Singapore Meets

[nocturnalsheet]

Singapore Headphone Meet Pictures (06-12-08)


Portable amps available on the MEET. They really love their Qubes. =p


These are the shock of the night the recabled HD 600 and HD 650


Are these twins.. Oh no. They may look similar but the sound difference was awesome. the modded Hi-Fi780 was one of my personal favorites in the meet.


Another Shot. for you!


Don't forget this either! The Ultrasone Proline 750


Waah this were very surprising. It were soo light and still pack the details and the punch I want. Need to find these babies when I get home.


Close up!


We did have a lot of portables but only one desktop. But I assure you this daddy drove any of the Headphones we had EASILY!!!


The bundle with some green stuff. =)


What are these??? Guess but you won't win a prize though. But these babies were very surprising clarity and details were great! Anothere thing AT should offer to all. =)

[nocturnalsheet]

Singapore Headphone Meet Pictures (13-12-08)


If I get to win a scratch card. These will be the first things I'd buy. Ultrasone ED9 and the Sony MDR - CD900st


Denon brothers. D1001 and the D2000


Ooh... the Beyer 880 600 ohm


Don't they look great the D2000 and and an AT A900 ltd


Another shot for you...


Woah don't forget my babiies. =)


I just love them




Closer Please...
Shots of the Desk amps.

[nocturnalsheet]

Singapore Headphone Meet Pictures (28-12-08)

A short meet to try out the woody hd580 and the yamamoto

[nocturnalsheet]

Singapore Headphone Meet Pictures (01-01-09)

Tried out the fully modded ksc75, woody hd650 and woody hd580, d2000, esw10, akg701 with yamamoto and ldmk4se

[slwiser]

Great Pictures....Impressions??

[nocturnalsheet]

HD600 recabled and internal modded by Valgrind Audio

Firstly, i didn't like stock HD600 due to the sennheiser 'veil' (not as much 'veily' as stock HD650 though). I was skeptical at first when i took the HD600 and tried it, the first thing that struck me was how lovely this headphone sound, it was neither laidback nor forward sounding, rather it was just nice, the music was presented as the way it is and there was bass quantity and quality. of course when paired with the yamamoto, the mids was sweet and the bass gain a bit more texture and body. it was very balanced in the lows, mids and highs, very enjoyable

HD650 recabled and internal modded by Valgrind Audio

HD650 stock had the typical senn sound signature which i didn't like the laidback, dark sound. However the modded HD650 was very very similar to the modded HD600 in sound. I couldnt really tell the difference in some tracks. The noticable difference is in the bass. the HD650 felt like it had more bass quantity and goes deeper, but overall, i preferred the bass presentation of the HD600. Hence the reason for my HD580 purchase =)

HFI 780 recabled and internal modded by Ultimate Link

first thing i noticed about the modded HFI-780 was the mids, i felt the stock 780 mids were a bit recessed, and the mod brought up the mids, and bass quality was vastly improved. the bass quantity was not a lot to me but it had nice tight bass. overall it was very enjoyable to listen to.

Stock Edition 9

hands down to the ED9. it is truely worthy of it's hype and glam. When i played my cd, I thought my cd was on fast forward! The ED9 is crazily FAST! Perfect for the rock song that i was playing. Hearing the ED9 with the yamamoto is magic to me. The ED9 has that indescribable sort of magic that captures your attention and keeps you wanting to listen more.

Stock MDR-CD900ST

When i hook up the CD900ST to my rig, the vocals were a bit too forward but still acceptable, it was a bit more on the bright side but still acceptable to me. However, when i tried the Pico instead of my D3, the CD900ST really shine. the bass can't be compared to the above few cans but the vocals/mids was right up there. the CD900ST really showed me the weak links of my rig. With the CD900ST, I was able to tell bad recordings, sibilance and the difference in standards of amps and lods. The CD900ST is very very transparent, rubbish in means rubbish out.

