Senn 595 or Audiotechnica A900

N

NHT

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
211
Hey guys, after much research, I bought the 595 last week and although the first day I was extremely disappointed in it, I have grown to be pretty fond of them in the last few days as the sound as opened up nicely.

But my one major gripe about these cans is...you guessed it....BASS or there lack of. Im using Xfi extreme music and with the bass turned up, the cans cannot handle low bass that I need in order to enjoy my electronica and trance music. Some songs just require that certain low range in order to get the full affect of the song.

Everything else about the 595 I love. It has a very warm sound with strong midrange that I love. Its not overly bright...just right for me. GOd, if only the bass was strong I would be in love with it.

So my question is this...i have a chance right now to purchase the A900's for a really good price and have the opportunity to return the 595's to the retailer. What should I do? If I get the A900's would it be a similar upper and midrange as the 595 or am I trading those two for raw bass? How is the upper and midrange? Is it anything close to the 595 or is a completely different sound?

Thanks for any input or suggestions you can give me
 
First of all, the a900 isn't going to give you the bass you crave, so forget that option.

Second, BURN IN THE HD595s. They're going to sound like SHIT out of the box. Burn them in for 100-150 hours, and then give them a damn good listen. If the bass still doesn't suit your needs, buy a pa2v2, and you're set.
 
I've own the HD595s and have owned the a900s. I can tell you that the bass from the a900s is much better than that of the 595s, no clue what the above poster is talking about. My HD595s have a ton of burn-in time, and an amp (crappy one but nonetheless its amped a bit =)).

I see it this way, the a900s sound fantastic. The 595s sound good, but too laid back and completely non-aggresive. And like you I find the bass on the 595s to be flat. Sure when I first put them on and start playing some tunes, it sounds great, but after 30 mins maybe I can't even notice the bass anymore. Anyhow, some people really like the style, I get bored of it. Plus they need a good amp to sound their best. A900s do not. You'd love them, trust me. Also consider the DT770s, beyer dynamic. Great bass can. I am sticking with those, but a part of me wishes I had stuck with the a900s, because now I need a good amp to get these ones to sound their best.
 
The a900 has a creamier bass than the hd595, which is much boomier and refined.

It depends on your musical tastes. The a900 will excel in jazz and classical music, but probably won't do to well for rock and metal, where as the hd595 is kind of an "all rounder", if you catch my drift.
 
Sorry man but the 595 will get wooped by the a900 when it comes to bass you need to amp the 595 in order to unlock the bass, the a900 will do fine because you don't even need an amp. If bass is what you want try the akg701 I listened to the senn 650 It was a nice set but you need a nasty amp to power those suckers.
 
It's time you went and auditoned headphones like the DT770pro (dare I mention Darth beyers), HD650, K601, K701, and SR225 and RS-2 if you want more bass. Make sure to listen with a nice upstream source rig.

As to what m3ta1head said: An amp will refine the bass, and in some cases add just the slightest bit more. If you crave much more, then just look for different headphones. I had some Senn HD590, and no matter what amping I would throw at them, the bass just wasn't there. You can't add what's physicall not there.

I'de straight out recommend the DT770pro, exect you say you like the warm midrange of the HD595. The DT770pro have a recessed midrange, so.... maybe shy away from these.

The K601 can be had for like, 220$, and the K701 can be had for 300$. Very good prices.
If I were in your shoes, i'de look at the K701 for 300$. it sounds similar to the DT770pro, with almost as much bass, but the midrange is done better.
 
Agreed on the K701. But you're going to need a nice amp for those to shine as well :(
 
How do these compare to Beyer headphones? I'm looking for new headphones, Long story short I will be replacing some HD280's and thought I might try some open ear headphones for the best sound quality. They will be used with a receiver + cowon X5 occasionally so lugging around a big amp isn't really an option. I do have a cmoy however but don't know if it's high enough quality to drive these headphones.
 
peacetilence said:
How do these compare to Beyer headphones?
Click to expand...
Well, like I said the K701 (not sure on the K601) is somewhat close to the DT770pro.
The DT770pro has more bass, while the AKG K701 is more balanced, with the mids being more pernounced. From what I noticed, the K701 is nice, especially for 300$. It is a mild sound. The DT770pro may have a more fun sound to some, other will prefer the more balanced sound of the AKG's.

I enjoyed the comfort of the K701 equally to the DT770pro. To me the DT770pro seems more sturdy.

