The Sennheiser brand today unveiled the HD 550, a hi-fi headphone that balances revealing performance with effortlessly smooth tuning. Boasting sprawling stereo imaging and an ultra-light build, the HD 550 is an open invitation to unpack the lush layers of today’s music and games for hours on end.
”Audiophiles looking for featherlight headphones with honest voicing and deep bass extension are in for a treat,” said Klaus Hanselmann, Sennheiser Audiophile Product Manager. “While the HD 550’s airy detail is obvious, customers will fall in love with its delightfully polite touch – perfect for listening for hours on end.”
A Deeper Audiophile Experience
The heart of the HD 550 is its custom 38mm transducer, made at Sennheiser’s audiophile production facility in Tullamore, Ireland. Its speedy performance yields exceptional clarity from 6 Hz to 39.5 kHz, all while producing less than 0.2% total harmonic distortion. At 150 ohms, it’s an ideal match for a wide variety of hi-fi gear, scaling with ease when paired with premium audio gear such as Sennheiser’s own HDV 820.
The fully open-back design utilizes a new acoustic mesh that protects the transducers while removing any remaining barriers between the listener and their music. Their angled arrangement creates an expansive soundstage that drops the listener into the epicenter of the recording. Gamers will experience superb, lag-free spatial awareness and immersion for both competitive and casual sessions. True to the Sennheiser brand’s heritage, the HD 550 delivers punchy bass, crystal-clear transients, and neutral mids without straying from the truthful voicing that audiophiles prefer.
Built for Comfort
Situated in chassis renowned for its long-term comfort, the HD 550 features a more relaxed clamping force compared to other 500-series stablemates. Weighing less than the most popular gaming controllers at a mere 237 grams [8.4 oz], the HD 550 practically disappears on the head. A soft-touch textured headband and ventilated metal mesh earcup covers keep the listener comfortable without sacrificing durability.
Like other models in the 500 series, the HD 550 features a modular design, allowing for easy swapping of cables and earpads. It ships with a 1.8 m cable terminating with a stereo 3.5 mm jack plug with a 6.35 mm adapter, making it compatible with a wide range of devices. A range of additional cables—sold separately—makes it easy for listeners to adapt to balanced sources and mic-enabled jacks, for example.
Availability
The all-new HD 550 is currently available for pre-order, shipping the first week of April at an MSRP of $299.95 USD and $399.95 CAD.
My take on the HD 550
The frequency response graph looks very similar to that of the recently released HD 505 Copper Edition, with the exception of a slightly less peaky upper-midrange, and a somewhat less steep dropoff in the treble (stay tuned for my review of the HD 505).
With the HD 550 being $20 more than the HD 505 one wonders if the tuning will be changed enough to justify the higher price, as well as what purpose this serves in the whole of the Sennheiser lineup. I’ll hopefully be getting one in to review, and if so, stay tuned for a direct comparison between the two headphones.
