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Product Description
NoiseGard 2.0 noise-canceling technology reduces up to 90% of ambient noise TalkThrough technology users can talk to others without removing the headset SRS WOW HD technology for enhanced clarity and stronger bass Full-sized ear cups for complete relaxation in noisy settings Two-year warranty
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
121 of 123 people found the following review helpful
By G. Hutcheson
Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been using the MM550 for about 6 months now, including several international trips and it's performed superbly.
If you want a headphone that truly does everything, this is really it. Bluetooth works for video on the iPad/notebook/ then switch to the iPhone for seamless switching between music and phone calls. The detachable cable automatically switches off the Bluetooth, so it's easy on airlines. It comes with a world-battery chargers and also charges through USB. The TalkThrough function allows you to switch between the headphones an hearing whats going on around you (though I still find myself instinctively taking them off when someone wants to talk to me). The comfort is the best I've had, even better than the Bose QC3, which is very comfortable.
-- Noise Cancellation: As good as, if not better than my Bose QC3's, which was better than any headphones I ever had. What's nice about the Sennheiser's is that you can switch of the NC, which gives even better sound quality (if you're not in a noisy environment).
-- Sound Quality: Excellent! It reproduces everything very accurately. Crisp Treble with great Bass. I listen to everything from, rock, rap, blues, to classical, so I want a headphone that correctly interprets the output from the player, as this is how it was intended by the musician. I didn't want a headphone, as some do, that interpret the sound to one genre, such as excessive bass. These definitely fit the bill.
As with all NC headphones, the sound is best without NC. What's nice about these is that you have the option of switching off the NC.
-- Problems with not enough volume: Some user reviews complained that the volume was too low. This is obviously a big worry, so I was ready to quickly return them. I did not have this problem, but could reproduce they had described. The headphones have a talk-through function that allows you hear what people are saying around you without taking them off. It switches on the microphone, turns down the music and ports the mic to the internal speakers so you can engage in a conversation (great when the cabin attendants want to ask you a question). You toggle a button on the headset to switch between NC, no NC, and Talk Through. It easy to get the last and think something's wrong when you first start using them.
-- Using and living with the MM550: I find I use them far more than I ever did my QC3s because the sound is so great, there is no cable to pull out or get tangled, and I don't have to switch between them and a phone headset when a call comes in. This has been a pleasant surprise, because I found I really only used the Bose when I was on the plane.
They travel nicely. The case measures 8 inches long x 7 wide x 2.5 high with everything in it. If you remove the manual and things you don't need for your trip it gets considerably shorter in height (thickness ~1.5 inches). It takes up a lot less space than my QC3s did, which is a big advantage.
Build Quality: They are very well made and yet relatively light.
Comfort: I find them better than the QC3s. The Sennheiser does not seem to have as hermetic a seal as the QC3, so are not as hot and sweaty for me. I do find that after 10 hours or so on a plane they do get uncomfortable, but I have had any other headphones that didn't do the same. But beware, this is very subjective and varies between people.
Manual: This leaves a lot to be desired. But they did send a PDF version, which I store on all my devices. The one difficultly I have is Bluetooth switching between devices. The manual and specs say it can do this, but nowhere does it reveal how. Invariably, I find myself resetting the device and reconnecting to the device I want to reach.
-- For your reference, I consider myself an audiophile reformed to a pragmatic audiophile. For example, I will sacrifice sound quality for NC, comfort, and travel ease. I've been a Sennheiser fan since the seventies, but went down to the Bose QC's because of the noise cancellation for long international trips. I am also a gadget geek. I ended up with these because a bad Duracell battery destroyed my Bose QC3's. I decided on the MM550s after an extensive search though many user and pro reviews and contacting Sennheiser's excellent product support, who answered every question, even though I hadn't bought yet. The best thing was they openly answered all the critical questions from reviews and after 6 months, I can say they were truthful answers.
If you want a headphone that truly does everything, this is really it. Bluetooth works for video on the iPad/notebook/ then switch to the iPhone for seamless switching between music and phone calls. The detachable cable automatically switches off the Bluetooth, so it's easy on airlines. It comes with a world-battery chargers and also charges through USB. The TalkThrough function allows you to switch between the headphones an hearing whats going on around you (though I still find myself instinctively taking them off when someone wants to talk to me). The comfort is the best I've had, even better than the Bose QC3, which is very comfortable.
