[tommelom]

Lots of threads her about what's the best phones for this and that music. I'm looking for headphones mostly for moviewatching. At the moment I have come down to two phones in the lower pricerange:
 
Sennheiser HD 555
Beyerdynamic DT770
 
Sennheiser because they are somewhat nicely priced, people say they are super-duper comfy and has, of course, great sound for the money. But I have heard they lack somewhat in bass.
 
DT770 are showing up in almost every thread I read and they also look like they can be used trough the extended Lord of the rings trilogy whitout crushing my skull or (hopefully) cooking my ears. One of the most importent things with this ones is powerfull, fast bass. They are a bit more pricey than 555. Thinking of the 32 ohm version. Are they worth the extra cash for my use?
 
This are not phones that will be my prime soundsource for years to come. I'm just stcuk in an enviroment for 4 months where I must use headphones. Home I have speakers and dont use headphones. Right now I'm using Portapro's. Great sound in this too, but lacking in skullratling bass. I guess moving up to either of the above phones will be significantly better? I'm of course not just looking for bass. Good overall sound is importent too.
 
This will be connected to my computer and Asus Xonar DX soundcard.

 

[tommelom]

Dosn't seem anyone have an opinion about these two against each other, so guess I'll just go for HD 555.
 
But does it have good bass? I resently tried Logitech G35 headset. The sound wasn't better than PortaPro, but I could feel the bass with it. With the Portapro I just hear it.
I guess, and hope, that the Sennheiser is much better than the Logitech?

 

[jschristian44]

the hd-555 wont have near the bass of the logitech's because they are open ear headphones.  the sound clarity will definately make up for that though.  i have the hd-555 and i modded mine pretty good and they sound amazing for movies.  i just watched a few minutes of forrest gump with them, and found like 3 things that i never heard before.  like forrest sighs after he says "mama always had a way of explaining things so i could understand them".  they really put you into the movie.  and keep in mind my hd-555 are new, so they dont even sound close to what they are gonna sound like.  i can already tell a difference in sound from just the few days of burning them in.  they are great and you won't be dissapointed.

 

[1Time]

Welcome to Head-Fi.
 
What's your budget for buying new headphones?
 
Do you have a preference for open or closed headphones? 

 

[Palpatine]

I've used the HD555 for movies directly through my yamaha receiver and they sounded great wtih proper eq-ing. Super comfy too.

 

[REB]

i prefer open headphones to watch movies, even if that means less bass. I'd go for the hd555 in this case. My own favourite can to watch movies now is the ad2000. i like detail as much as impressive explosions when listening to movies.

 

[tommelom]

I think semi-closed or open is best for me, since me ears have a tendency to overheat whith closed headphones. Thats also why I'm heading towards 555. It seems it gives the ears air.
So 555 isn't really for me who mostly watch action movies. I see all kind of course, but mostly action. And then I want to feel the thunder. To hear that 555 has less bass then G35 is sad. It sounds they are like PortaPro then; you hear more then feel the bass. Is that the case?
 
My budget is aroud the HD555 price. In that price, for my use, whith that comfort, Sennheiser seems to be the best choice. But not if it's just a bulky version of PortaPro.
 
If I really want bass as well as SQ, I just have to accept that I must buy closed headphones and take a 5-min breake a couple of times in a movie to cool down the ears?

 

[wdahm519]

I could definitely see the DT770's being great for movies.  I watched a movie with my DT990's last night, and seeing as the DT770's are closed and therefore probably in the end better for movies, I would say wow - that would be awesome.
 
Even my 990's were pretty awesome.

 

[jschristian44]

hmm, if you want open ear headphones for movies, i think the hd-555 work fine in action movies.  they wont boom your ears on explosions, etc, but they will get you into the action like objects flying past your ears, people whispering in the next room, etc. 
 
the DT990's would be perfect for you, but their outta your price range
the DT770's i was actually going to try myself, but they are closed and i just cannot go back.  anyways, there might be a way to make them more open using a dremel on the outside but i didn't know how that would work?  anyways, i think you will be happy with the HD-555 after they are properly burned in.  it does take some time to burn them in, but the bass does definately improve once they are past 200 hours of listening.  good luck!

 

[wdahm519]

Quote:

the DT770's i was actually going to try myself, but they are closed and i just cannot go back. 

This is my problem as well.  I'm totally obsessed with open back now.

 

[tommelom]

Looks like Sennheiser 555 it is then.
I'll play with my Xonar, which I got today, and the PortaPro and see what I can get out of them. And then probably order some new phones on monday.
 
Thanks for all the input. U all made my day.

 

[skeptic]

Figured I'd weigh in and offer one more opinion on this topic.  I haven't spent time with the HD555's or the DT770's, but I've spent a lot of time comparing the HD650's and DT880's for HT use.  I have found that I strongly prefer my DT880's to my Senn 650's for both movies and games.  That statement holds true irrespective of whether I'm driving them with my Woo headphone amp or simply out of my Marantz receiver's headphone jack.
 
To compare and contrast a bit, to my ears, the Beyers provide a more spacious sound, with brighter trebles that give the impression of better clarity for sound effects and some dialog.  (Note: I find the Senns to give far better tone and texture to many treble instruments (violins and trumpets in particular) - so I do not mean to suggest the trebles on the Beyers are better across the board).  The Beyers also offer better comfort and more deep bass impact than the Senns.  The Senns, however, are faster, more cohesive when things get complex, and a bit fuller due to the mid-bass hump.  
 
Both are great headphone manufacturers, but for movies, the Beyers come out on top.  Are DT880's on your potential list?  You might keep an eye out for a used pair if cost is the driving factor.

 

[tim3320070]

I had some Hfi780's for a while and thought they were really good with movies- just throwing that out there.

 

[wdahm519]

Quote:

Figured I'd weigh in and offer one more opinion on this topic.  I haven't spent time with the HD555's or the DT770's, but I've spent a lot of time comparing the HD650's and DT880's for HT use.  I have found that I strongly prefer my DT880's to my Senn 650's for both movies and games.  That statement holds true irrespective of whether I'm driving them with my Woo headphone amp or simply out of my Marantz receiver's headphone jack.

I think besides from the reasons you stated, Beyer's have been regraded as more "fun" cans, while Senn's tend to me more "serious" cans.  By this I mean the beyer sound signature just tends to be less smooth but has "the right stuff" for enjoyable listening, while the sennheiser signature is more "correct" but takes some of the "fun" out of the music, and gives the listener a more "technical" approach to the music.
 
Sorry for all the "quotes", I couldn't use the right words to describe what I was trying to say exactly.
 

 

[jschristian44]

wish i had money for the hd650's.