Audio Tech Ad700 & Sennheiser 555: Expectations ?

[Folex]

I've been debating for the past 2 months on which pair I was going to get. Every time I looked online they had been 100+. I looked recently on amazon and I could get both + shipping for $180. With this I decided to order both and decide which one I like or keep both (not entirely sure). I'm currently using Sennheiser 212's and absolutely love the bass but the mids and highs are really lacking. I know the 555's and ad700's are opened vs my closed 212 but from people's experience what should i expect from the 555's and ad700's ? Am I going to need an amp for either ? I plan on using them for games and music (looking for clean deep bass along with clear mids/highs)

 

[GALACTUS]

I owned the AD700's for about 2 months. I sold them like a fool. Great imaging and soundstaging - especially for 1st persion shooter games. They had better localization for games than my AKG 701's and senn HD650's. The highs to me were very clear but a touch bright for music. For music, the bass was just too lacking. I ran them out of a Denon 3805 receiver. They shouldn't need an amp for games and music. I had (gave to my dad) an 595. Bass is MUCH stronger and very on those than the AD700. Very good mids and highs. I greatly prefered these for music over the AD700's. Imaging not as good as the AD700. I would imagine the 555's should sound similiar to the 595's, but maybe not as refined. You should not need an amp for these either. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Folex]

So it sounds like Ad700's for gaming and 555's for music ?

 

[JayB18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Folex /img/forum/go_quote.gif So it sounds like Ad700's for gaming and 555's for music ?

I like the AD700 more for music and gaming than the HD555. The AD700 bass isn't as strong as the HD555 but the mids/treble are more fun and energetic sounding. It is overall a more lively headphone with better separation, soundstage, detail, clarity, and speed.

 

[chinesekiwi]

tbh, I dislike the HD555. Not because it' a bad headphone, but more it does nothing well. There are others in the HD555's price range that beat it in music and others that beat it in gaming i.e. AD700's.

 

[Kenix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif tbh, I dislike the HD555. Not because it' a bad headphone, but more it does nothing well. There are others in the HD555's price range that beat it in music and others that beat it in gaming i.e. AD700's.

I've had the HD555s since April and agree that they are a jack-of-all-trades pair of headphones in the $100 range. They don't shine in any category but do everything decently well. If I had to name its strongest points, the top five would be looks, comfort, tight bass, classical music, and durability. Overall I like mine

Edit: And weak points would be:
1. no isolation - Even at low volume, my roommate can hear my leaked music perfectly clearly
2. the headband is tight at first, easily solved by leaving the cans wrapped around something while they burn in
3. 1/4" cable end. I had to buy a 1/4"to 1/8" converter from Sennheiser ($8 w/ shipping I believe)
4. Some songs lack volume (not loudness...think volumizing shampoo) in my opinion

 

[Zaubertuba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Folex /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been debating for the past 2 months on which pair I was going to get. Every time I looked online they had been 100+. I looked recently on amazon and I could get both + shipping for $180. With this I decided to order both and decide which one I like or keep both (not entirely sure). I'm currently using Sennheiser 212's and absolutely love the bass but the mids and highs are really lacking. I know the 555's and ad700's are opened vs my closed 212 but from people's experience what should i expect from the 555's and ad700's ? Am I going to need an amp for either ? I plan on using them for games and music (looking for clean deep bass along with clear mids/highs)

You're in a unique position to be able to audition both of these. I agonized weeks between the two and finally settled on the 555's because most of my listening is Classical, Jazz, and TV/Movies. Modded and balanced, my 555's sound "suh-weet!" However, FWIH, AD700's are reputed to be clearer in the highs, and have perhaps better deep bass extension (though amped the bass of the 555's is good IMO).

I would say give each a fair listen--I would also say listen/burn-in both for at least 30 hours before making your final decision. I can't speak to the AD700's, but the HD 555's do improve signifigantly with burn-in.

Either way, you won't find it difficult to resell either. If you do keep the HD 555's, there's a number of mods you can do--but wait and see if they are your "cup of tea" first.

 

[i_love_hina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Folex /img/forum/go_quote.gif So it sounds like Ad700's for gaming and 555's for music ?

More like AD700's for gaming and AD700's for music.

 

[MrGreen]

AD700 for both
the 555 is a horrible headphone

 

[chinesekiwi]

but tbh though, the M50 beats the AD700 for music as well as the Shure SRH440.....
Both are much more balanced and less coloured.

 

[Folex]

I really do appreciate all this feedback. I got looking at the return policy and if the headphones are opened they charge a whooping 50% restocking fee. With that said I think regardless I'm going to keep both.

In the professional gaming world it seems a majority of them use the 555's. From this it seems like a logical conclusion is 555's are better for gaming. But then I got looking over the reviews for the Ad700's a lot of the cons were " I don't like the pink/purple" color. Which leads me to believe a lot of people hate on the ad700's due to color.

What upgrades can be done to either, and what do they improve ?

 

[MrGreen]

The AD900 is one of the few "direct upgrades" over a headphone.
If you can afford the 555 and the ad700, you might be able to afford the ad700.
Beyond that there isnt too much you can do to either (they wont scale particularly well with amps).
Dacs are a possiblity, but the value for money will be relatively low and not that applicable for gaming.
Get a decent soundcard for gaming (something like the prelude/forte) and the AD700 or AD900. IMO

 

[dweaver]

I think the Senn's are much easier to buy as alot of brick and mortor stores carry them. This combined with the color of the AD700 might make them more popular, they also will stay on your head more firmly (to firmly for my liking) so if you jerk your head while playing games they may be a better choice.

Personally I like the sound of the AD700 MUCH MORE than the HD555, the 555 just had too veiled a midrange and were to laid back for me. I also think the AD700 have better bass extension than the HD555 (the HD555 come across as boomy do to a bit of a midbass hump).

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dweaver /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the Senn's are much easier to buy as alot of brick and mortor stores carry them. This combined with the color of the AD700 might make them more popular, they also will stay on your head more firmly (to firmly for my liking) so if you jerk your head while playing games they may be a better choice. Personally I like the sound of the AD700 MUCH MORE than the HD555, the 555 just had too veiled a midrange and were to laid back for me. I also think the AD700 have better bass extension than the HD555 (the HD555 come across as boomy do to a bit of a midbass hump).

I think the main issue is that a lot of people have heard of sennheister and instantly associate it with "great sound". Of course, this isnt necessarily true as I personally find that sennheiser sounds fairly mediocre overall until you start spending big bucks on the HD600, HD800, HE60 etc

 

[dweaver]

The AD900 is a nice upgrade over the AD700 and it may fit your needs as a single headphone, but I do have to say that while it is tighter than the AD700 it is still a bit loose (at least on my head), if you have a regular-larger head though this will be a non-issue (my bean is slightly smaller than alot of peoples).

The AD900 really does need alot of burnin to get the bass response up though (the AD700 may also need this but I can't say for sure since my AD700 were used when I got them).

For me though, now that my AD900 are breaking in to their full potential, they are the only headphones I like to wear in the house (I am starting to using a pair of Klipsch S4 IEM's when out and about and at work).