Sennheiser adds mini headphones and audiophile-friendly cans

Amongst the range of headphones on display at Sennheiser's booth at IFA 2010 in Berlin recently were five new additions. The company has updated its audiophile 500 series and introduced a couple of mini headphones for mobile music enjoyment. While there's little change to the technical specs offered by The HD 518, HD 558 and HD 598 high-end cans, the company claims that the new PX 90 and PMX 90 phones are so lightweight and comfortable that you'll only know you're wearing them by the dynamic bass and lifelike sound image.

 Sennheiser has made mostly cosmetic changes to its audiophile-grade 500 series headphones, so I won't dwell too much on these models. Sufficient to say that all retain the cleverly named Ergonomic Acoustic Refinement (EAR) technology, which is said to deliver a more natural acoustic sound by inclining the acoustic baffles to channel the audio directly into the ears. Fine soundscape detailing is helped along by neodymium magnets and Duofol diaphragms, and a gold plated audio jack helps ensure a solid connection to the audio source.

The HD 598 (successor to Sennheiser's HD 595) and HD 558 (the predecessor of which is the HD 555) both also benefit from an internal sound reflector said to optimize spatial sound characteristics. Gone is the gray and black coloring of the HD 595 in favor of the cream and wood grain of the HD 598. The changes to the color scheme of the HD 558 model are slight, now having less silver/gray and more black than its predecessor.
The silver/gray stripes on the cups of the entry-level HD515 model have given way to the "attractive anthracite finish" of the HD 518 but, like the other 500 series models listed here, the technical specs appear the same.