Customer Reviews

Sennheiser HD515 Dynamic Stereo Sound Audiophile 500 Series Headphones

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Let me say right off the bat that I am very picky about sound when it comes to using my computer for most of my audio visual needs. I have a fast computer with a Soundblaster X-Fi platinum card, and Klipsch ProMedia THX surround sound system - a combination that almost got me evicted on several occassions before getting a home of my own to indulge myself in.

I did a lot of humming and hawing over headphones and ended up getting both the Sennheiser HD 515 and the more upscale 555. I have always been spoiled by the bold yet warm, balanced yet punchy sound that the Klipsch speakers and subwoofer deliver - literally everything sounds great from music to movies to games. It wasn't until I got these headphones that I realized how good Klipsch is at making up for variances in source recording quality.

Everyone says it, so I will echo this here as well - you hear details you never knew existed in just about anything you play. This is not always a good thing, when you notice that some of your favourite songs have some annoying, yet previously-undetected touches in the background that can really spoil things.

Like a lot of people, I mostly listen to MP3s off my hard drive which will never be as good as the originals, but the convenience outweighs the slight loss in quality. From the moment I plugged in these headphones, the difference between inferior rips and great ones was painfully evident.

After the first few tracks, I was pretty disappointed and thought the headphones were just not that great, or perhaps they needed more time to "burn in". But then I put on some of my favourties and WOW what an instant difference!

I put on Sting's "Thousand Years" captured at 256 bitrate and it was like I was right there in the studio. Sade's "No Ordinary Love" and Toni Braxton @ 192 kbps were also amazing . Even at 128 kbps, The Coors' "Dreams" was outstanding.

I tried them plugged into the home theatre receiver with the opening scene from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. The narration by Galadriel was haunting and powerful, with her voice sounding like it was inside my head.

I haven't plugged these into my pre-amp yet which will give them a lot more juice, and they haven't had a 40+ hour burn-in so I am quite pleased so far.

IMPORTANT - although they are open, very little sound leaks out like some people have complained. I find this a good balance because I have small kids where I use the 555's at home, and cannot shut myself off from everyone else at work where I use the 515's. It completely drowns out my slightly loud case fans but I can still hear loud things around me. Anyone who says that people down the hall can hear them must be cranking these to obscene levels - VERY bad for your long-term hearing, and ironically one of the reasons why it is smart to get pure-sounding headphones in the first place.

Bottom line: The 555's are better and do not colour the music as much as the 515's. This means everything sounds good with the 515s while the 555s can make you change your mind about some of your favourites. Again, this comes back to the quality of the source and not the headphones themselves. Are the 555's worth 2-3x the price of the 515s? Not unless you have the money to burn. The HD 515s are an amazing value for the price - I got mine as fully warranteed B-stock that are in new condition and cost $20 less than list. $40 for a set of cans that sound almost as good as the highly vaunted 555s - a no brainer...

I have had these for about a year now. I love them. They were $70 at the time and provide great quality audio. I use them in an office environement setup to a standard PC audio card. The sound is clean and crisp, while also providing good bass.

They are very comfortable to wear - I often find myself unknowningly wearing them after I've shut my music off.

I use these everyday.

I've read some different opinions of these 'phones and people have said they don't fit your head (this is ridiculous since they're adjustable) or that they are very easy to break, which in my experience it has been the exact opposite. I've caught the cord on things numerous times, had somebody knock them off of my desk, somebody even sat on them and they still remain the same as when I first purchased them. No scratches, cracks, disconnections or breaks of any kind. I would actually inform people that these are quite sturdy and durable instead of making it seem as though they will snap with the first wrong move.

The sound quality is just amazing for the price and as others have noted, they're much better all-around headphones than the Sony brand in the same price range. I tested both for long periods of time and gave them each a fair amount of burn-in. In the end the Sennheisers are a much bigger bang for your buck. As for them sounding like tin cans or even more laughable: sounding better when they're cupped by your hands, those statements are just entirely false as another reviewer has already pointed out. The sound becomes much worse when this is done because it takes away from the sonic accuracy and spatial experience. Maybe the reviewer who said this needs some new equipment or a better understanding of the way these headphones are supposed to work. When you buy open headphones (which, by the way, reproduce better sound than a closed pair) you should know what you're getting and the fact that people will be able to hear what you're listening to if they're close enough. The quality is much better, that's the difference and it's the reason they are made this way. If you're looking for privacy, grab the Sony V6.

All in all these are well worth the price tag and will definitely bring a smile to your face if they're your first, second, or even third dip into audiophile territory. However, you must keep moving up the line if your expectations become too high. Headphones in this range can only do so much and these most certainly get the job done for the tag attached to them. Be sure to give them a fair chance and a lot of burn-in before you judge them.

