HD555 vs HD595....worth it?

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veloc1ty

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Dec 1, 2004
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can get for with ~20 of each other...i will be using onboard (dfi nf4 ultra...like realtek alc850) and if i have to i'll get an audigy 2

50 % gaming
50 % music

right now i have pc155 that i want something better.
 
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Green84061

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Mar 17, 2005
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well i love my hd595 and have no regrets and at only a 20 dollar difference i would go for it over the 555. That being said a cheaper and better option than a 555+audigy would be a 595 and a chaintech for 20$ bucks it will cost less and sound better. Not saying that the 555 is bad but for 20 bucks more the 595 is basicly the BEST low ohm (can drive without a headphone amp) headphone that there is. I guess another option would be the 555 and a emu0404 but i dont want to confuse you to much or myself. Either way you will love your new can. For better answers go over to headfi.org they know what they are talking about.

Edit: do NOT stay with on-board sound and if that means getting the 555 then get it no matter what.
 
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imported_Reck

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Jun 24, 2004
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Originally posted by: veloc1ty
can get for with ~20 of each other...i will be using onboard (dfi nf4 ultra...like realtek alc850) and if i have to i'll get an audigy 2

50 % gaming
50 % music

right now i have pc155 that i want something better.
Click to expand...


I would recommend something else really(esp if you don't have an amp) as the 555s are really really neutral and flat sounding. Not really a music lovers phone...but I suppose they'd be good for studio monitoring. Plus they make crappy sources sound like complete ****. Have you considered the audio technica a500s or the alessandro ms1s?
 
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veloc1ty

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Dec 1, 2004
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i really like the sound of sennheiser's and i've tried them a lot, so right now thats what im sticking with. also would a pocket cmoy amp be good for either?
 
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Skiguy411

Platinum Member
Dec 4, 2002
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I recieved my HD595s from ecost ($142 refurb, although I sent them to Senn. to get them fixed becuase they had a dent.) I have an audigy 2 zs and they sound great. I also built a CMOY amp and it helps a bit. If you see my other thread, I'll be trying to change the op amps on the audigy 2 zs to see if does anything. For only 20 bucks more I would def. go for the 595s.

I can't wait to get my 595s back. I got the Shure E4s to hold me over for now though!
 
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imported_Reck

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Jun 24, 2004
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Originally posted by: veloc1ty

with the 595's would it be worth it to get a audigy 2zs or just an audigy 2
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neither, they both blow. if your on a budget get a chaintech av710. if you have more money to spend an emu 0404. of course your really need an amp for the both of them...

edit:i just realized you also want to game...so you may want to consider running dual sound cards.
 
rstrohkirch

rstrohkirch

Platinum Member
May 31, 2005
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If for some reason you do decide to stick with the audigy 2, make sureyou use DS SSRC to resample the output to 48khz when listening to music
 
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alcoholbob

Diamond Member
May 24, 2005
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M-Audio has native 44.1khz sampling, so that's a great reason to get them over the Audigy's. I play strategy games and RPGs in general, and most of them (such as made by Bioware and Blizzard) barely have EAX2 support, so for me the gaming aspect is minor compared to music.

As for Sennheisers, the HD570+ range do have very neutral bass and midrange curves, anything beyond 3khz (to 20khz) where the highs start starts looking like a jagged mess, to the tune of +/- 15db. While Sennheiser headphones extend very well down in the bass range (well below even very large bookshelves), their highs are anything but neutral and and you can easily find bookshelves for the fraction of the price--$70/pair Infinity Primus 150s or $90/pair Athena Audition .2 bookshelves--will have more neutral highs.

Regardless of the FR graphs, the Sennheisers are very efficient and will give you clean volume to ear peircing SPL levels, and I suppose compared to the "high end" computer speakers out there (Klipsch, Creative) I can see why they would be desired for stereo playback.

Anyone that's interested, I can post the "scary looking" FR graphs for the HD595, 600, and 650s.



 
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svi

Senior member
Jan 5, 2005
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Kobe, no offense meant, but you haven't really done your research here. Headphones with a flat FR are not "neutral" at all (supposedly they sound awful, actually, which is why expensive calibrated electrostats don't have flat FRs either), and they will sound very different than speakers with a flat measured FR, beheadphone drivers are directly on top of the ear (a speaker's flat FR isn't so flat by the time it reaches your ears, that's the magic of room acoustics). If you don't understand what I mean, Google headphone frequency response.

Also, the "HD570+ range"? The HD570 and HD590 are sizzle-and-boom headphones, but the HD555 is very similar to the HD595.
 
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Snooper

Senior member
Oct 10, 1999
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I have a pair of Senn HD590s. They sounded very good being driving by my Audigy 2 sound card. But they REALLY woke up when I connected them to my PIMETA headphone amp. And turned up the sound quality even more when I slapped them onto my PPA (maxed out) headphone amp!

So, while the Senns sound very good as they are, if you ever get a chance to try them driven off a good headphone amp, don't pass it up. It is definitely worth it! Even if all you are doing is playing games.
 
SonicIce

SonicIce

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Apr 12, 2004
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Originally posted by: veloc1ty
yea, i wish i could get an amp but i'm afraid due to money and LANing would be a problem :(
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so you have to take two trips to the car, its worth it when you can show off your awsome equipment. :D
 
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