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Are the HD595's any good?
Jul 10, 2010 at 12:33 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 25
Arkano5

Arkano5

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I've heard lots of reports and reviews of the HD595's, all of them praising the headphones but most of them commenting on the bass.
 
I was curious as to whether anyone here with the HD595's could comment on the bass performance? Will the bass be enough for listening to the likes of Electric (e.g. Pendulum), rock and, well pretty much everything else - I have no specific musical taste. I also plan on using whatever I buy for late-night gaming too and I've seen many gamer reviews praising the 595's.
 
If you're going to suggest any other 'phones, please make sure they're under £120/$180, I'm on a much tighter budget than I had anticipated.
 
Jul 10, 2010 at 12:43 PM Post #2 of 25
i found the hd595 bass to be somewhat wanting from a portable (ipod for example).
but, amped with a portable amp, it came out somewhat.
 
i must say, tho, you can do better than the hd595 with your budget.
there are some cans that have emerged in the last couple years, and even more that have dropped in price.
and the hd595, still running around $180 new, looks slightly overpriced now.
 
look into:
 
shure srh840 ($199, but can be found for as cheap as $150.  neutral closed can with some thump)
audio technica ath-m50 ($100 new.  bass heavy closed can with very fun s.s.)
fischer audio fa-003 ($180 very neutral closed can from russia that is said to compete with senn hd600)
 
 
there are, literally, dozens of headphones in the $200 region that i would put ahead of the hd595.
 
Jul 10, 2010 at 6:30 PM Post #3 of 25
^, for that budget you can do better. 
 
if you can get it used for around 120$US then its a good buy.  If not, dont buy it new at 180$ as you can do better than that for such a high price, heck, you can still do better right here on head fi and hope to find someone to ship to you.  For that price you can get some MS2s or an ultrasone Pro 750
 
lots of choices
 
Jul 11, 2010 at 11:29 AM Post #5 of 25
No one should ever buy the 595. If you want it, get the 555 and remove the foam tape. Saves you $60 or so.
 
Jul 11, 2010 at 12:22 PM Post #6 of 25


Quote:
slaughter said:
No one should ever buy the 595. If you want it, get the 555 and remove the foam tape. Saves you $60 or so.
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I've been criticized for saying something with the argument that the 595 has a nicer finish and comes with the cup holder (which I love by the way), which for some people might be valuable, but for pure sound quality per dollar you are right. 
 
For the OP, personally for music and gaming (unamped) for under $180 I would take the 5x5 (since your budget seems a concern I would take the 555 and mod them if necessary). They are overall balanced and have good imaging for gaming. About the bass, the quantity is not a lot, although relative to other frequencies it is not as relatively recessed as other headphones (say K701, where the bass is there but treble is at higher volume so it seems like there is less bass), and it is actually a pretty good quality bass, pretty tight (and gets very tight if you amp them IME).
 
Jul 11, 2010 at 3:09 PM Post #7 of 25


Quote:
For the OP, personally for music and gaming (unamped) for under $180 I would take the 5x5 (since your budget seems a concern I would take the 555 and mod them if necessary). They are overall balanced and have good imaging for gaming. About the bass, the quantity is not a lot, although relative to other frequencies it is not as relatively recessed as other headphones (say K701, where the bass is there but treble is at higher volume so it seems like there is less bass), and it is actually a pretty good quality bass, pretty tight (and gets very tight if you amp them IME).
Click to expand...

 
Could you possibly provide a link to the 5x5's please? I can't seem to find them anywhere, unless it was a typo.

Also, what amps would you recommend? I don't plan on purchasing an amp anytime soon, but it's nice to have some sort of idea of what to look at further down the line.
 
Jul 11, 2010 at 3:32 PM Post #9 of 25


Quote:
arkano5 said:
 
Could you possibly provide a link to the 5x5's please? I can't seem to find them anywhere, unless it was a typo.

Also, what amps would you recommend? I don't plan on purchasing an amp anytime soon, but it's nice to have some sort of idea of what to look at further down the line.
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Oh, I should put a disclaimer whenever I do that, I was referring to either the 555 or 595 (since the middle digit is the one that changes I say 5x5 since technically they are the same headphone), sorry for the confusion 
tongue.gif
.
 
When I was new I bought the Apogee Duet to pair it with the 595, it was pretty good, the main improvements were that the bass got tighter and everything got more detailed, it was nice but not necessary by any measure, the unamped 595 is not far from how it sounds amped (unlike Sennheiser's higher end offerings), other options can be emu 0404, headroom total bithead or a Little Dot II, all under $200 (I think) that can give you some improvement and let you judge if you want to get a bigger or better amp for the 595.
 
Jul 11, 2010 at 5:54 PM Post #13 of 25
I sold my HD-595's a while back and sorta regret it. Great cans. But IMHO, they need to be amped a 'little'. An iPod doesn't do them justice. Very warm. Comfortable. I was not a fan of their plastic construction (they tend to crack at the sides, but I'm not one to baby my headphones, so that might be my bad). If you afford them. Get em. They are great cans that make most music sound really good.
 
Jul 11, 2010 at 6:55 PM Post #14 of 25
Not trying to beat a dead horse here, but why the 595 over the 555? If you are not comfortable removing a couple screws, I understand, but they have the same sound quality. I just hate to see people waste money.
 
Quote:
arkano5 said:
Ahh I see :wink:.
 
Thanks alot for the help, I'm planning on ordering the 595's sometime this week. I'm sure they'll be a direct upgrade from my old HD212 Pro's.
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Jul 11, 2010 at 10:12 PM Post #15 of 25
the Hd555 drivers are inside the hd595
 
the difference in sound comes from design, not the drivers.  Also, if you are considering the 555/595, you should stop right now and go get the AD700
 
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