Sennheiser HD 558 Headphones
Sennheiser HD 558 Headphones
- Audiophile-grade over-ear, open-back headphones
- Twist and lock single-sided cable eliminates tangles and simplifies exchanges
- Gold-plated 1/4″ plug with 1/8″ adapter
- Highly optimized, field-strengthened neodymium ferrous magnet system
- Internal Sound Reflector immerses the listener in rich audio
Featuring an internal surround reflector, the HD 558 audiophile headphones are able to generate an extended spatial sound field for a listening experience that immerses the wearer during music and movies. They are outfitted with Sennheiser’s innovative E.A.R. technology which ensures accurate channeling of audio signals into your ears, as well as sophisticated Duofol diaphragms which reduce unwanted resonances to an absolute minimum. The HD 558 come with plush, luxurious velour ear pads and he
List Price: $ 179.95
Price:
Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7GM SonicPro Over-Ear High-Resolution Audio Headphones, Gun Metal Gray
- Newly designed 45 mm True Motion Drivers deliver Hi-Res Audio reproduction
- Multi-layer Air Damping Technology
- Ultra-comfortable, soft, memory foam ear pads and headband
- Three detachable cables
- Stainless steel acoustic mesh resistor
Springing from Audio-Technica’s rich heritage in professional audio, the ATH-MSR7 Over-Ear High-Resolution Audio Headphones are designed to reproduce Hi-Res Audio, allowing users to hear music the way it was intended. The over-ear headphones are outfitted with exclusive 45 mm True Motion Drivers, which utilize lightweight voice coils, a custom-mounted printed circuit board and specially designed diaphragm to improve transient response and minimize sound distortion for rich, detailed audio reprod
List Price: $ 249.95
Price:
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These headphones will give you multiple EAR-gasms.,
+ Provides clarity and increased bass.
+ Gives an immersive music and movie experience.
+ Very comfortable earpiece and headband coverings.
+ Comes with 10 feet of cord, and an adapter for standard 1/8 headphone jacks.
CONS:
– Other people can hear if you crank up the volume.
– Pricey, but they’re worth the price.
OVERVIEW:
I won’t pretend to know what Eargonomic Acoustic Refinement (E.A.R.) technology or an internal surround reflector is: I’m just an average guy who likes his music and movies, and doesn’t enjoy feeling like his ears are drowning in sweat after taking the headphones off.
After using these, I can say that they not only gave me superior sounding bass, but they allowed me to hear sounds in music and movies that I’ve never picked up before. Plus, the coverings kept my ears free and clear from sweat.
Here’s a few of the quality tests I performed:
MUSIC TESTS:
The Prodigy – Firestarter: This was the first song that jumped to mind when I heard these headphones give great bass, and the bass line was positively delicious. Anyone who’s heard this song knows how powerful the bass line is…it thrummed through these headphones loud and clear without any feedback.
Soundgarden – Spoon Man: Another song that came through clear as crystal – the bass was a perfect balance with the lyrics – One didn’t overpower the other.
Reek Da Villain Feat. Busta Rhymes & Swizz Beatz – Mechanics: This was a suggestion from a fellow coworker when I asked “What’s the best song for a bass test as well as musical clarity?” Oh, how right he was. Each lyric sounded as crisp as a celery stick being snapped, and the pronounced bass only made the song sound better.
MOVIE TESTS:
I had to see how these headphones could handle some of my favorite action sequences!
Déjà Vu (listening through my PC) – I had to pick one of my favorite Tony Scott films. The chase scene with the “goggle rig” took on new layers of enjoyment with these headphones. I could head the crescendo and decrescendo of the music much clearer than I ever have before; it was as if I could hear individual pieces of debris flying off cars during impact.
The Replacement Killers (listening through my PSP) – This was an unexpected bonus. I rarely watch any movies on my PSP because the sound is very tinny. With these headphones, the dance club music was louder, the gunshot audio was more pronounced, and the bass was (for lack of a better word)…thicker.
The Matrix Reloaded (listening through my PSP) – Having seen this movie more times than I can count, I was amazed to hear the first segment of “Matrix code” during the credits channeling from my left ear to the right. I never noticed that before, but these headphones made it crystal clear. I could also hear the sound of individual cups and utensils hitting the floor during the fight scene with Seraph, and I’ve never heard that before either.
