Excellent sound and extremely comfortable
Written: Jan 11 '00 (Updated Apr 01 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Extremely comfortable, detailed, well-balanced and non-fatiguing sound
Cons: occasional intermittence problem with cord contacts, impedance is a bit high for some portable players
The Bottom Line: Very comfortable, very detailed and well-balanced set of cans that, given adequate power, always deliver a great listening experience.
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| adambuko's Full Review: Sennheiser HD 565 Hi-Fi Headphones |
I've had these headphones for a while now (well over a year), and a day I don't listen to music with them is a rare day indeed. These are an absolute joy to listen to. I think I spent about 6 straight hours listening to all my favorite music the first day I got these, just because of the amazing sound quality these headphones deliver. And the beautiful thing is, my ears weren't tired and my head didn't feel cramped. These headphones go around your ear and gently hug your head with soft, plush, and very, very comfortable velour earpads. Sennheiser has comfort down to an art.
The sound is incredibly well balanced, with deep and articulate bass that is never boomy but is also not too thin. The mids are smooth and fluid, with a very pleasant warmness to them, and the highs are very detailed - clean and crisp, but never harsh. Everything sounds more convincing - so it's not just you're listening to a recording of an instrument (or instruments), but more like you're listening to the instruments. Vocals are more convincing, piano music is so much more satisfying, and guitar solos have more edge and kick. These headphones aren't quite as up front and in your face as Grados or Denons, but I can definitely rock along with them to Metallica just fine. Resolution is excellent, the soundstage is very wide, and separation of instruments is very good (listening to symphonic music is a treat with these).
One of the best things is that these headphones handle everything you throw at them with ease. From Beethoven symphonies to Dave Matthews Band jams to Metallica, to Bela Fleck to you name it, it all sounds beautiful through these. They've definitely surpassed my expectations.
The only noticeable flaw is that sometimes the cord connections will come loose slightly, causing slight intermittence in the earpieces (sound "cracks" or cuts out in one channel temporarily), but it doesn't occur enough to do anything more than cause a temporary annoyance. It hasn't happened to me in nearly 3 months - after I unplugged the contacts and then plugged them back in (coincidence?). Also, the impedance on these is 150 ohms, so they aren't terribly efficient and as a result portable cd players don't drive them to their full potential - or so says everyone "in the know." They are still very listenable - I think it depends on the player because mine (Optimus CD-3640) seems to handle them just fine and in fact I think with a better overall sound than my mini system, but I do have to turn the volume up higher to get the same amount of sound as I would with a pair of phones with less impedance. I'm probably missing out on some dynamics and balance, but I think they still sound incredible ;). If you do most of your listening through a home system, these headphones perform very well, and if you have a good portable player, then they'll fair well there, too. And if you're worried about missing out on some of the sound, a headphone amp will cure that.
If you're looking for a pair of high quality (both in sound and construction) and comfortable headphones, then I highly recommend you take a look at these.
The actual price on the 565s is more around 170 (originally msrp was ~$250), but I got a nice deal on the net - gotta love it!
***Update*** I recently bought a Radioshack Cd-3904 portable cd player, and it powers the 565s beautifully. It has a 15mw + 15mw amp (most ones these days are 9 and under), so it's not short on power, plus it's a very smooth and natural sounding player - so if you have the 565 or 545, look for this player for a good portable solution without an amp!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
adambuko
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 2 members
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