Sennheiser is the best place to start while considering any set of headphones. From just the casual listener to the extreme audiophile, Sennheiser is the place for you. The HD 555 is no exception.

They are smooth throughout with good mids and good detail. They can be worn for hours upon hours, even over glasses, and they feel super comfortable. They surround the entire ear, but let you hear what is going on around you. I use them for gaming and amp them up a bit. These headphones make surround sound even better.

Give them a try next time you are considering a mid level headphone. You may even find a pair for a bargain which will really make your day, because these will not let you down.

Caveats: No isolation so do not expect any. Do not think that the HD 515 is even close.

These are a pleasure to listen to. A fairly intimate feel that shines on classical, light rock, jazz, and vocal tracks. Great for movies as well, with a great soundstage.

It's also one of those headphones that you forget you have on. Lightweight and very comfortable, the earcups seem to magically conform around your ear.

Fairly well improved with amplification, but not as drastic as the ratings seem to point (I rated 5). Sound fantastic out of my iPod, and I don't worry too much about sitting down with my amp.

Overall, an excellent entry into top-grade headphones. If you're on a budget, then they're a great "buy one end all" pair of 'phones.

And I've compared these to the HD595's, and in my opinion, they are not worth the extra $80.

If you're patient, you can even find the HD555's for ~$80 (Amazon just had a sale + rebate).

If you haven't had a "quality" pair of headphones yet, do yourself a favor and add these to your short list.

Had these cans for 3 months before having my 595 and to be honest, it does sounds outright nice, added a PPA in the line and everything is much more livelier. Useless out of a portable players with the sound spectrum being pulled down to the lower side. The highs could get abit higher, but stopped just a bit of what i would say just nice.

Overall, a nice can, almost similar to a HD595, except that a 595 has a higher impact in the lows and a very slight overall improvement over the rest. Does not justify the extra bucks of 595 vs 555.

These are excellent entry level headphones. Build quality is a bit flimsy, but comfort is very good. Very easy to drive, but bass was quite bloated unamped and needed amp to tighten it up. The extension is excellent, they go deep. Make no mistake about it, these are smooth laidback cans, not the most detailed. They won't have the punch you're looking for if you're a basshead. They are also too 'slow' for rock. They do jazz, acoustic, classical well, but excel at vocals. After burn in, I put them on and were amazed how well they conveyed emotions. They were simply 'magical'

Highly recommended for anyone looking for their first 'good' headphone

The HD 555 are great value headphones and are 90% of the HD 595 for a lot less money. They are basically a slightly less refined headphone to the HD 595. The velour pads are very comfortable. These headphones are easy to drive and have a relatively neutral sound signature, leaning towards warm.

The Sennheiser HD555 headphones are an excellent value for its modest price tag. It delivers nice, tight (though not particularly loud or impactful) bass, nice liquid mids and detailed though ever-so-slightly grainy highs. The velour pads don't heat up my ears as much as the pleather pads on some other headphones, and aside from the slight contact of the driver plane on my ears, the HD555 is comfortable to wear. And the HD555 is efficient enough to produce moderately loud sound from the more powerful portables, but will sound significantly better with an amp.

The HD555 is worth considering. I'd rank it in the front rank of $150 open-air headphones.

(Please note that this review is for the older, 120-Ohm version of the HD555. Newer versions have an impedance rating of 50 Ohms and a significantly higher sensitivity rating.)

The pads are really soft and seem to be durable. Sound quality is really good. specially with mids.

Pros: Durable, flexes well. soft pads, doesn't fall of head in any way. Sound quality is 7/10.

Cons: My left ears keeps hurting for after 4h of wear.. I can lower the pain by moving it but i can't get rid of it. I had the same problem with Philips SHP805 but then it was really bad. *** For unknown reason when i'm listening to low mhz music with volume high than the headphones start to make really weird noises. The problem was that the thrum of the speaker was pouncing against the plastic protection. When i went to see the local Sannheiser dealer than they sad that my 10yearold computer is just too powerful for these headphones ˇˇ. Now i'm talking with the \\\"boss\\\" and when that doesnt help than turning in to Consumers Union and media (:

Conc: The headphones are really good. The price is a bit high for me but yea..

The sound of those headphones is pleasantly deep. That kind of deepness one couldn't get on the portable earphones. Therefore, those headphones are great for the movies, soundtracks, and games. How about comfort, it was almost perfect. However, due to the fact, that those headphones were open and didn't isolate any sound, I decided to replace them with Sennheiser 265 HD linear. Advice for listeners of Sennheiser HD 555: if you want reduce muffle effect within the sound which negatively effects precision along with details, use serious amplifier. Then if you do, don't choose just just any. It would be better to use powerful amplifer which is capable of giving boost not only to headphones, but also to speakers.

Fairly good headphones overall, with detailed light bass and nice highs. Detail is actually very good. But, unlike a lot of people, I found the midrange too much colored; it has a nasal character that I ultimately found annoying, so I returned the HD555 to the store.

These were my first pair of "audiophile" headphones. I mainly bought these to hook up to my computer to watch movies and listen to music. They've served me well for 2 years now and I do treat them rather harshly. They're not that sturdy looking and appear flimsy so I'm surprised they havent broken yet. They are very very comfortable. i wear them for hours at a time everyday. They're fantastic for movies as well as music (for the price ofcourse).

The SQ on these is nice. The highs are decent on them and the mids are well defined. Its a little slow on the low end and muddy at times so its not that great for rock and other such genres of music. It does go deep and hits hard. The soundstage on this thing is amazing. Amping improves the bass quality slightly but dont expect something phenomenal. Just my 2 cents!

All in all, a great way to start your expensive audiophile journey. A definite recommendation!