Category — Audio

Brought to you by Amazon and Guinness.

What you are about to read is a real time review of the HD555 Open-Aire Professional Headphones with Sound Channeling from Sennheiser. I’m writing this in real time, because I thought it would be more entertaining. I mean, when it comes to headphones, its such a objective review from the get go, why not make it more fun. So here we go.

8:21PM – Just poured myself a Guinness, have to get those creative juices flowing. God damn, Guinness is so good.

8:23 – Just took the 555′s out of the shipping box. Looks like normal Sennheiser packaging, except for the little rip tag that says “Pull up to unlock” What? This is cool.

8:24 – I pulled up the tag, it the box folds open like a french door refrigerator. It looks like overly complicated packaging at first glance, but it really isn’t. I like it. You just pull the plastic “shell” off the headphones and you have got access to the goods.

8:27 – The headphones are pretty badass. They have a large plastic headband that almost looks like it should be soft plastic, but it isn’t. It reads SENNHEISER in large print. The ear cushions are velour. Very soft. Sennheiser says you can wear glasses with them on. I don’t have glasses, but I’m sure these countless hours of staring at LCD’s will soon do them in.

8:30 – I just inspected the cord. Looks like it is not removable like it is in other models. I’m not a fan of this. Damage the cord and you’re done. Boo.

8:31 – Ok enough of this, time to put these badboys on.

8:32 – Ok a little tight, but not uncomfortable.

8:33 – Plugging them in to my Yamaha receiver.

8:34 – Time to find some tunes. I’m drawn to the album, Black Light by Groove Armada – but I don’t know it all that well. Going to seek out something as sonically delightful, but more well known to me.

8:38 – Just pressed play on a track called “Shakedown” by Maximum Balloon. This is Andrew Sitek’s new band/side project. This is the guy from TV on the Radio. This album is solid. Check it out.

8:42 – My ears are being showered by the multilayered, synth-laden, R&B infused, downtempo beats of Sitek. This guy is great.

8:44 – The track is nearing its end. There is a sonic brilliance and fullness that is just unmatched by lesser cans. I’m about done with my Guinness.

8:45 – Intermission. Filling my glass. Be back soon.

8:52 – That took longer than expected. 555′s are back on.

8:54 – Time for a little Cee Lo Green. I think “Fuck You,” is in order. This song is hilarious. Although it is getting a little old now.

8:55 – Now, I should have technically zeroed out my EQ. Let me do that.

8:56 – So my EQ is now set to 0 dB for both bass and treble. Yamaha has done away with the “Loudness” setting, because lets be honest, that’s a bit lowbrow.

8:57 – Actually, I don’t know why they did away with it, but I have been a strictly Yamaha shop for some time now. And believe it or not (You’re not going to believe this) It was a fellow co-worker at Best Buy, back in 2003 who swayed me away from a Sony A/V receiver to Yamaha – and boy am I glad he did. I was such a noob when it came to home audio.

8:59 – So Fuck You ended. The next song that came on was Always Loved A Film, by Underworld. This is off their new CD entitled “Barking.” It’s pretty great. The headphones are still tight. I’m taking them off right now and going to see if I can stretch them or something.

9:03 – These things are really all plastic. There is no metal in their construction, except for the screws. An overnight stretching session will be in order if I really want to change their shape.

9:05 – I just started a track by the Radio Dept. called “Heaven’s on Fire.” You can instantly hear so much more of the song than when listening with lesser equipment. It’s just a beautiful thing to be able to treat your ears to such sonic bliss. This is how recorded music was meant to be heard.

9:08 – “Conversation 16″ by The National. Seems a little muffled. I don’t remember it sounding like this. By the way, the National are awesome. If you can see them live, do it. So I’m a bit disappointed by this track. It sounds better in my car. There is this massively low bass line that just sends chills down my spine… but I can’t hear it now.

9:10 – Brought the EQ back up to +4 Bass and +4 Treble. Much better. These things need some help to really shine.

9:11 – Time for some hypnotizing soft guitar sounds of Erlend Oye. “I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From.” Actually this is Kings of Convenience. The sound is warm and fills my head. Nice.

9:14 – For this last track, I think a little Brubeck is in order. Take Five? Why not.
Volume Up: -64dB
Oh, this is nice.
This album was recorded at a much lower record level than all the newer stuff. Turning the volume up even more.
The cymbals crashing over to the left and the subtle piano riff over to the right. The delicate balance of high versus low – the snare drum. Oh. This is great.

9:16 – I was just staring blankly at my display, just taking it all in. I love it when you can visualize music in your head. Like it is a painting in motion. I wish you could hear this.

9:17 – The sax just came in again. It sounds like its track is slightly off center, to the left. I wonder why they did that? Was it intentional?

9:18 – Take Five just ended. My god, that is music.

9:20 – Second Guinness is done. And so this is pseudo live-blog. Overall, I’m pleased with the Sennheiser 555′s. The highs are crisp, the lows are accurate – although a bit understated without the artificial enhancement brought on by the EQ.  A “real” audiophile may snub their nose at a sub-$100 set of cans… but For the price, you’re not going to find much better. They are definitely tight around my head though. I’m going to have to stretch them out over night on a stack of CDs or what not. And with that… happy listening.

Testing environment:
Yamaha HTR5640
MacBook Pro, optical output
320K MP3 encodes from CD, converted using iTunes

The other day I sank into the driver’s seat of my two-door, shoved the key into the ignition, and brought the machine to life. I quickly powered on my head unit – that’s audio enthusiast speak for car stereo – and began toggling through the sources. Like most fossil fuel burning Americans, I had a few options:

FM – Unlikely there will be anything worth listening to here, maybe NPR
HD radio – Sounds great, but it is still terrestrial radio
CDs – What are these again
iPod – Can only listen to the same albums so many times
Sat radio – My personal choice, but awful sound quality and uninspired DJ’s

A sad lot if you ask me. Yes I know, I’m being a tad unreasonable here. But there just has to be a better way – and there is. It’s called the Internet. And the device that makes it possible to connect to this magical network while traveling 75 MPH down the highway? You guessed it, the iPhone.

It is now possible to listen to any one of the 20,000+ Internet radio stations while on the move. Plus- Pandora, AOL Radio, Last FM…They’re all here too! There are even paid services, such as the recently launched MOG, which gives you the ability to stream all the albums in their database for $9.99/month. Also, by using one of the slick Internet radio apps (my app of choice is TuneIn Radio, $1.99) you can do neat tricks like pause live radio and record streams.

But wait, there’s more (that line never gets old). How’s the sound quality, you ask? Well, it blows satellite radio out of the water. A 64K, yes 64K AAC audio stream sounds better than most XM channels. A 128K MP3 stream sounds great. And a 192K stream, well let’s just say you won’t be longing for the days of compact disc.

Hang on now. It gets even better. If your car has A2DP Bluetooth, you won’t even have to connect any wires. Just start your car and within seconds your iPhone will automatically connect – the sound quality over the latest version of stereo Bluetooth is excellent.

Let’s have a little rundown:
Huge selection of Internet radio stations
Access to music services like Pandora and MOG
Sound quality that surpasses XM and FM
Ability to pause/record live radio

Awesome.

So there you have it, liberation from the oppression of traditional in-car audio entertainment…Just be sure to watch your data usage if you’re stuck on a capped plan!