[antonik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnFerrier Today, I noticed that the HD 650 SPL is now 115dB (was 103dB). Twelve dB is a large change. I emailed Sennheiser.

Sennheiser definitions of SPL are not very clearly defined - they use in different places SPL for 1V RMS (mostly), SPL for 1mW power (for some phones), "SPL" without any references and SPL as in "maximum SPL" without telling that clearly (i.e. SP-25 "120dB" SPL) . It is not uncommon for them to have 2 or even 3 different figures for the same phones in different places.For HD650 I found 115dB (1V RMS) in one PDF file and 103dB (1V RMS) in another PDF file and in the technical data on the web page.

It is a complete mess

!

Alex

 

[eef]

Nak Man - old hd 555' have a "made in china" sticker on the box - I thought that factory in Ireland was damaged by fire, and sennheiser transfered production to China.

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nak Man Yes, the specs were changed as I kept the 'old specs' page on disc. Would be interesting to read comparative reviews on SQ. I thought 5x5 were only made in Ireland ?

At the beginning of 2004 I think all HD 5x5's were made in Ireland then the factory had a fire and the headphones were almost impossible to get anywhere, around the middle of the year. When they became available again (I think it was around September) they started assembling them in China, I think using drivers from Ireland, so the box of my 595 has a Made in China sticker over the Made in Ireland text on the box. I don't know if current HD 5x5's are made in China or Ireland.

The impedance change makes it even more confusing because now there are a few different HD 5x5's around the place. I wonder if there is any way of telling them apart, other than the box.

 

[apnk]

sweet! now i can buy a 555 to run off my portable and save up for an amp later cool!

 

[Beach123456]

Does this change make them better or worse?(sound wise)

 

[pp312]

I think all discussion about the sound quality of the 555/595 should be suspended until we find out if we're all talking about the same phones with the same specs. Some of the comments on Head-Fi recently about the sound of the 595 bear no relation to what I'm hearing from my 595s (mine are "pre-fire" models), especially people calling them "boring". Does anyone know someone who knows someone who has a friend whose cousin works at Sennheiser?

Don't accept the official reassurances.

 

[Nak Man]

Imo most people who prefer bass thumping treble piercing phones will call a more neutral balanced phones like 595 boring anyway - no matter which version they have. I'd call my supposedly-pre-fire sound very relaxing because there's no specific tone or frequency band that constantly grabs my attention. By definition that's not similar to boring.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nak Man Imo most people who prefer bass thumping treble piercing phones will call a more neutral balanced phones like 595 boring anyway - no matter which version they have. I'd call my supposedly-pre-fire sound very relaxing because there's no specific tone or frequency band that constantly grabs my attention. By definition that's not similar to boring.

Absolutely agree, and I can find nothing "boring" about my phones at all--nor "exciting" either, which is the way it should be. It's the music that should be "boring" or "exciting", not the phones. Nevertheless there have been a lot of posters complaining about the 595 being "boring", so it's worth asking why, and what in fact they feel the phones are missing that they apparently need.

 

[Sisyphos]

I was too curious, so I just bought a second pair of HD595s,
which in fact is one of the newer 50-Ohm-versions and "Made in Ireland".
Both HD595s look exactly the same. It seems there have been no changes in the HD595-design, but soundwise they are different. What I can only say so far (and what everyone could expect) is, that the 50-Ohm-HD595 is clearly more sensitive than the 120-Ohm-HD595. I can't say much about a possible difference in soundquality, because my older 120-Ohm-HD595 has been used for at least 80 hours, whereas the new 50-Ohm-HD595 is right out of the box. So I will give it about 50 hours of burn-in before I'll post any definitive statements.
However I can't resist to say that right now my old HD595 sounds better than the new one. In comparison the new sounds a little stiff and less musical with a clear lack of bass response. But this might me due to the fact that it's brand new. So let's wait and hear...

 

[Nak Man]

Hmm, that's bad news for Senn ... but let's wait more until they settle down and please post again ? Thanks much for experimenting and sharing the info ! I remember hearing a much louder and shrieking 515 but didn't ask the impedance.

 

[JohnFerrier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnFerrier Today, I noticed that the HD 650 SPL is now 115dB (was 103dB). Twelve dB is a large change. I emailed Sennheiser. JF

FWIW

Sennheiser emailed me back indicating that the current PDF for the HD 650 is in error. The 650 SPL rating is 103dB (not 115dB).


JF

 

[quke]

So does this make my pre-factory fire, made in Ireland, 120 ohm HD595 special? And more valuable?! Dang, have to hold on to these and see if they're some kind of collector's item in the future.

Nah, I'm only kidding. I'll keep'em for their great sound

 

[ragoo]

haha, i ordered myself a HD555 just a week or so ago, and that was before reading this thread.. the day after i had placed the order i found this thread, damn i was so worried i would get the 120ohm model instead of the new one.
but luckily i got the new 50ohm one, and everything's great now

reason why i really needed the 50ohm one is that i haven't got any amps or such atm

so i was worried my computer would have problems running it, but it all turned out just fine

wee
(only sad thing is that these were my first good headphones, so now i hear how bad mp3 really is )

 

[s56vpe]

I'm thinking of buying 555's, but i would also like to use them with my PCDP. Would these new 555's reach reasonable loudness with PCDP without amp.

Cheers
Peter

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisyphos <snip> So let's wait and hear...

Has anything changed with burn-in?