Comfort.... Accurate Sound Reproduction at all Freq's

Two Design Flaws

First off.... these headphones are unbelievably comfortable. I not only use them at work for 8-10 hrs (about an hour at a time)... but I also enjoy using them for game playing. In a competitive environment like a long heated quake battle, you don't want your ears to go numb because your headphones rest on your ears.

A few people have complained about the 'bass reproduction' not having 'thump'... well this makes me wonder if they have more subwoofers in their cars and homes then they have speakers in the same location. Because I enjoy my bass, I listen to house, goa trance, and all things electronic and organic, and I have found they have excellent bass. I'm not going lie and say that your going to 'feel' the bass... but these are on your ears... why would you want to? The bass is a warm sound that you can definately hear, very natural sounding.

But don't rely on my poor descriptions... get a pair while they are still available and cheap... you may not get the same bass as you did from the 6 yamaha 18's on saturday at the club but you will get great sound and comfort.


I'll try and keep this quick, but I have had two probs... one was a little peeling on the headband... and the other was the problem where the headphone cup plugs were in.. but the channels still cut out... sennheiser will take them back under warranty and replace them for free (no questions asked)... so I'm still going to give them 5 stars...

Similar Products Used:

Many headphones from (consumer) name brands and other Sennheisers

I bought the HD580s because I live in an apartment and work late hours, so I can't play music loudly over speakers. I had originally been using a wretched pair of Sony crappophones which looked good but sounded worse than the ones that came for free with my portable. The 580s are obviously unmeasurably better, but unfortunately they're held back by my cheap aiwa portable which is hooked up to a reasonably good Denon DRA-345R, which I use as a sort of makeshift headphone amp since the 580s sound pretty limited when connected directly to the jack on the Aiwa. Even with the pseudo-amp, they sound a lot less impressive than they did connected to the store's Rotel CD and Sennheiser amp combo.
The one thing that annoys me to an extreme degree is the infamous dead-channel problem, which surfaced within a few weeks of my owning the phones. I can't survive for the weeks I'd be without them if I sent them in to Sennheiser, so I'm forced to tolerate it and perhaps do whatever I can to limit it. In light of this unpardonable (for a $200 price tag) construction flaw, I am forced to give them a 4. If not for the defect, they'd deserve a 5 of course.

I own the sennheiser HD-580 sor some years now, and although I don't regularly listen to music with them, everytime I DO, I still love the full, detailed and warm sound of them. Also worth to mention is the comfort of wearing them. So if you want a pair good headphones at a (IMHO) very low price, you'd better get a set of these ones!
Happy listening

Have the 580's and Grado Signiture's. Grado's sound better but are so uncomfortable who cares. I can use
the 580's for hours with no fatigue. The Grado's
about 30 min before my discomfort level exceeds my
joy of hearing such great sound. Also Grado's have
been sent back twice for repair in the 6 month
period. Not very impressive for $800.

The Sennheiser 580s are a pretty good deal on Ebay (150-185) but I tried them with my system and they sound too thin. They were very detailed, accurate, but lacked life and the sound seemed to be rolled off the bottom leaving only a thin portion of the frequency spectrum.
They are very comfortable, but for me, I would go for Grados.

System:

Camelot MAS-CDT-1
Camelot Arthur 1.0
Marantz Esotec Pm-5 Class A Amp

Aaron Finley

I bought a pair of these headphones about 2 years ago and haven't once regretted it. I have never heard any music sound as detailed or even remotely touch the sound quality of these headphones. I can put the most cheaply recorded "harsh sounding" music throught them and they somehow turn what would sound like imperfections into 3d images and in depth detail. I would never go without my 580's. What can I say they're perfect!!

The Sennheiser HD-580 is a very comfortable pair of headphones. They have a very clear sound and are very nice to listen to at moderate listening levels. My one problem with them is that the bass tends to distort at higher volume levels. As a closet headbanger I was a little disappointed that the HD-580 couldn't play a little louder without an annoying and sometimes painful "clicking" in the right earpiece when the volume was turned up to very high levels. Turning down the bass solves the problem but then, of course, what's the point?.....

