Anyone use Sennheiser HD-595 Stereo Headphones for PC gaming?

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blindrocket

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Jan 14, 2001
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I'm wanting to get a great pair of headphones and have really fallen in love with Sennheiser after using the PC-150 headset for a few months now.

The Sennheiser HD-595's have really caught my eye and I have found them for about fifty bucks or so less than retail.

I'm asking if anyone currently uses them for PC gaming because even though I can get them for less than retail, they are still expensive.

Can a PC push the speakers well? I don't want to get a headphone amplifier.
How is the open-air aspect of them? Does ambient noises effect your listening at all? How much does the sound "bleed" out into the room from the headphones?
I've read that they sound great, but how about in games?

I appreciate any and all comments! Thanks.
 
Thanks for the link. They really seem to dislike them, don't they?

EDIT: And my comment about not wanting to get an amplifier, I guess I could be open to the idea. After reading some threads on the board you linked me to (thanks btw, Mister X), they mentioned two versions of the 5x5 series, 50 ohm and 120 ohm. I emailed the supplier I was looking into purchasing from and asked which version they would be. Hopefully I will hear back soon.
 
That is almost always the case there..... they never seem to agree on much. :)
 
I noticed that! Heh.
These PC-150s sound pretty darn good to me honestly, I'm hoping a nicer set of cans will make me more pleased, even simply going through my computer and for gaming, without actually going overkill.

And my edit from above in case you missed it:

EDIT: And my comment about not wanting to get an amplifier, I guess I could be open to the idea. After reading some threads on the board you linked me to (thanks btw, Mister X), they mentioned two versions of the 5x5 series, 50 ohm and 120 ohm. I emailed the supplier I was looking into purchasing from and asked which version they would be. Hopefully I will hear back soon.
Click to expand...
 
blindrocket said:
I noticed that! Heh.
These PC-150s sound pretty darn good to me honestly, I'm hoping a nicer set of cans will make me more pleased, even simply going through my computer and for gaming, without actually going overkill.

And my edit from above in case you missed it:
Click to expand...


An amplifier would probably help. Update us if you decide to get an amp and tell us what you think about it.
 
Aren't headphone amps pretty expensive?
I'm basically a headphone n00b, sorry. I do have an amp for the home theatre, heh, but it's all the way across the room. :D
 
I'm listening to my PC-150s right now, music, and I'm thinking "can it really get better?" Especially when I will MOSTLY use them just for gaming.

Maybe I'm easily pleased? To me these sound great and maybe I don't need to spend $200... I really wish I had a local place to listen to audiophile cans so I can compare.
 
blindrocket said:
EDIT: And my comment about not wanting to get an amplifier, I guess I could be open to the idea. After reading some threads on the board you linked me to (thanks btw, Mister X), they mentioned two versions of the 5x5 series, 50 ohm and 120 ohm. I emailed the supplier I was looking into purchasing from and asked which version they would be. Hopefully I will hear back soon.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing.... lol
Hopefully it's not the same place. :p


As far as an amp goes.... yup.
Amps are pretty spendy even if you build them yourself.
 
What kind of sound card do you have?

And FWIW, you can occasionally find some basic headphone amps for under 100 if you look around.
 
I have a whole bunch of headphone questions. I just ordered the PC150 as an upgrade from my $25 Aiwa HP-X222 with crappy desktop mic. After reading a bunch I'm worried I didn't make the best choice. I've been willing to spend in the range of up to $100 if it really is that much better. My primary concern is to have the best positional audio (not sure if this doesn't have more to do with the soundcard though....) while playing games and maybe watching movies. I don't listen to music much. A can get a lapel mic if I really need to avoid leaning over to my desk. Positional audio is important because 5.1 computer speakers are not an option at the moment. Noise bothers my wife and my computer shares a thin wall with my neighbor's apartment anyway.

1) Most normal headphones, including my current Aiwa and the PC150 on the way have an impedance of 32 ohm. Looking at Sennheiser products, it looks that higher end have 64, 120, or 300 ohm. I know higher impedance means you need more voltage to get the same current, but I'm not too familar with the detail of how speaker tranducers work. For example, are drivers current sources or voltage sources? Anyway, what is the benefit of having higher impedance in terms of sound quality? I'm not crazy about super loud head rattling sound as I don't want to hurt my ears (I hate being up front at concerts and clubs).

2) Would I notice a big difference between something like the HD515 and the PC150? Its kind of confusing to look at the Senn product line because they have SO MANY different sets. The HD515 looks likes the cheapest with E.A.R technology which I suppose helps the sound to get directly to the eardrum without getting shaped by your ear. I haven't seen too many reviews but the ones on amazon are lukewarm at best. However, this is in the context of audiophile music listening and not gaming and they are not going to compare them to HD497 or PC150.

3) I've heard that the PC150 are supraural but from the pictures they look cirumaural. They seem to have reasonably big earcups with a ring of cushioning around the edge. If they are not meant to go around the ears, then what is the point of the ring of cushioning? If they were supraural, I would expect a flat foam pad. Also, the description of the PC155 talks about "XL (extra large?) ears caps" which block outside noise. To me, that implies circumaural. The PC155 are supposed to be identical to the PC150 (except for the color and detachable USB sound card).

4) What is the quality difference between open and closed? Are the PC150 open or closed? Does it even make sense to have such a distinction for supraural headphones since they don't totally surround the ear? Which (open or closed) is better for 3D positioning or does it not matter? Does it depend more on the individual?

5) Should I suspect an improvement in positioning over headphones switching from integrated Soundmax (with Sensaura) to Audigy 2? What goes into the 3D positioning other than the HRTF set? I know that Sensaura is synthetic based on computer models of the head/ears and that Audigy 2 is probably averaged from measurments or real people. If its all about the HRTF set, what possible changes could Creative have made between Live, Audigy, and Audigy 2 to improve 3D positioning performance over headphones? I've heard second hand that Audigy 2 positioning at least equals the Vortex 2 which was supposed to be the best. And what happened to Sensaura Virtual Ear? I have wanted to try this out but I think its dead now that Sensaura is essential gone....

6) People say Grado is bad for positioning effect (I assume this goes for games as well as music) compared to something like Sennheiser. Why? Is it the shape of the ear cups? Frequency response is optimized for something else? How do binaraul recordings sound on Grado compared to other "good" headphones?
 
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