HD595 vs Bookshelf

jodoog

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Sep 2, 2006
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Hi, just wondering how a Sennheiser HD595 would compare to a pair of bookshelves for £100? I already have an OK amp and receiver and just wondering what the difference in sound would be for gaming and some music? Thanks a lot!

Joe

PS: I have already left a post on Head-fi :)
 

SonicIce

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Apr 12, 2004
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Athena Technologies AS-B2.2
Infinity Primus 160
av-123 x-ls
Dayton BR-1S (kit)
i heard these were good. a little over your budget but they probably sound good.
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,516
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or look for a deal on polk audio, or the primus 150s, just got a pair of 150s, they sound great.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
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I don't have 595s, but I can tell you some general stuff for my 280s vs some speakers I've tried.

Sorry this list is so randomly organized, I'm just writing things out as they occur to me :p

Probably some of this is because my 280s are closed, but it's a lot easier for me to hear small details with them vs. speakers.

As far as what It's going to sound like, I think that's hard to say without knowing what speaker you're talking about. In general, one thing that low end bookshelf speakers tend to lack on their own is deep bass.

Related to this, I think if you have a good "surround headphone" setting on your soundcard (like X-Fi), you are probably going to have a much easier time locating things around you for gaming. I think a 3d environment is going to be much harder to create from a pair of bookshelf speakers than headphones.

I get a much nicer soundstage from speakers for music listening vs. my headphones. I think my headphones might be particularly lacking in this regard, but I think that's a common theme that would carry on to your 595s as well.

I have no problem listening to speakers for hours on end. I can listen to my 280s for 6-8 hours and then I just feel like I need to get them off. Again, open might help with that, but I've never had the same sort of feeling that I needed to turn my speakers off after having them on for a long time.

Just naturally, I think speakers can be a lot more fun than headphones. You're not tied to one location and you can fill a whole room / area with sound and experience sound with others.. I'm not sure that's the kind of difference you were looking for, but :p

I don't know if this is the kind of response you were looking for. I see some recommendations above, but I thought you were looking for more of a headphone vs. speaker differences post.

I know I've left a lot out and I've been really general. If I'm totally off, let me know ;)
 
Mar 11, 2004
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You would have to spend quite a bit of money to get speakers that will match a decent set of headphones, such as the 595, almost certainly more than the price you're looking at unless you find some absolutely killer deal.

The real question, as YYHDJ said, is can you handle listening to headphones instead? If you've always got sound being output then chances are you might get a little tired of listening to headphones after many hours (depending on which ones, the lenght of time will vary). In fact, because some headphones are so good a reproducing sound that you will get tired listening because you're brain is processing all of the detail. This is also dependent on several factors (such as type of music you listen to), so there's not realy way to say how long you might be able to listen to them before you get tired. A lot of lower end speakers are aimed at producing typical sound that people hear well, but not be overly great at actually reproducing the sound (so they're made to sound good with what people typically listen to, and not designed for accuracy, not that the two are necessarily mutually exclusive), whereas headphones such as the 595s are designed more with clarity and detail and other technical capabilities (again, not to say they sound bad at all).

I had the HD-280s and agree with YYHDJ that after a while you just feel like you need to take them off. The HD-595s are quite a bit more comfortable, and I don't ever recall having them on for a long enough period that I felt like I needed to stop listening.

Also, for gaming, I know a lot of people seem to prefer headphones, especially when paired with an X-Fi. The only thing you really lose is the thump of a subwoofer, which if you weren't going to buy one anyways is kinda null point. Headphones can do an excellent job with bass, but they can't replace the feel of a sub.

If I was going to go the reciever route, I would want to pair it with a card that does Dolby Digital Live and/or DTS Connect encoding, and would want surround sound and a nice sub. But that's just me. If I was aiming for only 2 channel I would be looking more at headphones.

I can't say for sure for where you live, but over here in the US its not too difficult to find a pair of bookshelf speakers that sound pretty good for around $100-150, but headphones will beat them in quality quite easily.

Oh, and one last thing, for your uses, I would also look into the Audio Technica ATH-A900s, I compared them directly to the HD595s and felt they just sounded so much better. A lot of Head-fier's agree that they make a better all around gaming/music headphone, but it will depend on you liking one's sound versus the others, as they both sound good. They're also more comfortable than the 595s in my opinion.
 

jodoog

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Sep 2, 2006
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Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

I don't know if this is the kind of response you were looking for.

Exactly what I was hoping for :)

I will be running an X-fi extreme music, and Im just worried 2.0 speakers will be a bit "lacking" in terms of 360 degrees sound in gaming (i.e the 3d enviroment you mentioned). The speakers would be similar to these for example.

Anyways thanks for the points, on a side note my amplifier I am using is not very up to date (i.e its crap :) ) Will this make a big difference to the final results of the Bookshelves? Thanks a lot.

Joe



Edited: Thanks for the reply as well darkswordsman. Unfortunately I cant afford the A900s as I found a deal on the 595s for £80 :)
 
Mar 11, 2004
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The HD595s are far from bad, I just happened to like the A900s sound (which it seems more people are more opposite in opinion than in agreement with me, so there are plenty who like their sound more).

Yeah, taking into consideration, I would say that the 595s will be a better fit for you. Unless you go on 12+ hour music listening sessions, I don't think you'll have a problem with comfort and the 595s.

Then there's the fact that the the sound of speakers is dependent on also the reciever and amplifier and its difficult to say how good it would end up sounding, whereas the 595s paired with an X-Fi should sound plenty good (I'd recommend trying to get the 50ohm ones as 120ohm might be a little much for the X-Fi). Of course you can always get an amp for the 595s later and boost their sound even more.
 

jodoog

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Sep 2, 2006
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Thanks :) Looks like headphones are the way to go. I did find A900s for £10 more than 595s on BLUETIN.COM. However its japan made and harder to send back through warranty. Do you think it is fine to go for the 595s or is the sound difference in your opinion, worth the trouble?

Joe

(If it matters for sound of speakers, the receiver : here )
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,205
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Originally posted by: jodoog
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

I don't know if this is the kind of response you were looking for.

Exactly what I was hoping for :)

I will be running an X-fi extreme music, and Im just worried 2.0 speakers will be a bit "lacking" in terms of 360 degrees sound in gaming (i.e the 3d enviroment you mentioned). The speakers would be similar to these for example.

Anyways thanks for the points, on a side note my amplifier I am using is not very up to date (i.e its crap :) ) Will this make a big difference to the final results of the Bookshelves? Thanks a lot.

Joe



Edited: Thanks for the reply as well darkswordsman. Unfortunately I cant afford the A900s as I found a deal on the 595s for £80 :)

I don't know anything about that model you linked to.

For your amplifier, I'm not quite sure what you mean by up to date. Your receiver / amp can have a significant impact on your final sound, but your choice of speakers is going to have a much larger effect.
If you're worried about your amp being powerful enough, as long as you're not looking to fill a large room at high volumes and your speakers are reasonably sensitive, then you'll probably be in pretty good shape. Hard to say anything specific without knowing what you have.

I'll just say that once I got a pretty good speaker system and pretty good headphones, I definately liked having both as an option.

I'm not saying you should cut your budget in half and try to do both, but there are definately times when you really one one or the other.