{"video_id":"lGCAVsYVvaA","title":"Congratulations Sennheiser, you played yourself - Sennheiser HD 550","channel":"ShortCircuit","show":"ShortCircuit","published_at":"2025-12-05T14:58:16Z","duration_s":573,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":6.52,"text":"Way back in 1997, Sennheiser released the HD 600, and pretty much everything","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":5.04,"end_s":11.68,"text":"they've done since has lived in the shadow of that monumental headphone.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.68,"end_s":13.44,"text":"But, the HD 550s, well,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.68,"end_s":19.28,"text":"maybe they'll just measure up. Now, the HD 500 line is typically cheaper than","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.0,"end_s":21.68,"text":"the HD 600 and the 650s and 6XXs, but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":19.28,"end_s":26.8,"text":"the HD 550 maintains a very similar shape with a little bit more comfort","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.32,"end_s":29.56,"text":"because this version has far less clamping force. Before we get to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.2,"end_s":35.48,"text":"headphones, I'm just noticing on the front of the box that Sennheiser is actually calling out gaming right there,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.76,"end_s":39.28,"text":"which I find a bit surprising because it's outside of Sennheiser's headset","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":37.08,"end_s":44.76,"text":"lineup. Sennheiser does make gaming audio products, but to see it on their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.24,"end_s":46.52,"text":"more traditional wired headphones is an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":44.76,"end_s":50.6,"text":"interesting take, but I think makes a lot of sense when you consider the kinds","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":48.48,"end_s":53.88,"text":"of people that are buying these, tech nerds like us. But, let's take a look at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":52.64,"end_s":58.64,"text":"these. Oh, the documentation's in the bag. Cool. Doesn't matter. The bag that you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.92,"end_s":61.88,"text":"get with it is not the nicest material and also kind of confusingly is designed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.68,"end_s":65.88,"text":"to go on this way? Does that seem weird to you to have the headband at the bottom? I just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.96,"end_s":71.04,"text":"do it like this. Maybe I'm just an idiot. Oh, I'm an idiot. I've just never seen it with such a curve. It's a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.36,"end_s":74.88,"text":"very floppy bag. Nothing special, but a nice value add.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":73.32,"end_s":81.88,"text":"Outside of that, in the box, you get a single 1.8 m cable, and that seems","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.12,"end_s":81.88,"text":"about right.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.44,"end_s":87.88,"text":"Yeah. It's about as long about as long as me.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.52,"end_s":91.52,"text":"There's a 3.5 mm adapter with a screw-on quarter-inch adapter in the box.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.08,"end_s":96.68,"text":"The cable is detachable and it terminates to a 2.5 mm connector. And,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.28,"end_s":101.16,"text":"if you buy one from Sennheiser, you get this cool little channel that locks the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.96,"end_s":104.16,"text":"cable in place in the headphone so they don't pull out from the top. It's a nice","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.76,"end_s":109.28,"text":"feature. You might not get that on third-party cables, but most 2.5 mm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.0,"end_s":113.28,"text":"cables should still work just fine assuming that it is long enough to get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.48,"end_s":116.16,"text":"through this little hole. Your mileage may vary. There are no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.56,"end_s":120.24,"text":"inline controls or anything on the cable. If you want that, you do have to buy it from Sennheiser, but it's enough","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":119.16,"end_s":125.92,"text":"about the cable. Let's look at the headphone. This is the exact same shape","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.8,"end_s":128.44,"text":"as the well-known HD 560s with the same","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.92,"end_s":132.0,"text":"sturdy single-arm design. It allows for tilt,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.6,"end_s":138.0,"text":"a very small amount of swivel, but you don't get any sort of angling action so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.76,"end_s":140.6,"text":"much. But, the general flexibleness of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.0,"end_s":144.48,"text":"these headphones and also incredibly lightweight design uh make these still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":142.72,"end_s":149.4,"text":"pretty easy to sit comfortable on your head. And, when I say lightweight, I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":146.36,"end_s":152.56,"text":"mean lightweight. They're just 237","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.4,"end_s":155.08,"text":"g. Quite lightweight, but also indicates","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":152.56,"end_s":162.8,"text":"that these are almost certainly a all-plastic design save for some of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.2,"end_s":162.8,"text":"screws. They're not creaky, though.