[Hanga]

Hi there

Great forum here !

My old sennheiser HD457 has passed away, and I looking for some new headphones. I am actually considering buying them again, as they are awesome the price considered.

But I am also looking for some new models, which is even better than my old ones.

As the title says, my favorite music genre is trance.

I am keen on Sennheiser, as I have always loved their products. I have been looking at HD 515 and HD 555. Can you recomend one of these two for trance music? The price range is the same as the mentioned, I can't afford to spend more

The headphones are for my computer (audigy 2).

Cheers
Morten

 

[wassupjk]

You will be happy with the HD555 for trance listening. I have used them on my PC with the same sound card (Audigy 2 ZS) and they sound great and go loud enough for comfortable listening. I'm not an audiophile, but think you will be pleased with them for mainly trance.

 

[Hanga]

Sounds great.

I have been reading different oppinions on the bass on the HD 555, some say it is a bit weak, while some say it is kicking hard.

Edit:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ght=555+trance

In this thread some write, that the 555 does not have enough bass. Do you agree?

 

[MaZa]

I think Sennheisers are bit too soft and warm for Trance. I like my hardtrance to sound hard, bright and strong! But Im not exactly sure what brand and model would be ideal in that price range.

And HD555 is one of the most warmest sennheisers IIRC. HD595 might be better choice, if you can stretch the budget a little bit.

 

[Hanga]

Yeah, but they are over my budget

What about the AKG K81DJ ?

 

[MaZa]

Ah, forgot K 81 DJ. Very good choice. Strong though bit bloated bass and overall smooth sound. After foam removal mod though, (there is a foam disc in front of the driver. Removed in 5 seconds, and reversed about equally fast) they truly shine! Bass is much tighter and highs get a lot more sparkle.

Compared to your old Sennheisers, the soundstage is much smaller though. Meaning, the sounds are more cramped together than spatially wide and deep sounding Senns.

 

[Hanga]

The part about the foam I did not understand

Would you say that the K 81 DJ is a big step forward from my old seens, even though the sound is more cramped together? I am not good at understanding the "music descriptions", and don't know how "bad" this "cramping together" is

 

[MaZa]

Ah, well, you'll get it when your experience with different headphones grow! The cramped up isnt necessarily bad thing, and is actually preferable for some music. Sound is more intimate and closer sounding than distant and laidback. So its a matter of taste.
If you have some hifi shop nearby that carries headphones, compare Sennheiser HD595-HD650 and any Grado model, and you get a good idea of intimate vs. distant and wide soundstage and bright and aggressive vs. soft and warm headphones.

Now that I have confused you even more, back the actual topic of this thread.

About the foam thing, there is a small round foam disc in front of the driver (or 'speaker', but headphone terminology uses word 'driver') that dampens the sound. Remove it and sound gets a lot better. The purpose of it is to protect the driver from dust. Dust isnt a big deal, (hell, there are headphones that have only metal grill protecting the driver!) there is already a cloth protecting it from bigger particles.

 

[tek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanga /img/forum/go_quote.gif The part about the foam I did not understand Would you say that the K 81 DJ is a big step forward from my old seens, even though the sound is more cramped together? I am not good at understanding the "music descriptions", and don't know how "bad" this "cramping together" is

For someone who likes trance maybe this description will help you out to understand the terms a lil' bit more heh :

Cramped = Music in a club
Bigger Soundstage = Music in a rave

Hope that helps a lil' heh

 

[rwest1389]

I love my ksc75s with headband for trance. reaaally good

 

[Hanga]

Maza: I think I understand what you're talking about with the foam now. So I just remove the foam, and that should make the bass more tight?

I like what Im hearing about these K 81 DJ. And the price is very good ! Right now they bare my choise.

But you guys are more than welcome to keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks for the help so far !

 

[The Burn Pt.2]

senn/grado need not apply. K501, or for a smaller but more coherent sound field, SA5000.

K81DJ is not as transparent, and the bass is horrible. Stay away from "dj" and/or bass oriented cans. There is already enough clean strong bass in the music, so the akg and sony only reproduce it deep and accurately instead of accentuating an already strong bass with bloat like most all other headphones do.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Burn Pt.2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif senn/grado need not apply. K501, or for a smaller but more coherent sound field, SA5000. K81DJ is not as transparent, and the bass is horrible. Stay away from "dj" and/or bass oriented cans. There is already enough clean strong bass in the music, so the akg and sony only reproduce it deep and accurately instead of accentuating an already strong bass with bloat like most all other headphones do.

Bass with K81DJ is strong, but after foam removal it isnt overpowering, but still strong and punchy. In price range its excellent choice. Of course SA5000 and stuff like that beat it to pulp, but we are moving in HD515-HD555 price range.

If one can still find K501 for good price (discontinued model, was a real bargain little time ago!), very good choice. However, it is actually bass-lean, so I believe it isnt that ideal trance headphone, no? Though there are several generations of K501 with varying bass response in the market, but isnt the lean one most common?

Feeling lucky Hanga?

 

[Szabi]

My HD-595's are bass shy for trance. (I listen to British Trance only, i cannot comment on euro trance)
I like the K81's more when i listen to trance like things. I think the smaller soundstage is not always bad thing with music like that.
I connected the above mentioned phones to the headphone output similar sound card that u have (See sig) to try that again ( i don't use the audigy since i have my emu 0404 usb) and liked the K81's better.

I hope this helps.

 

[The Burn Pt.2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Feeling lucky Hanga?

Eventually he will want an amp and will itch for more suitable phones, so why not cut to the chase?