-- Noise Cancellation: As good as, if not better than my Bose QC3's, which was better than any headphones I ever had. What's nice about the Sennheiser's is that you can switch of the NC, which gives even better sound quality (if you're not in a noisy environment).
-- Sound Quality: Excellent! It reproduces everything very accurately. Crisp Treble with great Bass. I listen to everything from, rock, rap, blues, to classical, so I want a headphone that correctly interprets the output from the player, as this is how it was intended by the musician. I didn't want a headphone, as some do, that interpret the sound to one genre, such as excessive bass. These definitely fit the bill.
As with all NC headphones, the sound is best without NC. What's nice about these is that you have the option of switching off the NC.
-- Problems with not enough volume: Some user reviews complained that the volume was too low. This is obviously a big worry, so I was ready to quickly return them. I did not have this problem, but could reproduce they had described. The headphones have a talk-through function that allows you hear what people are saying around you without taking them off. It switches on the microphone, turns down the music and ports the mic to the internal speakers so you can engage in a conversation (great when the cabin attendants want to ask you a question). You toggle a button on the headset to switch between NC, no NC, and Talk Through. It easy to get the last and think something's wrong when you first start using them.
-- Using and living with the MM550: I find I use them far more than I ever did my QC3s because the sound is so great, there is no cable to pull out or get tangled, and I don't have to switch between them and a phone headset when a call comes in. This has been a pleasant surprise, because I found I really only used the Bose when I was on the plane.
They travel nicely. The case measures 8 inches long x 7 wide x 2.5 high with everything in it. If you remove the manual and things you don't need for your trip it gets considerably shorter in height (thickness ~1.5 inches). It takes up a lot less space than my QC3s did, which is a big advantage.
Build Quality: They are very well made and yet relatively light.
Comfort: I find them better than the QC3s. The Sennheiser does not seem to have as hermetic a seal as the QC3, so are not as hot and sweaty for me. I do find that after 10 hours or so on a plane they do get uncomfortable, but I have had any other headphones that didn't do the same. But beware, this is very subjective and varies between people.
Manual: This leaves a lot to be desired. But they did send a PDF version, which I store on all my devices. The one difficultly I have is Bluetooth switching between devices. The manual and specs say it can do this, but nowhere does it reveal how. Invariably, I find myself resetting the device and reconnecting to the device I want to reach.
-- For your reference, I consider myself an audiophile reformed to a pragmatic audiophile. For example, I will sacrifice sound quality for NC, comfort, and travel ease. I've been a Sennheiser fan since the seventies, but went down to the Bose QC's because of the noise cancellation for long international trips. I am also a gadget geek. I ended up with these because a bad Duracell battery destroyed my Bose QC3's. I decided on the MM550s after an extensive search though many user and pro reviews and contacting Sennheiser's excellent product support, who answered every question, even though I hadn't bought yet. The best thing was they openly answered all the critical questions from reviews and after 6 months, I can say they were truthful answers.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By V. Feldman
Amazon Verified Purchase
As background, I bought these headphones to replace a six-year-old pair of Bose QuietComfort 2 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones whose faux leather bits have literally disintegrated and also own a pair of Sennheiser HD-280 PRO Headphones.
I always loved the sound of the QC2s, particularly their great bass and fantastic noise-canceling ability. I've seen many reviews putting down their sound quality, but, as I'm an audio layman, they're the standard to which I compare other headphones. They're also the most comfortable cans I've worn, an area where the HD-280s fall far short. While the 280s sound good, I get a headache from wearing them for extended periods because the padding around the cans is not very soft and the headphones press very firmly against my head.
When I went looking for new headphones, I wanted something that sounded and felt as good as the QC2s. One thing I found annoying when travelling with them, though, is dealing with the cable. I found only a few headphones similar to the QC2s in terms of features that also supported bluetooth audio, and decided to give the Sennheisers a shot based on the company's reputation and my experience with the sound quality of the HD-280s. Choosing between this particular model and the older MX-450 was simple: I wanted to see what the latest tech would offer.
Sound
These are hands-down the best-sounding headphones I can remember -- if you leave noise-cancellation and SRS off. In fact, these are the first pair of headphones that made me turn off the bass booster EQ settings in the iPod app because their natural sound is just so good. I don't know technical audio terms well enough to throw them around, but indulge me: the sound is very crisp, all of the details come through discernibly and the bass has depth but without overpowering the rest of the range. This is where they put the QC2s to shame. And the quality difference between wired and bluetooth? There is one, but they sound good enough over bluetooth that I never feel a need to plug them in.
