WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.520 Way back in 1997, Sennheiser released the HD 600, and pretty much everything 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:11.680 they've done since has lived in the shadow of that monumental headphone. 00:00:08.680 --> 00:00:13.440 But, the HD 550s, well, 00:00:11.680 --> 00:00:19.280 maybe they'll just measure up. Now, the HD 500 line is typically cheaper than 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:21.680 the HD 600 and the 650s and 6XXs, but 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:26.800 the HD 550 maintains a very similar shape with a little bit more comfort 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:29.560 because this version has far less clamping force. Before we get to the 00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:35.480 headphones, I'm just noticing on the front of the box that Sennheiser is actually calling out gaming right there, 00:00:33.760 --> 00:00:39.280 which I find a bit surprising because it's outside of Sennheiser's headset 00:00:37.080 --> 00:00:44.760 lineup. Sennheiser does make gaming audio products, but to see it on their 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:46.520 more traditional wired headphones is an 00:00:44.760 --> 00:00:50.600 interesting take, but I think makes a lot of sense when you consider the kinds 00:00:48.480 --> 00:00:53.880 of people that are buying these, tech nerds like us. But, let's take a look at 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:58.640 these. Oh, the documentation's in the bag. Cool. Doesn't matter. The bag that you 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:01.880 get with it is not the nicest material and also kind of confusingly is designed 00:01:00.680 --> 00:01:05.880 to go on this way? Does that seem weird to you to have the headband at the bottom? I just 00:01:04.960 --> 00:01:11.040 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 00:01:09.360 --> 00:01:14.880 very floppy bag. Nothing special, but a nice value add. 00:01:13.320 --> 00:01:21.880 Outside of that, in the box, you get a single 1.8 m cable, and that seems 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:21.880 about right. 00:01:22.440 --> 00:01:27.880 Yeah. It's about as long about as long as me. 00:01:25.520 --> 00:01:31.520 There's a 3.5 mm adapter with a screw-on quarter-inch adapter in the box. 00:01:30.080 --> 00:01:36.680 The cable is detachable and it terminates to a 2.5 mm connector. And, 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:41.160 if you buy one from Sennheiser, you get this cool little channel that locks the 00:01:38.960 --> 00:01:44.160 cable in place in the headphone so they don't pull out from the top. It's a nice 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:49.280 feature. You might not get that on third-party cables, but most 2.5 mm 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:53.280 cables should still work just fine assuming that it is long enough to get 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:56.160 through this little hole. Your mileage may vary. There are no 00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:00.240 inline controls or anything on the cable. If you want that, you do have to buy it from Sennheiser, but it's enough 00:01:59.160 --> 00:02:05.920 about the cable. Let's look at the headphone. This is the exact same shape 00:02:02.800 --> 00:02:08.440 as the well-known HD 560s with the same 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:12.000 sturdy single-arm design. It allows for tilt, 00:02:09.600 --> 00:02:18.000 a very small amount of swivel, but you don't get any sort of angling action so 00:02:14.760 --> 00:02:20.600 much. But, the general flexibleness of 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:24.480 these headphones and also incredibly lightweight design uh make these still 00:02:22.720 --> 00:02:29.400 pretty easy to sit comfortable on your head. And, when I say lightweight, I 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:32.560 mean lightweight. They're just 237 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:35.080 g. Quite lightweight, but also indicates 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:42.800 that these are almost certainly a all-plastic design save for some of the 00:02:38.200 --> 00:02:42.800 screws. They're not creaky, though. 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:47.640 However, I could see like if you're not super careful with these or you're 00:02:46.320 --> 00:02:52.560 pretty rough with these, you could snap the headband pretty easy, 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:54.240 and maybe the adjustments 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:57.360 will wear out over time. Overall, I wouldn't call these delicate, but I 00:02:55.600 --> 00:03:01.680 wouldn't just toss them in any bag and throw them around too much. The 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:06.960 headphones are ratchet adjustable, but like it's really hard to get exactly one 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.800 notch, but I don't think it's too big of a deal because you have enough wiggle 00:03:08.920 --> 00:03:15.920 room that when you get them on your head, you'll pretty easily be able to find a position that feels really good. 