Now, the Grado's, are a totally different beast. They present the mids and treble in an in your face sort of way, quite different form the DT770pro or K701. I had the chance to spend a fair amount of time with the RS-1 and RS-2, and they are more alike then different. The RS-2 had a very similar bass sound to the DT770pro, perhapse a bit faster.
The Grado's are a love-hate type of thing though, both sonically and build quality wise. You really have to try them out to know whether you love them or hate them. Haha.

Actually, that goes for all of these headphones. Try your best to listen to them and see for yourself.

~Good luck

PS: To me, the HD280pro can't compare to any of these. If you decide to upgrade to any of them, i'm quite sure you will be pleased.
 
get an amp. I've got a pair of hd595's and I was discappointed with the bass at first, but after getting a LDM+ amp the bass is more present and tighter. it helped the mids and highs as well
 
I really want to get the A900s but Im just scared that the mids and the highs will be disappointing. The sweet spot of the 595 is the great mids and highs and Im not sure if I want to sacrifice that for the bass of the A900s.

How are the mids and highs of the a900s? Does it even coome close to the upper frequency of the 595's or is it a completely different sound signature? Will an amped 595's bass come close to those of the a900s? Thanks for your help
 
NHT said:
I really want to get the A900s but Im just scared that the mids and the highs will be disappointing. The sweet spot of the 595 is the great mids and highs and Im not sure if I want to sacrifice that for the bass of the A900s.

How are the mids and highs of the a900s? Does it even coome close to the upper frequency of the 595's or is it a completely different sound signature? Will an amped 595's bass come close to those of the a900s? Thanks for your help
Click to expand...
You're asking opinionated questions now, and thus only you can decide what is acceptable for you.
Do you have an option of trying them out first hand?
Check out head-fi for any local meets going on in your area.
 
if I had the option of listening for myself, I wouldnt even have to write here. Noone sells these 2 cans anywhere in Houston. It is for that reason that I am turning to you guys for your opinion.

Anyone that has the a900. How is the treble and the midrange on these cans? Are they even close to the 595's?
 
NHT said:
if I had the option of listening for myself, I wouldnt even have to write here. Noone sells these 2 cans anywhere in Houston. It is for that reason that I am turning to you guys for your opinion.

Anyone that has the a900. How is the treble and the midrange on these cans? Are they even close to the 595's?
Click to expand...

I actually just got both of those headphones (used, so breaking them in isn't an issue, although I've still given both sets a good listen with lots of different sources). In my opinion, the A900s are better in every way, except for the lack of bass with stock tuning. If you can turn up the bass (say an equalizer), they sound better than the 595s.

To me the sound everywhere but the lowend is better, and if you can adjust them, the bass on the A900s is tighter and more refined to my ears. To use the example of where you're at in a theater, the 595s sound like you're in the first few rows, while the A900s sound like you're in just the right spot, not too far away that it subdues the sound, but not too close either. Separation, detail, and clarity is overall better than the 595s. You can actually easily discern different sounds that get lost with the 595s since they overpower the bigger sounds (close listening you can still hear the other sounds on the 595s but you have to be listening for them).

I've thrown lots of different things their way. Music, movies, and games, and with the A900s properly adjusted, they win hands down. I absolutely could not get them to distort at all, and the more I listen the more I like them. I can only imagine what they sound like amped. My music listening I would say probably is more in line with the 595s strengths, but I still liked the A900s better. Not quite sure about trance and electronica, but hip-hop and rock sounded better to me. Pink Floyd and other bands that use a lot of nice subtle sounds and other details really stand out, and I think that more detailed music would sound even better on the A900s than the 595s.

With that being said, there's some things to take note of. First of all, its possible that my A900s had a modified cable, I'm not certain, but they could have. The other is that, like has been noted, different people prefer the different sound. I've discovered that the Sennheiser sound isn't for me, but you seem to really like it. Have you tried other brands, or just Sennheiser? I started out with the HD-280s, moved to the HD-555s, and now got the 595s and A900s. I absolutely love the A900s in every way (I think they're also more comfortable to wear, although I wish they had velour earpads).

I just now see that you say the 595s don't have enough bass for you. If thats the case, I would probably pass on the A900s. You'd really need to amp them and mess with settings to get them to meet what you want it sounds like. You'd be better off with something else, maybe the Beyerdynamic DT-770s, although I don't know if you'll get what you're looking for outside of amplification. Sounds like you want the nice thud that you feel as much as hear, and the A900s are more refined with its bass and less punchy.
 
Thanks a million for that detailed evaluation....it is the exact thing that I was looking for. Now, to find a good deal on the A900 if anyone has some advice.
 
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