[Qrius]

hd595 or a900 k well ive been reading up on alot of head-fi and it seems that these are the best and most popular out of the bunch.

now all i need to know is which one gives best overall bass for gaming, which has the best sound positioning for gaming, which has the best performance for all types of music??

i like the a900's quality of materials used(looks a bit cumbersome).
i like the 595's design and soft pads(the materials they used for the housing and the headband seems a bit cheaper than the a900's).

head-fi has given me the dreaded upgrade syndrome... i ordered a pair of hd 280's over the weekend and canceled that, now im down to these two... someone please help me, all i need is the answer.

thnx in advance

 

[909]

I own the A900, so I can only comment as to my opinions and experience with these cans, which I've had for a year or so.

With respect to the bass, these cans pack a punch. The bass is powerful, pretty tight, but sometimes at least for my listening preferences it can be overpowering especially depending on the type of music and recording. Mind you I am not a big bass head.

A900 have a very good soundstage so I assume positioning for games would be quite good as well.

They are easy to drive so no amp is required.

And are closed cans, which will reduce outside noise; and wouldn’t annoy others while you are gaming or listening to music.

I might also add that these cans are very comfortable and extremely well built, probably better than the 595.

With respect to different types of music, I am quite happy with the A900 for all types of music—rock, rap, pop, jazz, and classical. But feel guitars either electric or acoustic sound very good, but miss that little something extra. This is noticeable or less noticeable depending on the recording or track. I also think that sometimes vocals, depending on the recording or track sound a little nasal. But I am being very critical.

I think either can will be a very good choice, but the 595 might sound a little better (if you have an amp) whereas the A900 will probably have a better soundstage (an amp wouldn’t make much difference).

Here is a link for the A900; if you look to the lower right it rates the different types of music: http://www.h-navi.net/a900.htm


Here is a link for the 595; if you look to the lower right it rates the different types of music:
http://www.h-navi.net/hd595.htm

I don’t know how accurate these subjective ratings are and there are a lot of variables involved, but in my opinion they are a little biased in favor of any Sennheiser model.

It should also be noted that the HD595 benefit greatly from an amp, but probably are easier to drive then other Sennheiser models.

Without an amp, based on my recollection I think the A900 might be a better choice.

Best of luck

 

[oScARSr]

I vote HD595，its more balanced sound for both gaming and music。

 

[Argowal]

I only have the A900s, and have never tried the HD595s, but I find the A900s to be great for gaming and listening to various types of music

. Plus they're really comfortable

 

[go_vtec]

I too vote for A900. HD595 is also a very good pair of phones with excellent imaging capability, but it puts more emphasis on vocal where A900 puts more emphasis on top and bottom (when powered properly). In addition A900's closed design mask out computer fan noise better than HD595.

 

[Blasyrkh]

i own only hd595 and never listened to a900.
so i can say something only about hd595:

music: perfectly balanced for music, wide soundstage, god for every kind of music, i love them!

films/games: perfect in the reproduction of soundtrack, cristaline speech and sound overall, great soundstage (i must say perfect again).

but there's one thing i'm not satisfied with about hd595 on games/movies: bass impact (hd595 are absolutely not for bassheads, in music too bass aren't powerful) and sound effects impact (like explosions). they are good, but not enough to please me.
however for the quality of the overall sound (expecially for music) i can walk over that small issue. and i think that a much impactfull sound would unbalance the musci timbre quality.

that is what I think about hd595

 

[Qrius]

ok...now im leaning towards the a900's cause of all the comments made. i was wondering if the cord is atached to the left or right earpad? i am going to be ataching a clip on mic for gaming. thank you all for your advice....who knows i might end up with both soon......damn headfi!!!

 

[karma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qrius ok...now im leaning towards the a900's cause of all the comments made.

The A900 will be better for gaming because of its emphasis on the lows and highs. The HD595 has wonderful mids which makes it great for music. They are both excellent cans, but if you're going to be gaming a lot, the A900 is probably a better fit.

Quote:

i was wondering if the cord is atached to the left or right earpad?

The A900 cable is attached to the left earpiece.

Quote:

who knows i might end up with both soon

That's what I did.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[SunByrne]

I have the HD595s and the A700s, which are similar to A900s but not quite as good, depending on who you ask.

If you want isolation, the only way to go is the A900, no contest there.

These are both cans with great soundstage, so I don't think that attribute will help much.

The 595s are more balanced and better for most music--the mids are recessed on the Ax00 series and I think this detracts from many kinds of music, particularly acoustic/vocal music. I also think the highs are more natural on the 595s.

No doubt that bassy sound effects will sound better on the A900s. Overall, these are probably better gaming cans.

The current 50-ohm crop of 595s are easy to drive, but the Ax00s are fantastically easy to drive. This is both good and bad--they sound about the same out of an iPod as they do out of an expensive amp. If the upgradeitis is going to bite you for an amp, you'll likely be disappointed by the improvement with the A900s (there is some, but not as much as you might expect). The 595s show more improvement with a good amp, especially in the bass. If you have no amp plans, though, the A900s probably win on this score.

Comfort is a tough call--they're both pretty comfortable. I find the 595s more comfortable than the A700s, and the A900s are heavier, so I don't imagine they're better. It's not a wide margin but I can wear the 595s forever without comfort issues and the ATH's bother after a while. Part of that might be that they're closed.

In one sense, it's a tough call, because these are both very good cans--but in another, it's easy, because no matter which way you go, you're getting something good!

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qrius ok...now im leaning towards the a900's cause of all the comments made. i was wondering if the cord is atached to the left or right earpad? i am going to be ataching a clip on mic for gaming. thank you all for your advice....who knows i might end up with both soon......damn headfi!!!

for gaming and having owned and gamed with them. A900 for sure.

 

[v1ct0r]

hey chrisfromalbany, i was in the same situation as you awhile ago. I ended going for the 595's because people said they were more balanced. I have them on my head right now with about 15 minutes burn in lol. They definitely don't have enough bass for games where there are explosions and since gaming is one of your priorities, I would go for the A900 because others have said that it has more bass. The 595's do sure sound good right now though

 

[Qrius]

i just want to thank all of you guys for all the help in making my choice. i have made my final decision and im going to go with the a900's!!!

man i feel more confident in my purchase( cause of all your helpfull suggestions). i can now relax and just wait for them to come...whew. thnx again fellas

 

[v1ct0r]

cool, tell us what you think about them so i know what i could have had

 

[Buster Sword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qrius i just want to thank all of you guys for all the help in making my choice. i have made my final decision and im going to go with the a900's!!! man i feel more confident in my purchase( cause of all your helpfull suggestions). i can now relax and just wait for them to come...whew. thnx again fellas

Yay! another A900 fan

I am to believe you would be happy with these! As i game a lot with them with consoles and PC

Lots of impact and excitement! I would say its a very "complete" sounding headphone. Its not missing much at all. Be sure to allow 25 hour in or more to do serious listening and don't forget the blu tac mod!

 

[909]

Congrats on your decision. Both cans are great; I doubt either would have disappointed, but it appears the A900 might suit you better.

At least for me, the A900 sounded pretty good when I received them, but improved a great deal after about 75 to 100 hours of continuous burn-in. I varied the volume and the CDs throughout the first few days while the cans were burning in.