I just picked up a new set of headphones. I used my bose triports for a long time, and it was time for an upgrade. While they were good, I had to get a pair of Sennheisers after hearing Patrick’s.
I tested out a pair of Sennheiser 598, 558, and 205’s. I also tried the Bose QC15, Ultrasones, and many more. For whatever reason, the open back Sennheisers had a superior sound. Many people describe them as “neutral”… and I agree.
I ended up picking up a pair of used Sennheiser 650’s. Currently I’m powering them through my mixer, but I have an 02 amp/dac coming in the next few days. Really looking forward to the way it’s going to sound when they’re properly powered.
The first thing I notice with the 650’s are their clarity. These headphones sound awesome with most music, but they really shine with acoustic music. While they have bass, they won’t be the best headphones for dub step, rap, or anything with heavy synthetic bass. Also, you’ll need to start playing uncompressed music. Since you can hear more stuff, you can hear songs with file compression (like MP3s). I’m going to have to rip all my CDs now as uncompressed music. I’ve been going through all my favorite music, and I’m hearing things I’ve never experienced before.
Ps. The best feature is that they’re comfortable around the ears. These win by a long shot.