[azmodien]

I just bought some Sennheiser 555's to upgrade from my old beat up Portapros and I after making some comparisons, the Senns did not deliver.

I listened to them in the store and thought they sounded very detailed and airy and my first impression was that they were significantly better than my Koss phones at home. When I took them home and plugged them into my Onkyo to test them out, I was satisfied but not blown away. Then after a few songs, I plugged in the Portapros and I found that they sounded better than I remembered. As I switched back and forth, I realized they actually performed slightly better than the Senn's in certain areas.

On the positive side, the Senn's have more bass detail and are not quite as bloated on the low end like the Koss'. They have a spacious sound and reasonably good detail, but the highs are slightly sibilant with hard S's on the vocals. The sound is also not quite as full-bodied, possibly due the weaker bass response. Overall the Koss are a little more engaging and pleasant to listen to. I am surprised how well a pair of $79 phones held up against the $200 ones ($CAD).

Any suggestions as to an alternative to the Senn 555's? I considered the 595s but they aren't sold in my area and I am not confident enough in their superiority to buy blind. I just want something that sounds more refined than my Portapros with good instrument distinction and natural sounding vocals (on a budget if possible).

Thanks.

 

[legcramp]

100+ hours burn in on those HD555 and after the burn in the HD555 are anything but sibilant on the highs.

Also, same experience here but with the even cheaper KSC-75 vs HD555.

 

[azmodien]

Overall, how would you describe the differences between the Koss and your broken-in Senn's?

 

[legcramp]

Well, amped I would say the ksc75 sounds much more pleasant and enjoyable than the HD555 after amping it.

The sound on the HD555 is slow compared to the koss, the only thing I would rate the HD555 above the koss is that it's better for long term listening and smoother mids.

Amping the Koss makes the sound much fuller, bass is more bodied, mids doesn't sound as metallic and is forwarded, and the highs are tamed a bit and not as sibilant. Night and day difference.

Amping the HD555 didn't make much of a difference to write home about though.

O yeah, if you read my signature, it says Goldring DR-150 coming soon....

Proven refined Koss for about a $150 price tag. Some that have both preferred it over the HD595. Good Luck

 

[azmodien]

The Koss' sounds great, but you can tell the instruments and vocals aren't as defined as they could be. I have a feeling I am not going to find anything that sounds a lot better than the PP's at a reasonable price.

 

[legcramp]

Yeah do a search for the Goldring DR-150, big thread on it. Very close sound signature to the Koss but it does everything better.

 

[Shahrose]

$200 CAD? you got ripped off. hd555 go for $90.

 

[azmodien]

I actually paid $118 with my employee discount, but were talking retail here, not online wholesalers.

I am definitely returning the 555s though and trying something different. I came across an interesting thread with a similar post by someone preferring the KSC-75s to the Sen 580s. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/som...-580-a-147764/
I'm sure that there may be some exaggeration there, but maybe the Koss phones are just so good that differences in higher-end phones are not night and day.

I'm thinking maybe I should try my luck with some Grado 225s or Sen 580s off ebay.

 

[465]

I wasn't impressed with the 595 after hearing the portapro. 595 is definitely better, but doesn't blow me away like hearing to the portapro from the earbud. I liked 580 better than the 595-- 595 sounds mono left and mono right, while 580 sounds like it's coming from a single source. I love the Beyer880 among everything right now. 880 is more balanced, no emphasis on the lower spectrum. Sure it'd be nice to go back and forth between cans, since you'll get bored eventually hearing to just 1 type of sound. Damn, I want to try the 701.

It also depends on the kind of music you like. If you like bass heavy music, you might want the senn. It's more fun in a sense. Sometimes you want to hear all the spectrum, from low to high equally, then 880 it is.

Oh, I've also tried out the Grados. Can't even listen the differences trying them (60 up to the 325) out of a stereo system with CDs (not mp3s). It doesn't give that much upgrade to the 580/595. But a downgrade (slightly) in the soundstage department.

 

[phyrefly]

If you like the PP sound signature, you should give the MS-1 a try. Bass isn't nearly as pronounced (or bloated), but everything else improves... especially instrument separation. The MS-1 also come with a free air guitar