HD 558s sound bloated and really bad?

[samouraifgc]

Hi, I just got a pair of Sennheiser HD 558s today. Open the box, connect to my phone, put music on...and it sounds really bad. Not the “I don’t like the range” or “I wish there was more bass” kind of bad. The sound is hard to describe, but it’s bloated, distant, washed out. Gaming is even worse. Everything is extremely distant. The simplest way to describe it is that it feels the exact opposite of crisp sound. Is there a break in period needed? Do these just sound like that?

My previous pair were street by 50 over ear wired headphones, which sound much crisper. This is sennheiser I bought. Do you guys think I was shipped a faulty pair, any other suggestions?

Thanks everyone so much.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Have you tried a different source? Your phone may not be capable of driving them or may just have terrible audio output.