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":162.92,"end_s":167.64,"text":"However, I could see like if you're not super careful with these or you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":166.32,"end_s":172.56,"text":"pretty rough with these, you could snap the headband pretty easy,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.56,"end_s":174.24,"text":"and maybe the adjustments","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.56,"end_s":177.36,"text":"will wear out over time. Overall, I wouldn't call these delicate, but I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":175.6,"end_s":181.68,"text":"wouldn't just toss them in any bag and throw them around too much. The","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.0,"end_s":186.96,"text":"headphones are ratchet adjustable, but like it's really hard to get exactly one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":185.0,"end_s":189.8,"text":"notch, but I don't think it's too big of a deal because you have enough wiggle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.92,"end_s":195.92,"text":"room that when you get them on your head, you'll pretty easily be able to find a position that feels really good.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.36,"end_s":201.56,"text":"And, boy, do these feel really good. One issue that comes up for a lot of people with the HD 600s and even some of the HD","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.92,"end_s":205.52,"text":"500 line is clamping pressure. That's when the ear cups are pressing against","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.44,"end_s":210.72,"text":"the side of your head. Um this is much lighter, but they still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.24,"end_s":213.32,"text":"stay in position really well. And, just putting them on my head, they're very","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.88,"end_s":218.68,"text":"comfortable. [music] The combination of the lightweight plus the lessened clamping force compared to other","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.0,"end_s":222.56,"text":"Sennheiser designs is really nice. And, these plush","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.84,"end_s":227.72,"text":"velour ear cups, also great. And, the synthetic leather on the headband is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.28,"end_s":231.08,"text":"sufficient as well. These are very open headphones. There's very little noise","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.32,"end_s":235.76,"text":"isolation. I mean like just look at the dust cover in here. Usually, you can't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.64,"end_s":239.52,"text":"see a driver that clearly, but you can see you can see the mesh like just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.16,"end_s":242.6,"text":"barely. It almost like feels cheap. It's one of those things that's kind of like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.56,"end_s":246.12,"text":"with gaming mice how like things have become so light because that's a good","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":244.32,"end_s":251.56,"text":"thing that picking it up feels like it lacks luxuriousness and heft, and this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":249.12,"end_s":256.48,"text":"feels the same, but it's all in service of a goal, and that goal is high-quality","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.48,"end_s":260.48,"text":"sound, which I would love to tell you about after this word from our sponsor.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.84,"end_s":263.52,"text":"Thanks to Wolfbox for sponsoring this video. Rain is upon us, and you don't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":262.36,"end_s":268.44,"text":"want to get stuck on the side of the road as it's pouring outside. Wolfbox's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":266.16,"end_s":272.64,"text":"Megavolt 24 Air is a portable jump starter and air compressor combo that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":270.44,"end_s":277.6,"text":"can instantly bring 12-V vehicles back to life with 4,000 amps of power and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":275.48,"end_s":283.8,"text":"quickly reinflate flat tires. Get up to 40 jump starts on a full charge thanks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":279.52,"end_s":286.08,"text":"to a 24,000 mA battery, and a 160 PSI","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":283.8,"end_s":291.12,"text":"motor can even inflate tires for pickup trucks. As a bonus, you'll also get a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":287.96,"end_s":293.16,"text":"400-lumen flashlight and 65 W of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":291.12,"end_s":296.8,"text":"charging output for your mobile devices, all built right in. Check it out today","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":295.08,"end_s":299.64,"text":"using our link for a limited-time discount. Before I give my listening","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":298.2,"end_s":304.44,"text":"impressions, here's some quick specs about the headphone itself. The drivers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":301.56,"end_s":308.52,"text":"are 38-mm dynamic drivers. The headphones have a resistance of 150","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":306.64,"end_s":314.32,"text":"ohms, but they're very sensitive, so they're quite easy to drive. I had no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":310.72,"end_s":317.88,"text":"issue running this off of the laptop or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":314.32,"end_s":319.64,"text":"off of this overkill JDS Elements amp.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.88,"end_s":325.48,"text":"The reported frequency response from Sennheiser is 6 Hz to 39.5 kHz, which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":323.96,"end_s":331.32,"text":"well beyond the range of human hearing, which usually goes from 20 to 20,000 Hz.