HD559 VS SHP9500 for music

[Skystalker512]

• Budget: Around 100-120 euros
• Source/Amp: I have a Syba Sonic as my amp. My motherboard is the Gigabyte B450 AORUS Pro
• How the gear will be used: I will be using these strictly for at home listening to music.
• Preferred tonal balance: I don't have a specific preference, but I like a clear sound that is a bit on the warm side with a slight touch of bass.
• Past gear experience: I currently use a MH752 for gaming and a XB900N for traveling. I also have a QKZ-VK4 on the way.
• Preferred music genres: My preferences are all over the place, but I listen to a lot of Queen, Post Malone, Joji, Billie Eillish, Eminem, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Kendrick Lamar, etc
• What aspect of your current listening experience would you like to improve? I'm not really looking for an upgrade; more of a sidegrade to be honest. Just looking for something that when I have a shitty day I can drift away and put them on whenever I want and just listen to some music.

 

After some research, I stumbled upon the HD559 and SHP9500, which really seem to fit my needs. I was able to test out the HD559 in a store nearby and I instantly liked them; I liked the sound they produced. But the SHP9500 seem to be more critically acclaimed and more recommended. But the HD559 is easy to return; the SHP9500 needs to come from AliExpress, which I don't have good experiences with.

 

HD559:

• Pro
  • Good sound
  • Decent comfort
  • Easily available
• Cons:
  • Proprietary cable, but I can get one for a few bucks from a friend, so that shouldn't be an issue
  • High clamping force, but I'll get used to that easily

SHP9500

• Pro
  • Critically acclaimed
  • A little bit cheaper, but the difference is disposable
  • No proprietary cabling system
• Cons:
  • Long delivery times
  • Not easily available or returnable
  • Seem to be mainly for gaming, so they're not that useful to me
  • I've heard these have rolled off bass and grainy treble, but I'm not sure if I'll notice these differences

 

 

I am aware of the DT990's existence, but I'm a bit treble sensitive, so I haven't really done any further research on those. When I tried those out at another store, it was very obvious to me they were driven from some shitty source with badly produced music, so I got kinda turned off by those.

 

I also know of the offerings by (Mass)Drop, but these aren't available due to high shipping fees and taxes, because of me living in The Netherlands.

 

If someone can advice me which one would be suited better for me, I'd really appreciate it!

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, Skystalker512 said:

• Long delivery times
• Not easily available or returnable
• Seem to be mainly for gaming, so they're not that useful to me
• I've heard these have rolled off bass and grainy treble, but I'm not sure if I'll notice these differences

1) Where are you ordering from? o_0 
I got mine in 2 days

2) I'm fairly certain when I bought it from Amazon they had a typical 30 day return policy per typical with these things

3) That is not true at all, if anything that is quite the opposite. I am an avid listener to classical music, they have superb high frequencies and mid range frequencies that are simply not even reckoned by any headset under than $150 give or take. This also brings me into your 4th con

4)  Although the sound quality is unrivaled by nearly any headset for the price point ( don't just take my anecdotal experience, take the word of many sound enthusiasts and bear in mind these factors are highly dependent on what your listening to. ) the bass does roll off unfortunately however I have experienced absolutely no issues with the treble. If anything the treble is one of the more notable positives of the headset. I will say, though, if you enjoy deep bass you might be disappointed but it isn't THAT bad, but its just like any other headset so to speak. Nothing fancy. And its just another one of the caveats of buying a relatively cheap pair of cans. That is really the only problem with it and the only way I can see this being a really bad negative is if you were a total bass head which is not the case for me thankfully

As for the Sennheiser's, I am deeply sorry I can't speak too much about them, the last time I tried them was a while ago, but I can say with utmost certainty that the SHP9500 sounds cleaner in some areas, particularly the high/mids which is most of the sound spectrum anyways, and the most important part to me although that may be subjective. The 559s are excellent pair of cans don't get me wrong, but I would pick the 9500s anyday. Also I forget to mention, but the 9500s are really god damn comfortable, I would say they rival stuff like the MH751s/752s which are quite famous for being the most comfortable headset. I also wish the clamp was a little tighther around your head but having it loose is the reason in particular why its so comfortable. I wish there could be something of a harmonic blend. For instance when I was working on my receiver the other day since a capacitor blew out and I was using my oscilloscope to check for abnormalities and also soldering in a new cap, I had my headset plugged into my cassette deck while working on it, and each time I moved my head from a vertical position otherwise, it would start to fall off. Although it isn't that bad, its a tad annoying and I suppose it kinda depends on how big your head is.  

