great midrange and highs, good soundstage for headphones, very clear and precise

muddy base, slight crackling at very high frequencies, and very shoddy cables.

I've owned and used these phones on my computer for a little over a year now. It beats any computer speaker out there short of 4.1 Eminent LFT-11, and is probably the best headphone in it's price range. I didn't mind the bass problems, since I don't like a lot of bass anyways, and you had to have a very high frequency to experience the crackling. The positional audio while gaming is also top notch

But, and there's always a but, isn't there? Today, after a year, the left cable has suddenly developed a nasty short just below the connector, getting worse by the minute. I'm sure that it can easily be replaced, but I would strongly advise against these headphones for this reason. But, since they're discontinued now in favor of the 590s and 600s, it shouldn't be an issue for most buyers.

Anyway, the phones served me well on my computer, although I'd never use headphones for anything else. I'd suggest Sennheisers for computers, or people in a dorm... just not this model due to the seemingly widespread cable problems.

Similar Products Used:

HD-570, 575, and 600, RS85

BUILD QUALITY, CLEAR SOUND, COMFORTABLE DESIGN

SHORT WIRE

THE HEADPHONES ARE MADE IN IRELAND, OF ROBUST PLASTIC.
THE HEADBAND IS METAL, QUALITY IN GENERAL IS EXCELLANT.
IN TERMS OF SOUND IT IS VERY ACCURATE: TREBLE AND MIDRANE
ARE BALANCED BUT THE BASS IS NOT ARTIFECIALLY DEEP LIKE THE SONYS(CD SEREAS)EVEN WHEN USING AMPS. I NOTICED THAT THE HEADPHONES HAVE HIGH LEVEL OF SOUND YOU CANT USE THEM IN TAPEDECKS THAT HAVNT VOLUMEOUTPUT FOR EXAMPLE.

THIS HEADPHONES ARE MADE FOR SERIOUS LISTENERS NOT FOR THERE SHAPE THEY ARE NOT MICROSCOPY FINISHED LIKE SONYS,
YOU MAY THINK YHAT I HATE SONY NOOOOO I USE MANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS. THE PRICE YOU PAY IS FOR THE DRIVRS INSIDE THEY ARE LARGE AND EXCELLANTLY FINISHED,THEY WORTH THE MONEY.

Similar Products Used:

AKG 240DF OR MONITOR.

Exact reproduction of the recorded material, comfort, price

Slightly bass light (is this a bad thing when the source is right next to your ear)

The following are the facts to MY ears, this is what I have found and due to the conflicting reports on here, hopefully I can clear a few things up.

1. You DO NOT need a headphone amp, as some other reviewers have said the levels you can get with a standard amp headphone output are to loud. As for quality, maybe a very subtle diffeence could be heard when using an amp worth twice as much as the phones, but why would you need it ?

2. The HD600, I have to echo another reviewers thoughts here, I put them head to head, same music, same equipment. I noticed ever so slight superiority fom the HD600's, are they worth twice as much (580's £79, 600's £149), no way. The other thing that makes me wonder is here in the UK a company is running a special offer on the 600's, £99, which tells me there is a huge mark up on them at the moment as the 580's are selling at £79. This tells me that in a couple of months you will be able to get them for the same price as the 580's, same headphone fancy packaging....?

3. Bass light, well yes, it depends what has been recorded.

All in all I am very pleased, they give a good insight into the music and are better than could be expected for the money !!

Similar Products Used:

Technics RT series and Sennheiser HD600

Superb sonics, highs, mids and lows. Great Value, Comfort

Material selection, Cheap plastic feel when compared to the HD600.

This set of headdphones has got to be perhaps one of the best values on the market for your audio dollar. I purchased these because of my wife's complaints about my playing music after the kids went to bed. The HD580 is the first quality set of headphones I've owned since college twenty years ago. I purchase this particular model based on reviews submitted on this site along with a few other sources, but mostly these reviews. I was immediatly impresses by the detail, the separation of vocals and instruments along with the quality of sound that emanated from this set of phones. They are very revealing. I had my wife try them out on one of her favorite pieces of music and I was surprised by the amount of elation she displayed as she closed her eyes and a giant smile came across her face as she listened. She typically is against the purchase of anything such as this, but quickly understood why I liked them as much as I did.

I figured that these phones would get a lot of use so I took them back while I could, then upgraded to the HD600s. I felt that the build quality and material selection was better on the 600, therefore worth the additional expense.

The bottom line is that the HD580 is a cheaper version of the HD600. In regards to material selection, the 600 is far superior. In regars to sonics, the 600 is only marginally better. I'm glad that I did upgrade, but the 580 is a super value which will not disappoint.

Similar Products Used:

Senn HD600, 570, 590

Very natural, uncolored and detailed sound.

Some might find the bass too thin.

I previously owned a pair of HD545 References. They were great until I got a cable problem (or something that made the sound dissappear from one of the sides). I sent them to Sennheiser two times, without them being able to fix the problem, so I finally got my money back. This time I paid some extra bucks to get the HD580 Precisions. I don't regret it for one moment! Although the 545s sounded great, these 580s are even better. Before buying them I also auditioned the HD570 Symphonys, because I thought that they would sound pretty equal to the 580s and better than the 545s. What a disappointment! It was like listening to the music with some cheap crap-headphones. I know I exaggerate a little, but they aren't good at all. The 545s are WAY better. It seems like Sennheiser have changed it's philosophy to better suit a wider audience. This means more bass and less detailed sound with a rolled off treble. Most people seem to think that bass is the only thing that matters anyway...

