[Trilex56]

Hello

Ok, I'm buying some senn headphones, and my options are (based on budget at the moment and availability in nearby stores) HD485 and HD515, and If the motivation was strong I guess I could order 555 and pay the extra price.

Just to give a rough idea of the prices in my country/town
485 and 515 both are about 135 in US dollars, while 55 would be about 40 dollars more. I'm sure these are pretty high, but customs and shipping would probably bring the cost even higher if I ordered from some cheaper store from other countries.

So my question is, since the price of 485 and 515 is the same,
which would be a better choice and why

And another question would 555 we worth waiting for the order and paying extra 40 bucks, or is the difference not that big in sound quality.

I guess what I'm looking for is a good high frequency response, deep and warm bass, and general "musicality" or "warmness" if you will of the mid-tones (so it doesn't sound "hollow")
I know I'm not being very technical here, and perhaps I'm not good with words. But your opinion and impressions of any kind would be just fine

thanks

 

[QQQ]

Go for 555, either 515 or 485 are mediocre.

 

[TAF94]

HD485 is far more dynamic and fun for music than HD555 imo.

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

I agree. I would go for the 485.

 

[Trilex56]

thanks

but since we have such polarized opinion here, it would be helpful if you explained why you feel about it the way you do

 

[Al Paccioli]

HD485 has more bass impact.

 

[Trilex56]

I forgot to mention, my previous headphones were Sony MDR-CD-480

What kind of change can I expect in regards to these previous headphones

 

[Trilex56]

Ok I bought HD485, all is great, except one thing

It seems to exaggerate a certain frequency range, so everytime someone says S it makes my ears hurt. It's not just that it's exaggerated but if feels like when someone is making that chalk-on-board screeching sound, very unpleasant.
I have to EQ down those frequencies in some songs.

Is this something that goes away after burning in, or have I bought the coldest high frequency reproduction phones.

 

[jaykay]

make sure you have all previous EQ's disabled and are listening to the phones from a flat EQ to begin with. If that doesn't fix the problem, then perhaps try the headphones with another source, such as an mp3 player or cd player. If the problem persists theres a chance that you received a bad pair, but there could always be some other hard to determine problem. Hope you resolve your issue and have a great time with your new phones

 

[Trilex56]

I've tried it with various sources and I never use any kind of EQ modification with the sound, and it just seems that it has a terrible way of reproducing white noise. I've tried using synth white noise generator to see how that turns out (because that's the closes thing to S sounds in a song) and it just seems to resonate somehow, like an out of tune TV station.

I don't have this problem with my old Sony phones, or even with a cheap Phillips 40 dollar phones. Both of them play white noise in an even fashion, but senn seems to blow it out of proportion giving some kind of metallic resonant sound.

when I turn on EQ and turn down the range at around 10K, then it goes back to normal. But I really have to turn it down a lot in order to get white noise to play pleasant enough.

Seems there is a boom around 10K

I think the frequency response curve for these cans backs that up, but I didn't expect it to be this unpleasant.

 

[QQQ]

555 way better than other two. 485 is simple boom-boom and 515 is kinda death. You can actually listen to music in 555, not so much in other two.

 

[jona.p]

Return them and get the 555 !;p.
The harsh sound I think is called sibilance. Maybe it's your source files. 128kbits mp3?

I used to get alot of sibilance with replaygain on, once I turned that off it was better for me.

Goodluck!

 

[Trilex56]

No 128kbit mp3s, I've been testing with some 24-bit 48khz wav files. But I haven't tested it with any analog sources yet, which I think will be a lot more flattering on these particular headphones I've got a 1/4inch reel to reel somewhere on my attic and some music on tapes I think, so I'll see how it sounds with that thing.
I've got a feeling that these would add some brilliance to smoother analog sources, while
adding a little too much brilliance to standard CD's which are usually already processed so that they sound bright and sharp, and these are just a little too "energetic" on the higher end.

Also these reveal MUCH more flaws in recordings than any previous headphones I've head, so maybe I'm simply hearing the limitations of standard-res digital playback for the first time lol

 

[Mulo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by QQQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Go for 555, either 515 or 485 are mediocre.

You're wrong. The HD515 may be mediocre, but there's nothing mediocre about the HD485. In fact, it is the best headphone under 100 euro that I know of. It's good for everything (I like it with acoustical music & such). I enjoy it a lot!

 

[Mulo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by QQQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif 485 is simple boom-boom

What?