[Reck45]

Ok I guess I said I'd post my final thoughts once they were broken in. I think it's been a bit over a week or two?
Something like that. Ok then I think they're broken for the most part, although if they are like any of sennheiser's other phones, they will still change. I'd say overall I have mixed feelings about them. My souce I used was my nomad jb1 which is about the level of the ipod I think. Actually probably a little better overall. I don't happen to have an amp yet but
if your planning on using these with a portable, I would definitely recommend one. The newer pc sound cards should have no trouble powering these though.

Soundstage: good sized. Can either help or hinder, depending on what you like. Some music sounds unnatural because it's not meant to be spread so far. I think it makes rock sound a bit weird, to be honest. However it's excellent for live concerts. I dunno if I need an amp or what, but with some songs the bottom of the stage sounds a bit "empty" even on my sound card.

Bassretty decent I guess. I find myself missing the bass when they were breaking in though. I remember watching the LOTR and having
my eardrums pounded, it was exciting. It mellowed out with burn in sadly. I find myself long for the awesome "attack" of the 497s though. The speed of which the bass could hit is awesome. I'm still pleased enough though I guess. They will make you reach for the equalizer though ,and I'm no bass head. The problem with that though is it seems like the more you turn up the bass, the more the highs will roll off...which brings me to...

Highs: to my ears they sound rolled off, which can be a bad thing. The electric guitar just does not "cut" like it's supposed to. This is what I do not like the most about these I think. I think it's too smooth. No one mentioned it though, so maybe it's just me? I don't think so though. Listening to some sound tracks, it's obvious. I think the 497s actaully do rock better IMO. Rock is not meant to be spread but, together and in your face.

Treble: smooth. I dunno what the hell people here are talking about at times. It's only harsh when they aren't broken in.

Mids: always where sennheiser phones excel at. Smooth and refined is how I would describe it.

Detail:excellent. Seems like a double edged sword though...I thought it would be the end all but it's not. I listen to a lot of VGM and it sounds most unnatural at times now. The synth work becomes pretty obvious now. Even in the FFX soundtrack, it sounds downright freaky now. It's a huge advatage in live music though. My best recording is Nirvana Unplugged in New York and it sounds better than ever. You can hear everytime someone touches the guitar strings and hear them even make mistakes. It's good enough, you can hear the band members talking about tax evasion or something like that and other funny stuff. They render things cheap phones can only dream about... including recording artifacts in mp3s which can be annoying. Bottom line:be careful what you wish for.

Vocals: Good but at times they sound too smooth. Also at times I think they sound out of sync with the music... hard to explain.

Ok instrument strenths and weaknessnes IMO:

Good at: piano,acoustic guitar,cymbals,bass drums,violin,cello

Bad at:wood instruments(good god it can't do these worth a crap...it sounds like someone blowing through a pipe),electric guitars(rolled highs)...synth can sound horrible

Ok then... I don't know what the hell you guys were talking about being micophonic. When I move my head, they don't make a sound.
Maybe your talking about if you tap your finger against the side? That's the only thing I can think of. The sound is well balanced and all, but there are a few compromises I just do not like. The rolled off highs can be damn annoying... and they offer almost no isolation at all. With the loudness of the fans in my pc, it completely blows. Gaming is awesome now though...my scores went up a lot. I'm now one of the top players in the world in my favorite FPS. It gives me a big advantage rooting campers out and hearing people trying to sneak up on me. Whew. I'm sure people will disagree with me but ah well. Damn I thought I'd sit down and have a few beers, now I'm wasted. Not the best writing conditions...lol.

 

[Jasper994]

hmmm... I don't think they're fully burnt in yet, the final bass on mine was definately stronger than fresh out of the box or at any time during burn in. Try running some bass test stuff on repeat over night and seeing what that does. Of course make sure it's not distorting...

The microphonic thing comes from the cord being stiff. As it wears in it becomes a bit softer and the microphonics more or less go away...

An amp should help btw, but if you were getting more bass before it should return even stronger.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 The microphonic thing comes from the cord being stiff. As it wears in it becomes a bit softer and the microphonics more or less go away...

Actually no, the microphony is a result of the chamber being undamped and resonating whenever touched and will never go away unless you can find a way to damp the chamber. I've found this more difficult than expected (I have the 595). I've even covered the phone (not the back obviously) with a kind of silverfoil backed tar paper used to line guttering and it's still microphonic, which puzzles me; microphony is usually not that difficult to treat. I hope Senn consider coming out with a more rigid, damped version of this phone, maybe with a better cord and softer, more luxurious pads, as the current ones are rather unforgiving. That would be a world beater.

 

[3lusiv3]

I think the lack of bass may be caused by the lack of amplification, rather than the headphones.

 

[phed]

hey i've been lurking here reading up on headphones and amps for a month or two now and i think my questions fit into this thread. hopefully i'm not dragging it too off-topic with my noobie agenda!

i'm wondering how 555's would perform with an un-amped iriver slimx? i'd buy an amp eventually but for now i am only looking for headphones, and the 555's seem to be the prime candidates.

so would this be a worthwhile setup for the time being? imp550 ->sen555.
also, how would these match up: imp550 ->total airhead -> sen555? (for when i do get an amp).

any advice would be apreciated.