Noise-Cancellation
Because the MX-550s have an over-the-ear design, they actually do a good job of keeping outside noise to a minimum without active noise-cancellation on. In fact, this is how I prefer to use them whenever possible because as soon as I turn on noise cancellation, sound quality becomes almost mediocre. Whereas the QC2s sound better with this feature on, the Sennheisers sound worse -- the sound loses its depth and bass all but disappears. Using SRS helps ever so slightly, but has problems of its own. As for noise filtering, subjectively I think it's not as good as on the QC2s, but does work well.
So why did I not return these headphones? What I said above is very true when there is not much background noise, but where these headphones really shine is noisy environments like on an airplane. I brought the 550s with me on several flights: they made the engine noise all but disappear when listening to music and softened it very significantly otherwise. Here they performed at least as well as the QC2s and the loss of sound quality from using active noise-cancellation just was not an issue for me. I suspect that the background noise makes it difficult for me to notice how "shallow" the headphones sound.
As for SRS WOW? These headphones may as well omit this feature because, in my opinion, it worsens the sound. In addition to decreasing the sound volume, I would describe the effect as muddling the bass and making the sound much less crisp. I don't mean to imply that this affect produces output that sounds mediocre compared to other headphones, just that it sounds mediocre compared to what these headphones are capable of.
Design
These headphones are actually more compact than I expected from looking at photos and feel extremely solid. And they look great, too. All of the buttons are pretty easy to get to, though they can be tricky to activate sometimes -- there seems to be a sweet spot that you have to press on for them to register. If I don't use the headphones for a while, I forget which button does what since I have to tell them apart by feel and their layout makes this a bit difficult. But these are trivial complaints, really.
Fit & Comfort
My biggest concern about the MX-550s was how well they fit and how comfortable they are given my experience with the HD-280s. I was very happy to find that they are almost as comfortable to wear as my old QC2s. The padding is very soft -- but not as soft as on the Bose -- and I don't feel any pressure when wearing them for hours on end. In spite of what other reviews have said about initial discomfort before the headphones "loosen up," I have not experienced that at all.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth works flawlessly: I've been able to pair these with an iPhone 3GS, Nexus One and Nexus S, and an iPad 1 and 2 with no issues. I've used them within about 20 feet of my iPad and through several walls with no noticeable interference. My one complaint is the presence of a faint clicking noise in the right can when the headphones are paired but nothing is being transmitted. If the room I'm in is quiet enough, it begins to bug me. This should not be a deal breaker, just something to be aware of (and hopefully fix in a future model).
Battery
With my usage pattern, a AAA battery in my QC2s could last for what seemed like forever. I was a bit concerned with the 8-hour rating on the battery in the MX-550s, but it has not been a problem in practice. I've gone on a 5-hour flight with bluetooth, noise-cancellation and SRS WOW turned on and still had enough juice to last me the next four days at my hotel with 30-min to an hour of use each day. At home, with about an hour of use most days, I can go close to two weeks without charging. My only complaint, however, is the difficulty of removing the battery. I can't press the little tab down far enough with my finger to release the battery module; instead, I end up using the 3.5mm connector from the cable that comes with the headphones.
Conclusion
This is a pricey gadget. Were I to put a price tag on all of its features, it would be $100 lower than what I paid. But that's not something I control and so there's not much point to mulling over it. After living with the MX-550s for three months, I do not regret the purchase in the least. Leaving out noise-cancellation, these headphones are absolutely brilliant. The noise-cancellation does not work the way I want, but it does work in the way I need it to -- I can listen to music or dialog on airplanes and the sound quality is very good if I don't try to compare it against what the headphones are capable of in a quiet room with noise-canceling off. If you can afford the price without feeling guilty, these are worth trying out.
I always loved the sound of the QC2s, particularly their great bass and fantastic noise-canceling ability. I've seen many reviews putting down their sound quality, but, as I'm an audio layman, they're the standard to which I compare other headphones. They're also the most comfortable cans I've worn, an area where the HD-280s fall far short. While the 280s sound good, I get a headache from wearing them for extended periods because the padding around the cans is not very soft and the headphones press very firmly against my head.
