[donunus]

Bizi, Dont worry if the 555 don't sound so good out of the box because mine sounded thin and bright when I got them new. 100 hours of burn in helps a lot to start you off for maximum enjoyment. It will still change a little from the 100 hr point but not as dramatic as the first 50 hours of burn in or use.

 

[pedxing]

Neutral is based on your own perception. However, it is the general consensus that both HD555 and the SR80 are far from neutral. If I had to choose between the two, I would go for the HD555 because its balanced with its darker signature.

If your wallet can handle the damage, I suggest looking for something that was designed to work in the studios. AKG and sony makes some interesting studio headphones.

Most of my friends with synthesizers usually have too much bass with their setup. I am no musician, but I find electronic instruments can truly output some real bass signals (as in oppose to the typical poorly mastered recording in recent times). I suggest avoiding dark headphones in general if you want a more balance sound. Most low end heapdhones are designed to compensate for poor studio mastering.

 

[ciphercomplete]

Yeah the more I read everyone's responses the more I agree that the 555s are your choice. Another nice choice would be the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 which is roughly the same price as the sr80 and the hd555. You could always try both and sell the one you don't like for just about what you paid for it.

 

[donunus]

pedxing,
the hd555s are not really that dark. Warm would be a better term since they are quite extended compared to others in the price range. the upper mids of the 555 are actually quite lively. I tried sony v6s with keyboards and they sounded too congested and bassy. too colored even though its a studio headphone. Closed "ON Location" Studio cans are not really natural or accurate sounding. They are made to isolate so that there would be no bleeding of sound to the mics. If people use them to master it is more because they are familiar with what they can output with the cans they are using instead of the reason being that they sound natural.

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bizi /img/forum/go_quote.gif For the first two, they are indeed sad songs with dark sound, especially the Moonlight Sonata. I choose them to test the difference between the "bassy" SR80 and the "neutral" HD555 on the low range. But most music in the Innocence are lively and in mid & high range. The fact that you find them very dark is a good information for me to reconsider those headphones for my purpose. Maybe you are right about the bit rate, but I cannot find any higher bit rate in my collected music. Thank you for your input, MrKazador. I am grateful.

The Grados does NOT work well with classical, unless you listen to the minimalist/atonal type of music.

 

[warsurferX]

From my experience with Grados and Senns, the Senns is better suited for you.

1. While you're playing, the Senns give you this 'lushness' that cannot be experienced with the Grados.

2. You'll probably lose a little detail while listening to music/watching movies with the HD555. Then again, the 'surround' sound produced by the HD555 more than compensates for the loss of detail.

3. The Senns are FAR more comfortable.

All that said, get the HD595. MUCH better and your wallter will probably thank you in the long run

 

[donunus]

IMO the 595s aren't really that much better. Out of the box, the 595s are almost all the way to their maximum quality. The 555s need a lot of burn in to get there but once youve done that they are almost the 595 and might be better for some.

The 555s to me sort of hid the 595s weaknesses and were less refined at the same time. If you go to the hd600, it is also better than the 595s because it refines what is wrong with the 595s instead of hiding the flaws. Either way, I would go for 555 unamped then hd600 amped use. I would skip the 595s since they are almost the same price as the hd600s.

hd650 might also be really great. I have yet to listen to them though.