Replacing ATH-M50s, Brainwavz HM5 or Senn HD558?

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Gensou

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
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My setup is very mediocre. Cheap Asus Xonar DG sound card with its built-in "headphone amp".

I've been using the M50S for about 2 years. Right off the bat I found them uncomfortable after about an hour of use but I endured it because I liked the sound coming from my cheapo Panasonics that I had at the time and I figured they would stretch over time. 2 years later they are still as uncomfortable as day 1.

I am looking for upgrade and this time comfiness is #1. Right now I have my eye on Brainwavz HM5, their "clone" NVX XPT100, and the Senn HD558s.
If I could maybe keep the sound quality on par with the ath-m50s or better but increase comfiness by a lot that'd be the best, I could probably spend up to $150 on headphones like that.

According to my last.fm I listen to a lot of downtempo, vamporwave, dreampop, classical. I play CS:GO as well as random MMORPGs.
Please respond ;_;
 
HD 558, one of the most comfortable headphones out there. Good sound, not the best bass, but that's pretty typical of an open headphone. Will be great for classical, not sure what some of that other stuff is.
 
I'll throw in a slightly overbudget wildcard. The AKG K550. One thing you'll see in amazon reviews for it is folks with small heads complaining how it's 'too loose' and has 'too little' clamping force. I can say from my personal experience with the headphones that it only took a night's worth of stretching over a bookshelf speaker to yield remarkable comfort, and for my head, a good fit. Onecall, an authorized dealer, has them for sale for $180.
 
Gensou said:
Just dropped $70 on a pair of NVX XPT100, aka HM5, aka fischer audio fa-003.
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If you remember post back about how you like them NVX headphones...I have been pondering get a pair like that forever now..


I also have ath-m50's and they clamped like a bastard for me too... I almost got rid of mine..but then i looked up some info and i stretched the handband (carefully) by holding the earcups and pulling them straight out (gently) for 30seconds then trying the fit again and blah blah did this a couple times and the clamping force was more bearable after the 2 or 3 time (can't rembember honestly).

The other thing i did was put shure 840 earpads on my m50 (the shure pads fit ok but they honestly are a bit bigger so it is kinda easy to knock them loose if not being careful... only downside...) for me I find isolation was improved a bit, and the bass was tamed slightly ( i kinda think the m50's have a bit too much bass out of the box)... but comfort is greatly improved (for me).

If you are keeping your m50s might consider the earpad swap and or trying to stretch the headband a bit.
 
Gensou said:
Just dropped $70 on a pair of NVX XPT100, aka HM5, aka fischer audio fa-003.
Click to expand...

$70? Nice deal. Those are excellent headphones at twice that price. Just closed which I don't prefer for gaming at least.

For the money, they are probably the bang for the buck closed headphones.
 
atarione said:
If you remember post back about how you like them NVX headphones...I have been pondering get a pair like that forever now..


I also have ath-m50's and they clamped like a bastard for me too... I almost got rid of mine..but then i looked up some info and i stretched the handband (carefully) by holding the earcups and pulling them straight out (gently) for 30seconds then trying the fit again and blah blah did this a couple times and the clamping force was more bearable after the 2 or 3 time (can't rembember honestly).

The other thing i did was put shure 840 earpads on my m50 (the shure pads fit ok but they honestly are a bit bigger so it is kinda easy to knock them loose if not being careful... only downside...) for me I find isolation was improved a bit, and the bass was tamed slightly ( i kinda think the m50's have a bit too much bass out of the box)... but comfort is greatly improved (for me).

If you are keeping your m50s might consider the earpad swap and or trying to stretch the headband a bit.
Click to expand...
I considered stretching the band but decided not to because I knew I was going to end up selling them anyways. I also considered the shure earpads but as I read, they're loose and I doubt it would alleviate any of the pressure against my ears + glasses.
I'm selling them now on this forum and others.


spaceman said:
$70? Nice deal. Those are excellent headphones at twice that price. Just closed which I don't prefer for gaming at least.

For the money, they are probably the bang for the buck closed headphones.
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Yep, $70 shipped brand new. Thought it was a good deal so why not? The pads look so comfy I just want to try them on ASAP. If I don't like them I think I'll have no trouble selling them and trying something else.
 
PCunicorn said:
Let me/us know how it is for gaming :) I've been looking at those.
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Well, they're closed so if you're looking for something for gaming I don't think you should be looking at these. You want something open with a good soundstage.
 
The HM5 has a decent sized sound stage for a closed headphone. I would prefer an open headphone by Sennheiser for gaming but for music it would be the HM5 in many respects.
 
HD558 Foam mod... But they won't be anywhere near as portable as the M50s and will probably need an amp if you want to get the most out of them. If you are moving around with them, get something around 32 Ohms like you're used to.
 
Gensou said:
ok, why?
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Also because I have had about 126 different headphones and use the 558s.

If I had the money I would get some Stax. That is really the only comfortable headphone better imo.

The Sennheisers have the best balance of sound stage, bass, and comfort for gaming atm. There are better headphones for just music and better headphones for just gaming. There is not a better headphone that does as well at both as the Sennheisers.

So if you can only afford one headphone, get the 558s.
 