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:21.560 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 00:03:18.920 --> 00:03:25.520 500 line is clamping pressure. That's when the ear cups are pressing against 00:03:23.440 --> 00:03:30.720 the side of your head. Um this is much lighter, but they still 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:33.320 stay in position really well. And, just putting them on my head, they're very 00:03:31.880 --> 00:03:38.680 comfortable. [music] The combination of the lightweight plus the lessened clamping force compared to other 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:42.560 Sennheiser designs is really nice. And, these plush 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:47.720 velour ear cups, also great. And, the synthetic leather on the headband is 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:51.080 sufficient as well. These are very open headphones. There's very little noise 00:03:49.320 --> 00:03:55.760 isolation. I mean like just look at the dust cover in here. Usually, you can't 00:03:53.640 --> 00:03:59.520 see a driver that clearly, but you can see you can see the mesh like just 00:03:57.160 --> 00:04:02.600 barely. It almost like feels cheap. It's one of those things that's kind of like 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:06.120 with gaming mice how like things have become so light because that's a good 00:04:04.320 --> 00:04:11.560 thing that picking it up feels like it lacks luxuriousness and heft, and this 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:16.480 feels the same, but it's all in service of a goal, and that goal is high-quality 00:04:14.480 --> 00:04:20.480 sound, which I would love to tell you about after this word from our sponsor. 00:04:18.840 --> 00:04:23.520 Thanks to Wolfbox for sponsoring this video. Rain is upon us, and you don't 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:28.440 want to get stuck on the side of the road as it's pouring outside. Wolfbox's 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:32.640 Megavolt 24 Air is a portable jump starter and air compressor combo that 00:04:30.440 --> 00:04:37.600 can instantly bring 12-V vehicles back to life with 4,000 amps of power and 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:43.800 quickly reinflate flat tires. Get up to 40 jump starts on a full charge thanks 00:04:39.520 --> 00:04:46.080 to a 24,000 mA battery, and a 160 PSI 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:51.120 motor can even inflate tires for pickup trucks. As a bonus, you'll also get a 00:04:47.960 --> 00:04:53.160 400-lumen flashlight and 65 W of 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:56.800 charging output for your mobile devices, all built right in. Check it out today 00:04:55.080 --> 00:04:59.640 using our link for a limited-time discount. Before I give my listening 00:04:58.200 --> 00:05:04.440 impressions, here's some quick specs about the headphone itself. The drivers 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:08.520 are 38-mm dynamic drivers. The headphones have a resistance of 150 00:05:06.640 --> 00:05:14.320 ohms, but they're very sensitive, so they're quite easy to drive. I had no 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:17.880 issue running this off of the laptop or 00:05:14.320 --> 00:05:19.640 off of this overkill JDS Elements amp. 00:05:17.880 --> 00:05:25.480 The reported frequency response from Sennheiser is 6 Hz to 39.5 kHz, which is 00:05:23.960 --> 00:05:31.320 well beyond the range of human hearing, which usually goes from 20 to 20,000 Hz. 00:05:28.520 --> 00:05:34.080 So, um you're probably covered, but it should be noted that open-back 00:05:32.440 --> 00:05:38.520 headphones, especially Sennheiser open-backs, are noted for their bass 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:41.600 roll-off. That means they're not kind of the bassiest headphones. It gets a lot 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:44.680 quieter down there. Uh and that's not always a bad thing. That's just a point 00:05:43.080 --> 00:05:47.360 of preference. So, let's let's take a listen now. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:57.080 They sound really good. Like, I don't know what more could you 00:05:54.280 --> 00:06:01.000 really ask for. These are, on the whole, a relatively uh neutral headphone, 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:05.520 though they have a little bit of extra sparkle in the top end compared to, I'd 00:06:03.760 --> 00:06:11.880 say, the typical Sennheiser um headphone. So, if you're somebody who maybe has had a HD 600 in the past and 00:06:09.320 --> 00:06:15.960 you thought that they felt veiled, this, I would say, solves that problem. 