[Skystalker512]

5 minutes ago, MS-DOS Guy said:

1) Where are you ordering from? o_0 
I got mine in 2 days

2) I'm fairly certain when I bought it from Amazon they had a typical 30 day return policy per typical with these things

3) That is not true at all, if anything that is quite the opposite. I am an avid listener to classical music, they have superb high frequencies and mid range frequencies that are simply not even reckoned by any headset under than $150 give or take. This also brings me into your 4th con

4)  Although the sound quality is unrivaled by nearly any headset ( don't just take my anecdotal experience, take the word of many sound enthusiasts and bear in mind these factors are highly dependent on what your listening to. ) the bass does roll off unfortunately however I have experienced absolutely no issues with the treble. If anything the treble is one of the more notable positives of the headset. I will say, though, if you enjoy deep bass you might be disappointed but it isn't THAT bad, but its just like any other headset so to speak. Nothing fancy. And its just another one of the caveats of buying a relatively cheap pair of cans. That is really the only problem with it and the only way I can see this being a really bad negative is if you were a total bass head which is not the case for me thankfully

1) The SHP9500 needs to come from AliExpress and the HD559 from a local electronics store or some online store that delivers the next day.

 

2) Amazon has the 9500 for like 150, which is too much for me. I need to buy them from AliExpress, which is going to be a lot of hassle when it comes to returning them

 

3) Interesting. 

 

4) I can live without some bass in my life haha. 

 

I'm now really leaning towards the SHP9500, where I was leaning towards the HD559 before. 

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, Skystalker512 said:

Amazon has the 9500 for like 150

Oh wow, I got them for $70 when they were on sale but where I live they are typically $100.00, also, I edited my post since I forgot a few things at the bottom! 

But I can assure you won't be disappointed when you get them. I certainly wasn't, I was quite surprised how good they sounded for the price point if anything. I'm really looking forward to how your experience is with whatever headset you choose to get! 

[Skystalker512]

2 minutes ago, MS-DOS Guy said:

Oh wow, I got them for $70 when they were on sale but where I live they are typically $100.00, also, I edited my post since I forget a few things at the bottom! 

I see! The SHP9500 seems like the better option because of the cleaner sound! Is the clamp on the MH751/2 or SHP9500 tighter? Because the low clamp on the 752 is honestly fine for me. 

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, Skystalker512 said:

I see! The SHP9500 seems like the better option because of the cleaner sound! Is the clamp on the MH751/2 or SHP9500 tighter? Because the low clamp on the 752 is honestly fine for me. 

I will say, my 751 did break, its been a while since I had them, I plan on using my warranty service with it, but I think the MH751/2 might be tighter, it didn't fall off my head as easily as far as I remember. Its just a slight annoyance with the 9500s although. Its nothing bad to the point where you might refuse to buy the headset.

[Skystalker512]

1 minute ago, MS-DOS Guy said:

I will say, my 751 did break, its been a while since I had them, I plan on using my warranty service with it, but I think the MH751/2 might be tighter, it didn't fall off my head as easily as far as I remember. Its just a slight annoyance with the 9500s although. Its nothing bad to the point where you might refuse to buy the headset.

Ahh, I get you. The SHP9500 seems like the safe option then, but I'm just really turned off by the 3-4 weeks delivery time... 

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, Skystalker512 said:

but I'm just really turned off by the 3-4 weeks delivery time... 

Christ wow, why specifically Ali express? 

[Skystalker512]

Just now, MS-DOS Guy said:

Christ wow, why specifically Ali express? 

Because that's the only way to get them delivered to The Netherlands. Amazon.nl has them for 150 euros as I said. There is legitimately no other option to get them besides from AliExpress. It sucks getting audio gear in The Netherlands. 

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, Skystalker512 said:

Because that's the only way to get them delivered to The Netherlands. Amazon.nl has them for 150 euros as I said. There is legitimately no other option to get them besides from AliExpress. It sucks getting audio gear in The Netherlands. 

