Sennheiser HD555 Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling (Old Model)

for a quick list of comparison pros and cons, go to the bottom of this review.these things are snug like really nice earmuffs would be. sound leakage can get kind of intense but in a college architecture studio that's the last thing on the list of importance. i bought these as used headphones [the seller owned them for a little over a year i think] so i don't know how they sound new, but apparently it's already broken in and i don't see how it can get any better anyway [esp when the 595 mod is applied].to be honest though if you're listening to music with heavy beats, i compared these to my numark red wave headphones, which have been compared to the beats in some reviews, and i compared both of those to the beats myself as well. sennheiser is best for people with a large variety of music, it's the most well-rounded pair. numarks are great for those who like fuller sound, it's fuller but not as crisp as the sennheisers. listening to music like j.cole or kanyeezeeee, numarks beat the sennheisers. and the beats have a refined base as we all know and it's pretty crisp too, so it's the best of both worlds, but simply not as elegant as the sennheisers, in my opinion. and i prefer the sound quality of sennheiser in general. and none are as comfy as these. i feel like i could sleep in them, but i'm not going to try...cuz i wouldn't hurt them like that.speaking of hurt, they did come with two tiny hairline cracks. i'd looked up before i received the order how to fix this since i knew they would be there when i got it. i just put some super glue on it, and i didn't do this trick but i think that if the crack gets a little wider it's worth a shot to take the corner of a piece of paper or some other really thin object and use it to get some super glue in there and then push it together as hard as you can so that the crack closes up at least a little and let it dry. the cracks in mine were minimal so i just put it on the surface and rubbed it upward toward the edge to get the excess off and hopefully stick it in the crack a little. they feel smooth where i glued it, unlike before, and i'm feeling pretty confident about it but i guess we'll see. i also learned about plastic adhesives that are apparently really nice so if it really breaks apart like some people claim, i'll have a few tricks up my sleeve before giving up.i mean honestly, the numarks have a fully metal head band so it's super durable. i have no fears about being hard on those babies. beats are known to break but i think the studio ones, which i have, are more durable than the solo's so i'm not super concerned but you never know. there are some youtube videos on how to put cracked beats back together using a regular headband from any store near you, so i'm set with that too. the sennheisers are my biggest priority to prevent breakage because i don't know any officially proven quick fixes for it.sennheiser hd 555pros:most comfortablemost diverse music playing abilitykindly pricedlooks pretty good on because it stays close to your head all overcons:hairline cracks freak me out a littleleaks sound pretty badlylarge unremovable jack, i had to buy a converter that had some cable to it so that it wouldn't become a 4 inch jack on my ipod/laptop.doesn't come with a case, doesn't fold. idk how to transport this safely. i can't even find a case to buy seperately.numark red wavepros:most durablereally full soundremovable jackpretty comparable to beats for just 60 bucks, not as good but damn close.that price. it's just a really good buy in general for that price.leather case, but it just barely fits in there with the cable includedcons:kinda squeezes my head and gives a small headache after a whilecircular ear cup does not go around my ear in a spacial way like the sennheisers and beats dokind of muddied sound compared to the beats and sennsstylish, but personally feels kind of chunky stylistically speaking when i wear it on my head.leaks just a bitbeats studiopros:most fashionable, for those who care about thatreally nice base without losing the crisp mids and highsalmost as comfortable as the dream cloud like sennheisersremovable jacknoise cancellingno leakage as far as i knowreally nice casecons:rumored to break realll randomly [not personal con though, i guess. just something that you'll stress over]finger prints easilyreally expensive, i got mine used from a friend for cheap [still paid more than i did for the other two headphones] but i wouldn't have paid full price for these.i still can't decide if the price comes with the name for for the quality. that's no good if i can't tell.so i think i've exhausted my thoughts. i hope this comparison helps, i tried to buy 3 pretty different headphones that have all had great reviews at different price ranges, just to see what's the best, but as you can see they all have their ups and downs. just follow your heart with this one guys, it will take you to where you need to be.

