[redwarrior191]

i live in Hong Kong and I can get 5558 for 1280HKD and 555 for 900HKD.. are those reasonable prices?? those are the cheapest i can find around here.. if so, which one is better for the price?? anyone already have both of them??

 

[redwarrior191]

bump..no one can help me??

 

[redwarrior191]

another bump..getting frustrated here..

 

[Digital-Pride]

Fear not my friend, for you shall have the answer you seek

 -http://www.headfonia.com/old-and-new-hd555-hd558-hd598/

 

[redwarrior191]

hmm..thanks a lot for the really detailed comparison in the link.. but..being new to this kind of things, it's kinda hard to imagine the differences of those two in terms of sounds..things like "more forward upper mids", "tighter and fuller bass", and "more texture and linear extension".. i saw the sound glossary guide already in this forum, but still..i can't really grasp the illustration of the sound.. (sorry for being such a noob)..
so overall the soundstage of 558 is slightly better and more three dimensional and the bass also sounds "better", am i correct?? hmm..but i still don't know whether 558 is worth the price difference..

 

[Digital-Pride]

Well then, if this will be your first foray into higher quality headphones then I suggest going with the HD555.  It's a excellent headphone that works well with most music genres.  While it may not have head shaking bass, its bass goes deep, punchy and well controlled.  While the HD558 are technically "better" than the HD555, just not enough to warrant being twice the price of the HD555. 

 

[colmustard]

I'll vouch for the hd555 aswell here, in all honesty if you are new to hifi then the differences between these headphones would be so subtle that you would most likely barely notice them. Also don't forget to mod your 555's into 595's by following the steps in this video.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvQ8PzBrHXE

 

[nickchen]

 
Quote:

is hd558 worth it compared to hd555 price??

In a word: Yes. That little bugger provides lot of fun, first musical sounding thing Senn has issued for years.
 
The 555's boring & aenemic sound signature is only suitable to clinical classical and singer/songwriter listeners in comparison.

 

[eatsleeplim]

Depends on whether u r fussy abt the headphones' signature preferences. If you ain't, then save the $ and get the 555, considering the price differences.
 
I don't think the 558 are really much better than 555; it's mainly the signature differences me thinks. I agree that 555 would be nicer for classical, etc; while the 558 are tuned for more the mainstream type of music. I was listening to mainly female vocals (jpop), only noticed small differences when i compare them side by side. However, I hardly find them different when i wear them for extended period. Might be just me. ;P
 
....And at 1280HKD, I might be looking at other headphones as well.

 

[redwarrior191]

Quote:

Well then, if this will be your first foray into higher quality headphones then I suggest going with the HD555.  It's a excellent headphone that works well with most music genres.  While it may not have head shaking bass, its bass goes deep, punchy and well controlled.  While the HD558 are technically "better" than the HD555, just not enough to warrant being twice the price of the HD555. 

hmm..okay, i also think i might be better with 555.. however, don't know why i love the look of 558 more.. (yes it sounds silly).. okay, just for the last confirmation, for the price difference of 380HKD, which is around 48.8USD according to online converter..it's better for me to get the 555?
i'm jealous of you guys in who can get 555 for about 80USD..the cheapest i can find here is 900HKD, which is around 115 USD..
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 
In a word: Yes. That little bugger provides lot of fun, first musical sounding thing Senn has issued for years.
 
The 555's boring & aenemic sound signature is only suitable to clinical classical and singer/songwriter listeners in comparison.

^  This.  Anyone saying otherwise is blowing smoke.
 

 

[redwarrior191]

Quote:

^  This.  Anyone saying otherwise is blowing smoke.

 

could you elaborate please?? what does it mean by boring n anaemic??

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

could you elaborate please?? what does it mean by boring n anaemic??

 
It's veiled, slow, lacks energy presenting the music in a boring, thin and unengaging manner.  The FR is very similar between the 5xx series but that's not really what matters here.  All you have to do is look at the 555/595 drivers compared to the 558/598 drivers and that explains the difference for the most part.  Till you get to the molded grill of the 598.
 
 

 

[pp312]

Quote:

 
It's veiled, slow, lacks energy presenting the music in a boring, thin and unengaging manner.   
 

 In your opinion, of course. Some of us could hardly disagree more.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

 
In a word: Yes. That little bugger provides lot of fun, first musical sounding thing Senn has issued for years.
 
The 555's boring & aenemic sound signature is only suitable to clinical classical and singer/songwriter listeners in comparison.

 First musical sounding thing, eh? I assume you're excluding the 600/650 but including the 800? And the 555 is boring and anaemic and only suitable for classical, which incidentally is the hardest and most demanding genre to reproduce? Wow, methinks we should all be wearing protective headgear with the wild statements flying around this thread.  
 
Incidentally, there's nothing "clinical" about classical. And what exactly a "singer/songwriter listener" is I'm not at all sure.