[jto168]

Hello to everyone in this forum!

Lately I've been having an itch to buy a new pair of headphones; *REAL* headphones.

After going through several threads on recommendations, I have made a prospective list of headphones that I would like to choose from.

The only problem is, I'm not sure if I should be going as far as purchasing an expensive pair considering my sources (more about this later). My budget for a new pair would be $200 Canadian Dollars which is roughly $170 USD.

Currently, I use a pair of Panasonic RP-HT850 headphones which is always plugged into a SB Live! (the original Live card) in my PC. They do the job, and I've never had any complaints.

I've been getting into different genres of music as of late - Ambient, Lounge, Acid Jazz, Chill, New-age, and fusions of those genres. At heart, I'm a true fan of Trance, Techno, Progressive, House, DnB, Break Beats, and almost anything electronic of dance related. And of course, because we live in a MTV generation, my ears are always welcome to Rock, Rap, and Hiphop. I have no real prejudice against any genre of music, except for country and folk songs

Because of the range of sounds that Ambient music tries to present, I feel like I'm missing some of the finer points of the music. The same can be said for New-age music, especially those that are Asian themed and make heavy usage of traditional Asian instruments. I will admit, I love my bass and I like it to hit hard. My Panasonic headphones have delivered the bass, but it sounds like my first ever subwoofer in my first car; too much vibration and sometimes a little distortion and feedback!

My listening sources are as follows:

- Personal Computer, Creative SoundBlaster Live! card (MP3, Flac, MMC, APE as the file types)
- Sony Ericsson K750i (memory stick holds about 1 gig of MP3)
- Personal Notebook, ThinkPad T30 standard AC97 compliant onboard sound
- Pioneer VSX-401 Receiver

I've narrowed down my decision to the Sennheiser HD555 or HD500.
As I've no means of purchasing these at lower than the Canadian MSRP prices ($199.99 and $149.99 respectively), I am very concerned about my first purchase on 'high-end' headphones.

Now considering my sources above, I would like to ask the experienced listeners on this forum if I will be able to truly enjoy the potential of a set of high-end headphones such as the HD555.

Basically, am I wasting my money on say a pair of HD555 if I continue to listen to music (and watch the occasional movie, play games) from those mentioned sources?

Thank you very much for reading my post and call for help

 

[jagorev]

I was going to suggest the HD 555 before I even saw that you were considering it.

It's an excellent choice for this kind of music, and is easy to drive even from less-capable source. I don't think you could possibly go wrong with the 555 - you'll get a big improvement now, and their will be rewards to upgrading source down the line.

I've never heard of the HD 500...I don't think it's a model discussed on head-fi very often.

 

[Klover]

Seconded.

I just picked up a pair of HD555s for $199 CDN (Winnipeg) and they reveal a great deal of detail and have very nice seperation.
I have actually turned to look in the direction of instruments as they were played - great soundstage.

I had a pair of SR60s for about a week before they went back - I found them too uncomfortable. The sound was quite energetic however.

As far as comfort and build quality goes, the 555s are superb.

It's a lot of cash but a great investment.

 

[HypnoLobster]

Yep, 555's will suit you beautifully.

Now, order them and never look at this website again.

 

[milkpowder]

It looks like the HD555 will really suit you well. They are comfortable and have stunning sound quality for their price.

 

[jto168]

Hello again everyone.

I've took the plunge and purchased the HD 555 after gawking at the box for too long.

Initial impressions are positive

Since this is my first experience with "high end" headphones, I am very easily influenced into believing this is the best pair of cans.. EVER.

I must say that the sound quality is excellent compared to consumer grade headphones.

I'll keep you all posted about my experience after it has some burn-in (never knew about that until I visited this site). Maybe my virgin ears will help with the confusion surrounding the issue of headphone burn-in. Sorry, looks like I'll be sticking around =P

Thank you all for your comments and encouragement

 

[eugenius]

Get an audiotrak prodigy 7.1 or 7.1lt, it's the sweet spot for source upgrades as far as money is concerned, it's only 70 euro.

Hi-fi teaches me that magic begins at around 400$ for the phone, and 600$ for the amp, sorry to put a dent in your joy.

Sorry about your wallet.