[MarkLR]

I had the creatives for 3 years already. Now I got the Sennheiser HD558, paid 120€ for them, 3 times the price of the creatives (6 times considering today's price of 20€), and I expected MUCH better sound. The creatives sound a little bit bassier and maybe "muddier", and the Senn sound a little bit clearer, but, after about 2 days of listening I still prefer the sound of the Creative. The Sennheiser have a harsh, loud sound in the higher frequencies and they become uncomfortable after a while, they really make me feel like I'm damagin my ears, so I have to turn down the volume, but then they sound totally flat at lower volume. The Creative are more "laid back", easier to listen to. I heard the Sennheiser were going to have "amazing soundstage", like the sound came from speakers, but they don't sound more open than the Creative. I really don't feel this amazing soundstage, even if on the Senn the sound leaks out like I'm listening to speakers. The Sennheiser are WAY louder than the creative, even if they have more impedence, thank god I didn't waste money on an amp too, I was led to believe that an amp was heavily recommended for these. On the Creative I can max out the volume and they sound loud but manageable, if I were to do that on the Sennheiser, I would go deaf in a second.
 
Also, I notice than the sennheiser have louder sound on the right speaker (connected both headphones with a splitter, and the creative sound balanced), so maybe they are defective too. I even removed the foam and they sound exactly the same. I'm starting to feel severe buyer's remorse.
 
Should I send them back to the store, or wait for the mythical "burn in" to kick in in a few days? I have 30 days to send them back and get a refund anyway, but I'd rather get rid of them and buy some new PS3 games with the money.

 

[129207]

Welcome to Head-Fi. Burn in won't cure them. Get your money back and enjoy your Creative.

 

[MarkLR]

Quote:

Welcome to Head-Fi. Burn in won't cure them. Get your money back and enjoy your Creative.

The problem is that I wanted better sound, as I think the creative sound like ****. These sound a little better when it comes to clarity but their sound is so aggressive on the ears while lacking on bass quite a lot, a combination I really don't like. So I have to say that while the Creative sound like **** the Sennheiser HD558 sound like utter ****, and they cost so much too!
 
Maybe I have bad ears, I'm pretty sure many of you won't even touch a pair of creative, especially the fatal1ty, but I prefer them to the Sennheiser, so far. I was wondering if someone also had them and felt like they were terrible at first but they got better with time after they used them for a while.

 

[2enty3]

If you're really keen on not returning them and are willing to spend sometime with your Senn's, I could suggest that you just use the Senn's very often and get your ears used to the high treble. Then maybe you might like it.
 
But obviously, this is quite a risky move, because in the end, you might feel the same as you do now.
 
I mention this because i did this with the K701's, which I thought were overly bright when I first got them, but after using them constantly for about a week or two, I was able to get used to the brightness and now I have no trouble with brightness on any headphone.
 
But I was lucky in a sense, Because now I love my 701's. It's up to you. Keep your money or gamble with your ears.

 

[sidel]

IMO:  if you don't like it now burn in isn't going to magically cure things.
If it isn't what you wanted it most likely never will be.  Move on and return them.
 
Maybe try the Creative Aurvana Live.  They're cheaper, bassy, and warm.  (a nice contrast from the senns- perhaps more so what you expected)

 

[MarkLR]

After a few days of using them, I kinda got used to the sound, but it was still too loud and aggressive at decent volume, those headphones make me feel like I'm damaging my ears. At good volume the sound is so aggressive and loud it's almost deafening with ear piercing highs and loud mids, but if I turn down the volume they sound flat and lifeless. I returned them, but now that I experienced "slightly less muddier sound" my Creative feel even crappier than before. Oh well, at least they are listenable without feeling my ears raped. I guess I will have to try the headphones before I buy them. Thank god Amazon will refund me and I won't lose any money.
 
I don't recommend these 'phones to anyone, they are just bad and terribly overpriced for the crappy aggressive sound they produce with every device:
tested with PC, Macbook, PS3, PSP, my old Technics hi fi system and Creative Zen. Always the same aggresssive ear damaging sound, no amp needed as they are mega loud already.
 
(I actually didn't return them here, I filled in the forms at amazon but then changed my mind)

 

[Arleus]

I think you might be a bit of an anomaly in your experiences. When you say that they're 'too loud at decent volume', the only thing I can think of is that you're trying to match the volume of the bass to your Creatives, and I guess the bass on the Sennheisers has less presence than the Creatives, so it needs to be turned up more. Otherwise, loudness and volume are pretty similar concepts, especially in the midrange.
 
