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Sennheiser Headphones

wywern209

wywern209

macrumors 65832
Original poster
Sep 7, 2008
1,503
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do you rly want to know?
Which one is better?
the Sennheiser HD555 or the HD280 Pro? this pair will primarily be used for listening to ALAC encoded music and for the occasional movie on a 2nd generation iPod Touch.

thanks,
-wywern209
 
I own the HD280 Pro's. I use them mainly for mixing and Pro Tools work.

I occasionally use them to listen to music straight from my iPod. They are wonderful, and work really well. They cancel out outside noise wonderfully, and also have a great frequency response.

the HD555 headphones are also very nice. They also have a very large frequency response range and a slightly higher SPL level.

All in all the HD280 Pro's allow for some lower bass but a slightly less SPL than that of the HD555's.

For your purposes both of the headphones will work beautifully. My vote would be for the HD280 Pro's because that is what I have grown to love ;).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the noise impedance level on the HD280 Pro's is almost 15 ohms greater than that of the HD555's
 
Xavier said:
I own the HD280 Pro's. I use them mainly for mixing and Pro Tools work.

I occasionally use them to listen to music straight from my iPod. They are wonderful, and work really well. They cancel out outside noise wonderfully, and also have a great frequency response.

the HD555 headphones are also very nice. They also have a very large frequency response range and a slightly higher SPL level.

All in all the HD280 Pro's allow for some lower bass but a slightly less SPL than that of the HD555's.

For your purposes both of the headphones will work beautifully. My vote would be for the HD280 Pro's because that is what I have grown to love ;).

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the noise impedance level on the HD280 Pro's is almost 15 ohms greater than that of the HD555's
Click to expand...

i don't mind the fact that the HD 555 is a open headphone. what i need to know is what is SPL? :confused:
 
wywern209 said:
i don't mind the fact that the HD 555 is a open headphone. what i need to know is what is SPL? :confused:
Click to expand...

SPL stands for Sound Pressure Level. The greater the sound pressure level the greater the intensity of sound the headphones can withstand. Loudness factor.

But in most listening situations, you will never exceed the SPL of the headphones.
 
Like I stated above, the HD280 Pro's have a greater frequency response. They do have good bass.

Like I have said above, for listening to music on an iPod or Apples Lossless encoding, both headphones will do great. My personal preference is the HD280 Pro's
 
I have also heard that the HD 280 pro is very tight as in it clamps on your head like a vise. This could be a bad problem as I wear glasses. Are they as tight as some claim it to be? And can I listen for a while without having my ears feel fatigued? In other words are they comfortable?
 
da meat tree said:
For the same price, you can get Grado SR80i's which are, in my opinion a lot better sounding if you listen to acoustic music, or generally music that's not bass-beat.
Click to expand...

Ugh. You're a complete jerk for spending my money. ;) I've never thought to own a pair of open-ear headphones, but your post got me curious, and I just ordered a pair from Amazon.
 
I prefer the Sennheiser 555 HD headphone. They deliver exceptional sound quality. Also, being that I wear glasses I found that they didn't push the frames of my glasses into the side of my head. They don't have allot of weight to them so they are easy to wear for extended periods of time. :)
 
i know koss is not a popular brand these days, but I purchased my pair of koss headphones back in the 90's. over the years each side broke when I stepped on them or they fell off the table. i glued them back togeather and they ended up looking ridiculous - like more epoxy than headphone. Anyways last year the sound stopped coming out of one headphone. I sent them back to Koss and they replaced the headphones under their lifetime warranty. Their customer service beats Apple!
 
the only reason why i ended up opting for the Hd 280 instead of the HD 555 was that the 280 ends w/ a 3.5mm plug while the HD 555 ends with a 6.3 mm plug. I saw some reviews on amazon that said that the extension on the 6.3mm plug to make it a 3.5 mm plug was putting too much pressure on the jack causing the headphone jack to cease functioning.I really wonder whose "great" idea it was to make the 555s terminate w/ a 1/4 in plug instead of a 1/8in. Isn't 1/8inch standard?
what significant use is there to putting a 6.3mm plug on it as the default?
 
To the OP, have you any feedback on the headphones you got? What are they like for sound, comfort, ad so on?

To everyone else, since this thread seems to have been revived, has anyone any thoughts on or had experiences with the Sennheiser 598 HD range? I am curious as to whether these headphones are as good as the reviews seem to suggest.

Cheers
 
I got the HD 280 pro and feel that the sound response is good for the price i paid and comfort really varies. it isn't the most comfy in the world but for me it is a snug fit. it does however take some time for the sound to smooth out. like 50-100 hrs. this mainly tames the highs so they aren't as strong and also brings the bass into focus. all in all for 85 bucks a good deal but there are other headphones for comfort. Also, the HD 598 is simply a design makeover from the 595 so get the 595 for less unless the design of the 98 appeals to u.
 
wywern209 said:
I got the HD 280 pro and feel that the sound response is good for the price i paid and comfort really varies. it isn't the most comfy in the world but for me it is a snug fit. it does however take some time for the sound to smooth out. like 50-100 hrs. this mainly tames the highs so they aren't as strong and also brings the bass into focus. all in all for 85 bucks a good deal but there are other headphones for comfort. Also, the HD 598 is simply a design makeover from the 595 so get the 595 for less unless the design of the 98 appeals to u.
Click to expand...

Interesting post and comment, and thanks for it as I have been giving serious thought to getting the 598. Actually, I have been reading online reviews of the HD 598 with interest, and some of them seem to suggest that the HD 598 is quite a bit better than the 595.

Do you really think that the 598 is simply a triumph of style and hype over substance? What are thoughts generally on the 598, or which of the Sennheiser HD range are actually the best?

Cheers
 
wywern209 said:
I have also heard that the HD 280 pro is very tight as in it clamps on your head like a vise. This could be a bad problem as I wear glasses. Are they as tight as some claim it to be? And can I listen for a while without having my ears feel fatigued? In other words are they comfortable?
Click to expand...

Truth, they sound great, but they are super tight, I stretched them out for a good bit letting them sit stretched, but still didn't help much. I had to sell them.

I'm currently looking for a new pair now. Possibly AKG K271MKII.
 
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