First off, I'd like to mention what I was comparing these to. I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's, and I tried out the HD 555's as well.

Build Quality: Not too bad. The pads weren't quite as nice as I might have expected, but comfortable none the less. For the price the quality is on par, if not maybe a little less.

Sound:
Highs: The highs were quite nice. There is plenty of detail to enjoy and keep you listening carefully to hear the nuances of the music.

Mids: This is the real problem with these headphones. The mids are faded, and grey. It sounds as though they are far off, and you can't make out the details of the sound. Ultimately I returned them because of this.

Bass: The bass is good, but not great. It is full, and balanced. However it is slightly slow, and lacks a bit of punch.

Conclusion: Due to the poor mid-range I can't recommend these. I bought the HD555's after these and was much happier. They are a much more rounded headphone. Just a note that these are an open headphone and don't block sound coming in or going out. You can hear people, and people can hear your music. If you want sealed headphones I would look to the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's which are quite nice.

My Autistic son is receiving vestibular therapy and these headphones are pretty much the best in the market, they fit comfortably and are light.

These new model Sennheiser headphones HD-515 sound have a sound that has much depth and richness. There are no others in their price range that sound as good. These are really very comfortable, lightweight, and reasonably priced. They are easily adjustable to comfortably fit any type of head!. The quality of the HD-515 construction is an obvious upgrade when compared to many less expensive models of headphones. The headband pad on the HD-515 is a comfy foam padded cover. At 9oz the Sennheiser HD-515 headphones are fairly light-weight. The ear paddings are comfortably large and are made of soft velour. Long use comfort of the HD-515 is very high. Thanks to the new ultra-efficient drivers it doesn't take much amp power to drive these Headphones to give you a full loud sound. So they should work well with portable audio devices. They are perfect for the high demands of audiophiles who listen to CD,SACD,DVD Audio. Sennheiser is right to call the HD-515 audiophile quality. These headphones are also the first to incorporate a new feature that Sennheiser calls Eargonomic Acoustic Refinement system. Which slightly angles the acoustic baffle within each ear cup to assure that sound projects precisely parallel to the ear. This improved acoustic coupling is meant to help optimize the ergonomic participation of ears in the listening process. The bass is very clear and not muddy like some headphones in this price range. But it is not really deep sounding bass. Treble is sharp, crisp and clean,not too forward. For best results I really recommend giving any headphones a break in period of a minmum of 40 hours. After this break in period you will fully appreciate these headphones outstanding sound quality.

If you're looking for a high quality set of headphones without paying hundreds of dollars, this is it. This is the first pair of audiophile quality phones I have owned aside from a pair of 20 year old akg studio headphones. I shopped around for a long time and sampled a lot of different headsets. I love these, they have recently been put on sale a lot of places but they are great! If you're looking for phones that will cancel or block outside noise, these probably aren't for you since they're open back, however outside noise has generally not interfered with my music. Also, this set may seem tight on your head at first, at least they did for me, but I realized that I didn't have the headband adjusted properly, the large ear cups offer a lot of space and once adjusted correctly they are super comfortable (I can't feel them on my head after awhile).

Bottom line: Awesome headphones on a very reasonable budget.

First, let me emphasize these are great headphones. But if you are truly picky like me, you will want a little more.

Do I have a specific complaint? No, actually. Everything sounds excellent, nice, and tight. Nothing is lacking- bass, highs, they are all there.

The only way I can describe why these get 4 stars is because, well, they sound like a 70 dollar set of cans. Premier compared to anything you would buy at the local Wal-Mart, but not as good as a 100 buck set generally is.

My previous set was a pair of Sony MDR v700s, I loved them but the bass was way too high.
I listened to my friends HD-555's - they sound exactly like the 515s, but richer, fuller, and louder. Simply put, they have more umph.

So, my advise to you, is to buy these headphones and be thoroughly pleased.

Or save 30 more bucks and have, truly, premier quality.


PS- Comfort 15/10

After much research and deliberation I decided to pick up a pair of the HD 515's through target.com Put simply, these headphones are extremely comfortable, stylish, and produce a phenomenal sound with rich treble and bass when connected to either a home stereo or computer system. I originally bought them thinking they would be driven and sound adequate with my 15gig ipod, however, the ipod doesn't seem to have enough power to fully exploit the headphones. Again, great for home stereo, not so great for portable audio...*I would recommend the sennheiser pmx60's* however, as a great headphone for portable audio!

First off, if you are looking for noise-canceling headphones, you are looking in the wrong place. These are open-back headphones -- meaning they will let all sound in and out... they are NOT built to be noise-canceling. And if you are looking for iPod or other MP3 player headphones, again, wrong place.

But if you're looking for headphones to use for home listening that have amazing sound quality and are super-comfortable, you're in the right spot! These are great.