On their own, Sennheiser's HD 550 already make a compelling offer to budding audiophiles. While it isn't the cheapest point of entry into the hobby, adding the HD 500 BAM only improves that offering by expanding the capability of your audio setup.
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Design
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Sound
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Build
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Microphone
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Value
The echoes of audio excellence from the HDB 630 hadn’t even finished ringing in our ears when this lot showed up at the office. We were expecting the HD 500 BAM, but we didn’t know which headphones Sennheiser would send with it. Thankfully, the company sent along the HD 550, its latest over-ear headphones, along with the ‘BAM’.
The HD 550 was unsurprisingly superb, but we were pleasantly surprised by the mic. If you’ve never heard of it before, the HD 500 BAM (short for Boom Arm Microphone) is Senny’s gift to audiophiles who also like to play games with friends.
Playing single-player games with Sennheiser headphones is fairly straightforward — plug them into your PC or an amp, depending on the headphone, and play. But if you want to chat with teammates, you’ll either need to buy a separate microphone or swap to a lesser, non-Sennheiser headset with one built in.
The HD 500 BAM removes the need for that last option… if you’ve got one of Senny’s approved headphones that accepts the proprietary single-entry 2.5mm locking connection. Those are the HD 569, HD 599, HD 599 SE, HD 560S, HD 620S, HD 505 and, most recently, the HD 550. Let’s start with the cans.
Not changing what isn’t broken
If you’ve seen any headphones in the HD 5xx range, these should look familiar. The mostly plastic construction works in Sennheiser’s favour here. The HD 550 still feels solid, yet remains as light as a feather (a 237g feather). Their weight, this tried-and-tested chassis, the velour ear cushions, and their relaxed clamping force mean they could happily sit on our head for several hours at a time. And, because they use an open-back design, our ears stayed cool.
Sure, they miss out on Senny’s recent design flourishes, like the copper accents of the HD 505. But we reckon the shades of grey suit them better, as they do for most of Sennheiser’s headphones. We can’t help but wonder if a divot in the headband would make them even more comfortable. It works well in the HD 560S, so there’s no reason it wouldn’t work here, too.
There isn’t much else to write about before we get to their sound. To borrow smartphone terminology, these are dumb headphones. You won’t find any companion smartphone app, active noise cancelling, or much else in the box, other than a soft drawstring carry bag, a 1.8-metre cable that ends in a 3.5mm jack, and a 6.35mm adapter. But you don’t really need much else. These will happily play from your laptop or smartphone if you’ve already got a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter, as their impedance is a reasonable 150 ohms. But if you’ve already got the gear, these should scale reasonably well.
Punching well above expectations
As for their sonic performance, we had high expectations considering Sennheiser’s pedigree, and we weren’t disappointed. Sennheiser is aiming for target curve conformity or ‘neutrality’ with the HD 550, instead of a more consumer-friendly V-shaped tuning. It pulls that off perfectly with these.
We were rather pleased with the bass extension here. Open-back headphones aren’t known for thumping bass, so bass-junkies won’t have their socks blown off, but there should still be enough well-defined punch for most reasonable people.
There is enough mid-bass presence that kick drums still sound impactful without the bloat that usually accompanies the boosted lower frequencies of cheaper headphones. The upper bass stood out to us the most with the balance of warmth and intimacy while remaining clear.
Unmuddied mids, anyone?
The midrange is where the HD 550 really shines. It offers great, natural-sounding mids with so much warmth that we felt like Diana Krall and Chris Jones were singing only to us in How Deep Is the Ocean and Long After You Are Gone, respectively.
This competency is mostly maintained through the treble, but here is also where the HD 550 falters slightly. We were expecting better detail retrieval, especially since Sennheiser mentions it on the front of the box. That’s not to say their treble response is bad. It is still, for the most part, well-balanced and never sounded harsh or sibilant, even in Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean. We also thought timbre, the character of a specific sound or instrument, was well-handled. But if you’re specifically looking for excellent detail, you might be better off with something from the HD 6xx series.
What about games?
We also spent a lot of time using the HD 550 while gaming, in both competitive multiplayer titles and immersive single-player games. While they performed well in both cases, a closed-back headphone might be better if you’re looking to get lost in your chosen virtual world, or are worried about sound leaking out and disturbing those around you.
We would’ve liked a little more width from their soundstaging in competitive titles, like Counter-Strike 2, where it can mean the difference between winning and losing. But from what they do provide, we never felt like we were missing out to the point that we could blame the headphones. You’ll run into skill issues before these get in your way.
BAM, mic drop
The whole point of sending us the HD 550 was so that we had something to plug Sennheiser’s add-on boom arm microphone into. So that’s exactly what we did.
The HD 500 BAM is refreshingly simple. You don’t have to worry about installing drivers or faffing with any software. Yank it out of the box, swap out your headphone cable with a twist to lock it in place, and you’re good to go. You might lose a bit of reach, with the BAM only measuring 1.5m end to end, but you do also get a Y-splitter in the box for more connection options.
Its build quality is decent and what you’d expect from a company like Sennheiser. The mic itself is a 10mm electret condenser capsule at the end of a flexible arm. It’s covered with a bit of fluff to soak up your spittle (and prevent plosives from blowing out your teammate’s ears).
A little down the line, you get a few controls. Nothing crazy, just a mic mute switch and volume wheel. We love physical controls as much as the next person, and the mute switch does have a bit of red to show when mute is engaged, but that’s hard to see in the dark. A little LED would’ve been helpful.
Pouring honey in your mic
As for its performance, we can happily report that it punches above its weight. It might sound a little nasally compared to standalone mics, like the Shure MV6, but that’s not really a fair comparison. A much better comparison would be against the built-in mics you get in other consumer gaming headsets or other add-on boom mics like the V-Moda Boom Pro.
The HD 500 BAM has a very natural, warm voicing with good dynamic range. It isn’t overly analytical or sharp, so it can sound relatively thin in the upper-mids and treble, but again, that’s relative to solutions that cost more. It’s also rather sensitive, so you shouldn’t need to crank the gain up unless you’re a whisperer. Also, expect feedback when handling the cable and mic arm. That said, it features a cardioid pickup pattern, which helps to reduce the ambient noise it catches.
Sennheiser HD 550 + HD 500 BAM verdict
The target market for this setup is audiophile consumers who also play games, but you don’t have to let that limit you. If you enjoy listening to music and also need to take calls, this combo should suit you well if the price doesn’t put you off. At R4,900 for the HD 550 and an extra R850 for the HD 500 BAM, it certainly isn’t cheap. There are more affordable options, but those aren’t likely to sound this good and probably won’t boast the same great build quality as Sennheiser’s pair.
Overall, the HD 550 doesn’t break a sweat proving its value. It is one of the most capable headphones in Senny’s HD 5xx series. It’s comfortable enough to wear the whole day and offers a great value if you’re running the price-to-performance numbers.
The HD 500 BAM will appeal to current HD 5xx series owners, but doesn’t really do enough to appeal to anyone outside of that group. Unless you’re starting from scratch. Considering the accessibility of this Sennheiser pair, it could make a fantastic entry into audiophile gaming, provided you can stomach the cost.
