Sennheiser HD 505

Broadly called balanced and close to neutral, and nearly every source that compares the two hears it as fuller and less edgy than the HD 560S. Where it lands around neutral depends on who you ask: Sennheiser's 'analytical' label sticks with some, others hear it as slightly warm, and several Head-Fi and ASR owners who came from the HD 600 call it that headphone's natural successor. The one dissent is DaemonXar, who hears the tuning as inconsistent from track to track.

“Tonality is pleasantly neutral, which allows the sound of a recording to take precedence over the sound of the headphones.”

Simon Lucas, TechRadar

“This sounds like an HD600 with better bass and spatial qualities.”

Mr Swing King, Audio Science Review forum (owner)

The headline strength for most sources: forward, natural and articulate, with vocals singled out again and again. The caveats come from the critical end — Griffin Silver finds the upper midrange right at his limit and unforgiving of rough recordings, DaemonXar hears vocals that come and go in the mix, and a few owners find it thin.

“This is arguably the HD505’s greatest strength.”

Sai, unheardlab

“There’s a naturalism, clarity, insight and presence to vocals that makes them a highlight of any song I listen to.”

Kob Monney, Trusted Reviews

“the midrange is excellent here but right on the edge of my tolerance for upper midrange elevation”

Griffin Silver (listener), Headphones.com

Agreement on the character, mild disagreement on the amount. Most sources describe a clean, controlled low end that extends well for an open-back — Griffin Silver hears the HD 650's reach without its bloom — and most add that it does not slam. A few find it genuinely deep and satisfying; TechRadar and a handful of owners call it thin, and Headfonics and DaemonXar both suggest a few dB of shelf below 60 Hz.

“The HD 505s reproduce impressively deep bass without sounding muddy or uncontained.”

Christian de Looper, PCMag

“But there’s a definite lack of substance and weight to the bottom end, a bony and flimsy quality”

Simon Lucas, TechRadar

Sources split, and the split follows who measured it. Most of the press and most owners hear a clear, smooth, fatigue-free top end with no undue sibilance; the measurement-minded reviewers — Griffin Silver, unheardlab, SoundGuys — hear a dry, papery or over-bright lower treble, and an Amazon owner calls it grainy. Both of the reviewers who measured placement say the same thing: where the cups sit on your head changes the treble a lot.

Sources split along the same line as the treble. The hi-fi and consumer press and most owners describe an airy, expansive, wide-open presentation — the open-back payoff over closed-backs. The measurement-minded listeners hear something roomier than an HD 6XX but firmly inside the head, SoundGuys' MDAQS immersiveness score is the weak number in its set, and an Amazon owner calls the stage and imaging 'really mid'. Griffin Silver adds that the spaciousness he does hear depends on how the upper midrange lands on his head.

Mostly a strength: placement is precise and predictable, with a solid centre image, which is why gamers keep recommending it. Two sources push back — DaemonXar finds instruments muddle together on dense tracks, and an Amazon owner found left-right placement no better than a closed-back.

“I think the thing people will most like about HD 505 is its sense of imaging precision and overall placement”

Griffin Silver (listener), Headphones.com

“Imaging and separation are quite good, with a well-defined center image that adds a touch of holographic feel.”

Sai, unheardlab

Good for the money rather than a headline act. Most reviewers call detail high, especially through the mids; Trusted Reviews finds instruments soft next to the vocals, DaemonXar calls it 'fine but nothing special', and nobody places it near the genuinely resolving open-backs above it.

“Detail levels are high at every point of the frequency range”

Simon Lucas, TechRadar

“instruments don’t sound as detailed or defined, the Sennheisers aren’t the most insightful in that respect”

Kob Monney, Trusted Reviews

Sources split, and the near-zero average hides it. TechRadar, What Hi-Fi? and headphonecheck hear a lively listen that swings from quiet to loud without strain; unheardlab, DaemonXar and Trusted Reviews hear soft transients and too little weight, and Griffin Silver finds the punch concentrated in the midrange. The divide tracks the bass verdicts: those who wanted more low-end weight also found it less dynamic.

A strength with one repeatable caveat. At 237 g it is lighter than nearly everything it competes with, the clamp is clearly gentler than the HD 560S's, and the velour pads are soft and roomy — most reviewers and owners forget they are wearing it. The exception is the headband: a narrow, unslotted pad that Griffin Silver, Headfonics, a Head-Fi owner and an Amazon owner all feel as a hotspot on the crown. Some find the pads warm, and Sennheiser's product manager says the softer headband and clamp were a response to HD 560S feedback.

“The Sennheiser HD 505 are, and this will sound odd, an almost unremarkably comfortable pair of headphones.”

Kob Monney, Trusted Reviews

“That creates a pressure point in the center, contrary to the HD 560S which has a slotted head cushion that relieves that center pressure point.”

Louis, Headfonics

Durable rather than luxurious, and nobody claims otherwise. It is almost all polymer on a metal band, and reviewers who have lived with the 500-series chassis vouch for its longevity; Amazon owners rate build overwhelmingly positively. The complaints are about feel and parts: plasticky or creaky to some owners, a deeply recessed proprietary 2.5 mm twist-lock socket that rules out ordinary cables, and a leatherette headband one reviewer expects to peel.

“Sennheiser uses an all-polymer construction and some might complain about that but not me because I have experienced this design’s longevity hands-on and its durability.”

Louis, Headfonics

“The build quality, while rugged, also feels very cheap and plasticy.”

N2000, Amazon owner review (3★)

Open-back by design: it blocks almost nothing and leaks to anyone nearby. Headfonics and TechRadar both note the grille is less open than the HD 600 series', so it leaks a little less than the average open-back — still not an office or commuting headphone.

“You’re still going to be able to hear pretty much everything around you, so be prepared for that.”

Christian Thomas, SoundGuys

“Just because the HD 505 aren’t the leakiest open-backed headphone around, that doesn’t mean they should be worn in the office.”

Simon Lucas, TechRadar

Sources split, and almost entirely over Sennheiser's own catalogue. One camp calls it an easy first audiophile open-back and a better buy than the HD 560S; the other points out that the HD 560S sells for far less with a similar sound, that the HD 6XX is widely held to be the better headphone for the money, that a discounted HD 600 or the HD 550 lands at similar money, and that newer rivals have moved on. Price decides it: Sennheiser and Amazon list it at $329.95, marketplace sellers and sales routinely take it near $200 or below, and the harshest critics soften at those prices.