CONS:
When I turned up the volume on these, my spouse asked if I was actively TRYING to blast my eardrums apart. They’re good for private listening but if you turn up the volume, other folks might hear. They’re also a little big for portable use, so you won’t find me plugging these into an iPod for my afternoon jog.
The only other con I found to these headphones was the price – but if you want to enjoy levels of sound this crisp and clear, it won’t come cheap.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I enjoyed these headphones very much. They enriched the entire audio spectrum (especially the bass), and also brought some lesser-heard tones to the surface. They made movies sharper and music clearer. If you’re looking for superior sound to enjoy on your home theater or sound system, these are definitely worth it.
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|My impressions on the Sennheiser HD 558 after 2 weeks,
***SEE UPDATE***
My thoughts on the Sennheiser 558
First, off, I would like to begin with the standard “I am not an audiophile” disclaimer.
The package came from Dahmart and on time – within 2 days of ordering with expedited shipping. The headphones were in mint condition but without the box. As I looked at them it became increasingly harder not to plug them in, and so I did. Thus starting my first lesson in “enthusiast grade” headphones. In the coming week I would learn a lot about the headphones I had ordered, sound signatures, and the kind of sound I was after.
Believe me, I spent hours scouring the internet for information on the 558, and there is plenty of it. And so far I have yet to find a review that truly shows the Sennheiser 558 for what they are. I stumbled upon threads about how to do the foam mod to make them sound like the 598, claims that they have the “Sennheiser veil”, claims they are absolutely amazing, and claims they are over-rated. Lets sort through it all and dive into the HD 558.
When I put them on they were easily the most comfortable headphones I have worn, then I listened to them. One word comes to mind when I think of the first time I heard them: underwhelmed. I had a playlist of different music to try with them when I first got them. There was no aggression to the music, the bass was too polite (read passive and recessed), and I didn’t feel engaged by the music. I close my eyes actively searching for qualities above my old headphones, a year old pair of Sennheiser HD202s. And there was. As I focused on the music I noticed the lyrics easier to hear and understand, and presented more harmoniously with the instruments. I try hard to imagine I am listening to a live concert, as I have read they sound like, but it doesn’t work for me. They do sound more “outside my head” than closed headphones, but only just. If you try really hard you can try to convince yourself that the music is playing in the room, but even that takes effort. By this time I am frightened about my purchase. Within 15 minutes I desperately perform “foam mod” surgery on only the left side, and wore them for 20 minutes to see if I could tell a difference. I liked the results, it seemed to enhance what I then perceived to be the strengths of the headphones. They sounded a little more airy and detailed – although the bass seemed to take even more of a backseat it was amazing for some genres (Inception soundtrack comes to mind). I took the other one off and stuck the foam pads onto the top of a CD in one of those cylindrical plastic blank CD packages and put the lid on to keep dust out. I then proceeded to leave them running even when I wasn’t listening to them in case they needed to “burn in”.
By this time I was truly worried that I had made the wrong purchase. I checked the Dahmart return policy, which sucks by the way. They will gladly take any return for a 20% restocking fee. I wasn’t about go for that. I tested my Sennheiser 202 again, and then it happened. They sounded sloppy, unrefined. The bass was boomy and didn’t seem to know its place. It would impede on the other sounds. The vocals were not as clear. I realized then that what I first recognized as “lack of bass” was not a lack of anything. The bass on the 558 simply knows its place and isn’t loose at all, it’s tight and smooth; something I knew nothing about before I put on the 558’s. In fact, the bass on the 558 is every bit as powerful as the HD202 – even with the foam mod. I am starting to realize that I might be a “basshead” due to what I want out of a headphone. I wanted a headphone that was clear, with prominent mids, and quality bass, and that’s what I got, but the saying “be careful what you wish for” was prominent in my mind. The headphones were by no means bad, but not what I was expecting.
Fast forward 1 week of nearly constant listening….
I’m not sure if it’s me or the headphones, but they sound better every day. Fuller, more detailed, more engaging. I don’t know if I believe in burn-in, but the sound I get from them is different than it was when I first got them. I am accepting them for what they are, and what they aren’t. They are good at most any kind of music with even with a flat EQ. They excel at music that is less aggressive and less dense. They seem to do best with laid back music. They are somewhat revealing, some music sounds bad due to sloppy mixing (read 50 cent “get rich or die trying” as a prime example). But, keep in mind no genre fails with these. If you have a hardware based EQ you should be able to make them sing with just about anything. With the EQ set as flat is a good way to start – these headphones are very mellow with a flat setting. I keep thinking about the “veil” because they sound very warm with some sacrifice to highs, but you can remove the veil easily with a simple EQ tweak.