00:06:13.880 --> 00:06:19.520 Though, I will say with some specific distortion on certain tracks, there was 00:06:18.640 --> 00:06:23.760 um some clear peaks in the treble, but 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:28.200 honestly nothing too offensive. While these aren't exactly a bassy headphone, 00:06:25.520 --> 00:06:31.240 they have no troubles reproducing the bass. And, I'm sure if you slapped a 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:36.880 nice EQ on this, you could get a little bit of a better bass response if you want some real rumble. You're obviously 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:41.520 not going to be able to get as much bass as you would with a closed-back headphone. That's just the nature of 00:06:40.080 --> 00:06:46.440 open-back headphones. And, I will say that like while I was wearing these and listening to music, you can really hear 00:06:44.640 --> 00:06:50.160 everything, and I'm sure you guys can attest that you can hear everything I 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:55.560 was listening to. And, it wasn't even at a very loud volume. But, 00:06:52.960 --> 00:06:58.240 honestly, easy recommend from a personal perspective. There's 00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:03.760 enough detail in the highs, the mids are very full-bodied, things sound natural, 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:06.960 but I am not every pair of ears. So, let's take a look at what Labs has to 00:07:05.520 --> 00:07:11.120 say about these. We're taking a look at our frequency response chart right here. 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:15.040 The average listener preference, that's the white area. Basically, headphones 00:07:13.400 --> 00:07:20.200 that fall into this area will probably sound good to anybody. They might not 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.600 sound good to everybody, but on average you got a good there's a good chance 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:26.400 you'll like them. The red line is what we're looking at, and that's the actual 00:07:24.640 --> 00:07:31.760 frequency response. And, as we can see, this does a great job of staying in the 00:07:29.640 --> 00:07:35.000 average listener area. And, you can see that it's also very, very flat, which 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:38.560 indicates a fairly neutral sound. When we look at 00:07:36.840 --> 00:07:42.280 the low end, that's where we see that bass roll-off that is substantially 00:07:40.880 --> 00:07:47.040 outside of the window. I would not consider that to be bad. That is a point 00:07:44.640 --> 00:07:50.840 of preference. Many people will enjoy extra oomph in their bass cuz it's a 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:55.120 little bit more fun to listen to. But, as I said, bass reproduction on this is 00:07:52.640 --> 00:07:58.840 very clear. It's very good. And, maybe if you want to bump it up in your EQ, 00:07:56.960 --> 00:08:02.360 you might be able to uh get a little bit more fun out of these. The only real 00:08:00.960 --> 00:08:05.880 thing of note that was pointed out to me from Labs is a spike at around 10 kHz. 00:08:04.880 --> 00:08:10.360 You might find that if you're very sensitive to sounds around that region, that's very high-pitched sounds. So, 00:08:08.960 --> 00:08:15.400 things like, as I mentioned before, distortion or like kind of the the 00:08:13.200 --> 00:08:20.160 sparkle of cymbals, you might find that this brings those out a little much. I 00:08:17.760 --> 00:08:23.880 would not call it overpowering, but something to note. The Labs comments 00:08:21.960 --> 00:08:28.360 call out that the bass is a bit lean. I agree. Uh but, great midrange and upper 00:08:26.520 --> 00:08:31.600 mids and treble are a bit forward. I think it sounds really good and 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:37.320 relatively balanced, and I liked that added detail. I think these are 00:08:34.400 --> 00:08:41.719 excellent, and I'm glad that the graphs back me up. So, who is this for and how 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:47.000 much are you going to pay for it? If you are somebody who is cool with a simple 00:08:44.520 --> 00:08:53.280 wired headphone, to me, this has almost made the HD 600s 00:08:50.560 --> 00:08:58.360 pointless. These sound so good, and they're substantially cheaper. These go 00:08:55.480 --> 00:09:03.680 for $350, but we've actually seen these on sale for 250 Canadian dollars, which 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:06.360 is like, honestly, a no-brainer if you're in the market for a good pair of 00:09:04.840 --> 00:09:09.560 headphones. I have literally zero hesitations recommending this to anybody 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:13.360 who wants a straight-up simple pair of headphones. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:17.680 Sennheiser just made a lot of their more expensive headphones kind of pointless. 00:09:15.880 --> 00:09:20.960 You played yourself. But, you know what? That's good because we, the consumer, 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:24.480 win. Finally, one for the little guys. Thanks 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:27.760 for watching. If you enjoyed this video, why not check out my video on the Focal 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:31.480 Bathys? That's the things that I listen to every single day at my desk here at 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:34.080 work. And, they are wonderful headphones.