Sennheiser HD555 Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling
by Sennheiser
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: SennheiserBrand: Sennheiser
Edition: Electronics
Model: HD555
Publisher: Sennheiser
Studio: Sennheiser
Music Label: Sennheiser
Product features:
- A comfortable, high-quality headphone system
- Extended spatial field surrounds you with sound; ergonomic Acoustic Refinement enables ideal sound channeling for a new kind of listening experience
- Features State of the Art Duolfol diaphragms
- Velour ear pads let you keep glasses on while listening
- Comes with manufacturer's 2-year warranty
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sennheiser HD555 Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling
Customer Review: A detailed review of these audiophile headphones
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though these headphones have been out for seven years, I feel it's time to write in-depth about their technical performance and give a few examples of how that plays out into the music realm.
EXTERIOR DESIGN: These are large open headphones that let sound in with only a slight attenuation in the high frequencies and virtually no attenuation in midrange or low frequencies. The grilles on these are quite large and fairly substantial (for headphones) back waves from the drivers will emanate out of them. And it's not the tinny trebly sound from small open headphones like the PX100 that others in the room can hear; but the mids and highs in songs can easily be discerned. At higher volumes, it's similar to the volume level a laptop can put out. If these characteristics do not fit your listening environment, then these particular headphones are not for you.
I've had them for nearly nine months and have used them every day. The comfort is great and the velour earpads never feel itchy either. The contact pressure of the HD555 is hardly noticeable and I can wear them for a few hours without discomfort. I would not advise expanding them too much outward as this may cause the cracks at the upper arm. Mine have no cracks on them since I expand them only slightly wider than my head when taking them on and off. I don't want to take any chances flexing these like what can be done to the headbands of the HD202 and its variants.
ACOUSTICS: The baffle is angled at 45 degrees from the front with respect to the earpads. This is the angle that sound waves arrive at the outer ear from room speakers postioned at 60 degrees to the listener (the equilateral triangle setup). Thus when listening to the HD555s, I perceive the sound occurring outside my head not just in width, but also depth. The depth extension is like being in the sweet spot of a high-quality speaker set at near-field distance! The listening experience is pleasantly natural with spacious, airy highs and mids. Crossfeed isn't really needed on these cans, since the angled sound waves strike the outer ear before entering the inner ear creating a slight time delay, which is how we perceive spatial sound. The HD800 also has an angled baffle. But the superior wave produced by the new 56mm ring driver coupled with larger earpads and housings will obviously produce an even bigger sound field than the 555.
It's worth noting that the HD555 and 595 use the same drivers (part #5128**). A clue can also be seen in that both have a max SPL of 112dB, while the 515 uses an inferior sounding driver and is rated at 108dB. The 555 and 595 also have the same inner grilles (large circular holes with a fine mesh on the other side) and outer grilles. The new 558 now has a honeycomb inner grille and a fine fabric covering the outer grille with the Sennheiser logo riveted to it. This cloth may slightly attenuate the treble, making the lows and mids seem more apparent. Perhaps that's why the box for the 558 states "outstanding bass and vocal projection" and the 598 states "natural spatial sound experience." The 598 retains the outer grille from the 555/595 and now has a frame/bracing type of design for its inner grille.
I carefully did the foam mod about a month after I bought the 555s. The biggest difference came in a fuller midrange and improved imaging/soundstage where I heard sound pieces occurring in new locations in the sound space where they weren't before. The stage also got wider and more realistic, and was easily noticed when an audience cheered and clapped after a performance. This make sense since the foam pads previously blocked much of the back waves from exiting the grilles, giving a somewhat closed sound. The treble got a little cleaner and the bass tightened as well.
SOUND QUALITY: These headphones have a remarkably smooth frequency response, running nearly flat (in terms of acoustic perception of loudness) from about 60Hz all the way to about 12kHz! I did half-octave sine wave testing by ear and the -3dB point is at 60Hz compared to 90Hz where then the volume level remains the same all the way to about 2kHz where there is just the slightest dip; then there's a slight rise only around the 3 to 4kHz region (could be my ears are more sensitive at these frequencies, but it's never noticed during music playback) and back to being level all the way to 12kHz. After 12kHz, the response starts to slowly drop until the auditory limit of 20kHz is reached.
