nakmania

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.36 of 5, 28.00 votes

Price Paid:  $200.00 from harco glodok

Summary:
Sorry, almost same review for my other beloved phones ! I've been using vintage phones all these years and never thought much of the rave reviews of newer models. How different can they be, how can they be any better than a vandy or logan ! But when I listen to 580 it blows me away and now my speakers have been collecting dust. Well .. not really, since I put plastic cover over them. No I won't sell the main rigs because listening to lifesize performance is still the reference. Despite what others say about Senn's laid back sonic signature, I found the 580 gives very speaker-like sound and that's quite different with regular phones where everything is shoved up to your ears. Moreover I really can't understand some that says 580 is dark sounding. Maybe they're getting used to models with boosted bass and high frequency to win customers over short period of time. It's quite easy to determine if certain phones sound more real or 'fake', just take off the phones from your head and listen to a good speakers ! To my ears the 580 is even a bit brighter than 'real life' and the vocal is a bit thin. Otherwise 580 produces similar tonal balance to your good floorstander plus you get all the glory details as a bonus. Every cymbal rattle, handclaps and so on can easily be heard. In addition, this is my first time in experiencing such a great comfort in headphones listening: circumaural matched to your ear format with velour pads. Sennheiser may not be the inventor of such cups design, but it can't get any much better than this. If your ear ever feel warm and sweaty or hurt from the supraaural pressure then try wearing one of these. Nowadays imho there are better phones than 580 but for its breakthrough in headphones quality I give it 5 stars and for those who want to get a taste of high fidelity listening for less, please audition this phones as it's almost identical to recent 'king' 600 (not sure about 650) but at a much lower price ! And the absence of metal grille cup cover means one thing less to worry. If you can find 595 it gives even better value and accuracy at not much price difference.

Strengths:
good overall tonal balance: strong solid bass plus detailed but not piercing treble and ... did I mention it's very comfortable ?

Weaknesses:
slightly weak midbass / lower midrange, vocals can be better (same with 600)

Similar Products Used:
sr80, hd25sp, hd265, hd 595, k271, various vintage senns

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Used on ebay

Summary:
I bought these used on ebay from a guy who's studio went under. Had to replace the cable right off because it was shorted. This pissed me off to no end but the replacement cable wasn't too expensive and it's been working right ever since. Pretty comfortable to wear. Great sound and detail for most music. Some complain that there's insufficient bass, I found that the 580's give plenty when combined with a receiver or headphone amp. Great fit and finish as well.

Strengths:
Fit, finish, quality, price, sound, detail and openness. Ability to replace headphone cables without having to rewire.

Weaknesses:
Cheesey, cheap headphone wires, that short easily.

Similar Products Used:
Nondescript Sony junk.

