Sennheiser HD 580 Review

[dang]

Checkout our latest review of the Sennheiser HD 580 (http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review264.html)The slightly cheaper version of the Sennheiser HD600, considered by many to be THE standard in great all around performers, the HD580 provides all the quality and comfort for $50-$100 less.

[Ioman]

Great review Brandon, they sound like great speakers. I found an old review over at Firing Squad and they gave it a 70% overall :(

http://firingsquad.gamers.com/hardware/sennheiser580/page3.asp

I noticed their review is from 1999 though, have the headphones changed at all in the past 4 years? I noticed that Firing Squad compared them against the Grados too. Sounds like a tough fight between the two companies.

[neuroking]

70% is really odd. Essentially, the HD600s are considered the reference headphone that all <$1000 headphones are compared to. Think they were around $500 at their introduction, with the 580s around $350. The lowered rating may be due to the Grado vs. Sennheiser sound debate that will never be resolved. Grados, in general, are supposed to be better for more acoustic/rock type music, with Senn owning the rest of the field.

Headroom has a nice rundown here:
http://headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=2&subTopicID=16
and then here:
http://headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=2&subTopicID=18

And here is an excellent review of the HD600s and the Grado RS2s (which go for about double the HD600s) posted to Head-Fi that backs up the difference in sound.
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=8420
For being fairly new to headphones, I think i was almost dead on (and I swear I didn't read this until just now).

Also, looks like Sennheiser is just starting to talk more about the HD650s which should be coming out in the next 6 mos.

Oh, and voila! Just found this:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=39934

Just spend a day reading the Head-Fi forums. You'll want to jab a knife in yer ears jsut so you don't have to try and decide what headphones to get (yes, multiple, because no one will ever really recommend one headphone), which amp, what cord/earpiece mod to perform, etc. (j/k-actually a very nice information rich forum.) Notice the top 2 there are the HD580s and the SR225.

Also, the higher end range so far goes mostly to the HD600s and the Etys which are two completely different styles (open vs closed/canalphone). Again, different sounds/styles.
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=39935

Just some of the stuff I found in the last 5 minutes...

Cheers!
Brandon

[Ioman]

I would like to have seen these be reviewed with some nice audio equipment other than a computer, but overall good job man! I cannot wait to see what you think about the Grado's.

[questionlp]

I own an HD580 and an HD560 and I also think that a 70% score is a bit odd. I definitely agree that a good quality amp is pretty much a must if you really want the best out of the 580's. I got my 580 headphone with a now discontinued Sennheiser amp/DSP which handles treble, bass, volume and virtual surround sound fairly well... though it does get quite warm.

The only time that I wish the 580's didn't require so much power is when I'm listening to music on my portable MiniDisc players (the Nomad Jukebox 3 does fine, but the original Jukebox seemed to have a fairly weak headphone amp... not to mention a bit dirty as well) where I have to crank the volume up to around 80-90% to get decent volumes.

[neuroking]

Originally posted by Ioman
I would like to have seen these be reviewed with some nice audio equipment other than a computer, but overall good job man! I cannot wait to see what you think about the Grado's.

I agree. But since I don't own an amp, the improvements with any stereo system are minimal. Most stereos do not contain high quality headphone ports (I think there is one Onkyo that has a Dolby Surround Headphone port). Most of the time, either a processing unit is sold with the cans (like the surround headphones by Sony and Pioneer) that include an amp, or you buy a separate amp. Seeing that it costs $500 for good headphone amp, I don't think alot of people would find it a selling point on a stereo, so companies don't add the cost. But, I'll run them through my Yamaha RX-V2200 tonight. I actually don't like the sound it produces for headphones much, but we'll see how these fare.

Brandon

[neuroking]

Originally posted by questionlp
The only time that I wish the 580's didn't require so much power is when I'm listening to music on my portable MiniDisc players (the Nomad Jukebox 3 does fine, but the original Jukebox seemed to have a fairly weak headphone amp... not to mention a bit dirty as well) where I have to crank the volume up to around 80-90% to get decent volumes.

I haven't seen specs, but hopefully the HD650s will be easier to drive.

Brandon

[ladydorkness]

That was a really good article! That was actually the first one I've read freom this site. (doot doot doot *twiddles thumbs*) But I was impressed... I should read more...

[dang]

Yes you should! I particularly like the this (http://reviews.designtechnica.com/firstlook24.html) article. :)