30, HD 471 and HD 569, they picked the HD 569 as the most comfortable and best sounding headphone for listening to the music of nature, and to human music as well.
I tested the headphones using my Burson Conductor V2+ and also when directly connected to an iPhone or a MacBook. For testing I used all kinds of music that I currently listen to (mostly progressive rock and classical music), and I also used the following youtube resources that present nicely recorded European songbird / forest soundscapes:
My everyday headphone is a HD 800S, so it might be the case that I was unconsciously, or consciously, searching for a similar sound, and unsurprisingly 6 of the 8 tested models were Sennheisers. I also read the reviews by Tyll Hertsens (www.innerfidelity.com) and am therefore influenced by that. Please note I'm not a headphone professional so I simply write down my personal impressions.
I started with comparing two noise cancelling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II (ca. $350) and the Sennheiser PXC 550 (ca. $350). I must say that against my will I fell in love with the Bose. I liked the relatively coherent sound signature of the Bose, and I agree to Tyll that the PXC 550 has a "somewhat piercing mid-treble." I can imagine that the Sennheiser is meant to be equalized, and indeed there are a number of effect modes to choose from using a button on the headphone itself, and there is also a sophisticated smartphone app, so everybody is invited to adjust the sound signature to her needs. Unequalized, however, I prefer the Bose (which to my knowledge doesn't have effect modes nor EQ on the respective smartphone app).
A main reason why I prefer the Bose, however, is that I prefer its handling. All the buttons are large enough, while on the Sennheiser the buttons are so small that with my 47-year old eyes I can hardly read what is written on them. The Bose has traditional buttons for volume and for on-off, while the Sennheiser will be switched on as soon as you put the earcups in the right position (so if I put them on the table like that, the noise cancellation is still working). Also, noise cancellation is only about half as efficient in the Sennheiser. And last not least, I prefer the Bose earcups that offer more room for my ears.
I will probably keep the Bose for myself. But for the exhibition, we finally decided not to use active noise cancelling headphones: because they are more difficult to use, and visitors may inadvertently press some button; because, when used with a cable, everything seems a bit more damageable than with ordinary headphones (and without cable and with noise cancellation switched on, the headphones would need to be recharged too often); and because we might get a better sound quality for a cheaper price with passive noise cancelling (sealed) headphones, and with models without Bluetooth connection.
So the next model I tried was the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II (ca. $150). This is a classic on-ear sealed DJ headphone (the only on-ear model in the collection). I liked its general sound signature, but the soundstage was very small and the feeling was closed-in (probably normal for an on-ear headphone?). In comparison, the Audio Technica ATH-M50x (ca. $150) felt more open, but had somewhat recessed mids so that the sound appeared dry and slightly hollow to me. More importantly, while build quality was good, the position of the earcups of the ATH-M50x can be changed in so many ways that I could imagine some visitors of the exhibition might have problems with the handling. Also, both models do not have a micro, so I did not consider them further.
Next I tried the Sennheiser Momentum 2 (ca. $200), which apparently is optimized for use on the street, when there is background noise present. The Momentum sounded more engaging than the other headphones, with a pronounced and very low bass and detailed and pleasant heights. Among the 8 headphones, I consider the Momentum the best sounding headphone (together with another one that I will reveal in a sec). For our purpose, however, I found it less suitable because of the relatively smaller soundstage and the less neutral sound signature, because adjusting the height of the earpieces could be a bit tricky for inexperienced users, and because the earcups may be a bit small for visitors with large ears.
The last three headphones I tried were the Sennheisers HD 4.30 (ca.$80), HD 471 (ca. $60), and HD 569 (ca. $140). The HD 471 was recommended by Tyll as one of the best closed headphones below $100, and considering its price tag, it is really good. It sounds neutral, it is comfortable and lightweight, and, as Tyll wrote, it is "cheap done right." However, it may feel a bit too cheap for our purpose, and I thought the representation of birdsong had a small amount of harshness. The HD 4.30 feels a bit less cheap and has a smoother sound and softer earpads, but, like the Momentum, it seems to be made for a different purpose, i.e. for use on the street: it has emphasized bass and a smaller soundstage than the HD 471. Last not least, the earpads of the HD 4.30 enclose the ears very tightly, which I consider less suitable for usage by many different persons in an exhibition, while the earcups of the HD 471 have just the right size for my ears. So after all, the HD 471 would be my second best and cheaper option for our exhibition.
In the end, I selected the Sennheiser HD 569. This headphone is truly amazing. At a quite moderate price, I found that it offered the best sound among all 8 headphones: neutral, smooth and detailed, and while being well sealed against background noises, it sounds almost like an open headphone. The sound is not as direct as with the Momentum, and one has a nice feeling for the whole of the music, or, in our case, for the soundscape of nature and birdsong. The HD 569 had the most impressive soundstage among the 8 headphones, and in fact it comes closest to my HD 800S (although of course it is a closed headphone and has somewhat more bass, and less detail and openness than the HD 800S).
Indeed, the HD 569 nicely creates the illusion that you are in your own comfortable and spacious room together with a realistic sound source, which is exactly what we would like to achieve in our exhibition. The only things I could complain about are that my ears slightly touch the inside of the headphone, so the earpads could probably be a bit thicker; and it would be nice to have a volume control on the cable in addition to the microphone. Initially I was a bit worried that the earcups would be too large for smaller heads, so I gave it to three teenagers sitting on my sofa (between 13 and 17 years, two girls, one boy) without telling them anything about the headphones in advance. Among the three models HD 4.30, HD 471 and HD 569, they picked the HD 569 as the most comfortable and best sounding headphone for listening to the music of nature, and to human music as well.