ED

 

[Geek]

The sound blaster live might have something to do with your problems. Try the 555s out of a source one step higher - mabye a portable iriver player or decent low-priced DVD/amp combo. My brother had a SB live and it was horrible, he could barely stand it with DT250-80s, but considering its very low price tag it's got a great value.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[Drake]

Jup the only decent creative card is the audigy 2 (the 1 sucks)
but even better would be to go with an m-audio soundcard.
but in this case the missing bass is becouse of the very poor sblive

 

[Reck45]

Well I tried my playstation 2 and it was a big improvement. The bass was a bit more to my liking. The sound was very clean, transparent,and the highs were better, although they still do seem a little rolled. Gone is the slightly muffled sound. There was not a hint of a bass hump...it's visible all the way to the bottom. So I guess they are superior to the top models in that way? I listened to some sublime and it was very lively, the soundstage was more filled in. I couldn't help but tap my feet. The resolution is a bit disconcerting at first hehe. I still think that they make rock music sound a bit funky due to the large soundstage though.

I still think the instrument strengths still stand though from what I've heard. Besides maybe the electric guitar. Sometimes though the vocals seem a bit recessed...which is annoying. Instrument seperation is excellent btw. Everything besides the vocals fits together very well. I find it odd that sennheiser is using the same drivers in these as the 595s...they must be doing driver matching. So theoretically it's possible some people are getting better phones than others... I dunno though. What geek said about the bass guitar being a blob of impact makes me wonder...mine are far from that. I dunno though.

So in the end I guess the 555s still take a moderately powered source to sound good. I'm kinda disappointed...I don't have the equipment to take advantage of it. I do not listen to music on my ps2...all my stuff is in mp3 format. What all portables do you guys use with your 555s? Is there anything that can power these?

 

[violeta88]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but Reck45 seems more like a Grado guy than a high-end Senn guy. Since the Senn 555/595's are more or less balanced headphones, and the HD497's (which are very similar to the Grado SR225) tend to have more of a midbass hump and are on the bright and grainy side (not to mention they are forward headphones vs. the more laid back 555/595's) it makes sense he would notice less "attack" on the bass notes and not as much of an edge on electric guitars. Headphones either tend to be harsh and grainy and forward, or mellow, wide headstaged and less hyped-up on the treble and bass (the DT770 is an exception to that "rule").

EDIT: Running headphones straight out of the headphone jack of a portable can turn a great headphone into a POS.

 

[Mr.Radar]

The $23.50 Chaintech AV-710, when setup properly (see the link in my sig), will blow your SB and PS2 out of the water in sound quality. I highly reccomend trying it.

 

[Jasper994]

My Panasonic PCDP from 1999 drives them very well...

 

[phed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geek Try the 555s out of a source one step higher - mabye a portable iriver player...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 My Panasonic PCDP from 1999 drives them very well...

cool so 555s wouldn't be hampered by being used with a slimx unamped? think i'll go find a pair. now i need portable amp suggestions to complete my first justifyably labelled 'setup' later on

slimx 550-> (what amp? i was thinking total airhead?) -> senn555.

 

[Reck45]

Quote:

don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but Reck45 seems more like a Grado guy than a high-end Senn guy. Since the Senn 555/595's are more or less balanced headphones, and the HD497's (which are very similar to the Grado SR225) tend to have more of a midbass hump and are on the bright and grainy side (not to mention they are forward headphones vs. the more laid back 555/595's) it makes sense he would notice less "attack" on the bass notes and not as much of an edge on electric guitars. Headphones either tend to be harsh and grainy and forward, or mellow, wide headstaged and less hyped-up on the treble and bass (the DT770 is an exception to that "rule").

You know I'm starting to think that as well. I swear it's really defined and all but...I don't know if it's the lack of bass hump or what, but the drums sound recessed. Stuff like sublime doesn't need bass to sound good...so if you're thinking about getting them, think sublime style. *coughs* I thought people here said they were exciting...don't get me wrong they are at times but they still do not have enough kick. If you guys consider this exciting, I'd hate to hear the 580/600/650s! Maybe they will improve with use though. I ruled out grados cause the build quality really sucks fyi. Maybe they really do need a decent amp. I'm too wiped out now to get one...

 

[Mr.Radar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phed cool so 555s wouldn't be hampered by being used with a slimx unamped? think i'll go find a pair. now i need portable amp suggestions to complete my first justifyably labelled 'setup' later on slimx 550-> (what amp? i was thinking total airhead?) -> senn555.

Why not try the Allesandro MS-1 or the Grado SR-125? Both would be much better than any Sennheiser for rock and they're easier to drive as well.

 

[phed]

i'll look into the MS-1's, i've found them locally for $150 AUD, and i love the look of them. the SR-125's are a bit out of my price range at $399 AUD.. grado in australia dont come cheap

problem is i alternate between listening to electronic/hip hop and rock/indie almost 50/50% at the moment.. mabye i could get 555's and ms-1's eventually

$!!