Fast forward to today…
The…
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|Utterly phenomenal,
My favorite headphones of choice aren’t massively expensive – Sony MDR-V700DJ (beware of cheap knock-offs of these) and they cost circa the same as these Sennheisers, maybe a little less. It was therefore a good test to put in a few hours studio time with my existing cans which I’m so used to and then switch over to the HD 558. And what a switch! Firstly these chaps are considerably lighter than any other cans that I’ve used and half the weight of my metallic Sony beasts. They don’t feel cheap because of it though and they’re much more comfortable since the elongated earpieces sit over your ears instead of squishing on them. They also have a 1/4″ jack at the end of the cable with a supplied 3.5mm adapter if needed – this is much better than the other way around for most pro/sumer instruments and equipment where 1/4″ outputs are the norm.
But the most amazing part was the sound felt like it was being generated much further out than out of something stuck to the sides of my head. The audio is ethereal in its placement, softly passing through my noggin as the stereo sounds pan left and right. I know this sounds silly but standard headphones often have a clear separation of left and right but these blend it all so seamlessly.I heard no popping or cracking and every note I played the had the clarity of crystal. Remarkable.
Now I do have a couple of caveats: The audio cable is not coiled – I prefer coiled cables personally but your opinion may differ. And in all honesty these bleed audio out at high levels so you won’t be using them on public transport without being on the receiving end of some glares but that’s really not what these are for so I’m not going to ding the stars because of it.
When I opened the box I erroneously assumed this cans would be quickly relegated to second in command. They won’t and they have pride of place hanging off my keyboard stand. Top stuff.
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|Guide to the MSR7 with Comparisons to top competitors,
Audio Technica has crafted a pair of headphones that might make you second guess your pair of MX50s, or any other headphone in this price range.
Here is a guide to the ATH-MSR7’s examining what they do right and where they fall short.
Build/Appearance
Pros:
+ Very “public” friendly (GREAT looking set of headphones)
+ Matte finish on the aluminum housing and nice colored accents as well as chrome touches in several places
+ Brushed chrome slider
+ Outward bulk is as minimal as it can be given the size, no strange gaps, stay pretty flushed to your head
+ Good durability and flexibility
+ They may slide a bit, but they stay on your head if you’re walking, turning head quickly.
+ Aluminum casing around the drivers and metal headband look and feel impressive
+ Balanced weight, no manufacturing oddities
+ Earphones twist (the correct way, unlike QC25 which fold outwards if you are wearing them around your neck -.-)
+ Large adjustment range to suit different sized heads
+ Tolerances are all tight and flush
+ Cable has tight fit into left headphone
Cons:
– Strange decision to put (LEFT/RIGHT) on outside of headphones. Not that unappealing though…
– Lots of creaking plastic when expanding headphones (everything except driver housing and slider is plastic)
– Not foldable
– Squirmy cable with large jack housing
– Weight (290g) – not such a big deal
– Adjustment slider is a bit stiff
Comfort
Pros:
+Earpads are large, fit all the way around your ear
+Earpad depth is DECENT, some might look for a little more breathing room – ears are VERY close to drivers
+ No sharp parts or anything like that
+ Just enough padding on the headband which wraps around a good portion of it
Cons:
– Earpads are not memory foam – they are soft, but why not make them even softer?
– OK the headband. It’s not curved correctly. Out of the box it pressed down onto the top point of your head. Flex it a bit, break it in. NO ISSUES
– OK the clamping pressure. Again, out of the box it is a bit irritating. Because the earpads are so large, the pressure from the bottom of the earpads was getting to the top of my jaw after about an hour. Again, flex it, break it in, open it, close it, open it. *lots of creaking* It will work out. STILL, pressure is above average for sure.
– Again, 290 oz is a good amount of weight on someone’s head.
Sound Quality – I’m going to try to keep this simple and unbiased
+ DETAILS. Lots of details.
+ Impressive Clarity, no muffling of vocals
+ Soundstage is impressively wide for a closed back headphone – all instruments and vocals have their own “space”
+ Natural and relatively neutral.