Damn dude, that sucks. I wish you luck and hope you enjoy your headset! 

[Skystalker512]

Just now, MS-DOS Guy said:

Damn dude, that sucks. I wish you lucky and hope you enjoy your headset! 

Thank you very much! Do you mind me messaging you with questions about the SHP9500? If you do, then that's completely understandable! 

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, Skystalker512 said:

Thank you very much! Do you mind me messaging you with questions about the SHP9500? If you do, then that's completely understandable! 

Yeah sure, I'm about to eat breakfast though so I can't respond right now, but I will as soon as I'm finished.

[Skystalker512]

Just now, MS-DOS Guy said:

Yeah sure, I'm about to eat breakfast though so I can't respond right now, but I will as soon as I'm finished.

That's okay! It's 22:40 here in The Netherlands and I need to get up at 5 tomorrowmorning, so I'll be a bit slow to respond as well haha. 

[rice guru]

Between the 2 the 559 is definitely my preferred pick especially if you even like a bit of bass the shp 9500s have little to no bass. and are honestly kinda hard to enjoy for anything other than gaming

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, rice guru said:

honestly kinda hard to enjoy for anything other than gaming

I agree with the bass, but for me that is quite the opposite. 

[Skystalker512]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

Between the 2 the 559 is definitely my preferred pick especially if you even like a bit of bass the shp 9500s have little to no bass. and are honestly kinda hard to enjoy for anything other than gaming

Interesting. I firstly leaned towards the HD559, then because of the other guy replying the SHP9500, but now the Hd559 again haha. But I can see your point. I wish there was a way to test the 9500. But despite the fact that I'm not a huge basshead, the lack of bass is definitly off putting for me. 

[rice guru]

for your  music tastes and preferences overall the hd 559 would be the better pick IMO

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, MS-DOS Guy said:

I agree with the bass, but for me that is quite the opposite. 

also take my comments wwfrom the perspective from a guy yhat owns other gear as well with options at his disposal. Im sure I could enjoy the shp 9500s fine if I didn't have any other headphones I did for years with my akg k240. listening to metal and chill hop even though they were smooth super neutral almost non existent bass headphones at the end of the day its about music.  

[Skystalker512]

2 minutes ago, rice guru said:

for your  music tastes and preferences overall the hd 559 would be the better pick IMO

Thank you! I remember DMS saying in his review:

• it has rolled off bass
• no intimate vocals
• recessed highs
• great soundstage

Do you agree with this?

[MS-DOS Guy]

@Skystalker512 if I may ask, what music do you intend on listening to?

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, Skystalker512 said:

Thank you! I remember DMS saying in his review:

• it has rolled off bass
• no intimate vocals
• recessed highs
• great soundstage

Do you agree with this?

mostly I dont aggree with the treble assessment the headphone itself is fairly neutral with the lower treble frequencies a bit too bright for me but that  tends to be a general sensitive spot for my ears. but I would say the upper limits of what I can sense in the treble region can be percieved as recessed.  the sound stage is pretty great for the price though.

[Skystalker512]

6 minutes ago, MS-DOS Guy said:

@Skystalker512 if I may ask, what music do you intend on listening to?

My preferences are all over the place, but I listen to a lot of Queen, Post Malone, Joji, Billie Eillish, Eminem, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Kendrick Lamar, etc

[Skystalker512]

4 minutes ago, rice guru said:

mostly I dont aggree with the treble assessment the headphone itself is fairly neutral with the lower treble frequencies a bit too bright for me but that  tends to be a general sensitive spot for my ears. but I would say the upper limits of what I can sense in the treble region can be percieved as recessed.  the sound stage is pretty great for the price though.

I can always EQ them if I don't exactly like them haha. But they sound like the perfect headphone for me right now. Would you say the HD559 has that same smoothness as the SHP9500? And if not, how big is the difference? Would a beginning audiophile notice such a difference? 

[MS-DOS Guy]

Just now, rice guru said:

  the sound stage is pretty great for the price though.

^^^ probably responsible due to the large nature of the drivers

[rice guru]

3 minutes ago, MS-DOS Guy said:

^^^ probably responsible due to the large nature of the drivers

yep and very open design