Sennheiser HD555 user reviews

Pros light, amazing sound, stylish, price, comfortable

Cons big, chord a bit too long

Summary After spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on earbuds, earphones in the quest for nice-sounding buds/phones to go with my ipod, I have finally found a pair that truly live up to my expectations.

I have tried Shure's E2c's, Sony MDR earbuds, panasonic small earhphones- and all had disappointing sound quality or were difficult to fit in ears.

I hesitated before buying full sized cans as I knew I would be using them mostly on the go and headphones arent known for their small size and portability. But finally, after reading reviews on cnet and doing some research, I decided if I wanted comfort and great sound, full-sized phones were the way to go.

The HD555's are billed by Senheisser to be part of their higher end headphones, but you cant beat the price- generally the list price is around $145 but I was able to get my pair at plasmabay.com for $105 which is quite reasonable for good, quality headphones. They are sleek and stylish and for full-sized headphones, dont feel bulky. They are so light and comfortable that it is easy to forget you have them on.

The chord that comes with the phones is a bit long at 10 feet but that is probably because I listen to them with my ipod and not with a home theatre system, which would likely require a longer chord. Because of their open design, they do leak sound but you can always get the closed version in the HD500 series. The open design creates more realistic sound but if you are in a very loud environment, that sound can get in.

These are small nitpicks and nothing that would prevent me from recommending the HD555's without question!

Pros In the last couple of months, I have tried Sennheiser HD280 Pro's and AKG 240S headphones. These HD555's are far superior to both of those. The 555 frequency response is almost perfect, but more importantly, their lack of distortion and great dynamics m

Cons None

Pros Very comfortable, stylish, open design for better sound stage, tight bass, general good sound quality

Cons Open design means no noise isolation, sound is too soft

Summary Don't get me wrong, I love how comfortable and stylish these headphones are. I also like the balanced sound that these churn out. The tight bass and smooth highs are especially impressive. The main problem is that they sound too soft or restrained. It is hard to describe, but it feels as if the sound is coming from too far away as if it has lost detail and punch. Some may not mind this, but some may be bothered by it.

Pros Superb sound, even from a small source like an iPod. Clear crisp highs, tight but not overbearing bass. Fairly comfortable. Replaceable parts.

Cons Not too portable, but if you're looking at circumarual open cans, that's not what you're looking for anyway.