Sennheiser MM 550-X

Sennheiser MM 550-X

Can't decide if you want a wired or wireless pair of headphones, or one with active noise cancellation or without? If you've got the cash, you can have it all with the Sennheiser MM 550-X ($499.95 direct), an extremely well designed set that covers practically every situation you'd ever encounter. It also sound pretty amazing. It's not the best $500 pair of headphones we've heard—wired models still win in the end—but it certainly sounds fantastic, even over Bluetooth. Sennheiser's active noise cancelling is somewhat less successful, as it's not the most effective we've heard and also affects the otherwise pristine sound quality more than it should. But even so, this headphone pair is still an easy recommendation. Design, Accessories, and ControlsThe MM 550-X is a closed, around-the-ear design, and weighs 6.3 ounces with the battery inserted. Both the earcups and the headband are heavily padded, and the soft padding feels quite comfortable. You get quite a lot of passive noise cancelling just from the tight seal the earcups form with the MM 550-X on your head.