Hot on the heels of the recently-reviewed HD 505 over-ears, Sennheiser has unveiled its latest pair of wired headphones aimed at audiophiles and gamers alike. The new HD 550 seek to balance "revealing performance with effortlessly smooth tuning", blending a wide, spacious sound with a lightweight construction to help listeners delve into their music for hours at a time.
Central to the HD 550 is a custom 38mm transducer which seeks a fast, dynamic performance with a focus on sonic clarity and reduced distortion. The new cans' open-back design features a new acoustic mesh which seeks to protect the transducers, while those same transducers' angled arrangement grants a more expansive soundstage for your music.
The HD 550 boast a more relaxed clamping force compared with their 500-series stablemates in a bid to boost comfort over long listening sessions or epic gaming marathons. Weighing in at 237g, the same weight as the HD 505 cans, the HD 550 feature a textured headband and ventilated metal mesh earcups to offer increased listener comfort that also doesn't compromise overall durability.
The HD 550 also have one eye on the environment. The new headphones are built with a modular design, allowing for easy swapping of cables and earpads should they become worn out or damaged. Sennheiser's latest over-ears come equipped with a 1.8m cable terminating in a stereo 3.5mm jack plug with a 6.35mm adapter, making them compatible with a broad range of source devices.
According to Klaus Hanselmann, Sennheiser's Audiophile Product Manager, "Audiophiles looking for featherlight headphones with honest voicing and deep bass extension are in for a treat. 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."
The Sennheiser HD 550 will ship in the first week of April, priced at £250 / $300, a small advance on the £230 / $250 test price of their HD 505 cousins.
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Read our recent Sennheiser HD 505 review
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