If you're looking for a bass headphone, with a laid back midrange and treble, I'm sure some other Head-fiers will be able to put forth some more recommendations. At least from this experience you've been able to narrow down the sound signature you like. Think positive.

 

[titaniumx3]

It's also possible that you have become accustomed to the poor clarity of the Creatives and your perception of sound has been altered to compensate for this.
 
Now that you have headphones that do have good clarity (especially in the midrange and treble), you brain is basically overcompensating and hence the sound from the Sennheisers seems too aggressive and loud.
 
Put it this way, your brain is like a big equaliser and it will actively change your perception of sound to your liking, but it takes time to adjust or 'calibrate' your perception. Since you've already stated that you have become somewhat used to the sound of the Sennheisers, it makes sense that your brain is slowly calibrating your perception of sound to suit the Sennheisers. Give it more time and I bet you'll love them eventually.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

After a few days of using them, I kinda got used to the sound, but it was still too loud and aggressive at decent volume, those headphones make me feel like I'm damaging my ears. At good volume the sound is so aggressive and loud it's almost deafening with ear piercing highs and loud mids, but if I turn down the volume they sound flat and lifeless. I returned them, but now that I experienced "slightly less muddier sound" my Creative feel even crappier than before. Oh well, at least they are listenable without feeling my ears raped. I guess I will have to try the headphones before I buy them. Thank god Amazon will refund me and I won't lose any money.
 
I don't recommend these 'phones to anyone, they are just bad and terribly overpriced for the crappy aggressive sound they produce with every device:
tested with PC, Macbook, PS3, PSP, my old Technics hi fi system and Creative Zen. Always the same aggresssive ear damaging sound, no amp needed as they are mega loud already.

Get cans with smoother / less analytical treble. Ones like AIAIAI TMA1, Shure SRH840, Sony ZX700.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Were these being used for gaming or for music?
 
Very best,

 

[johnnyw]

I wouldn't go so far as to not recommend these to others and call the aggressive sound "crappy". A lot of people do enjoy a brighter sound, and in fact the HD 558 is hardly "aggressive" compared to some other higher end headphones out there. As others are saying, it seemed like you were trying to turn up the Senn's to the point where their bass matched the bass output of the fatal1tys, which have a more relaxed, bassier sound, but that's not really the point. You may just be unaccustomed to hearing so much mids and trebles when coming from your Creatives, and associating this sudden change as crappy sound (I know I went through this phase too).
 
Be aware that most higher-end headphones tend to emphasize the the mids and highs more than the Creatives would, so it's something that you'll need to become accustomed to if you want to move up the ladder. Regardless, there's been some suggestions by others already that can get you started. And then, one day if you become accustomed to brighter sounds, perhaps you may revisit the HD 558's again .
 
On a side note, it does seem as if your pair may have been defective if the sound was louder from one side than the other. It's up to you if you want to revisit and try again.

 

[wind016]

Return the Sennheisers or be welcome to the idea of adopting a good equalizer. Through my Anedio D1, my previous HD598 were certainly speaker-like but much of the time, I shelved down the upper frequencies. The HD598's soundstage collapsed when plugged through my computer out or iPhone. Generally, headphones with large soundstage capabilities benefit more from a DAC than a headphone with small soundstage IME, but the HD598 certainly lacks a bit in the bass department. However, most open headphones, I've tried were even worse in the bass than the HD598.
 
Hell, even Sony Extra Bass ear buds sound good to me. Read reviews and trust your instinct. No headphone is worth it unless the sound signature matches what you want.

 

[MarkLR]

First of all, let me thank everyone for your explanations and support. Anyway, I kept the Senns all this time, I wanted to get used to them, then switch back to the Fatal1ty (I had a month to send them back anyway) to see if they were any crappier. Today I went back to the fatal1ty (I also "modded" them by removing the red plastic to make them more open, like I read in a review on this site), and I felt like "welcome back". They just sound better all around. Good bass (I think the mod reduced it a bit, now it's not as overpowering as before, but it's still way stronger than the Senns), the mids are a bit less detailed but still good and way less aggressive, and laid back highs so they don't pierce my ears. Soundstage, like I said earlier, I can't notice a lot of difference, not even on binaural recording. Before, the Senns felt quite more open, but now, I don't know if it's placebo effect or what, but after the mod the Creative feel way less congested and the sound is more, well, open. Both have the same level of opennes in my opinion. Clarity is better on the Senns but it's not that bad on the Creative and noticeable only in very complex sounds. A good song I used to test this is Emil/Karma from the Nier soundtrack. On the Sennheisers the drums are more detailed and the voice sharper, on the Creative the drums have more impact due to better bass, the voice is more laid back but still sounds very good.
 