When I went looking for new headphones, I wanted something that sounded and felt as good as the QC2s. One thing I found annoying when travelling with them, though, is dealing with the cable. I found only a few headphones similar to the QC2s in terms of features that also supported bluetooth audio, and decided to give the Sennheisers a shot based on the company's reputation and my experience with the sound quality of the HD-280s. Choosing between this particular model and the older MX-450 was simple: I wanted to see what the latest tech would offer.
Sound
These are hands-down the best-sounding headphones I can remember -- if you leave noise-cancellation and SRS off. In fact, these are the first pair of headphones that made me turn off the bass booster EQ settings in the iPod app because their natural sound is just so good. I don't know technical audio terms well enough to throw them around, but indulge me: the sound is very crisp, all of the details come through discernibly and the bass has depth but without overpowering the rest of the range. This is where they put the QC2s to shame. And the quality difference between wired and bluetooth? There is one, but they sound good enough over bluetooth that I never feel a need to plug them in.
Noise-Cancellation
Because the MX-550s have an over-the-ear design, they actually do a good job of keeping outside noise to a minimum without active noise-cancellation on. In fact, this is how I prefer to use them whenever possible because as soon as I turn on noise cancellation, sound quality becomes almost mediocre. Whereas the QC2s sound better with this feature on, the Sennheisers sound worse -- the sound loses its depth and bass all but disappears. Using SRS helps ever so slightly, but has problems of its own. As for noise filtering, subjectively I think it's not as good as on the QC2s, but does work well.
So why did I not return these headphones? What I said above is very true when there is not much background noise, but where these headphones really shine is noisy environments like on an airplane. I brought the 550s with me on several flights: they made the engine noise all but disappear when listening to music and softened it very significantly otherwise. Here they performed at least as well as the QC2s and the loss of sound quality from using active noise-cancellation just was not an issue for me. I suspect that the background noise makes it difficult for me to notice how "shallow" the headphones sound.
As for SRS WOW? These headphones may as well omit this feature because, in my opinion, it worsens the sound. In addition to decreasing the sound volume, I would describe the effect as muddling the bass and making the sound much less crisp. I don't mean to imply that this affect produces output that sounds mediocre compared to other headphones, just that it sounds mediocre compared to what these headphones are capable of.
Design
These headphones are actually more compact than I expected from looking at photos and feel extremely solid. And they look great, too. All of the buttons are pretty easy to get to, though they can be tricky to activate sometimes -- there seems to be a sweet spot that you have to press on for them to register. If I don't use the headphones for a while, I forget which button does what since I have to tell them apart by feel and their layout makes this a bit difficult. But these are trivial complaints, really.
Fit & Comfort
My biggest concern about the MX-550s was how well they fit and how comfortable they are given my experience with the HD-280s. I was very happy to find that they are almost as comfortable to wear as my old QC2s. The padding is very soft -- but not as soft as on the Bose -- and I don't feel any pressure when wearing them for hours on end. In spite of what other reviews have said about initial discomfort before the headphones "loosen up," I have not experienced that at all.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth works flawlessly: I've been able to pair these with an iPhone 3GS, Nexus One and Nexus S, and an iPad 1 and 2 with no issues. I've used them within about 20 feet of my iPad and through several walls with no noticeable interference. My one complaint is the presence of a faint clicking noise in the right can when the headphones are paired but nothing is being transmitted. If the room I'm in is quiet enough, it begins to bug me. This should not be a deal breaker, just something to be aware of (and hopefully fix in a future model).
Battery
With my usage pattern, a AAA battery in my QC2s could last for what seemed like forever. I was a bit concerned with the 8-hour rating on the battery in the MX-550s, but it has not been a problem in practice. I've gone on a 5-hour flight with bluetooth, noise-cancellation and SRS WOW turned on and still had enough juice to last me the next four days at my hotel with 30-min to an hour of use each day. At home, with about an hour of use most days, I can go close to two weeks without charging. My only complaint, however, is the difficulty of removing the battery. I can't press the little tab down far enough with my finger to release the battery module; instead, I end up using the 3.5mm connector from the cable that comes with the headphones.