The HD555 lacks a bit in the deeper bass extension (30 to 45Hz is another 3dB lower than 60Hz) compared to the HD650 and HD800. The frequency response chart for the HD598 at Headroom is spot on with my experience and confirms that bass and low mids should be at about a +3 or +4dB plateau and start to drop around 500Hz until 1kHz (at 0dB) is approached. In other words, from 90Hz to almost 2kHz, I can't hear a difference in volume, and so the response is very smooth and accurate! We start to hear things louder than their actual measured levels in the upper mid/lower treble 2-4kHz region so the response should be reduced a few decibels. These headphones take into account the Fletcher-Munson effect and really do have a nice signature. With a frequency response this smooth, I can enjoy music at higher volume for longer periods without any peaks promoting ear fatigue.
The bass quality is great. It has tight impact, is fast, punchy, and devoid of boominess. Perhaps this lack of boom in the bass prompts some owners to perceive the bass as weak. But boomy bass, thick-sounding muddy mids, and grainy highs indicate a good deal of diaphragm distortion is happening. And distortion makes music sound louder than it's supposed to be.
These headphones synergize wonderfully with the Xonar Essense STX on the high-gain setting. Superb dynamics, transients, detail, a deep & wide soundstage, and precise imaging are revealed with this combo. Please don't think that since these are 50 ohms, they sound fine without an amp. An amp is mandatory for unleashing its true capabilities. I plugged them into my other computer that has a Xonar DX and was shocked at the downgrade. They became dark-sounding (since the highs were veiled) with absolutely no micro/macro dynamics, resulting in flat and boring music. The soundstage was unconvincing and overall volume was quite low.
The burn-in period is very long. The proper way to run these in is with pink noise (I use the extra-high gain only for that) and sine wave sweeps at very high volume (around 100dB). They can be downloaded at audiocheck.net. Out of the box they sounded thin and bright with a sizzle at the top-end, as the pink noise test confirmed. But they'll settle in and pink noise will then sound warmer, fuller and balanced. The driver is somewhat limited in its excursion ability when it hasn't had many hours of exercise.
MUSIC PERFORMANCE: The HD555s handle various genres very well with clean sound and smooth frequency response. With this type of quality I can also easily critique how well albums were mastered. For example, Rammstein's first studio album, Herzeleid, has the best sound quality out of all their subsequent albums (figures, since it came out in 1995). This metal album has actually has great dynamics with drum attacks, clear cymbals, and fine articulation of the riffs. Crank it up on "Asche Zu Asche" and these cans display a lively and energetic performance of the epic riffs right in front of me with clear and dynamic slaps of the sticks hitting the drums. Bass guitar, prominent in "Du Riechst So Gut" and "Laichzeit" is nicely textured and controlled with no boominess in the upper bass and mid-bass. Sehnsucht had its clarity and dynamics reduced a bit, and I consider it to be the minimum of acceptable quality for this genre. Unfortunately, all their post-millennium albums, particularly their latest one, are victims of the loudness wars-- a thick and heavy overall sound with muddy riffs, indistinct cymbals, no dynamics. But find some well recorded metal music, and you'll have a head-banging, foot-stamping good time with these phones.
The HD555s outstandingly render Daft Punk's "Voyager"-- great resolution and tight bassline. And at 2:40 when the bass comes in again with the harp, they immerse me in a full-bodied mid-range ambience from the front and sides. The timing of the quick and deep bass in "Too Long" at the 5:08 mark is cohesive with the mid and high frequencies, with the tearing/ripping sound effects playing about a foot in front of me.
Finally, these cans shine with live recordings. A fine example is Yanni's Live at the Acropolis. The dynamic fanfare in "Santorini" is simply theatrical, and the huge crescendo of the horns and cymbal crash at 1:19 swallows me up like a big wave. There is excellent separation of the orchestral parts, and the finale that starts at 5:00 becomes a pure emotional event. The piano performance in "Until the Last Moment" is intimate and buttery smooth, with the string arrangements extended out to the desk in front of me. Violin performance is wonderfully expressive in "Within Attraction", showcasing excellent reverberation width inside the theater and very impressive transient response during the dueling violins section.
That all being said, the HD555 is a superb partner for a wide variety of genres and allows you to rediscover your music collection.
Description of Sennheiser HD555 Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling
The HD 555 features a special Surround Reflector, which generates and extended spatialsound field, making it the ideal headphone for home theater, as well as music.Other innovative features include Sennheiser's E.A.R. technology and optimized Duofol diaphragms for a new level of audio enjoyment. Overall listening pleasure is combined with outstanding wearing comfort.Digital Cameras and Photo Categories
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