Spec me an upgrade from HD555

HangTime

HangTime

HangTime

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Currently my headphones are Sennheiser HD555 that I've used for nearly 6 years. I am moderately happy with them from an audio perspective, they are very comfortable at least but started to get a bit worn (cracked frame, foam getting old etc).

What I'm looking for is:

-Comfort, I tend to wear headphones for hours at a time
-Must be good for gaming, no excessive bass
-I listen to music through them sometimes
-Better sound quality than HD555
-Would probably prefer open-back style as my wife gets annoyed when she calls upstairs to me and I don't hear her :p

I do not have a budget but would prefer to spend under £100. Currently considering Audio-Technica ATH AD700 that I have seen mentioned here a couple of times.
edit: or possibly Creative Aurvana Live! as a cheaper option.

The main thing really is if I buy new headphones I want them to be better than I've already got. As I said I can flex on budget a bit but if we start getting into say £120 territory I would want something MINDBLOWING not a sidegrade or anything like that.

Cheers.
 
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There are some nice headphones in the £100-120 price range, though i'm not sure your going to get a mindblowing upgrade (as you'll likely need £300+ for that) so it depends if it's worth it for you?

Something like the Beyer 990's (i think the 990's are the open version?) would do nicely for around £120. Also have the option of Grado SR80i's which are also open (comfort is subjective on these, though).

I'm not sure if AD700's are enough of an upgrade overall? Same for the Sennheiser option in that range (HD595's).
 
It's not easy to say what would be a good upgrade for you, as people will have varying opinions on how good certain headphones are, and what they are worth. HD555's regularly sell for £80-£90. They are good, but they are not worth that IMO. Really you need to try out various headphones before buying. Not an easy thing to do, depending on where you live. If you have any local audio specialists near you, they might have a selection of headphones you can listen to. To get any meaningful upgrade, you are going to have to spend £100 at least I would have thought. Without trying first though, you could spend up to a £100, and get something that isn't that much better than the HD555's.
 
Yeah there are no audio specialists where I live, nor indeed anywhere that sells proper headphones fullstop.

I've tried headphones when in places like Best Buy and been impressed by a few but they are typically expensive ones and they don't have enough selection to actually be able to try out things that I've been recommended or researched online. Also while you can listen to some music in a store I can't for example play games with them. Best option is probably going to be taking a punt online and then relying on DSR if I don't like them.
 
The AD700 wouldn't be an upgrade as such, just different. I use them only for gaming (which they are very good for), but they aren't really great for music unless all you listen to is classical/orchestral.

It's difficult to recommend something in this price range that will be a mind-blowing upgrade, but what could help is listing what you currently dislike or have fault with on the HD555 and then maybe there'll be something more suited to your needs.

If you are generally happy with the HD555, the newer HD598 is a logical upgrade, but may be not mind-blowing.
 
I've got a set of Shure SRH840 on trial at the moment.

I feel dirty saying this but, I think they're better than my old Sennheiser HD580's. :eek: Certainly more comfortable, still burning in, but sound pretty damn balanced and accurate already and as they're available for under £150 - bargain.
 
Beyer dynamic dt770 (closed) or dt990 worth stretching to great build quality and sound for the money audio technica are not good value in this country.
The audio technica ATH-A900 and upwards are the only ones worth looking at imo.Having said that the audio technica M50 (closed) are worth a look but am not sure about comfort seen a few complaints on head fi forums but that could be head size or whatever or simply too much clamping out of the box which lessens.

If this were my money I'd get the dt770/dt990 the only solid genuine upgrade from hd555 ns1000 dr150 etc in and around the £100-£130 mark.
The shures also seem pretty good and I noticed somewhere selling Bgrade (I think they are just damaged box) for £110 maybe read up on those on head fi.
 
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Starting to edge towards Shure SRH840 at the moment, although I'd never heard of them until today! Could do with some views on what they are like for gaming.

As for what I dislike about the HD555 there is nothing I can put my finger on (hence I've used them for 6 years) but I just felt a bit underwhelmed by them coming from £25 headphones, they cost me £70 and I was expecting a dramatic improvement. They are getting pretty battered now (the jack is bent too in addition to points mentioned above) and I figured if I'm going to replace them I want to see an improvement otherwise I may as well not bother.