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.52,"end_s":334.08,"text":"So, um you're probably covered, but it should be noted that open-back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":332.44,"end_s":338.52,"text":"headphones, especially Sennheiser open-backs, are noted for their bass","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":336.56,"end_s":341.6,"text":"roll-off. That means they're not kind of the bassiest headphones. It gets a lot","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":339.92,"end_s":344.68,"text":"quieter down there. Uh and that's not always a bad thing. That's just a point","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":343.08,"end_s":347.36,"text":"of preference. So, let's let's take a listen now.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":350.48,"end_s":357.08,"text":"They sound really good. Like, I don't know what more could you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.28,"end_s":361.0,"text":"really ask for. These are, on the whole, a relatively uh neutral headphone,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.56,"end_s":365.52,"text":"though they have a little bit of extra sparkle in the top end compared to, I'd","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":363.76,"end_s":371.88,"text":"say, the typical Sennheiser um headphone. So, if you're somebody who maybe has had a HD 600 in the past and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":369.32,"end_s":375.96,"text":"you thought that they felt veiled, this, I would say, solves that problem.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":373.88,"end_s":379.52,"text":"Though, I will say with some specific distortion on certain tracks, there was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.64,"end_s":383.76,"text":"um some clear peaks in the treble, but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.16,"end_s":388.2,"text":"honestly nothing too offensive. While these aren't exactly a bassy headphone,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":385.52,"end_s":391.24,"text":"they have no troubles reproducing the bass. And, I'm sure if you slapped a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":389.6,"end_s":396.88,"text":"nice EQ on this, you could get a little bit of a better bass response if you want some real rumble. You're obviously","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":395.24,"end_s":401.52,"text":"not going to be able to get as much bass as you would with a closed-back headphone. That's just the nature of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":400.08,"end_s":406.44,"text":"open-back headphones. And, I will say that like while I was wearing these and listening to music, you can really hear","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.64,"end_s":410.16,"text":"everything, and I'm sure you guys can attest that you can hear everything I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.48,"end_s":415.56,"text":"was listening to. And, it wasn't even at a very loud volume. But,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.96,"end_s":418.24,"text":"honestly, easy recommend from a personal perspective. There's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":417.0,"end_s":423.76,"text":"enough detail in the highs, the mids are very full-bodied, things sound natural,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":421.04,"end_s":426.96,"text":"but I am not every pair of ears. So, let's take a look at what Labs has to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":425.52,"end_s":431.12,"text":"say about these. We're taking a look at our frequency response chart right here.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.68,"end_s":435.04,"text":"The average listener preference, that's the white area. Basically, headphones","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":433.4,"end_s":440.2,"text":"that fall into this area will probably sound good to anybody. They might not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":438.24,"end_s":442.6,"text":"sound good to everybody, but on average you got a good there's a good chance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":441.36,"end_s":446.4,"text":"you'll like them. The red line is what we're looking at, and that's the actual","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":444.64,"end_s":451.76,"text":"frequency response. And, as we can see, this does a great job of staying in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":449.64,"end_s":455.0,"text":"average listener area. And, you can see that it's also very, very flat, which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":453.36,"end_s":458.56,"text":"indicates a fairly neutral sound. When we look at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":456.84,"end_s":462.28,"text":"the low end, that's where we see that bass roll-off that is substantially","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":460.88,"end_s":467.04,"text":"outside of the window. I would not consider that to be bad. That is a point","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":464.64,"end_s":470.84,"text":"of preference. Many people will enjoy extra oomph in their bass cuz it's a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":468.6,"end_s":475.12,"text":"little bit more fun to listen to. But, as I said, bass reproduction on this is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.64,"end_s":478.84,"text":"very clear. It's very good. And, maybe if you want to bump it up in your EQ,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":476.96,"end_s":482.36,"text":"you might be able to uh get a little bit more fun out of these. The only real","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":480.96,"end_s":485.88,"text":"thing of note that was pointed out to me from Labs is a spike at around 10 kHz.