Now to the sound of the HD580s:
They sound exceptionally natural and are VERY detailed. The treble is perhaps the best part of the sound. You will be surprised to hear things in records that you've never heard before! The bass perfectly suits my ears. It's not boomy at all, but rather natural and well proportioned. These headphones let you hear the music like it was meant to sound, with no coloration. I believe that you won't get any better phones for this price. I got mine new for less than 200 US-dollars! The only thing that's disturbing is Sennheisers apparent problem with sound dissappearing from, usually, one of the sides. This has not happened to my 580s. The connections on the HD580s seem to be much better than those on the HD545s. If the sound dissappears from one side it's probably just the cable, which can be bought at at ant place selling Sennheiser headphones.

As a conclusion I have to say that you can't go wrong with these Sennheisers. If you've got a couple of hundreds to spend on headphones, you won't get anything better than these!

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD545 Reference (owned)
HD570 Symphony (auditioned)
AKG K240M (auditioned)

I like them!! but the cabe has got me into problems, I'm on my cable number four in five years. And it's dead by now. Yes I've had a foot at the cable sometimes when standing up to snatch the cable from the phones. But that will hapen _sometime_ when you use headphones for a long time, and they realy should be designed to take that! The cable goes dead eaven if you don't do that! it's annoying when a new cable is 20$ (that's why my value rating goes down). But the only way for me to enjoy these wonderfol phones. My new move is to get a cable from Clou (www.cloucable.se), and hope for the best. I'll try to enjoy yhen in the future even if I don't want to pay Sennheiser more money for extra cables caused by a design flaw they gave me! I don't like the problems with them but what can I say when I love them in all the other aspects!

Very natural and 3 Dimensional! Super Comfortable!

None

I have used these almost everyday for a year now and I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. The sound on these guys are so natural and sweet, absolutely not fatiguing by any mean! It is so comfortable that I can wear them for a long time without getting tired. The 580s may not be as loud as your regular high efficient ear-buds or regular over the ear headphones, it is rated 300 ohms afterall! But they sure are not as metalic sounding and outright annoying as those regular phones either. You really have to listen to them to tell the different.

Some people find the higher the frequency and boomier the bass, the better the sound out of their headphones, if that's you, you should look somewhere else and save the money.

Price is not cheap by any mean, but after getting used to the sound on these, I couldn't bear listening to my Sony $70 ear-buds (which I used with my MD player). It simply hurts my ears. So I think it's well worth the price!

I tried the HD600 also, it's even better than the 580s, but you will really need a good headphone amp to bring out their potential. With the 580, you can get by with a cdp headphone output.

I highly recommend the 580s! Unless you are ready to shell out some big money for the 600s and a headphone amp.

Incredible sound quality, imaging, soundstage, reliable build, comfortable

None whatsoever for the money - especially when I paid £100+ less than RRP for them!

In short, the HD580's are a fantastic pair of audiophile-quality headphones. I bought them for £60 ($90 approx) from a mail order company and this has to be the hi-fi bargain of the year. One listen to the new Pink Floyd CD, "Echoes", and the latest U2 CD when I first tried them out was enough to convince me that these headphones are AWESOME. I would say buy these if you want to actually HEAR your CD's for the first time!

I have a very old pair of Sennheiser HD445's which I occasionally use with my laptop when working in my home office and a pair of more recent HD570's which I use with my hi-fi system. Don't know how much the 570's will be used now I've got these. Don't get me wrong, the HD570 is a very good product but the 580 is definitely superior.

The detail that these headphones extract is nothing short of incredible and the sound quality and clarity is the best I've heard on any headphone - period. But, like any other decent headphone, they are best used with quality hi-fi or dedicated headphone amplification. Don't use them with portables or a computer as you will not hear how good they really are and were not really designed for this type of use.

5 stars without doubt!

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD445, HD570

Ignore all the two star review guys anyone who is thinking of buying these Senn's. They are clearly all friends (or the same person) who have beef with Senn's. Four reviews, all bad, on the same day at the same time (approx), mainly from Canada, when nearly everyone else on here has given them five stars, I dont think so.

Just look at all the five stars guy (s), I also noticed that all the head phones (Beyers, Sonys) you mentioned are of a closed design as opposed to an open one (and are all about $50+ less !!). So to me that just means you are all bass freaks who have no concept of clarity or accuracy of sound and simply want warm muddy bass in copious amounts. Just average consumers then. Even the people who own them in the appropriate review pages say that the 580's are better !!.

Wake up and stop putting dumb ass comments. Oh and by the way Senn have sorted out this lead problem, it no longer exists and they will give you a new pair if you get an unmodified/old pair.

Ignore all the two star review guys anyone who is thinking of buying these Senn's. They are clearly all friends (or the same person) who have beef with Senn's. Four reviews, all bad, on the same day at the same time (approx), mainly from Canada, when nearly everyone else on here has given them five stars, I dont think so.

Just look at all the five stars guy (s), I also noticed that all the head phones (Beyers, Sonys) you mentioned are of a closed design as opposed to an open one (and are all about $50+ less !!). So to me that just means you are all bass freaks who have no concept of clarity or accuracy of sound and simply want warm muddy bass in copious amounts. Just average consumers then.

Wake up and stop putting dumb ass comments. Oh and by the way Senn have sorted out this lead problem, it no longer exists and they will give you a new pair if you get an unmodified/old pair.