[Nielo TM]

I’m in the market for a new headphone, and I found two excellent candidates but need your help finalizing it. The headphone will mainly be used for movies, so distortion free bass is a must

.


SE-A1000 Pioneer Headphones - Audio - Video


Sennheiser USA - HD555 - Product Details


I currently use Sony MDR-CD380, but I would prefer something better. I did however purchased Sennheiser HD485 last year and it completely failed to produce deep bass without any distortion/crackling. At the near the end of the Matrix: Reloaded where the Mjolnir (Hammer) come in search of the Nebuchadnezzar, the bass level was so high the HD515/485 crackled like there was no tomorrow. The sound was completely broken up. I suppose that's because of its 30mm drives.


Lucky enough, I was able to get full refund, but I may not be so lucky this time around. So I have to know if those headphones can handle deep bass without any distortion, crackling and breakup.


Thanks

 

[fraseyboy]

Never heard of those SE-A1000... They sure do look interesting. Kinda like the AKG K501's...


Not sure if anyone on head-fi has ever tried a pair?

 

[wcp6]

I don't know if you're willing to spend it, but the BeyerDynamic DT770 have monster bass

on ebay for a bit under 150 from good sellers

 

[Nielo TM]

that's way over by budget, and it's closed back


I can spend upto £60, but can't go any further. And it seems the Pionner HDP has to be specially orderd, so it might be impossible to return.

So looks like it's the HD555 for me, but I need confirmation of its bass quality.

 

[Nielo TM]

Do you guys think the HD595 is worth the extra £40?


HD555: ~£60
HD595: ~£100

 

[Nocturnal310]

Ya...i tried HD555 & HD595 ....

the HD555 are quite close to HD595 but HD595 have very upfront sound

 

[Nielo TM]

Got the HD595 today, and the sond quality is amazing tbs

But at high bass levels (like on the scene I've described in my first post), the sound cracks/pops. Maybe I'm doing something wrong here, but the old CD380 didn't have this problem.

 

[donunus]

you need cans with a high power handling like audio technicas

 

[fraseyboy]

What's your source? That is probably the issue.

 

[Nielo TM]

X-Fi

It only happens with very low frequency


For music, it's perfect.


PS: How big are the drive units of HD595?

 

[funkadelic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nielo TM /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got the HD595 today, and the sond quality is amazing tbs But at high bass levels (like on the scene I've described in my first post), the sound cracks/pops. Maybe I'm doing something wrong here, but the old CD380 didn't have this problem.

Running them in can fix a mutitude of sins, see how they are doing in a week or two.

Simon

 

[Nielo TM]

Looks like I found the solution. It would seem these HDPs cant handle very low frequency. Maybe they haven't had time to burn-in, or they are simply incapable

but I found dropping the 31Hz by half on the X-Fi equalizer helps



These HDPs do sound more natural than my old CD380. But I do miss its low frequency capability. Unfortunately, that's all it was good at.

 

[donunus]

well, first of all, using software eq is a big culprit unless you compensate by turning the level of the eq down

 

[Nielo TM]

EQ was disabled during the test. I only enabled it to remove the audio break-up.



PS: Which one of these burn-in sounds would you guys recommend for the HD595?

http://www.burninwave.com/


I'm playing Pink Noise WAVE atm

 

[EugeneK]

pink noise worked best for me, white noise is more high-pitched and annoying if you leave your headphones in the open. pink is neutral.