[mug]

Hi

My new pair of Sennheiser HD555's arrived this morning and I was sorely disappointed when I tried them out. The sound quality only seems a touch better than my PX200's in the mid and high department but not the lows. They also seem to leak by the bucketload and why do they have speakers on the outside ?? .

Could someone recommed me some closed headphones that are better than the PX200's and cost under £80.

Thanks,
Marcus

[alexs2]

Pity that you're disappointed by them,as when given a decent source,and accepting that they're open phones,the sound quality can be very good for the money.

Obviously you understand that there are in principle 2 basic types of headphone design,open and closed....open backed phones DO let sound from outside in,and will also "leak" some sound out as well,due to the nature of the design,but offer a lighter design quite often,without the feeling of being "shut in" which a lot of people don't like.

The drivers in them are no more "on the outside" than a closed design,simply that with an open back,you can see the exposed units inside.

Most of the upper level Sennheisers are very dependent on a decent source,and will perform best with a headphone amp.

If you are looking for closed designs,you should look at the Beyer Dynamics like the DT231,which will probably come in under your price limit....try before you buy though.

[eviljohn2]

I was underwhelmed when I tried the HD555s and went for the HD570s instead which I thought were much better.

For a closed design try out the Sennheiser HD280 Pro models, they're quite a bit more expensive but I found them to be very good.

[flangemonkey]

You should be aware that the Senns can have a ludicrous burn-in period. It's possible that they won't really shine until you've spent ~200hours or so listening to them, as the drivers have time to "break in" and their sound alters....

I was never disappointed with my 555s when I immediately got them however - probably the best £50 I've ever spent on an audio accessory - and they've only got better with time.

As alexs2 says - they are designed to leak - they're open-backed after all - they're not speakers on the outside - it's just a grill covering the drivers that face inwards to the ears....

You should really be connecting them to a good bit of kit - at least something that has enough power to drive them fully...I listen to mine using a combination of my main amp, my PC, and my Creative Zen Touch (which has the required ampage from the headphone socket to drive the cans adequately), unlike an iPod, or some other DAPs which are severely underpowered, and make decent headphones with higher impedances nigh-on useless.

I absolutely love using mine. I don't think you can get anywhere near the quality of sound produced from the HD555s from anything else in their price range, really.

[wozwebs]

flangemonkey - where did you bag a pair for £50 from m8? Looking for a decent pair.

[flangemonkey]

Sorry wozwebs - I bought them whilst I was in New York earlier in the year - I doubt there's anywhere in the UK where you could get them for anywhere close to that price, unfortunately...

However, I just looked on eBay out of interest, and there's a BIN for £49+ £9.75 P+P here

Maybe gIve that a try?

[wozwebs]

Thanks m8, had spotted those too. Looks like an order will be on its way. Wife is buying them me for Xmas

[freekb]

Originally Posted by eviljohn2

I was underwhelmed when I tried the HD555s and went for the HD570s instead which I thought were much better.

For a closed design try out the Sennheiser HD280 Pro models, they're quite a bit more expensive but I found them to be very good.

Hm, I recently went from HD570's to HD555, and I found the 555's a lot better. The 570 was a bit muffled/flat at times.
I listen mostly to psy-trance which is very layered dance music with lots little hi-twists and turns. The 555 handled brought out a lot of stuff I never heard and packs a slightly better punch on the bass.
That said, I still much prefer the 570's ergonomically, both lighter and less pressure on the head.

[firefoxx]

yeah i recently bought some hd650's, plugged em in they didn't sound too good, but after about 15 hours of letting them burn in they started to sound pretty sweet. I set my ipod to play all, and even now they're burning in.
Every time I go back and listen to them they seem to get better and better. I'm probably gonna stop burning them in about 5 days (200 hours). I hope my ipod battery can take it

[extremelydodgy]

Burn-in is largely psychological. The sound of any phone changes and becomes 'better' the more you listen to it. If you think a phone sucks at first though and you have fitted it properly, the chances are that it will continue to suck in absolute terms despite any burn-in. Mechanical burn-in does happen but not to the dramatic levels that many people express. That and fit are the major things that control how a phone sounds.


