I've just read a review on these and they would be an unmitigated
disaster for anyone who is blind to use.
Firstly the review clearly states that the touch panels - these cans
have two - need to be controlled with precise movement and mistakes are
easily made so - if someone with sight is having trouble - just imagine
what it would be like for someone who is totally blind?
The command activated by the gesture is voiced and the reviewer made
mention of how frustrating he found it when he say gestured for the
volume to be made louder only to discover that he'd skipped to the next
track in his music collection, not too pleasant I would think.
The user also has to make gestures when answering incoming phone calls
from the mobile, need i say any more.
Far superior? Well both these headphones and the MM550X have AptX for
Bluetooth, I've had the MM550X and - whilst they have a few design
faults and the noise cancelling isn't as good as it perhaps could be -
I've not been disappointed.
Noice scance3lling is something I've never bothered about anyway myself.
On 6/09/2016 4:23 PM, Tim Noonan wrote:
I've been using the Sennheiser PXC 550 Bluetooth travel headphones for a month
or so now (they have just been released) and they are amazingly good.
They supersede the MM 550 phones that have been out for a couple of years now
with vastly improved noise reduction, superb audio quality, comfort and
features.
The right ear cup has a touch surface for gestures for increasing and
decreasing volume, skipping tracks, pausing, voice dial and voice-through
facilities.
Connection is Bluetooth 4.2 with ApdX. they come with a detachable 3.5ml cable
or they act as a sound card when connected to a computer via USB cable
supporting 48k at 16 bits.
They use the same drivers as do the Momentum 2.0 Wireless and fold flat for
travel. You turn them on by placing them on your head and when you fold the ear
cups flat, they power off.
The multiple mics enable fantastic call quality for speaker and listener and
you hear yourself and the caller as if you were both in the same room, making
quiet comfortable conversation very easy and natural.
The Mics also do an excellent job picking up only your voice and ignoring the
other voices and sounds around you.
The noise cancellation is considered very good overall, but not at par with the
NR in the Bose QC35s.
An app for Android and iOS is available to tune the frequency response of the
headphones, but this is not well designed and on IOS is not accessible. I
haven't tested the app under Android.
The PXC 550 Sound is reported to be significantly superior to the Bose QC 35s
and has tight but not overly intense bass. They have a frequency response up to
23 KHZ and excellent stereo separation and instrument isolation.
Some non-audiofile reviewers have said they prefer the more defined sound from
the Momentum 2.0 wireless, others who have reviewed the PXC 550s more
extensively rate the sound more highly. Sennheiser say that the Momentums have
a more defined sound to be heard in city travel, whereas the noise cancellation
improvements on the PXC 550 mean they can produce a flatter more accurate
response without outside noise interfering with their excellent sound
reproduction.
I'm extremely particular about my sound, and these are magnificent for a wide
range of music listening - but if you like over-emphasised bass, they probably
won't be a good match for you.
Comfort is excellent and battery life ranges from 20-30 hours on a charge,
depending on whether bluetooth is enabled.
They are high-end at $399 USD or around $625 AUD.
I haven't had opportunity to listen to the B & W P7s, but they have just
announced a Bluetooth-capable version of these. Time will tell which has the
better sound, but for on-the-go listening plus Noise Cancellation, the PXC 550 are
an excellent all-rounder option.
On 6 Sep 2016, at 3:05 PM, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote:
I received a pair of Sehheiser MM550X cans today and I’m suitably impressed
though everything isn’t roses with this system, there’s nothing much to
complain about really as I regard the gripes I have as minor irritations to be
aware of so as such they will be left to last.
The MM550 is a comfortable closed headset which is of a lightweight but sturdy
build and can be folded up into a carry case supplied for travelling.
As such the user is provided with all manner of adapters for these cans
including an adapter for connection to an inflight entertainment system via the
use of the supplied cable that turns these cans into a very nice sounding pair
of wired cans but the main attraction of the MM550 – apart from its build and
travelling versatility – is the Bluetooth component without a doubt.
The MM550 come equipped with AptX decoding which is noticeable right away when
paired to my Samsung Galaxy S6 and to me the aptX facility is the big sounding
feature for these cans.
Naturally voic calls can be made and answered from the MM550 using Google Now
or similar – SIRI on an iPhone – and the microphones on the MM550 give
extremely good definition in phone calls particularly if you’re able to use HD
Voice on your phone’s network.
I’ve not tried the active noise cancellation feature yet though for a closed
set of cans I wonder why you’d need it?.
The MM550 also provides a “Talk Through” function, suppose you’re listening to
your favourite tracks on a long flight and you wish to hear what’s going on
around you, press the “Talk Through” button and you’ll hear! Without removing
the cans from your ears.
Music sounds wonderful through these cans – whether using the direct cable
connection of Bluetooth – but the Bluetooth experience is certainly made more
worthwhile given the control you have over your music collection from the MM550
system itself which is provided with track forward and back buttons as well as
using the master button as a pause.
I haven’t listened to the MM550 for an extended period of time yet though I
doubt I’ll encounter any problems with sore ears given the weight of this
headset and its luxurious leather padding around the cuffs.
So to the couple of bad things about this headset and the first is annoying.
The lithium-ion battery can be charged either inside or outside the headset but
if you’re charging inside the headset be sure to put your hand over the battery
when you remove the USB charging cable or the battery will come too, that’s
right, out of the headset itself and that’s a very poor design.
The MM550 has direct cable connection however in this mode the headphones are
completely passive meaning that they rely on the amplifier of the system
they’re wired to for volume and that’s fine in theory and really I have no
argument on that score.
The problem is if you’re wanting to direct wire them to the headphones output
of your Cell Phone or similar thinking that the microphones of the cans and the
remote control buttons will work, they certainly will not., as I mentioned at
the start of this review a minor gripe though I’m sure Senheiser could improve
upon this if they really wanted to.
Now is the perfect time to buy the Senheiser MM550 headset as its been
discontinued and you should be able to get it for a good price as I did.
So why didn’t I go for the replacement model? The replacement model has touch
buttons which don’t appeal to me all that much though having said that the
newer model does have an IOS and Android App which might be useful.
Tim Noonan
Consultant Speaker Coach
Phone: +61 419 779 669
Email: t...@timnoonan.com.au
Skype: VoiceReadings
Twitter: twitter.com/TimNoonan
Coaching & Consulting: www.timnoonan.com.au
Inspirational Speaking: www.visionarycommunications.com.au
Gemwater Bottles: www.timnoonan.com.au/water
Voice Readings: www.voicereadings.com