Price Paid:  $399.00 from JB Hi Fi

Summary:
I purchased these headphones after much research and indepth analysis of lower end senn phones (eg HD 500). I found that my growing thirst for highly detailed, clear and transparent sound could not be sufficed by such mediocre hardware. As well as sound quality though comfort was a primary consideration. After some rivalry between the HD590s and HD580s i finally decided to go for the 580s because of the claims of great transparency, even at a cost of comfort (i have used HD590s and they have basically unrivaled comfort). Although i would not say the 580s are uncomfortable, they are more than adequate however a little tight at first but a little casual flexing of the metal headband has fixed it quite easily. Soundwise these phones deliver. I was very much pleased with their level of transparency, the sound doesnt feel like it is getting crammed into your ears but rather flows eloquently and smoothly, allowing a REAL natural response - not high pressure bass (attention grado fans). Any claims about lack music flexibilty is completely unfounded; these phones swallow techno or heavy metal just as easily as classical and do it damn well as it takes some quality hardware to gracefully reproduce metallica in all it's heavy instrumental glory without mashing them together into a noisy, aimless vibration. I have tried running these headphones through my 5.1 speakers on my PC (Altec Lansing 5100s) and although at a minor loss of detail (due to channel expansion) the soundstage/imaging of these phones become ideal for gaming. Construction quality is quite good, the cable decent and thick, earcups are solid and the band not flimsy. The connectors however do appear to be a little feeble and although one would think the y connector is annoying, when you have the phones on it is completely unnoticable, you just have to be careful when you take them off...Many people pass complaint about the high impendence of the phones however careful choice of equipment and you will be fine - a DECENT PC setup is quite adequate, a professional amp really isnt required. Value wise i got them for a pretty decent price for here in Australia although i still think that $400 AU is alot of money to be spending on a pair of headphones that probably cost only $30 to manufacture, although these are the prices one must be willing to pay for extremely high quality sound reproduction. I am still in puzzlement however of how sennheiser can take the 580s, change the plastic to carbon, the transducer exterior to metal mesh call them HD600s and sell them for a few extra hundred dollars more. As the drivers are identical (take a look at the Frequency vs dB graphs of the two models) why would anyone intelligent without the luxury of an inflammable wallet buy the 600s over the 580s?... Please do not mistake my lack of 5 star raings to mean these phones are not excellent, on the contrary for hi fi audio newcomers these would appear magical, but i am making this judgement based on what i percieve to be PERFECT sound reproduction, comfort, build and value. (Anyone seen some Orpheus phones for $20?)

Strengths:
*Transparent, clear, detailed sound *Excellent potentional for multichannel ghosting/imaging *Decent construction quality and comfort

Weaknesses:
*Connectors are a little weak but care will see them endure *A TINY bit too heavy (even though they are 10g heavier than the 590s that are unquestionably the most comfortable in existance - i am here to be critical) *Y cable connection (without it however the band would be different, probably not as sturdy) *Not for the sonically retarded, can only be appreciated by those who still want hearing when they are 25

Similar Products Used:
Just about whole range of sennheiser phones

Price Paid:  $160.00 from amazon

Summary:
i had used grado sr-80 phones for about 5 years. i loved the music that came out of them. unfortunately, their quality of construction is beyond sub-par. the grados were repaired twice and died again. i have always wanted the hd-580s since reading about them in the stereophile magazine. so i finally spent the money and got them. when i first plugged them into my portable cd-player, i could not hear much of anything. these sennheisers are difficult to drive. the grados were capable of damaging my hearing with the volume control on the portable at 5. next i plugged the sennheisers into my laptop. there was more power to drive these phones and the sound was acceptable. the bass had volume and drive. the highs were clear but a bit frizzy which i attributed to the poor amplification from the laptop's op-amp. i finally decided to bring to work my spare amp from home. what a difference! the mid-range blossomed with full voice. the highs were clear and articulate. the bass was fuller and more involving. these phones are splendid although i still think they are a bit more laid back and lack a bit of involvement and presence than the grados. on the other hand, it was easy to get fatigued by the grados, both sonically and physically.

Strengths:
neutrality and coherence of sound

Weaknesses:
could be a tiny bit more involving

Similar Products Used:
grado sr-60, grado sr-80, sennheiser hd-433, sennheiser hd-535

Price Paid:  $350.00 from retravision

Summary:
outsanding pair of headphones. they are very bright, and show every ounce of detail from the music. they are very musical, dynamic and open. just listen to madonna's "holiday" or marvin gaye's "little darling" and the music comes alive. they seem like you've never heard them before. one hears everything, every cymbal, every intsurment, vocal etc. they can be a little to bright at times. treble perhaps slightly harsh. sounded a bit dull at first. needs to run in before they come alive (nb short run in times).

Strengths:
open + dynamic, very revealing - every detail comes through. music sounds incredibly entertaining.very comfortable

Weaknesses:
perhaps a little too harsh. bit difficult to drive with mps player (and probably other portable devices).

Similar Products Used:
optimus, senheiser's, grados's