+ Reaches high and low: Good bass, mid and treble presence
+ Tight, focused bass that can drop fairly low
Cons:
– NOT a relaxing headphone. Ears seem to work hard with these on, focusing in and out to deal with those upfront mids and trebles especially at higher volumes
– Bass is not for bassheads or for anyone who is looking for dynamic bass response
– Because it is closer to neutral than most consumer headphones, it won’t sound as full, rather music sounds more separate and clear
– Flirts with sibilance in the treble – what’s this mean? S’s sound a bit raspy and sharp
Neutral – Personal Preference
= Vocals and treble are very much upfront
= Mids are emphasized
= Bass is only present when it needs to be
=Treble is not smoothed out (more sharp than soothing)
Isolation/Sound Leakage – A short summary
– Not great. Isolation average at best. It muffles outside noise, but nowhere nears cancels it. Sound leakage is decent. Better than the QC25’s, about the same as UE6000. It’s what you expect, not spectacularly worse or better.
Accessories
= 3 cables: short, longer, longest. The short one is for your average consumer, comes with inline remote that comes with mic and ability to play/pause, NO VOLUME. Works on Android/iOS
– Fake leather…Vinyl? well. It’s a bag. And that’s a shame. It should be a hard or semi-hard carrying case at this price point. It’s a nice bag, feels good – the headphone fits fine, but it’s still just a bag.
Comparisons
Sony MDR-1A ($300):
Boy these looks similar. Well, the Sony is more comfortable by a long shot w/ memory foam earpads, lighter, smaller footprint and no clamping force/headband issues. (it’s incredibly comfortable vs. mildly comfortable). The Sony is plastic all the way around though it is arguably better designed. Why? The cable is designed so that it does not run up on your shoulder. The cable has this neat twisting input and most importantly the plastics don’t creak. That being said: The MSR7 is arguably more impressive to hold and…
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|A serious #1 contender for the mid-price high-fidelity headphones market,
When it comes to headphones, we’ve entered an era where it seems like everyone is using headphones to listen to music. Although using headphones for musical enjoyment is not my first choice, I do actually use headphones once in a while. And because I highly value the quality of the music I listen to, I want the best. The market is very competitive, though, when it comes to headphones. I do proudly have at home Sennheiser and PBS M4U 1, and both are outstanding (the PBS first, though). I am now adding these Audio-Technica MSR7, and the PBS just got a serious contender for #1. These are high-fidelity headphones incorporating the best Audio-Technica acoustic engineering technologies for utimate “Sound Reality” with high-resolution audio.
To begin with, the Audio-Technica are fifty bucks cheaper. I guess if you are willing to spend three hundred bucks for a pair of headphones, 50 bucks will probably not be a deal breaker, but hey, since the market is so competitive, I guess Audio-Technica did their homework and wanted to have an initial advantage when it came to the price, to start with.
The second thing would be the sound. After receiving them, I was not disappointed for a second. These are consistently outstanding in response no matter the genre you are playing. They are very comfortable, even more than the PBS.
How I use these headphones? With today’s new technology you can stream high quality music anywhere via your smart phone. So these pair do the job and exceed my expectations. I can use high-fidelity music in my backyard, on my bed, even in my commute downtown.
The package comes with 3 different detachable cables (one of them is 1.2 meter smartphone-compatible with in-line mic and controls; the other two are 1.2 meter, and 3.0 meter), and a nice bag (leather feel). By the way, the cables can only be plugged into the left ear (the PBS can be either left or right). The looks of these headphones are excellent for my taste. They look very classy and refined. I’d say this is marketed for adults (not the beats vibe, if you know what I mean … which I hate btw, nor the over priced bose for yuppies). These headphones are only 290 gr (half a pound). The feels are soft and glossy for the plastics (but somehow engineered so fingerprints will not stick) and leather to make it feel very soft on your head and ears. The brownie colors are also very very elegant and well put together and mixed with the greys of the plastic. The cables are also brown, to match the leather in the headphones. I read a review of someone complaining about the noise these headphones make when you change the lenght… I find this comment to be weird and not correspondant with the true. They just make normal noise (!?). Also, someone complained about the fact they wrote Left and Right outside of headphones. This is totally fine, not bothering me at all, and the way it is done it-s actually done with taste. Of course this is all aesthetics, and it is very personal, but I don’t really see this being a problem at all.
