Senheiser has just presented the latest entry level headphones in its most “analytical” headphones, HD 505. The 500 series is always the most affordable line of Sennheiser, and HD 505 is located just below Sennheiser HD 600 in The Sennheiser in the Sennheiser in the Sennheiser in the row.
Sennheiser says that new headphones have an adapted transducer that was designed to give a better extension of serious and acute compared to the previous 500 series options, while maintaining transparency for music.
They have a frequency range of 12Hz: 38.5khz of 38 mm drivers, and an impedance of 120 ohms, although they have a high level of 107.9db sound pressure per volt, which means that they can still be handled with something like that Like a telephone or a laptop, only about.
They have a 1.8 m cable, with a 3.5 mm plug at the end and an adapter of 6.3 mm included. The cable is blocked instead in the headphones but is removable.
They cost $ 249 / £ 229 (around AU $ 450), which makes them significantly more affordable than the official price of Sennheiser HD 600, which is $ 449 / £ 399. However, HD 600 is regularly available for less for less From £ 250 in the United Kingdom, and has also fallen as low as $ 249 in the US. Therefore, it is not difficult to obtain the passage model for the same price as the new entry level option.
I have a very dear pair of Sennheiser HD 600 headphones (which I built in a visit to the Sennheiser factory in Ireland), so with this close combination of prices of the real world, and with a couple of HD 505 in my hand, I, I compared them directly to HD 600.
Head (telephones) -to Head (Telephones)
We will deepen a more complete and longer period of tests for our complete Sennheiser HD 505 review, so this is only my initial comparison: I tried them with Apple Music on my iPhone 16 Pro, with a USB-C DAC of Hydisz.
First, a note about driving them from a phone through a small DAC without a fed amplifier element: yes, it could drive them from this easily, but I had to have the volume of around 85% of the maximum. It had the HD 600 to 90% of the maximum to reach the same level of perceived volume. So of course, they are not difficult to drive, but you must keep your foot low.
One of the elements that Sennheiser said he focused for the new headphones was a light and comfortable design without much clamping, and I really liked this in HD 505. They remain in their place very well, but with a little less than I will grip on the fiber headphones, I did not warm my head so much during the same time to listen to hours as HD 600. I have no problems with grip or heating nature of HD 600, but I could notice a clear difference with the HD 505.
Obviously, it is about sound, however, so we will deepen there. The HD 505 has the largest bass and the kick of acute of the two, which is very obvious immediately. It seems that it is hitting slightly lower in the low rank than in HD 600, but it is clearly very controlled, it can reach a good sudden impact and end the same way.
The low range is more considerable than I could have expected based on my familiarity with HD 600, but everything feels quite natural: however, the triple prominent feels more surprising.
It is not hard, at least not that he has heard so far, but it seems that he is taking the head of the mixture in a way that does not feel neutral. This means that it can really deepen the details in higher voices or agrudes percussions, and the combination of prominent ups and downs also makes the sound feel high energy.
However, HD 600 has an additional level of naturalness in the general sound that is especially evident in the average range. It seems that there is more space for the elements to move along those frequencies, a larger room to play when they do not adjust between the bass and the most steep acute of the HD 505.
This means that the great arrangement of swelling instruments are more transported, and I felt more wrapped by rich and dense mixtures. It also means that the different instruments in really busy songs felt a little more organized on the sound stage, not in a way that steals them from life, but in a way that gives them the additional capacity to shine and show additional details.
It means that the general sound scenario of HD 600 feels more unified for me, with a softer flow from top to bottom, and crucially a more natural sound through all that transition. I miss a little of the additional blow in certain songs by changing to HD 600 of HD 505? Yes, at first, but once I am in the complexity of what HD 600 offers, I am happier there.
Of course, none of this is a surprise since HD 600 is theoretically a great price leap on HD 505, but as I mentioned earlier, you can find them for such a close price in practice, which I think that HD 505 can have Problems to get out of the shadow of HD 600, unless they obtain their own price drops in a short time.
Sennheiser HD 505 is available immediately from Amazon, and we will soon have our complete review to see if you can make our list of the best cable headphones.
