Sennheiser Announces HD 550 Hi-Fi Headphones

[Nomad76]

The Sennheiser brand today unveiled the HD 550, a Hi-fi headphone that balances revealing performance with effortlessly smooth tuning. Boasting sprawling stereo imaging and an ultra-light build, the HD 550 is an open invitation to unpack the lush layers of today's music and games for hours on end.

"Audiophiles looking for featherlight headphones with honest voicing and deep bass extension are in for a treat," said Klaus Hanselmann, Sennheiser Audiophile Product Manager. "While the HD 550's airy detail is obvious, customers will fall in love with its delightfully polite touch - perfect for listening for hours on end."



A Deeper Audiophile Experience
The heart of the HD 550 is its custom 38 mm transducer, made at Sennheiser's audiophile production facility in Tullamore, Ireland. Its speedy performance yields exceptional clarity from 6 Hz to 39.5 kHz, all while producing less than 0.2% total harmonic distortion. At 150 ohms, it's an ideal match for a wide variety of Hi-fi gear, scaling with ease when paired with premium audio gear such as Sennheiser's own HDV 820.

The fully open-back design utilizes a new acoustic mesh that protects the transducers while removing any remaining barriers between the listener and their music. Their angled arrangement creates an expansive soundstage that drops the listener into the epicenter of the recording. Gamers will experience superb, lag-free spatial awareness and immersion for both competitive and casual sessions. True to the Sennheiser brand's heritage, the HD 550 delivers punchy bass, crystal-clear transients, and neutral mids without straying from the truthful voicing that audiophiles prefer.

Built for Comfort
Situated in chassis renowned for its long-term comfort, the HD 550 features a more relaxed clamping force compared to other 500-series stablemates. Weighing less than the most popular gaming controllers at a mere 237 grams [8.4 oz], the HD 550 practically disappears on the head. A soft-touch textured headband and ventilated metal mesh earcup covers keep the listener comfortable without sacrificing durability.



Like other models in the 500 series, the HD 550 features a modular design, allowing for easy swapping of cables and earpads. It ships with a 1.8 m cable terminating with a stereo 3.5 mm jack plug with a 6.35 mm adapter, making it compatible with a wide range of devices. A range of additional cables—sold separately—makes it easy for listeners to adapt to balanced sources and mic-enabled jacks, for example.

Availability
The all-new HD 550 is currently available for pre-order, shipping the first week of April at an MSRP of 299.90 EUR.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[EatingDirt]

Does the Sennheiser naming scheme have any sort of logic to it? Is there a certain sound signature that the 500 & 600 series target for them to name these headphones, or is the 1st the tier of headphone, followed by the sound signatures for the 2nd & 3rd digit? Or am I overthinking and Sennheiser just terrible at naming conventions? This 550 is more expensive than the 569, 560S & 599.

The price point of this thing puts it squarely between the HD 600 & HD 560S, putting it at ~$330 USD if you convert directly. Fills a void in their lineup of open back headphones, roughly the same price as the closed back 620S, which is nice I guess.

 

[TomasK]

If I didn't already have way too many headphones, I'd definitely buy these. All info I see on the web so far indicates they are great and exactly something I would fancy sound-wise. But I already have the 660S2 and Focal Clear MG Pro, both of which should be better, especially the Focal which is by far the best sounding headphone I've ever heard (but these are both more expensive, especially the Focal)

 

[bug]

custom 38 mm transducer, made at Sennheiser's audiophile production facility in Tullamore, Ireland

I don't know, I don't trust these cheap, non-Chinese knock-offs

 

[Onasi]

So… where’s this supposed to sit in the hierarchy? Above the 560S? Below? What about the HD 505? Sennheiser makes absolutely no sense with their naming scheme. I guess they played themselves with the existence of HD 599.

 

[bug]

So… where’s this supposed to sit in the hierarchy? Above the 560S? Below? What about the HD 505? Sennheiser makes absolutely no sense with their naming scheme. I guess they played themselves with the existence of HD 599.

What hierarchy? Sound signature has a ton of parameters, you can't condense all that into a sequence of numbers in any meaningful way. Though yes, if the manufacturer chooses numbers for their SKUs, you're inclined to think those numbers mean something. When it comes to headsets, the numbers on them don't mean more to me than names on abstract paintings.

 

[TechKilledMe]

I love my old HD598's and 599's. I had some 660S as well, but those got damaged by a massive static shock. These would be nice to try at some point, especially if they are bragging about the bass extension.

 

[EatingDirt]

What hierarchy? Sound signature has a ton of parameters, you can't condense all that into a sequence of numbers in any meaningful way. Though yes, if the manufacturer chooses numbers for their SKUs, you're inclined to think those numbers mean something. When it comes to headsets, the numbers on them don't mean more to me than names on abstract paintings.

Theoretically you could have a decent numerical system in-house that only needs to include say, 4 numbers and a indication of closed or open back. This would be an extremely simplified extrapolation of sound, but could help with understanding the difference between product stacks with headphones of similar prices. For example:

First number is the product tier.
Second, Third & 4th are the target range of the low-mid-highs. 0 being de-emphasized, 9 being emphasized.
o or c = open or closed back

Making up a product: Bobs Headphones Model 1357c

1=low end product
3=mild-de-emphasis on bass
5=neutral mids
7=mild-emphasis on highs
c=closed back

 

[Random_User]

Spoiler

I don't know, I don't trust these cheap, non-Chinese knock-offs

AFAIK, The Ireland factory, was doing superior HD650 speakers, with the metal mesh, and for cheaper, than the plastic ones. They were available at $350, and I was hesitating, and couple months later, after completely zero stock for HD650, the plastic mesh revision came to stores, at whoping $550-$700.

 

[bug]

Theoretically you could have a decent numerical system in-house that only needs to include say, 4 numbers and a indication of closed or open back. This would be an extremely simplified extrapolation of sound, but could help with understanding the difference between product stacks with headphones of similar prices. For example:

First number is the product tier.
Second, Third & 4th are the target range of the low-mid-highs. 0 being de-emphasized, 9 being emphasized.
o or c = open or closed back

Making up a product: Bobs Headphones Model 1357c

1=low end product
3=mild-de-emphasis on bass
5=neutral mids
7=mild-emphasis on highs
c=closed back

You probably don't know it, but you only proved my point

 

[EatingDirt]

You probably don't know it, but you only proved my point

Lowkey calling me clueless, good work.

I listen to random hifi channels from time to time, I know there are a lot of nuances to headphones, sound and frequency response in general. However, you can make a product stack from the same companysimple with my naming convention utilizing frequency response curves, instead of completely worthless, as is Sennheisers naming convention.

Let's take 3 Sennheiser products, the 820S, 599 & 560S and do a quick guess on what they would be like with my naming convention.

HD 820 would be something like a 8355o.
HD 599 would be something like a 5655o.
HD 560S would be something like a 5455o.

Now, the people buying the 820 have ways of changing the response curve with audio equipment, I hope. However, people buying the mid-range products don't have the hardware(but can get the software, but 90% won't bother), and it can be handy to be able to look at a product and know what kind of sound signature it's going for.

Now sure, there's imaging and soundstage and whatnot, but this gives a simple naming convention to understand what you're getting with a headphone and it's certainly better than what Sennhesier has now, which is a HD 559, 569, 560S and 599 all priced under the HD 550.