Conclusion
This is a pricey gadget. Were I to put a price tag on all of its features, it would be $100 lower than what I paid. But that's not something I control and so there's not much point to mulling over it. After living with the MX-550s for three months, I do not regret the purchase in the least. Leaving out noise-cancellation, these headphones are absolutely brilliant. The noise-cancellation does not work the way I want, but it does work in the way I need it to -- I can listen to music or dialog on airplanes and the sound quality is very good if I don't try to compare it against what the headphones are capable of in a quiet room with noise-canceling off. If you can afford the price without feeling guilty, these are worth trying out.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By DC Steve
These headphones are great. They pair easily, are very comfortable and sound fantastic. I have not noticed any delay when watching videos, as sometimes can occur when using a bluetooth headset. I tried the MM 400s, but found the on-ear style to be uncomfortable. The talk-through feature is great and the buttons are easy to use. These are really well thought-out headphones.
Many people complain about the price, and I suppose it is high compared to some other products. However, everything in life involves compromise. Features cost money, and quality costs money. Cheaper headphones are, well, cheaper. I was nervous about spending this much money on a pair of headphones but after using them for five minutes, I had no doubt that I would keep them.
Two final points: the sound quality really is outstanding. I've heard things in certain songs I never noticed before. The highs are crisp, the mid-range full and the bass robust. Maybe you can get better sound quality elsewhere, but it's hard to see how, unless you want to spend $1,000 or more for a professional, wired headset.
Related to the sound quality, it seems that some computers (like my imac) use different bluetooth protocols, depending on how you connect the headphones. Thus, when I connected in one manner, the sound was great, but when I connected in a different manner the sound was poor. I don't understand it, but that's my observation. Reviewers who are very critical of the sound quality might be experiencing this problem. Otherwise, I don't get it. These headphones might not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying their high quality.
Many people complain about the price, and I suppose it is high compared to some other products. However, everything in life involves compromise. Features cost money, and quality costs money. Cheaper headphones are, well, cheaper. I was nervous about spending this much money on a pair of headphones but after using them for five minutes, I had no doubt that I would keep them.
Two final points: the sound quality really is outstanding. I've heard things in certain songs I never noticed before. The highs are crisp, the mid-range full and the bass robust. Maybe you can get better sound quality elsewhere, but it's hard to see how, unless you want to spend $1,000 or more for a professional, wired headset.
Related to the sound quality, it seems that some computers (like my imac) use different bluetooth protocols, depending on how you connect the headphones. Thus, when I connected in one manner, the sound was great, but when I connected in a different manner the sound was poor. I don't understand it, but that's my observation. Reviewers who are very critical of the sound quality might be experiencing this problem. Otherwise, I don't get it. These headphones might not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying their high quality.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW
You get what you pay for. These are pricey but WORTH it. They have all the bells and whilstles - comfort, noise cancellation SRS, portable and of course GREAT sound. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Suzanne Fowler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Headphones
I've had these headphones for a little under a year now courtesy of an Amazon lightning deal. Impressions:
- a quality product (well constructed and seems like they'll last... Read more
- a quality product (well constructed and seems like they'll last... Read more
Published 26 days ago by John M.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Poorly built junk
By far the worst pair of headphones I've ever bought. Paying $300+ I expected top quality.
* Bluetooth doesn't work the my phone (Samsung Note 2). Read more
* Bluetooth doesn't work the my phone (Samsung Note 2). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Average Shopper
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazed
While on a business trip I got ill so on my flight home I just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately that didn't happen due to an infant that was seated behind me (you know what I'm... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Frequent traveler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glad I did the Research
Best headphones I have ever owned hands down. I have gone through a lot of units trying to find the right one. Read more
Published 1 month ago by pugmaster
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything I was looking for
These are the ultimate headphones for me. I have heard some reviews that say they don't play as well when the noise cancellation is on, but I don't agree. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jeremy Likness
5.0 out of 5 stars
nice headphone
Sennheiser MM 550 doesn't hurt my head or my ears too and the sound with it amazing I thought I never Liston to the real sound before
the bluetooth also great it reach for... Read more
the bluetooth also great it reach for... Read more
Published 2 months ago by sandybelly
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVE
I love these headphones. I've been using them for about 6 months now and I adore them. My only complaint is that they're sometimes hard to wear with my glasses.
Published 3 months ago by Andrea
1.0 out of 5 stars
Total disappointment, I should have believed the reviews: weak sound,...
Whatever people said about these headphones not being loud enough is, unfortunately, true. I though perhaps they were wrong, but no. I wish I believed them. Read more
Published 3 months ago by AdamDZ
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommend for anyone who travels frequently on planes
The sound quality is great, the battery life gets you where you need to go, and the comfort means you can wear them for long periods of time without any issues. Read more
Published 4 months ago by ethan