I bought Sennheiser HD555 sometime between the Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2010. Back then I did not have much experience with large headphones meaning I would not be able to recognize sound quality differences between headphones that cost $300 or $250, but this headset has taught me. I mainly use it when I play video games, on all, Xbox 360, PS3, PC. Used the HDMI cable then adapter, as well as direct connection to the PC.The headphones are relatively powerful. If I am playing a PC game, I can crank up the volume on the PC, plus I use a volume amplifier sometimes, when the game may not produce sound loud enough. But even when I bring the volume up, which is rare, the sound does not sound distorted. (I do not recommend making these headphone blast like a boombox around your neck. It can damage them if the volume is too loud).The ability of HD555 to produce loud and clear sound leads to another question. Can the others hear the headphones when they are on your ears. Answer yes. The sound does escape the confines of space between your ear and the headphone. However it is muffled, and only occurs at loud volumes.In addition to the above, I've tested the headphones many times over the two years of ownership and there is no static, hissing, or any unnatural sounds that sometimes happen with headphones that are cheaper. So that's good.Now to headphone's tangible and esthetic quality. I would rate these very high on a scale of 1-10, but since I've used about only 5-6 pairs of headphones of this size I do not know how good they can get, so I'll subjectively give these 8.5 out of 10. The plastic used for the frame that goes around the head as well as well as the cups are made from the really nice plastic that you simply will not see on many headphones under $200. It is strong, meaning it can take occasional pressure of bending, when you take the headphones one or off, or extend them. They plastic overhead frame will bend slightly but it never feels like it is under pressure to break. It sort of bounces. It is also light. The edges are rounded, not sharp like some headphones. The surface is very nice to touch and feels similar to a matte photograph. Meaning there are no finger prints. To get an idea imagine those Dr.Dre Beats by Monster. They're decent headphones but their plastic is smooth and shiny, can have finger prints, or scratches.The cups on the sides have a strong metal mesh material. I do not know if it has any effect on the sound, but it feels nice to touch and adds to the expensive look of the headphones. On the inside the headphones is plastic covered in strong, thin material.The padding that goes between the head and the headphones, as well as pads between the cups and ears are nice. Nothing special really, but they are soft. They allow for perspiration, meaning it feels like pores of the skin can have some air and not sealed off like with some headphones that may have smooth plastic material.Over time the soft padding that touches your skin and hair can gather dust. While it can be removed of course there is no way to remove the pads for replacement or washing. The ones on the ears are attached permanently. Maybe you could remove them if you disassemble the entire headset, but you may screw up everything. The strip that touches the head on the top is tightly glued on, so it is not meant to be removed either. I could easily clean them with a lint brush or a hair roller. But if your headphones are unfortunate to get water or dirt on their soft parts then I don't think there is a way to fix it.Now to the brief description on the sound. When I just got HD555 I didn't think the audio was anything special. I thought it was just good. But I was wrong. The sound is actually very good and has a wide range of frequencies when it comes to high upper limits (various high pitched treble, fine, quiet sounds, often used in ambient sound effects) After I bought this head set I had a chance to buy other decent headphones. I bought a pair by Audiotechnica, which are alright, and I had a chance to try the less expensive models of Sennheiser. Each very well reviewed. One of them is a popular $100 pair HD515. They look similar cosmetically and sound almost the same when you try to listen to some mp3s under 320kbps. But when you plug them in to watch a movie or especially games there is no comparison and HD555 blows the other ones out of the water. Playing games with good sounds, whether Xbox or PC is much more fulfilling with HD555 because I can clearly hear the quieter sounds and effects in the environments. Same goes for music. I tried it multiple times with different headphones, but every time HD555 gave me better results, which were similar to my other expensive headphones such as Audio Technica ath-AD700.Plastic quality and the padding are not as good on less expensive Sennheiser headphones, which tells me the value of HD555 really does pay off and the quality can be clearly seen.IMPORTANT:There are no drawbacks I can think of except one. If you plan on having these headphones on for longer than one hour they will become uncomfortable and you will feel discomfort around the ear. It is either that or you might start sweating. When I sweat I can feel the touch of the pads around the ear and its just not pleasant. I have to remove them, take a walk around the house relax. Then it will be non issue. This is not an issue unique to these headphones. Everyone who's used headphones a lot knows this happens.

Exactement comme dans la description. Produit top!

I'm sad these headphones seem to have gone away, because they're some of the best headphones you could own without needing an amplifier to maximize their potential. The bass is a little weak, but other then that the sound is absolutely stunning. These open-back cans really bring out all the good qualities of having open-back headphones and just surround you in the music. If you can track down a pair these days, they are some of the absolute best headphones if you're looking to just enter into audiophile territory.

Davvero soddisfatto dall'acquisto, ottime cuffie, e con una semplice modifica è possibile trasformarle nelle HD 595, su google si trovano vari articoli che spiegano come fare questa modifica e perchè sono in realtà delle 595.

耳にはすっぽりとフィットし、とてもキレイなサウンドで満足しています。

Take out the foam in the ear pieces and you've got amazing headphones.