As far as “premium” audio hardware is concerned, there’s no shortage of products to choose from with consumer-friendly brands such as Jabra, Bose, and Sennheiser offering users different options with some of the best-sounding quality that we’ve ever heard. Speaking of the latter, Sennheiser recently introduced its new HD 505 headphones, intended to serve as the brand’s more affordable selection amongst its high-end headphones catalogue.
Priced at £229, the HD 505 packs a lot of the same technology and features found on Sennheiser’s more expensive offerings, but what else does it come with? Let’s take a look.
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At first glance, you’d be forgiven if you were to mistake the HD 505 for another pair of headphones from the brand’s lineup, although this is unsurprising as Sennheiser has designed the HD 505 to look both new and familiar at the same time – it’s actually designed using the company’s HD 500 chassis as well. Coming in at just just 237 grams, the HD 505 is pretty lightweight and comfortable enough to be worn for long periods of time, which makes them pretty ideal for long flights or train rides, or even just your average daily commute.
Despite being priced lower than other Sennheiser headphones, the HD 505 manage to keep a premium look with the synthetic leather headband, accented by metal mesh earcups on the sides which make for an overall pleasing design. For connectivity, there’s support for your standard 3.5mm audio input, and there’s an included adapter which also works for 6.3mm connections. Interestingly, Sennheiser says that the headphones are also modular in design, meaning that users can swap out their earpads without the need for tools, and even add cables with in-line microphone support.
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In terms of sound, the HD 505 come with Sennheiser’s own custom-designed 120-ohm transducers, which are produced within the company’s own manufacturing facilities. you’ll find that the headphones come with a wide frequency response of 12 to 38,500 Hz, with rather low total harmonic distortion – as low as below 0.2% – which on paper should sound terrific with balanced sounds, including powerful bass and clear-sounding mids and highs.
With that in mind, the HD 505 is priced to compete with other sub-300 quid headphones, such as the Bose Quiet Comfort range, Sony’s super-affordable ULT Wear model, and the Beats Studio Pro headphones, to name a few. With that said, one advantage that the HD 505 comes with is its wired audio connectivity, which gives it an edge in terms of latency and overall sound clarity, something that most wireless headphones still struggle to perfect.