Decisions decisions, a lot of money to spend on something I don't really need so I want to make sure I make the right choice.
 
HangTime said:
or possibly Creative Aurvana Live! as a cheaper option.
Click to expand...

Just got these and I'm blown away, the sound is way better than I was expecting, even despite everyone claiming how good they were. Normally you'd get some sort of compromise with cheaper headphones, like recessed mids or bloated bass, but not with these. They're not super balanced or accurate but don't have any massive peaks or dips across the frequency range, especially the mids which don't sound overly recessed or coloured (you can tell by vocals which sound natural). What's most impressive though is just how musical and natural they sound with a suprisingly large sound stage given how small the ear cups are, a very smooth, earthy and crisp sound. Bass response is impressive, not very tight, but clean sounding with serious extension (easily goes down to the 30hz range).

I'd go as far as saying that they're not too far off from my Sennheiser HD650, just less refined with not as good mids/upper-mids and obviously lacking the 'open' sound, being closed headphones. The core sound is very similar though.

Easily the best £50 I've spent on a headphone.
 
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Yeah I think if I was buying 'from scratch' I would go for them, they look like the best value cans on the market right now being as good as ones costing 50% more. However, the price is putting me off a bit (in a snobbish way!), as I said I want an upgrade from HD555 and I'd be worried that it would just be a sideways move.
 
I wasn't aware there was a mod for them until I read that post :)
I tried it the other day and wasn't overly impressed, didn't sound any better with the foam removed to me.

In the end I settled on the Shure SRH840 which I have just received. Initial impressions are promising, I think they pick up more details in the background than my HD555... a more 'even' or balanced sound if that makes sense. It's like when I'm listening to a song, I can hear everything in parallel - the vocals, drums, guitars, rhythm etc, whereas before you tended to get one or two dominant sections.

Haven't gamed properly with them yet, the above should be a good thing (picking out multiple details) but they may be a little bit too bassy for my tastes.

Obviously I will report back in a week or so when they've had time to burn in a bit.
 
Problem with the DT770/990 is they are quite bassy - tho the open design of the 990 premium might help balance that better for gaming, etc. but are quite a lot more money.

Creative Aurvana Live! would probably be a good option tho the bass on those is a bit marmite some people love it some hate it - they are based on the Denon 1001 drivers IIRC so sound quality is generally pretty decent.

TBH tho for great gaming useage with good sound quality for some music listening I reccomend the Sennheiser PC333D quite highly (personally I prefer the 163Ds but you'd probably consider them a step backwards).

EDIT: Oh I see you got the Shure SRH840, might find them a little "dry" sounding for gaming but should be excellent for music.
 
The Creative Aurvana Live! have very pleasant and mellow bass, not very tight or defined, but not bloated midbass either and doesn't intrude on the rest of the frequency spectrum. The bass is pretty natural sounding, leaning on the warm side but doesn't sound artificially exaggerated like some headphones (e.g. Sony XB500/700).
 
Did some gaming on them tonight and they seem fine, to be honest "dry" isn't necessarily a bad thing for competitive FPS.

Only downside is they aren't quite as comfortable as the Sennheisers, as they have a vice-like grip on my head so I get quite hot and need to take them off every hour or so.
 
HangTime said:
Did some gaming on them tonight and they seem fine, to be honest "dry" isn't necessarily a bad thing for competitive FPS.

Only downside is they aren't quite as comfortable as the Sennheisers, as they have a vice-like grip on my head so I get quite hot and need to take them off every hour or so.
Click to expand...

Maybe put them over a box or something around head sized when not in use? should be fairly comfortable after a week or so of that.
 
Been doing that on your suggestion and it is getting a little better, definitely not in the same league as my Sennheisers for comfort though. It's pretty crazy, when not in use the cans are literally touching each other, and I have a massive head that needs to fit in between them. They seem a bit I dunno, smaller than the HD555 as well so they push into the ear more rather than going around it, hard to explain. I could literally wear the HD555 comfortably for 6hrs straight whereas after 2hrs with these on I have to take a break.

I think these are good headphones in general but may take a bit of getting used to.
 
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