Sennheiser's new HD headphones aim at audiophiles for less

A young man playing a video game while wearing Sennheiser HD 550 headphones

(Image credit: Sennheiser)

published 20 March 2025

Quick Summary

Sennheiser's new HD 550 open-back headphones have a more relaxed fit than other 500-series models, making them ideal for long listening and gaming.

They're also priced reasonably for "audiophile" over-ears, at £249.99 / $299.95 / about A$514.

Sennheiser has announced a pair of open-back headphones for "audiophiles and gamers" that promise to punch well above their price tag.

The new HD 550 over-ears are designed for long listening sessions and lengthy gaming sessions, with a super light weight build and impressive specification.

The 500 Series are Sennheiser's mid-range over-ears, designed to deliver much of the fun of the higher-end 600 Series for less cash.

The transducers are Sennheiser's own 38mm design, made in its specialised facility in Ireland's Tullamore – a town that makes both headphones and whisky, two of my favourite things.

The frequency range is a sweeping 6Hz to 39.5Hz, with less than 0.2% total harmonic distortion, and impedance is 150 ohms. As with other wired headphones, gamers get a lag-free experience. Sennheiser says the detailed sound stage also delivers superb spatial awareness.

Comfortable listening for long sessions

These are open-back headphones, which are generally regarded as delivering the best sound of any headphone design – the downside is that they also leak a fair bit of audio, so they're perhaps not the best choice for making friends on the bus. For home listening however, open-back is very much a good thing.

The HD 550 pair have been designed with a "more relaxed" clamping force than other 500-series headphones, and they're light too at just 237g. The metal earcup covers are ventilated and the headband is soft-touch for comfort.

Like their stablemates, the HD 500 are modular with easily swappable earpads and cables. The supplied cable is 1.8m with a standard 3.5mm stereo jack and a 6.35mm adapter.

The new HD 550 headphones will be shipping in April and can be pre-ordered now for £249.99 / $299.95 / about AU$514.

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).