Sennheiser HD 559 Open Back Around Ear Headphone - Black/Anthracite

Product Information

I used to be active on these forums for years, and I thought I did a decent job of building a mostly endgame system for myself within my budget: Teac HA-501 amp, Schiit Gumby mulitbit, HD 600, HD 650, Shure 1540, DT990/600, and LCD-2F. I'm currently using the 599 and I find it an excellent set of headphones because it's less fatiguing than closed backs to me.

In the low end, the sound of the HD 559 is characterized by relatively strong detail, as well as a deep and resounding bass.Developed by the transducer technology from Sennheiser, and the traditional EAR (Ergonomic Acoustic Refinement), the 559 give a step forward in the world of earphones in medium to high range. As can be seen the rising edge is now reaching 0dB, there is still some ‘warmth’ and bass extension is much improved because of the more linear response. I think part of the reason I didn't notice this at first is because I was so used to speakers over the last few years. However, lifestyle changes in recent years have taken my interests elsewhere, mainly to home theater, and I stopped being active around these parts.

Where the HD 569 were a little honky and shouty, the mids on the HD 559 are smooth, open, and natural.Depth and placement are okay here, delivering a sense of soundstage that is present, but far from arresting. I know I said it's within my budget but it's still pretty expensive for me so hoping for some inputs I can spend abit more if there are better alternatives. Below the step response plot which, when the sound is balanced and well extended should show a rise to around 0dB, (indicating fast driver response) and should be slightly sloping downwards indicating bass extension. The headband was partly detached (a typical issue on many Senheiser 5xx series), so I glued it with gel type super glue and let it cure overnight on the headphone stand. The standard impedance lends these headphones to portable players and computers, though they may also benefit from some amplification.

I went between them for a few hours and i'd say its closer than it should be but the HD600's still win. They have a little bit a rough edge to them, especially when compared to the HD 650, but then again, which headphones don't in that comparison?i dare go too high as i need to check with the rigol oscilloscope if the signal is going to clip or curve of the sine wave goes flat at the top of the voltage level as should be nice curve at the top end . Ergonomic Acoustic Refinement' design channels audio directly into your ears producing a more 'in room' like listening experience. Most people prefer to see percentages instead of level differences so below the exact same plot except ‘normalised’ to the actual signal and level differences given in percentages. They offer a fun sound, and I know that's a very subjective term that gets thrown around a lot here.

At the same time, the more expensive model also covers the upper range better and literally opens up another level of airiness. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. The DT990 also has an emphasis in the lows (U shaped sound) but is lower in frequency so less boomy and not hollow.The cable is routed on one side via a replaceable, 3-metre cable that is sufficiently long and ends with a 6. The big, soft detachable ear pads of the HD 559 and its broad padded headband are every bit as comfortable as they look.