Proof that Senn HD555 and HD595 use identical driver assembly
- Thread starter Ruan
- Start date
gbyleveldt
AVForums Grandmaster
I'm having a serious case of internetlessness here with this @!#[email protected]#%%! 3G card. So I didn't go to the link you posted, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it before.
Point is, the drivers are probably exactly the same. The most likely reason for the 595 being more expensive is that the drivers are probably hand matched to provide similar characteristics, where as the less stellar drivers go to the 555's. I don't know this for a fact, but I believe it's a distinct possibility.
Point is, the drivers are probably exactly the same. The most likely reason for the 595 being more expensive is that the drivers are probably hand matched to provide similar characteristics, where as the less stellar drivers go to the 555's. I don't know this for a fact, but I believe it's a distinct possibility.
Rodney_gold
AVForums Grandmaster
580s and 600's use the same drivers too , difference is in them being hand picked and the materials of the phones construction etc
Even though the driver units might be identical there are still probably subtle differences in the headphone housing and construction. The drivers are probably better matched as well. Wondering why the HD558 and HD598 are not getting more press around here. From the look on Head-Fi they appear to be a significant upgrade over the previous units.
naughty
AVForums Grandmaster
while it is possible that the drivers in the 595 may be hand picked the basic difference in the construction between the two is that there is a small bit of sound deadening type of foam on the internal grille of the 555
removing that basically converts the 555 to more-or-less what the 595 is and most people wont really be able to tell the difference when the 555 is modded to remove that material
the 558 and 598 are not getting much press because they are not so freely available even though you can get them but not as freely as older stock of the older models at discounted prices ..... so when those finally are all out then im sure people will begin to buy the new models
removing that basically converts the 555 to more-or-less what the 595 is and most people wont really be able to tell the difference when the 555 is modded to remove that material
the 558 and 598 are not getting much press because they are not so freely available even though you can get them but not as freely as older stock of the older models at discounted prices ..... so when those finally are all out then im sure people will begin to buy the new models
The link shows a photograph of a package with the replacement drivers. According to the label on that package the drivers are marked as spare parts for both the HD 555 and HD 595. There's just one Part Number (512807). It seems special selection or pair matching isn't done.
Ruan said:
I doubt. The replacement drivers for the HD 555 and the HD 595 have the same part number. The driver package is marked as intended for the HD 555 and the HD 595. That tells me all I need to know - that those two phones indeed use the same drivers and that they are not selected or pair matched. I just can't imagine that a manufacturer faced with real production cost issues would pair match or select drivers for phones with that kind of retail price, and then even offer higher spec drivers as replacement parts. They would normally aim to keep logistics as simple as possible and this would encourage the sharing of parts between different models.
I just think that Sennheiser got caught
Rodney_gold
AVForums Grandmaster
Caught at what? , the same caught as a speaker mnfgr that uses the same drivers in different models? Phones dont only consist of drivers, like speakers the housing/enclosure/pad/band materials also make a difference.
d0dja
AVForums Grandmaster
Depends if the piece of foam they talk about was to improve the 555s, or to cripple them slightly to allow positioning at a lower price point but ~99% equivalent device. Which is what this looks like. Large consumer corporates are by definition dodgy, either a little or very.
Rodney,
I actually agree with you, hence the smiley. Sharing components reduces costs for both the manufacturer and the consumer.
Based on my own comparison I consider both phones to have a fairly warm, forgiving nature, the 555 only more so. I think the 555 has been engineered to have a less analytical sound than the 595. Which makes sense, since it pitched at a lower price and is likely to be paired with lower cost components.
I use the 555 for casual listening and listening to less than ideal recordings, which it does well. It is also well suited to flat, compressed and rock recordings. Perhaps this was Sennheiser's intent, I don't know. For more critical listening I use a 650.
I actually agree with you, hence the smiley. Sharing components reduces costs for both the manufacturer and the consumer.
Based on my own comparison I consider both phones to have a fairly warm, forgiving nature, the 555 only more so. I think the 555 has been engineered to have a less analytical sound than the 595. Which makes sense, since it pitched at a lower price and is likely to be paired with lower cost components.
I use the 555 for casual listening and listening to less than ideal recordings, which it does well. It is also well suited to flat, compressed and rock recordings. Perhaps this was Sennheiser's intent, I don't know. For more critical listening I use a 650.
chipwelder
AVForums Grandmaster
Agree... Sennheiser designs by focusgroups these days, so yes you can make a 555 into a 595, if you want to, but you need to play better music from better sources, otherwise it will just highlight the flaws in poorer playback systems. The foam probably sucks up high frequencies, therefore you won't hear the mp3 compression artefacts so well...
