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Sennheiser HD500 vs HD570

by Bill Keyser

Before you go out searching for a Senn HD570 or HD575, you should read my review of the Koss A-250 which sells in the same price range. Though I have never been a big fan of Koss full size headphones in the past, the A-250 has changed my mind! Koss is giving Sennheiser a run for the money! Full sized, but light weight and comfortable, I personally prefer the sound of this circumaural headphone over either of the Senns! Check out the full Koss review:

Koss A-250 Review

Sennheiser's upper end headphone line used to be kind of confusing. Up until last year they used to have about six headphones priced approximately between $100 to $350. About a year ago, Sennheiser began revamping their entire headphone line introducing new models and eliminating most of the older models, (some very good ones too)! While I will miss some tried and true war-horses, I welcome the resulting reduction in confusion when trying to explain the differences between two almost identical headphones!

Sennheiser’s egg shaped design for the new HD500’s, HD570’s and HD590’s is described as a BioNetic design! Oh boy! Yet another buzz word!?! (Hey did you hear about the headphones that are "Digital Ready"... I have yet to find one that is not!) As for the comfort of the new design compared to the older full size design, I could take it or leave it. To me the older design was just as comfortable. Nothing lost, nothing gained!

Comfort wise, the new Senn’s are maybe a bit more comfortable than the older designs due to the lighter weight of the new headphones. In other words, virtually everything is plastic now. Gone is the sturdy metal headband covered in plastic. Though still very well engineered and very smart looking, I don’t believe they will be quite as sturdy as the older design? The earpieces are still circumaural, (padding fits around your ear rather than on the ear). The earpad on the HD500’s feels like a soft leather while the padding on top of the head appears to be vinyl. The felt earpads and soft material headpad of the HD570’s should be more comfortable, (cooler), and resist wear longer.

Gone are the old replaceable cords which plugged into each ear. A very smart design move is to connect the cord to the left ear via a super mini stereo jack. Still replaceable, the cord is less cumbersome connected to only one earpiece and the type of connection should be an improvement over the previous design which caused some intermittent problems.

Speaking of buzzwords, in addition to the model numbers, the new headphones have names. The HD500 is called the "Fusion", "Great for listening to Jazz and Pop", and the HD570 is called the "Symphony", "Great for listening to Classical"! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!! These titles are BOGUS! I love both Classical and Jazz music, and I would much rather listen to the HD570’s whatever the music! Which brings us to the most important comparison - Sound Quality! Comparing the two side by side, the 500’s produce a much more muffled sound than the 570’s. The highs are just plain missing, though the lows are about the same. Everything is much more clearer with the 570’s.

As with most headphones, both of these models come with both sizes of headphone connections. As for sound source, neither of these headphones would be good for portable use or directly out of CD player or DVD player. They need more amplification than these units normally provide. In other words, these are home headphones intended to be plugged into an amplifier.

Price wise on the street, the HD500’s run around $100 to $140. The HD570’s about $140 to $200. For $40 more, the Sennheiser HD570’s offer better comfort, longer lasting padding material, and most importantly, better sound quality. If your budget limits you, the HD500’s are a well made, comfortable headphone. But if you can come up with the extra $40, I would opt for the HD570’s. As for the next Sennheiser step up, the HD590’s; they cost nearly twice as much as the 570’s. Not really a consideration for comparison for most wallets!

Copyright © 1999 Bill Keyser and Listening Station, All Rights Reserved