Sennheiser - HD 550

I have had the 550 HD for a few days, and I have had many, is that sound outside the headphones moments where I took off the headphones to see if the sound in a game was outside, like a plane or strong wind etc.

hd550 is a fairly affordable and safe pick imo. If you don't mind eq the 560s is another good set. If you love vocals get something from the hd6-line. HD660S2 can be found anywhere near $400 these days

Wouldn’t recommend it honestly, the 600 sounds way more tame and laid back, and has pretty poor imaging. It’s a reference headphone meant for studio use. Get the HD 550 instead

“Best” really depends on what you want. If you like the way your Beats sound but just want something of higher overall quality, check out the Meze 99 Neo or 99 Classics. For a different sound, I just listened to the Sennheiser 620S (which is on sale for $300 now) and *loved* it enough that I might sell my Azurys for them. Ditto the HD 550, a really great choice for your price, albeit a much different tuning. Finally, the Aune SR5000 is an EXCELLENT choice. I just listened to it for the first time and only didn’t buy it because I already have enough headphones. But it’s truly excellent for $300.

Thanks! Do you have a budget in mind? Sennheiser has a number of comfortable open-backs that are tuned more on the warm side, such as the HD 505 (though I prefer the more neutral HD 550), HD 650, and HD 650. This is probably a good starting point. Comfort on these is pretty good as well (especially the newer models).

This would be my answer too (assuming you're okay with open-back headphones, which the MMX 300 are as well). The [HD 550](https://us.sennheiser-hearing.com/products/hd-550) is a great headphone and one of the best releases Sennheiser has had in a while. The fact that you can just buy the [HD 500 BAM](https://us.sennheiser-hearing.com/products/hd-500-series-boom-arm-microphone?srsltid=AfmBOorZqkuybKgnWmJBwoCu4j8UB528DRc3YF0hoooX74_GfoXoaI-M) for any HD 500 series headphone (and the [HD 660S2](https://us.sennheiser-hearing.com/products/hd-660s2)) really opens up your options (there are a lot of good headphones in the Sennheiser HD 500 series). The HD 550 does benefit from an amp as well, so I'd grab something like a Schiit [Fulla 2](https://www.schiit.com/products/fulla-2) (or [Gunnr](https://www.schiit.com/products/gunnr) if you have the budget) to go with it. The Schiit gaming DAC/amps are pretty good units that also have good quality microphone inputs (most 3.5mm microphone inputs are pretty low quality). One other note: The Beyerdynamic MMX 330 is also a great option if you're looking for an open-back. I wouldn't take it over an HD 550, but it's still a solid choice.

Another vote for HD490pro and second place the HD550. Bothe the most comfortable headphones I've used compared to ther styles. To me they also sound the best. Non fatiguing, good bass, and mostly flat and easy to EQ for any music type you want. Also don't need an amp, but will be do better with one if you wanted. I've heard the Sony MDR-MV1 are close to the HD490 in sound with more bass. Headband/earpads: HD490 comes with two sets (velour and fabric) and are easily replaceable. The fabric ones can be washed too. Headband can be easily replaced as well and does create a hotspot on top of your head due to design. The HD560s has the better headband design compared to the equivalent HD550 that can create a hotspot for certain people on top of head. Cable: HD490: best cable included. The stock one is great can be placed on either side, and has a great stress mini coil feature. It will never tug. You can get balanced ones or aftermarket from Hart Cables in any style and connection you want. HD550/560 models only connect on one side and can also find aftermarket cables easily on Hart Cables. Gaming: HD550 or HD560s with Sennheiser BAM mic add on. (HD550 slightly better bass and better for music).

I just got a pair a couple weeks ago to replace my HD 599SE's and they are a fantastic upgrade. I was surprised by how much more dynamic they were, and have a good amount of eq headroom. If you are really into the 6 series then these probably wont sway you. But if your like me and find the 6 series too uncomfortable then I think these are the best of the 5 series yet. One thing to note is they are a tighter clamp than the 599's, but nowhere near as much as the 560s had. Its a good middle ground where its not a vice on your head, but also not going to move or fall off if you bend over.

You don't really have to worry about impedance unless you would want to use some super low impedance IEMs. I've checked the spec, but I can't find power output of your player, that is a weird thing to omit when they output impedance and even IMD listed. Since it is based on CS43198, it should be able to get 2Vrms from unbalanced and 4Vrms from balanced into high impedance loads, but if there is more or what is the output into low impedance is unknown. Given the price of the device I would mail/call their support and demand exact information about output power. Anyway if the 250Ohm recommendation you got was DT770/880/990 then, that would not be a very good one as those headphones work only with unbalanced connection and their 250Ohm variant needs 2.5Vrms to reach 110dB SPL (loudness). So among Beyerdynamics models an 80Ohm variants (so only DT770/990, as there is no 80Ohm DT880) would be much better pick since they only require 1.4Vrms for that. You should be fine with anything from Sennheiser from 500 series, so HD560S/505/550, including possibly HD58X from american Drop store, and also HD490 Pro. I would not recommend going for 600 series which will work fine, but in their case I would advise getting balanced cable for those and if balanced output in your player is limited to 4Vrms, I would say 600 series can get better with more. Aside those you might want to take a look at planars like FiiO FT1 Pro and Hifiman headphones, but I do lack experience with those so can't tell much. Spec wise FT1 Pro should run fine even from 3.5mm unbalanced, while Hifimans can vary a lot depending on the exact model. Be warned though, Hifiman is kind of known for poor reliability (but also for not making problems with warranty claims and just replacing faulty units).

Koss KPH40 or Porta Pro are both a great start. They sound good, and are more comfortable than any other headphones on the market IMO. A step up would be the Sennheiser HD 550. Balanced sound and comfortable chassis. I'm internally debating whether I like it more than my HD 600. Those options are all open-back and offer zero sound isolation. If you need something closed, IEMs are the only game in town below $100. Above that, the Sennheiser HD 620S offers excellent sound isolation.

Have a 600 and a 550. I’m not completely sure which one I prefer, but I like the 500 series chassis more.

The exposed parts on the 550 are all plastic and faux leather. I haven’t tried bending it, and don’t plan to. The clamp is much, much lighter than the 600.

The 550 are more comfortable out of the box and sounds a bit nicer, when it comes to gaming specifically though it doesn't really do all that much better than the 560S, not enough to warrant 2x the cost anyway.