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.88,"end_s":490.36,"text":"You might find that if you're very sensitive to sounds around that region, that's very high-pitched sounds. So,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.96,"end_s":495.4,"text":"things like, as I mentioned before, distortion or like kind of the the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":493.2,"end_s":500.16,"text":"sparkle of cymbals, you might find that this brings those out a little much. I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":497.76,"end_s":503.88,"text":"would not call it overpowering, but something to note. The Labs comments","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":501.96,"end_s":508.36,"text":"call out that the bass is a bit lean. I agree. Uh but, great midrange and upper","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":506.52,"end_s":511.6,"text":"mids and treble are a bit forward. I think it sounds really good and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":510.04,"end_s":517.32,"text":"relatively balanced, and I liked that added detail. I think these are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":514.4,"end_s":521.719,"text":"excellent, and I'm glad that the graphs back me up. So, who is this for and how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":520.12,"end_s":527.0,"text":"much are you going to pay for it? If you are somebody who is cool with a simple","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":524.52,"end_s":533.28,"text":"wired headphone, to me, this has almost made the HD 600s","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":530.56,"end_s":538.36,"text":"pointless. These sound so good, and they're substantially cheaper. These go","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":535.48,"end_s":543.68,"text":"for $350, but we've actually seen these on sale for 250 Canadian dollars, which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.44,"end_s":546.36,"text":"is like, honestly, a no-brainer if you're in the market for a good pair of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":544.84,"end_s":549.56,"text":"headphones. I have literally zero hesitations recommending this to anybody","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":548.12,"end_s":553.36,"text":"who wants a straight-up simple pair of headphones.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":551.84,"end_s":557.68,"text":"Sennheiser just made a lot of their more expensive headphones kind of pointless.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.88,"end_s":560.96,"text":"You played yourself. But, you know what? That's good because we, the consumer,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":559.72,"end_s":564.48,"text":"win. Finally, one for the little guys. Thanks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":563.2,"end_s":567.76,"text":"for watching. If you enjoyed this video, why not check out my video on the Focal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":566.32,"end_s":571.48,"text":"Bathys? That's the things that I listen to every single day at my desk here at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":569.6,"end_s":574.08,"text":"work. And, they are wonderful headphones.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Way back in 1997, Sennheiser released the HD 600, and pretty much everything they've done since has lived in the shadow of that monumental headphone. But, the HD 550s, well, maybe they'll just measure up. Now, the HD 500 line is typically cheaper than the HD 600 and the 650s and 6XXs, but the HD 550 maintains a very similar shape with a little bit more comfort because this version has far less clamping force. Before we get to the headphones, I'm just noticing on the front of the box that Sennheiser is actually calling out gaming right there, which I find a bit surprising because it's outside of Sennheiser's headset lineup. Sennheiser does make gaming audio products, but to see it on their more traditional wired headphones is an interesting take, but I think makes a lot of sense when you consider the kinds of people that are buying these, tech nerds like us. But, let's take a look at these. Oh, the documentation's in the bag. Cool. Doesn't matter. The bag that you get with it is not the nicest material and also kind of confusingly is designed to go on this way? Does that seem weird to you to have the headband at the bottom? I just do it like this. Maybe I'm just an idiot. Oh, I'm an idiot. I've just never seen it with such a curve. It's a very floppy bag. Nothing special, but a nice value add. Outside of that, in the box, you get a single 1.8 m cable, and that seems about right. Yeah. It's about as long about as long as me. There's a 3.5 mm adapter with a screw-on quarter-inch adapter in the box. The cable is detachable and it terminates to a 2.5 mm connector. And, if you buy one from Sennheiser, you get this cool little channel that locks the cable in place in the headphone so they don't pull out from the top. It's a nice feature. You might not get that on third-party cables, but most 2.5 mm cables should still work just fine assuming that it is long enough to get through this little hole. Your mileage may vary. There are no inline controls or anything on the cable. If you want that, you do have to buy it from Sennheiser, but it's enough about the cable. Let's look at the headphone. This is the exact same shape as the well-known HD 560s with the same sturdy single-arm design. It allows for tilt, a very small amount of swivel, but you don't get any sort of angling action so much. But, the general flexibleness of these headphones and also incredibly lightweight design uh make these still pretty easy to sit comfortable on your head. And, when I say lightweight, I mean lightweight. They're just 237 g. Quite lightweight, but also indicates that these are almost certainly a all-plastic design save for some of the screws. They're not creaky, though. However, I could see like if you're not super careful with these or you're pretty rough with these, you could snap the headband pretty easy, and maybe the adjustments will wear out over time. Overall, I wouldn't call these delicate, but I wouldn't just toss them in any bag and throw them around too much. The headphones are ratchet adjustable, but like it's really hard to get exactly one notch, but I don't think it's too big of a deal because you have enough wiggle room that when you get them on your head, you'll pretty easily be able to find a position that feels really good. And, boy, do these feel really good. One issue that comes up for a lot of people with the HD 600s and even some of the HD 500 line is clamping pressure. That's when the ear cups are pressing against the side of your head. Um this is much lighter, but they still stay in position really well. And, just putting them on my head, they're very comfortable. [music] The combination of the lightweight plus the lessened clamping