Finally, I will say that I am picky with music, and I can tell the difference between different quality of music (I am not talking about genres, simply the sound quality of it), so YES, absolutely YES YES YES! You can tell the difference wearing these or anything else that is cheap/garbage headphones for under a hundred bucks. Again, any genre you like, be it opera, classical, rock, or hip-hop, it does not matter, the quality of these Audio-Technica headphones will blow your mind away. I am absolutely, totally, extremely satisfied. Highly recommended, without reservations.
p.s. I uploaded several pictures of the headphones and the box so you can see them and read the information on the box, which I find very helpful (45 mm ‘True Motion’ Hi-Res Audio Driver; Dual-layer Air-control Technology). I would hope Amazon or the manufacturer to upload this information, along with specifications, on the site.
UPDATE: I guess the manufacturer read my review, because they have upgraded the description of the item with valuable info. Check it out! Still, these are amazing headphones. Check them out!!!
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|For My Personal Audio Taste These Hit A Bulls-Eye!,
It would seem, then, that with the MSR7 A-T seeks to raise their brand recognition to a new generation while still serving their core market. The MSR7 is a mid-priced, yet high-end looking product which may well serve to please both long-time as well as new A-T fans. It’s clear just by the initial aesthetics, quality, and price A-T is stumping hard to hit the Goldilocks (i.e., just right) headphone for the current market.
The MSR7 is a beautifully realized up-scale looking set of cans. I’d go for the brown ones because as far as headphones go they’re drop-dead gorgeous. The product comes with three cords attempting to add to the versatility and functionality. The cords are a nice extra and show A-T is trying hard to get make these phones maximally convenient and useful.. At this level of aesthetics it seems a case would be a no-brainer, but for some reason A-T opts for a pouch which is a small letdown. Of course when one gets past the oohs and aahs of appearances it’s the sound that matters. Still the brown pleather padding, the brushed aluminum integrated headgear, the ample memory foam cup cushions (great coverage and comfort for my ears) all create a product that looks like an object of desire helping younger customer forget it doesn’t say “Beats”.
All which brings us to the real meat of the matter: that for all the promise does the sound live up to expectations? It’s kind of a mixed bag as headphone sound is always subjective to the beholder. With that in mind here’s my take…I find it mostly neutral with what appears to be a slightly rising upper mid-range. Yes, it can do bass. It’s not Beats “in your face” bass bottom octave, I find it more satisfying in that the bass is deep enough (and is there enough for me quantity-wise) – while never artificially calling attention to itself. One could say it’s natural and close to being spot-on. But, when combined with the MSR7’s slightly rising top there may be ear fatigue when combined with shrill sounding musical content (i.e., poorly mastered) . It is brutally revealing as such – you can tell if the recording has air and space and is balanced well, think of these phones as a audio X-Ray tool. One can hear gobs of detail and it’s beguiling because you will actually see into your music more For all this the soundstage isn’t huge. The sound is focused and tends to sound that same way as to depth and breadth. One thing is actually true, these get smoother and better sounding after breaking in (i.e., hook ‘em up to any radio where you can get in-between band white noise and run it for up to 2-days at a volume a bit louder than what you listen you music at).
My take-away is this pair of headphones do a lot more right than wrong by either omission or commission. They do seem to actually get smoother with repeated use which is important. And, they look fantastic. My personal favorite loudspeakers are electrostatics as I own Martin-Logan’s and Innersound models. I also own a passive type of planar speakers similar to Magnaplanars called Eminent Technology model VFT-8’s. All of these speakers do bass well, but they’re not bass centric. Their stock-in-trade is delivering the fastest and most refined mid-range on up while not stepping in mud by marrying it to slow thick bass. I think these “cans’ have the same ideology and they really suit a fan of these type speakers. In their price category they are competing with so many contenders and they do differentiate themselves nicely by delivering the full-range of fidelity with such clarity and fleet-footed bass. Bottom line: I, personally, like speakers and phones that have accurate bass with revealing treble making these phones my new favorites.
Notable is A-T’s designation of these phones as being designed for the burgeoning 24-bit high-resolution file audio files (the MSR7 has the He-Res logo on the box and I’d say this isn’t just marketing hype here because with the best recordings the MSR7’s are a true audio treat.
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