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Sennheiser HD 550 review
Published onMarch 26, 2025
Sennheiser HD 550
Sennheiser has been on a tear in the last couple years, completely re-doing its HD 5XX line of headphones after many years. But the latest entry into the field is one of the most ambitious yet, as the Sennheiser HD 550 looks to make its case for your dollar. Standing as a higher-tier option to the HD 505, do the headphones justify the extra $50? Let’s take a look under the hood.
The Sennheiser HD 550 is for audiophiles and music enthusiasts looking for a set of headphones that’s easy to drive, equalize, and afford without extra equipment.
This article was published on March 26, 2025, and this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.
What’s it like to use the Sennheiser HD 550?
Out of the box, the Sennheiser HD 550 looks very much — nearly identical, even — to the HD 500-series headphones of the past. It has a large, ovoid ear cup design, which is protected by a grille, and ringed in a velour padding. The ear cups themselves are connected to the band via a pivot joint on the back, and the telescoping slider allows for a rather extreme range of head sizes. The headband is a little scant on padding, but given that the mass of the headphones is under 300g, I’m not about to complain too much.
Most of the exterior and chassis is made of a rugged plastic, though what the headphones lack in mass, they certainly make up for in size. Despite the fact that the cans are relatively light, the ear cups and band are quite large. When you consider that the headphones use this large area to spread out their mass, you’ll hardly notice their presence on your head — even if you won’t ever forget you’re wearing them.
Like most open-back headphones, these wired cans belong at a desk or listening setup. While you don’t have to get a display case or anything, take care to manage wire slack and keep them away from open drinks and you should be fine. Open-backed headphones are a little more fragile than closed-back ones, so take care not to knock these around.
Even with longer listening sessions, I didn’t find the ear cups to trap heat all that much, and the velour material on the ear pads make the headphones very forgiving to glasses-wearers. The band doesn’t put a ton of pressure on your head, so you won’t have to worry about piercings, glasses, or other accoutrements causing you issues.
How does the Sennheiser HD 550 connect?
The Sennheiser HD 550 uses a 2.5mm to 3.5mm TRS cable to connect to its source devices, with a threaded 6.3mm adapter for the larger port if needed. This way, there are no dongles to lose, or unnecessary things to store: you can simply make the connection into something you need.
Unlike some higher-end headphones, the Sennheiser HD 550 has relatively lower power requirements. You can achieve a level of 106.7dB/1Vrms and the headphones have an impedance of 150Ω. This simply means that these cans should be relatively easy to get to a usable listening level with most source devices, and that higher-power sources are usable, provided you keep your levels extremely low to start. You shouldn’t need an amp for the Sennheiser HD 550 — nor a DAC — unless you’re hoping to listen to them with a phone or other device without a headphone jack.
The cable itself hangs from the left earcup, and uses a locking mechanism to hold the termination in place. While I have my gripes with this decision, it does prevent unexpected tear-outs. However, it might take a little longer to find a suitable replacement online should the cable break. If you search around for something compatible with the HD 560S, those cables should work with the Sennheiser HD 550.
How well does the Sennheiser HD 550 block out noise?
Audiophiles and enthusiasts will already know the consequences of buying a set of open-backed headphones like the Sennheiser HD 550, but like all open-back headphones, the Sennheiser HD 550 really doesn’t attempt to isolate you from your surroundings. It’s more of a feature, than a bug though — this is a deliberate choice by headphone manufacturers to allow the speaker element (aka “driver”) to move without pressure from a sealed chamber impeding the diaphragm’s movement.
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As an expected consequence, the Sennheiser HD 550 will not attenuate much noise around you — at all. You should be able to hear just about everything going on around you.
How does the Sennheiser HD 550 sound?
The Sennheiser HD 550 sounds really, really good. For a set of headphones that aren’t meant to be a set piece or compete with the highest-end, they sound far better than you’d expect.
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.
- Timbre (MOS-T) represents how faithfully the headphones reproduce the frequency spectrum and temporal resolution (timing information).
- Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.
- Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.
Should you buy the Sennheiser HD 550?
If you’re looking to upgrade from older headphones or are looking to make your first foray into the world of high-end, open-back headphones: yes. This is a rock-solid set of headphones that should be a noticeably good purchase. While I’m not about to tell anyone who owns another set of cans to simply rush out and buy something new, if you’re already in the market, you should consider the Sennheiser HD 550. Not only are these headphones comfortable, but they sound great, are easy to use, and don’t cost an arm and a leg. Really, the toughest decision you’ll have to make is whether or not the HD 550 is worth $50 more than the HD 505. That’s not a bad problem to have.
As of publish, this is probably going to be one of those headphones that make the rounds online as among the best options under $300 and I’m inclined to agree. I’m a fan of these headphones, and many others will be too.
What should you get instead of the Sennheiser HD 550?
If you’re poking around the market for alternatives, this one’s going to be tough. I say that because what newbies are looking for and what the audiophile might want sort of converge here. There aren’t really exact competitors, but there are headphones that offer differing experiences at similar price points. Fans of the HD 500-series’ style of body, might find that the HD 505 ($279.95 at Amazon) has a lot to offer. It’s a similar set of headphones at $50 less, but the sound is slightly different — but no less impressive. I prefer the HD 550, but both are very close.
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For example, if you’re okay with more mass, and you want headphones that are a little more repairable, the HiFiMan Sundara ($299 at Amazon) are a great pick. Additionally, you could always grab another budget set of open-backs like the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX ($199 at Manufacturer site).
Sennheiser HD 550 review: FAQs
The headphones should be fine for that purpose, but as the Sennheiser HD 550 has no microphone, you'll need another strategy to talk with your teammates.
These are wired headphones, you'd need the source device to process the signal first.
No. These headphones are two-channel.
Not necessarily, though if you'd like to equalize the signal at all, you might want the headroom an amp can provide.
No.