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

Product Information

Well anyway, I recently decided I wanted to use closed headphones to watch movies at night as to not disturb my girlfriend or downstairs neighbor. No problem, I'll use my Shure 1540. But, despite being properly stored in their box for years, they still managed to fall apart within a few hours of use. The ear pads disintegrated and the headband pad fell apart. Geez. That was discouraging. So in regard to comfort, for the money you're paying (as of 2023 these are available for ~70euros) you really get very good comfort. I decided I needed to get some new headphones to use in my newly revived system. I'll eventually replace the pads in my HD 600, Shure 1540, DT990, and LCD-2F, but they're not a priority right now, especially if I don't end up using my headphone system as much as I did in the past.

All of these criteria, through extensive searching on web, led me to the Sennheiser HD 559. There's not a lot out there, but I was able to find enough matches to my query that prompted me to pull the trigger on these. BARWISE, William - Sgt - possibly killed whilst flying in Expeditor I, HB201 of No 221 Grp Comm Sqn, which disappeared between Kalemyo and Jorhat. sound- i don't have much to compare it with but the sound seems pretty good quality to me. i have to turn the volume up a lot to get stronger bass but other than that i like it. they are not noise cancelling, not an issue for me but i'm sure it is for some people. BROWE, William Dalton - F/S (A/G) - possibly killed whilst flying in either Marauder III, HD559 or HD446 of No 70 OTU, which collided with each other near El Shatt during a formation flying practice. Not necessarily bright or relaxed, the 559 skimps on the highest high notes while retaining plenty of detail and contrast in the rest of the high end. The sound is sharp and articulate, but without being piercing or unpleasant.My initial impression was rather bad, in fact it was considering returning it at some point. It seemed to be hard to drive compared to what I was used to and would also distort bass pretty bad relatively early. Compared to my expectations anyway, in practice it's not really that bad but neither is it as good as other more expensive Senheiser 5xx. While everything I said above about the HD 559 is true--the sound stage, the resolution, the scaling, the speed, punching way above their price point, etc., I need to make a correction. Being made of velour, the pads are way more comfortable than leather and they will also last much longer. After listening to speakers and other headphones for years, something seemed off. They were a little too congested, veiled, and boring. They immediately felt like the 3-headed blob of sound. The sound stage wasn't very wide. They were also quite fatiguing after a while because they were too polite. It's as if they were too relaxing and safe that it felt like a huge weight was dragging them down. A few years ago, I could find no fault in these headphones, but tastes and experiences change, I guess.

disclaimer: i have pretty much 0 experience with headphones, this is the first pair i've bought that wasn't under 30 dollars so i don't have a very high bar. The oval cups give plenty of room for the ear and the pads don't touch the ear at all, giving a really nice feeling of freedom.

Sound

The frequency response of a pair of earpieces specifies the lowermost and the uppermost frequency it can deliver. If possible, you require both figures to be as separate as possible from each other for voluminous sound delivery. But it is worth noting that a broader range doesn't guarantee clear audio delivery. The said pair of earpieces grant 14 - 26.000 Hz here. One of the most crucial factors of an earpiece is impedance and this one includes 50 Ohms of it. This is more than the majority of earpieces for sale and defends against damage caused by overcharging, but also requires more energy to be roaring enough for your satisfaction. What about the sort of fitting? While the over-ear fitting of the HD 559 has many benefits, it also drives the price up as well. At least compared to most earbuds and on-ear models, they generally more expensive. HD 559: Price UK As already stated, don't expect the sound signature on these to be neutral (at this price I would not expect this anyway). While not very far from neutral, the recessed lower treble and missing sub-bass rumble are obvious. Before I jump into my review, I feel it's important to give some context about myself that ultimately influenced my review. Initially it seemed like it got better, but in practice I got used to the sound signature, tending to ignore its flaws.