Comfort, flawless sound

Cheap connector at earpieces

I got these babies way back in 97 or 98 and have gotten many hours of pleasure from them! I listen to mostly hard rock and classic rock. While I can see the 580's shine more with classical music since they are not extremely bassy, I have no problems listening to ANYTHING with them!

My only complaint about the 580's is my connector at the earpiece has come loose causing the sound to go out if it's pulled. It still works, I just have to readjust it occasionally.

I LOVE the padding around the headpiece. The thick padding also lifts the speakers off your ears increasing comfort. I've worn these hours at a time and it's very easy to forget you're wearing them!

They also work well with late night movies. Don't want to bother your family and neighbors? No problem. Just plug 'em in and turn off the sound to your speakers and you're all set. I honestly get just about as much enjoyment listening to a movie with these as with my traditional home theater setup. The raised speakers (mentioned earlier) also increase the soundfield giving the movie a "pseudo-surround" feel with only headphones!

I really think these might be the last pair of headphones I ever want to own. I can see with the lowering of the price and possible discontinuation I might want to buy another set. The loose connector is reason I lowered it by one star for value. It's easily repairable, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Do yourself (and your ears) a favor and pick up a pair of the 580's. You'll be hooked!

My setup:
Onkyo THX-DS787 Receiver
Pioneer CLD-D704 Laserdisc
Technics A-10N DVD Player
Acoustic Research Cables
JVC HR-3600U S-VHS VCR
Phillips Magnavox 36" TV
Sennheiser 580 Headphones
Infinity SM-85 Fronts
Infinity SM-85 Surrounds
Infinity SM Video Center
MTX PSW-101B Subwoofer

Similar Products Used:

Koss Sportapros

Impeccable Sound for the Money

Cable Build Quality, Size (as if that makes a difference)

These phones produce excellent sound for the money. I wouldn't compare them to a high-end electrostat, however. I would, however have no problem saying that the tiny difference between the HD580 and the HD600 (I won't go near the HD570/590) is too small to justify the $150+ difference in price. For under $200, you can't beat the value. If you are looking for a bargain with *very* few compromises in sound, these are your headphones. To those who say that this doesn't have enough bass kick, I say that if the recording doesn't have that much bass kick, these eminently accurate headphones will not produce that much bass kick. I refer you to Leftfield's song "Swords". The sub-bass sounds quite even and very accurate. It is definitely present at recorded level. (I did some tests to be sure. It's very very close.) Thanks for reading.

Similar Products Used:

Various Sonys (All Garbage), Sennheiser Orpheus, Metzler MMM-4000, Sennheiser HD600

see below

see below

To Jo Jo and other so-called "audiophiles" that gave these HD 580s one star:

You are "tin-ear" consumers, not true audiophiles! And most of today's mainstream pop music CDs are crap - severely compressed even through a $6000 pair of Staxes. And most of the headphone jacks of today's portable audio gear are crap, too - good headphones such as these Sennheiser HD 580s TRULY reveal their crappiness!

Now for the REAL review:

These headphones are neutral and accurate in their sound quality. Sure, the bass may not be as strong as some of you consumers like - but then you are so used to those less-expensive closed Sonys, such as the MDR-V300 and the MDR-V600 - both of which sound even cheaper than their seemingly low prices would indicate. C'mon, what's up with the Sonys' extremely boomy and extremely inaccurate mid and upper bass response with bass extension that doesn't go down very low at all? And what about their nonexistent upper mids, grainy treble, and plasticky and honky echoing resonances that don't even sound natural? On the other hand, the HD 580's midrange is flat yet musical, and the highs are smooth and laid back. That makes these headphones very well suited for listening to jazz and classical music, and even sounds good with rock music.

Oh, did I forget to mention that their very comfortable to wear, too?

At any rate, I will give these headphones a five-star rating to compensate at least partially to all those unjustified one- and two-star ratings that those "tin-ear" consumers have given recently to these headphones.