Sennheiser HD 505 review

The world of high-end audio seems impenetrable due to cost, and it’s also fraught with risk: what happens if you hate the sound? A brand-new set of headphones, the Sennheiser HD 505, aims to appeal to newer users, but does it deliver?

What’s it like to use the Sennheiser HD 505?

Just like the other HD 500-series headphones, the Sennheiser HD 505 is made of a matte plastic exterior with metal band skeleton and ovoid ear cups. The velour-like material on the ear pads makes for a comfortable experience, especially as the ear cups have a huge area of contact. Considering that the headphones themselves don’t have a ton of mass (when you exclude the cable), it makes for a very comfortable experience. Just be sure not to torque down the band too much and you should be golden.

On the left ear cup is a female 2.5mm locking TRS plug that allows you to remove the cable after a little twist. This is good for protecting your investment, as wires are almost always the first things that break on wired headphones. Being able to replace them when something happens is a big check in the plus column. Unfortunately, because of the nonstandard nature of the connector, you will have to hunt a little bit for replacements on Amazon (or just directly from Sennheiser) because it’s a bit different than a simple 3.5mm-to-3.5mm TRS cable. Before hitting the checkout icon, you’ll need to make sure that the cable is compatible with Sennheiser headphones such as the HD 560S if the product listing doesn’t explicitly call out the HD 505.

As these are open-back headphones, you’re likely to keep these by the computer and not take them outside with you. Given that their natural habitat is indoors and tethered to a single source, that’s really fine, but it’s worth pointing out that wired headphones really aren’t meant for walking around.

The Sennheiser HD 505 connects to its source devices via a 3.5mm TRS connector, either on its own or with the 6.3mm adapter that can be screwed onto the end. For wired headphones, this is very convenient, because you’re not likely to bounce around from source to source — so why put up with a dongle? You don’t absolutely need an amp for these, but an interface or DAC/amp combo could help you if you want to EQ your headphones, or if your computer is especially noisy.

How well does the Sennheiser HD 505 block out noise?

Though the Sennheiser HD 505 isn’t a set of closed-back headphones, it does offer a tiny bit of isolation. You’re still going to be able to hear pretty much everything around you, so be prepared for that.

Additionally, anyone around you is going to be able to hear whatever you’re listening to at the moment. Therefore we generally recommend that you only get open-back headphones if you aren’t going to be blasting these around other people — or you don’t care about what friction that might cause.

How do the Sennheiser HD 505 sound?

Like most Sennheiser headphones, the Sennheiser HD 505 sounds pretty great, though it may not be for everyone.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the Sennheiser HD 505 was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

As far as open-back headphones go, the above scores are notably good — but it’s a bit of a mystery to me why the Sennheiser HD 505 of all Sennheiser headphones is the one to net the first high score in Timbre here. I’m not disagreeing, but typically, MDAQS and I do not agree on audiophile headphones. Perhaps it’s the emphasized treble, or maybe it’s the fact that the mids are slightly underemphasized in relation to the mid and upper bass, but this is an unexpected result for headphones that aren’t very bassy. But I agree with this assessment wholeheartedly.

Objective Measurements

Though the bass and mids might appear a bit underemphasized here, what that roughly translates to in actual use is the 3kHz “ear gain” hump being about 4dB louder than we think it should be. Though those with a preference for brighter headphones will like this, it’s a bit far off from our studio curve, enough that I personally went on an equalization quest pretty shortly after I opened the box. While some may like this response, it will grate on younger listeners, and those more sensitive to highs than others.

But where things start to make a little more sense is when we compare the Sennheiser HD 505 to our consumer-oriented headphone preference curve.

Though you still may want to mentally push that response line up a little, the vast majority of the sounds we hear are relatively where they “should” be, save for the rolloff in the lows. Considering how most open-back headphones have similar issues with the lowest octave shown here, the Sennheiser HD 505 deserves a bit of a pass. Let’s look at this another way to show what I mean.

If you subtract the Sennheiser HD 505’s response from the SoundGuys Headphone Preference Curve, you’ll get a chart like the one above. The mids shown are consistent, and the main sources of deviation are in the highs and sub-bass. Not too bad, if you ask me. Still, this kind of response isn’t going to be everyone’s favorite, as it more resembles the Diffuse Field more than it does our curve. That’s broadly fine, but past research into listener preferences often shows that this kind of response is geared to a specific sort of listener. If you like open-back headphones already, you should find the sound of the Sennheiser HD 505 to be just fine, though the issues above are still present.

Can you use the Sennheiser HD 505 for phone calls?

Unless you have an external microphone, you cannot use the Sennheiser HD 505 as a complete headset. The stock cable does not have an in-line microphone, though you can buy cables with this feature separately.

Should you buy the Sennheiser HD 505?

I think the Sennheiser HD 505 is a good one. I don’t think it’ll be the last set of headphones a serious audiophile would buy, but it is a great way to enter into the hobby. My main complaint with the headphones isn’t that they’re deficient in any way, but that they’re competing with a lot of other really good headphones at their price point. And despite the fact that they’re really good for a beginner, someone researching headphones to the point where they’re reading this review is likely to be just as happy — if not moreso — with something else, too.

But if you haven’t been enticed by higher-end headphones before, you should give the Sennheiser HD 505 a try. It’s a pretty low-stakes purchase with a high degree of likelihood that it’ll sound great to you. However, if you’re looking for something that does a better job with helping the illusion of 3D space in recordings, you may want to look elsewhere.

What should you get instead of the Sennheiser HD 505?

Easily, the best recommendation I can make for a straight upgrade is the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX ($199 at Manufacturer site). Not only does it sound quite good, but it also comes in at $150 less than the Sennheiser HD 505. The main drawbacks to this model are that it isn’t found on Amazon, so shipping can sometimes take a while, and that it has a Y-shaped cable. Small potatoes, right? There’s also the Sennheiser HD 600 ($299 at Amazon), and HD 560S ($207 at Amazon) both at about the same price as the HD 505 to start. Like I said: there’s a lot to choose from here.

If that’s not a good fit for you, there’s plenty of audiophile headphones under $400 on the market. For example, the HiFiMan Sundara is now long in the tooth and can be found online for $299 at Amazon. There’s also a number of Beyerdynamic headphones like the DT 900 X ($269 at Amazon) that can be had on sale for a similar price.

Sennheiser HD 505 review: FAQs