I'm not very good at describing this, also English is not my first language, but if I had to describe the sound of the Sennheiser it would be "cheap", they lact impact, the sound is colder and flat. The Creative are less detailed, but warmer, more balanced, the sound is fuller, but less detailed.
 
Anyway, I also have a pair of AKG K319 earbuds, and I think they sound great, even though they are very lacking in the bass department. The AKG earbuds are also very detailed but I like how they sound (I use them with the foams, or they sound way too bright), so it's not like I must have mega bass to like the sound.
 
Bottom line, the Sennheiser HD558 are incredibly disappointing. You pay over 4 times the price of the creatives, and they don't sound any better.  Don't know if this analysis could be useful to anyone, but I just wanted to give my impressions as these 'phones don't have a lot of reviews.
 
To answer to MalVeauX, I used them for both gaming and music, gaming on PC and PS3, music on PC. I tested them with other devices to see if they needed an amp, but they sound loud (way louder than the Creative) with everything, even the PSP and the Zen. I didn't use any amp or anything, direct connection with the device. For both of them, on PC, I tuned the equalizer in Foobar2k to make them sound as good as possible.

 

[derbigpr]

HD558's are in a completely different league compared to Creative's, absolutely no comparison, and if 558's dont sound any better than creatives, then the problem lies somewhere else, not in the headphones themselves.
 
1) What kind of source do you have?  If you use them with onboard sound card on PC, dont expect good sound. 
 
2) What kind of music format do you use? You wont really notice a difference if you listen to 128 kbps MP3's trough winamp. Use foobar2000 or something similar and get some properly good sounding records.... like http://avaxhome.ws/hraphile/Various_Artists_Blue_Coast_Collection_The_ESE_Sessions_24_96.html  Buy it, of course.
Also, keep your equalizer settings (if you use them) to default.
 
3) How long have you used them? 558's needs well over 200 hours of burn in, and then they start to mellow down and become darker and smoother, also, you need to give your ears and brain time to adjust to the sound. DON'T force yourself to listen at high volumes. Mine have 500 hours of burn-in, and they sound completely different compared to new 558's.
 
4) Have you modded them? Removing the foam inside (google for 558 / 555 mod) will make the bass considerably stronger.
 
5) You DO need a proper amp.  If you think the only thing an amp will do is make your headphones louder, then you're very wrong.  You said they sound flat on low volumes. Well thats because you dont put enough power into them.
 
Have a look at this graph:

You see how much more power they need from 40 Hz to about 150Hz (bass area) ? Impedance jumps from 50 ohms to almost 300 ohms. Thats why you're getting no bass.
NOTE:  if you check any other headphones in this price range , you will see that none of them have such spikes in impedance vs. frequency graphs, instead their graphs are flat. Why that is...I dont know, but its obvious 558's like power to shine in low-freq area.
 
Buy an entry level head amp....like Fiio E9 or Pro-ject head box, and you will hear a huge difference in bass. Then buy a proper sound card or DAC, and you will hear an even bigger difference in clarity, smoothness and soundstage.  Dont get fooled by their low impedance on paper and dont believe those who say "they're easy to run".
 
Yes, they will go pretty loud without an amp, but they wont sound nearly as good as they do with a proper amp.
 
Read my review on HD558's and you'll see I felt the same as you, until i realized i was getting 50% of their potential. Now, after about 9 months, I absolutely love them. They're very comfortable, bass is just right, mids are full and mellow, and highs are smooth and crystal clear.  Very nice to listen, very addictive sound signature.
 
My friend recently bought new 558's because he liked mine, and mine ((flac's > foobar2000 > asus xonar stx > fiio e9 > headphones) sound MUCH better than his.
 
However, even after the mod, DON'T expect subwoofer style bass, because you'll never get that from open headphones. You'll only get natural sounding bass, which will never be overpowering, but it will always be present and satisfying.

 

[c64]

Sennheiser are overrated below the hd600 I found hd555 and hd595 totally mediocre you should have got goldring dr150 or ns1000