Well, I'd agree with 2 out of 3. The HD 558's are a bit light on the bass. Nothing terrible, but compared to most of the headphones on the market today, the HD 558's are going to be among the least-bass-y full sized headphones.

Great sound stage, tremendously comfortable velvety ear pads and headband, single sided detachable cable is a nice convenience. Highly breathable, so if your computer room ends up a little toasty with multiple monitors+CPU+GPUs going, your ears don't get soaked.
 
Ah but I said balance. What I mean is that it has some decent bass and a good soundstage. The 701 has no bass and a larger soundstage. The 558 is just a down the middle headphone.
 
Got the NVX XPT100s today. Very comfy and much more enjoyable to listen to than ath-m50s.
Better soundstage with the XPT100s too. After listening to the xpt100s for a couple hours and trying on the m50s I felt like the m50s were screaming at me and just throwing all the sounds right in my face. Quite fatiguing to listen to the m50s after the xpt100s and I couldn't do it. With the xpt100s the sounds are much more separate from each other and easily distinguishable whereas the m50 it sounds like everything is just right there coming at you all at once at like 5db higher than the xpt100 despite me not changing the volume.

The pads on the XPT100s are godly, so soft and cushiony and they sit very light on your head. They also come with angled pads which are even comfier than the regular. I'm still thinking of purchasing HD558s just to try them. If I like the HD558s I will keep both the XPT100s and the 558s. If I don't like the 558s I'll return them. I'll sell the M50s no matter what. I've been using the m50s for over 2 years and just now realized I was following a fad, a trend. The m50s are truly memecans.
 
You have it right. I think you will find the 558s to have a larger soundstage with better directional sound and a bit less detail. Typical of open vs closed
 
If you end up liking the HD 558's, sell all 3, and get a pair of HD 650's. ;)
 
Gensou said:
$400 buckaroos, I don't think so m8 ;)
I'm about that basic, poor people gear, if you know what I mean. $150 tops.
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Hah!
Koss is basic poor people gear (not knocking them, I've got 4 pairs of Koss 'phones around here somewhere).

HD 558's are what someone gets on the way to HD 650's.
Just letting you know in advance so you can plan accordingly.
 
Kueller said:
Hah!
Koss is basic poor people gear (not knocking them, I've got 4 pairs of Koss 'phones around here somewhere).

HD 558's are what someone gets on the way to HD 650's.
Just letting you know in advance so you can plan accordingly.
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The 650s are way better for music but not for gaming. Sound stage is just different. The 650 is tighter and sharper. The 558 larger and a bit fuzzier.
 
spaceman said:
The 650s are way better for music but not for gaming. Sound stage is just different. The 650 is tighter and sharper. The 558 larger and a bit fuzzier.
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I'm not going to disagree with you about the sound stage. The 558's might be a 9.5/10, and the 650's an 8.5/10 in terms of sound stage.

But everything that makes the 650's way better for music, also makes them more immersive in games. Unless I was playing professionally, I'd take the 650's every time.
 
So I went ahead and bought the 558s also to compare to the NVXs since I have amazon prime and can return.

The 558s are definitely bright headphones, much brigher than the nvxs. They also have a thumpier bass than nvx. NVX are dark and a little bit more laid back I think. Overall, I prefer the sound of the 558s BUT the NVX XPT100 build quality is far superior in my opinion. The ear pads are huge marshmallows that you just want to have against your face all the time, they're soft and squishy and comfortable. Despite the NVX being absolutely enormous they are quite light, lighter than the 558s. The plastic band on the senns is worrying me, the band on the nvx is quite flexible but that is something they advertise, to be able to twist the band any way you want and that it's very durable.

I think what makes me like the 558s is that they're open, they're my first open cans. Prior to them I've always had closed cans: D2000, ATH-m50, etc.
I don't want to return neither the NVX nor the Senns. If the NVX had the padded band like the senns I would send the senns back and use the nvx. XPT100s are quite the contender if you ask me. $70 vs $130.
 
558's not really bright but just snappier and brighter upper mids, K701's, HD800's and Stax (excluding Omega 2's) = bright sounding.

HD580/600's > HD650 if you want something more neutral sounding. 558/555/598/595 have a slightly larger soundstage then the 650's. IME the only time I've heard the 650's sound up and alive is through a world class cd transport to DAC for front end and heavy amplification.
 
Kueller said:
If you end up liking the HD 558's, sell all 3, and get a pair of HD 650's. ;)
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Can't echo this enough. The HD650's are the true upgrade. Worth every single penny. They are still my favorite can hands down. If I had only one headphone I could bring with me to a deserted island it would be the HD650's. They are tough , sound incredible and never disappoint me. No closed can can even compete in my opinion. Unless your living conditions simply can't permit open cans or you travel a lot there isn't a reason not to.
 
jcagara08 said:
Beyerdynamic DT Pro 770 250 or 80 ohms comfy as can be!
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Agreed! Beyerdynamic DT 770 were hands down the comfiest headphone I've ever worn, they made my ATH-AD700 feel painful in comparison. I literally described it as two pillows lightly pushing against my head. Sennheiser HD555/595/558/598 are all pretty comfy, but I felt they were sort of clampy.
 
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