[Aynjell]

I just wanted to say this, I think we should come up with a name for the modded HD595. Should we call them HD594? Accoustically they're the 595 in all but name after mod, so the only thing we're missing is that 001 worth of comfort, or whatever the hell the 595 gives you anyway.
 
Also, I bought a pair.

 

[lazyjae]

Quote:

yeah i know they sounded horrible at first and i thought i got jipped.  but then after they burned in i was like wow these are worth way more than the price i paid.

It sure is comforting to read that it'll get better. I'm actually enjoying the 555's more than my M50's both right out of the box ATM. M50's sound horrid too. When I got my HD280's I was so impressed by the sound immediately so I was a bit shocked by these two. The 555's are definitely comfy though.

 

[JosephKim]

Ive been getting this nagging feeling lately that some members just cant tell what good sound is because of how theyre born. Of course, sound is subjective but quality not so much.
 
Have you ever been in a choir and the person next to you is completely off key and cant realize it? Silly example

 
Like Ill read reviews and then listen to the product and I think, 'Seriously?'. These headphones are ok but without drastic change with burn in I dont see why theyve gotten so much praise.
 
Not trying to be mean or anything

. Bottom line is its great for people to enjoy music in whatever way they can. If this means convincing themselves they can hear things for the sake of a hobby so be it.

 

[Renulin]

I think I get what you're saying. My brother and sister are both tone-deaf, my brother doesn't really care, but my sister is oblivious to it.
 
They both don't care a bit about audio quality, 128kbs mp3's on laptop speakers and ibuds.

 

[lazyjae]

Quote:

Ive been getting this nagging feeling lately that some members just cant tell what good sound is because of how theyre born. Of course, sound is subjective but quality not so much.
 
Have you ever been in a choir and the person next to you is completely off key and cant realize it? Silly example

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Like Ill read reviews and then listen to the product and I think, 'Seriously?'. These headphones are ok but without drastic change with burn in I dont see why theyve gotten so much praise.
 
Not trying to be mean or anything

" class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//biggrin.gif" title="

" width="" />. Bottom line is its great for people to enjoy music in whatever way they can. If this means convincing themselves they can hear things for the sake of a hobby so be it.

Don't mean to get off topic here but is your avatar of Priscilla Ahn?

 

[JosephKim]

lol yes priscilla ahn. I saw her do some shows

. Listening to her cds vs live isnt even comparable. Live, her voice gives you an out of body experience.

 

[lazyjae]

Yeah, she does have an amazing voice. I can spot her even with her face covered by her bony/lanky arms. rofl

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I think I might have to do that mod sooner than I thought. The sound at current is pure crap. lol, I've been reading people complaining about the Senn's before burn-in but never did I think it'd sound this bad. Can't wait till 100 hours.

What's your source? They sounded horrible out of my iPod Touch 3G. But, as I said above, they sound very good out of my Xonar DX without any burn in. Though I don't doubt burn-in will help these out, I think they just need a proper source...

 

[lazyjae]

I'm listening off my pc stereos (Roland stereo micro monitor M-8). When I had my HD280's plugged in to them, they sounded awesome so I don't think it's the source. The good thing about these stereos is it has great bass and nice clarity and controls for bass and treble.
 
How long have you had yours hans?

 

[lazyjae]

I've been debating on whether I should send my 280's in for repair but now I think I'm going to definitely have to so I can listen for comparisons..

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I'm listening off my pc stereos (Roland stereo micro monitor M-8). When I had my HD280's plugged in to them, they sounded awesome so I don't think it's the source. The good thing about these stereos is it has great bass and nice clarity and controls for bass and treble.
 
How long have you had yours hans?

I just got mine in yesterday. And if I had to guess, I'd say running your headphones from your monitors is probably not doing the HD555s justice. 

 

[yellowjeep]

 
Quote:

Yep I think these will stay my work headphones

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" width="" />

Quote:

lol i think he just meant he got them shipped to his work.  i doubt they will stay there.  the hd555 are great all-arounders for everything.  the perfect headphone for starting out in the audiophile world i think.

Correct.
 
It seems like a lot of people in this thread have the 280s in addition to 555s. I have the 280s and thought they sounded a little crappy out of the box but after blu tacking them and burning them in for a long time with pink noise I think they sound a whole lot better.  Out of the box the 555s sound as least as good to me as the 280s do now. I realize that I don't have very much experience but the way things sound is subjective and to me they sound very good. I am going to wait a little while to do the foam mod so I have a reference. First order of business is to terminate the cable with a 3.5mm jack. I never expected the adapter to be as intrusive as is.
 
So to me 75 dollars well spent and I look forward to modding the crap out of them. Thanks again to the OP 

 

[Aynjell]

Even though I'm the go to guy for my friends, I'd still consider myself starting out, but that is not why I bought these today. I bought them because I wanted a Sennheiser to round out my collection a bit, and the HD555 should provide the Sennheiser house sound on my Little Dot I+, which would not be able to drive a pair of HD650's, which I do see in my future (within the next year if I can help it).
 
When I get mine, I'll do the day one mod to get the full HD595 sound, but I probably will not do the sound stage mod. I just wanted a cheaper HD595, to be truthful. After that, I'll hook 'em up to a decent system (dell zino -> Headroom Total Bithead -> HD555) and let 'em rip some pink noise for a week. After a week, I'll give 'em a go and see what they can do on that setup, then migrate it back to the desktop tube rig. 

 

[lazyjae]

My 280's sounded clearer and much more balanced than the 555's from experience. I could hear the fine details in the music while with the 555's everything is just very muddy ATM and the sound stage, not very wide but still a bit wider than the M50. Only time will tell.
 
@hans
 
I don't think it's the source but I may be wrong. I've never had to have any headphones/earphones amped before and I thoroughly enjoyed them. There's just no way the 280's could sound that much better than both 555's and M50 - and right out of the box. Before my purchases, I'd been listening to some very cheap, crappy earphones too. But these 2 sounded worse than the earphone. But with classical music (Vivaldi Winter) after messing around with the EQ the 555's performed pretty nice. Nothing is too overpowering except for the high end and I had to lower the bass. It's weird because I always considered myself a bass head. I'm the type to turn the bass up all the way on just about everything. Then again, I had the bass of the stereo on Max and the stereo bass is quite powerful.
 
I firmly believe that I just need to give these babies some time like 90% of the head-fiers are touting.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazyjae /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I don't think it's the source but I may be wrong. I've never had to have any headphones/earphones amped before and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I had never needed to use an amp before these either. They're only 50ohms, so I figured my iPod could power them fairly easily. I'd used my HA-RX900s on them before, and they have a similar (or higher) impedance than these. The iPod powered those fine. The HD555s get loud enough through my iPod, but they just sound terrible. I didn't think switching to my Xonar DX would make much of a difference, but it really did. But, who knows, maybe yours are powered fine and the sound just isn't your thing.