force compared to other Sennheiser designs is really nice. And, these plush velour ear cups, also great. And, the synthetic leather on the headband is sufficient as well. These are very open headphones. There's very little noise isolation. I mean like just look at the dust cover in here. Usually, you can't see a driver that clearly, but you can see you can see the mesh like just barely. It almost like feels cheap. It's one of those things that's kind of like with gaming mice how like things have become so light because that's a good thing that picking it up feels like it lacks luxuriousness and heft, and this feels the same, but it's all in service of a goal, and that goal is high-quality sound, which I would love to tell you about after this word from our sponsor. Thanks to Wolfbox for sponsoring this video. Rain is upon us, and you don't want to get stuck on the side of the road as it's pouring outside. Wolfbox's Megavolt 24 Air is a portable jump starter and air compressor combo that can instantly bring 12-V vehicles back to life with 4,000 amps of power and quickly reinflate flat tires. Get up to 40 jump starts on a full charge thanks to a 24,000 mA battery, and a 160 PSI motor can even inflate tires for pickup trucks. As a bonus, you'll also get a 400-lumen flashlight and 65 W of charging output for your mobile devices, all built right in. Check it out today using our link for a limited-time discount. Before I give my listening impressions, here's some quick specs about the headphone itself. The drivers are 38-mm dynamic drivers. The headphones have a resistance of 150 ohms, but they're very sensitive, so they're quite easy to drive. I had no issue running this off of the laptop or off of this overkill JDS Elements amp. The reported frequency response from Sennheiser is 6 Hz to 39.5 kHz, which is well beyond the range of human hearing, which usually goes from 20 to 20,000 Hz. So, um you're probably covered, but it should be noted that open-back headphones, especially Sennheiser open-backs, are noted for their bass roll-off. That means they're not kind of the bassiest headphones. It gets a lot quieter down there. Uh and that's not always a bad thing. That's just a point of preference. So, let's let's take a listen now. They sound really good. Like, I don't know what more could you really ask for. These are, on the whole, a relatively uh neutral headphone, though they have a little bit of extra sparkle in the top end compared to, I'd say, the typical Sennheiser um headphone. So, if you're somebody who maybe has had a HD 600 in the past and you thought that they felt veiled, this, I would say, solves that problem. Though, I will say with some specific distortion on certain tracks, there was um some clear peaks in the treble, but honestly nothing too offensive. While these aren't exactly a bassy headphone, they have no troubles reproducing the bass. And, I'm sure if you slapped a nice EQ on this, you could get a little bit of a better bass response if you want some real rumble. You're obviously not going to be able to get as much bass as you would with a closed-back headphone. That's just the nature of open-back headphones. And, I will say that like while I was wearing these and listening to music, you can really hear everything, and I'm sure you guys can attest that you can hear everything I was listening to. And, it wasn't even at a very loud volume. But, honestly, easy recommend from a personal perspective. There's enough detail in the highs, the mids are very full-bodied, things sound natural, but I am not every pair of ears. So, let's take a look at what Labs has to say about these. We're taking a look at our frequency response chart right here. The average listener preference, that's the white area. Basically, headphones that fall into this area will probably sound good to anybody. They might not sound good to everybody, but on average you got a good there's a good chance you'll like them. The red line is what we're looking at, and that's the actual frequency response. And, as we can see, this does a great job of staying in the average listener area. And, you can see that it's also very, very flat, which indicates a fairly neutral sound. When we look at the low end, that's where we see that bass roll-off that is substantially outside of the window. I would not consider that to be bad. That is a point of preference. Many people will enjoy extra oomph in their bass cuz it's a little bit more fun to listen to. But, as I said, bass reproduction on this is very clear. It's very good. And, maybe if you want to bump it up in your EQ, you might be able to uh get a little bit more fun out of these. The only real thing of note that was pointed out to me from Labs is a spike at around 10 kHz. You might find that if you're very sensitive to sounds around that region, that's very high-pitched sounds. So, things like, as I mentioned before, distortion or like kind of the the sparkle of cymbals, you might find that this brings those out a little much. I would not call it overpowering, but something to note. The Labs comments call out that the bass is a bit lean. I agree. Uh but, great midrange and upper mids and treble are a bit forward. I think it sounds really good and relatively balanced, and I liked that added detail. I think these are excellent, and I'm glad that the graphs back me up. So, who is this for and how much are you going to pay for it? If you are somebody who is cool with a simple wired headphone, to me, this has almost made the HD 600s pointless. These sound so good, and they're substantially cheaper. These go for $350, but we've actually seen these on sale for 250 Canadian dollars, which is like, honestly, a no-brainer if you're in the market for a good pair of headphones. I have literally zero hesitations recommending this to anybody who wants a straight-up simple pair of headphones. Sennheiser just made a lot of their more expensive headphones kind of pointless. You played yourself. But, you know what? That's good because we, the consumer, win. Finally, one for the little guys. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, why not check out my video on the Focal Bathys? That's the things that I listen to every single day at my desk here at work. And, they are wonderful headphones."}