In terms of closed phones, you could look at the Sennheiser HD25-SP and the Beyerdynamic DT250-80. They are significantly bigger than the PX200 but they do provide a definite step-up in sound. The SP provides much higher isolation, while the DT250 provides much better comfort. Provided you shop around, both should be under £80. The DT231 is £40 but while they're fine phones for the money and billed as closed, they leak a bit and provide near-zero isolation.

Originally Posted by alexs2

Pity that you're disappointed by them,as when given a decent source,and accepting that they're open phones,the sound quality can be very good for the money.

Obviously you understand that there are in principle 2 basic types of headphone design,open and closed....open backed phones DO let sound from outside in,and will also "leak" some sound out as well,due to the nature of the design,but offer a lighter design quite often,without the feeling of being "shut in" which a lot of people don't like.

The drivers in them are no more "on the outside" than a closed design,simply that with an open back,you can see the exposed units inside.

Most of the upper level Sennheisers are very dependent on a decent source,and will perform best with a headphone amp.

If you are looking for closed designs,you should look at the Beyer Dynamics like the DT231,which will probably come in under your price limit....try before you buy though.

Alexs2 - I just bought a pair of HD555's, and I am very happy with the improvement in sound (I had a pair of crappy bose before)! I am going to use them mainly for my iPod and hooked up to my Pioneer A/V receiver.

Question - should I invest in a headphone amp? As I said, the sound quality is good now, but if a headphone amp is going to significantly improve the sound quality, perhaps I should get one? Any recommendations on good amps? Thanks!

[alexs2]

In terms of headphone amps,you need to decide on budget first,and then look to te best you can buy within that limit.

I wouldn't personally spend much more than £100-150 on an amp for that particular H/phone,so that leaves you with a lot of the DIY models such as the C-Moy etc,and models such as the Creek,and MF X-Cans,esp when bought used/ex-dem.

My own choice after a lot of looking aorund for headphones for the iPod was a set of Stax SRM-001 electrostatics,but you do lose a bit in terms of portability,as well as it not being a suitable solution for you,as you already have a pair of headphones.

For portable amps,you could also take a look at the US based Headroom range.

Thanks for the input. I don't want to spend any more than $300usd (not sure what that is in terms of pounds). I was looking at the Headroom micro amp (around $300). Do you think this would make much of a difference, i.e., do you think the sound quality would improve much?

Where would I purchase one of the DIY amps like the C-Moy?

Thanks

[u8myufo]

Well I have had my HD650`s for a couple of days now and Im totally satisfied with them, if they improve with age then thats gotta be a bonus.

Confessing to be no expert on cans, I do like the warmth, depth (there's certainly plenty of THAT), and general all-round 'no leak' of my new AKG K26Ps. They're not top end (you can get 'em delivered in the UK for under £30 if you shop around online), but they're pretty comfy once you're used to them, very portable and amazingly light ... yet oddly powerful, to me anyway ...

See my signature for my thoughts.

[extremelydodgy]

The K26P's are too much of a risk IMO, and not an improvement on the PX200. There's reported to be a variation, or indeed even a change in the sound of the phones (and I got mine before shadowritten) since some favourable reviews at first. The one I had sounded very 'Fast And Furious'... all cheap car subwoofer boom, no substance. Some people I handed them to interpreted that as warm and deep, but in terms of the overall picture the sound was of rather poor quality.

I'm using a Creek OBH21 (non SE version) with my Senn 555. The sound has more impact and control over going ampless. A very good amp that I have heard with the 555 is the Xin Super Macro 3 with OP627 opamps. Very liquid and lush sound. And I think the price is within your budget too.