Summary: Absolutely fabulous headphones. Sennheiser has come out with a real winner on these HD555. I bought these for gaming, and with my sound card, the position effects are incredibly. I can game late at night and not wake my roommates. They are exceptional for movies and have tremendous range from bass to several octaves about this, for symphonies or classical music.

These were $xx when I bought them, and at the higher end of the $xx, but worth every penny. I absolutely love these headphones, but cannot use them at work because they are \"open\" headphones. If you want something for work, try \"closed\" headphones such as the HD 280 Pro from Sennheiser, which are great circumaural and are \"closed\", are good, but nothing compares to the HD555.

These fit well, are easily adjustible, have a very long cord, and can fit nearly any adapter. The foam padding around the ears is very comfortable, places the units away from the ear contributing to the surround effect. There is a hard angled plate in the back (which doesnt touch the ear) which helps redirect sound through deflection and increase the sense that sound is coming from BEHIND you. Awesome idea. If the foam padding wears out, it can be replaced without replacing the entire unit. GREAT IDEA.

These units have been battered, dropped, kicked, punted, and still sound as good as ever. IF you burn them in (just play music through them non-stop for > 5 days), the sound gets better. Most users of Sennheiser headphones agree to this. This product just gets better with age.

Would absolutely buy this again and recommend it to anyone. My wife loves these, too.

Summary: I bought a pair of the Sennheiser EH2270 Evolution headphones and they were excellent...until they broke. The right headphone would not produce any sound. I had them for about 8 months and fortunately they were still under warranty. Sennheiser sent me this pair as a replacement since the EH2270's were discontinued.

The sound is very similar to the EH2270's. It is a big step up from the cheap Sony MDRQ22LP headphones I originally had. I use these for personal listening - I'm not a DJ or music producer - and usually listen to hard rock. All other reviews I've read say all Sennheiser headphones are mainly suited for classical music, but I think they sound great for my genre. I can set the equalizer to any settings and still get uninterrupted playback. The EH2270's would pop/click whenever I had the equalizer on \"rock\" and force me to turn it off. The bass also has a positively noticeable difference in comparison.

The HD555's are very comfortable in my opinion, although the material makes the top of my head itch from time to time. The earphones are very comfortable though, much better material than the EH2270's, which tended to sweat after extended periods of use. They are very stylish too, the design makes them look compact and not bulky like other models. It seems like it is built to last - very sturdy - and there are no loose wires like the EH2270's (probably why they broke).

All other reviews talk about a huge difference in sound quality between open and closed headphones - how open headphones have a fuller sound - but I don't agree. They all sound the same, especially for this pricerange.

From a personal-use point of view, these headphones suit my needs perfectly for under 100 bucks.

Summary: I like the design very much. A nice and fit curve of the earcup offers extra comfort. The velour paddings are very soft. After doing some research, the bass on this HD555 ($50 more than HD515) has much better definition and the treble is crisp and clean. Not too forward. The bass is great. Bass is deep and strong. For me, this is the experience I've been looking for. This phone is very nice for the price. This is the best choice for this price range. After breaking in for 100 hours, the sound quality has got a little bit better, enough to be noticeable.