Stock Proline 750 Fully burned in

Proline 750 stock without burn is rather unlistenable to me. It is very dull and 2-D like. Previously I tried out of the box with the RSA Raptor at my local dealer and it still fails miserably. The sound is very 2D like and boring. However another audition with a burned in PL750 with the Yamamoto HA-02 and it was impressive(until i tried the rest of the modded stuff, it was no fight really.), it is comparable to the D2000, just that there was lesser bass quantity, but the bass do go deeper on the PL750. Overall I felt the PL750 was the best for enjoying at home with a nice comfy chair with nobody to disturb you. that is the best way to enjoy the music presented by the Proline 750.

Stock ESW10

I was quite skeptical of all the hype surrounding it at first plus the fact that i wasnt impressed with the ESW9 myself.
First thing that struck me about the ESW10JPN was the bass. the bass was tight and deep with slam. it was the kind of bass that i would die for.
The ESW10 amazed me once again with the clarity and details of the vocals, apparently the great bass wasnt spilling over to the midrange and making it muddy. The soundstage was like a circle with just a bit of distance away from me. perfect. it was just right for me, and very respectable soundstage for a portable closed can. Comfort was a issue thou, partly due to the unburned in headband and the clamping on my ears. Well if money was no issue, the ESW10 will be part of the family for sure.

HD650 recabled and internal modded by Valgrind Audio with Headphile Deep Woodies

Headphile Deep Woodies and the HD650 was like a match in heaven. The woodies make the HD650 neither a closed can or a open can. Semi open i guess, sound still leaks and there is no isolation as compared to a true closed cans. The bass of the HD650 was controlled by the woodies and it goes and real deep and great body and texture on the bass. Totally shocking! If only I heard such a mod earlier, i would be getting the HD650 instead. As mentioned earlier when i compared the bass of the modded HD600 vs modded HD650, i preferred the bass of the HD600, thus leading me to get the HD580. However with the woodies, the bass of the HD650 turned into a beast. If bass can be described as with decay, the HD650 had bass which decayed beautifully. The HD650 truely has huge potential and it is no wonder why so many headfiers love the HD650.

*Impressions of all the above headphones have been complied from my postings in my local forum from the first meet till date and have been edited slightly for it to be appropriate to be posted here. I would like to state that all impressions are based on my opinions and may differ from yours. For the record, None of the above mentioned cans belongs to me so as to give a unbiased impression.

Thanks for reading.

[nocturnalsheet]

Originally Posted by slwiser

Great Pictures....Impressions??

Posted. Look above

[uberburger101]

Recabled, modified and woodied HD650 was a real stunner especially when paired with the Yamamoto.

[slwiser]

Originally Posted by nocturnalsheet

Posted. Look above

Thanks for those impressions. What did you think about the Yamamoto HA-02? I know what I think from the other headphones beside the Senn.

[nocturnalsheet]

Originally Posted by slwiser

Thanks for those impressions. What did you think about the Yamamoto HA-02? I know what I think from the other headphones beside the Senn.

This could be a bit tough for me as my experience with home amps is very limited. The Yamamoto that was available for audition at the meet was using stock tubes and I compared it with the LDMK4SE which had rolled NOS tubes(cant remembered the exact tubes).

The LDMK4SE actually beat the Yamamoto slightly with the synergy of the HD650 due to the warmer sound and more body of the bass.

The Yamamoto actually belongs to a ED9 owner and the synergy of the ED9 with the Yamamoto is perfect to me.(I was told by the owner that the yamamoto actually slowed down the ED9 by a bit) Even so, i was amazed by the combo of the ED9 with the Yamamoto. Magical i can say. I get the feeling I cant pinpoint what is good, but it is just darn good!

My sonic memory is a bit sketchy due to the many stuff that I tried at the recent meet.

[slwiser]

If you did not notice I have both the ED9 and the Yamamoto HA-02 and they are two components made for each other in my opinion.

I just acquired myself a TTVJ Portable Millet Hybird for my ATH-ESW10JPN and these two again are a pair made for each other.

[nocturnalsheet]

Singapore Headphone Meet (17-01-09)

This meet will be archived in the following link

17 Jan 2009 Headphones meet - SGHeadphones

[nocturnalsheet]

Comparison between Stock HD650 cable with Null Audio Upgrade Cable.

Stock HD650 cable (Fully Burned in) vs Null Audio Upgrade cable (50hrs burn in)

I must first state that the stock hd650 cable is really a very good cable, upgrading from my stock hd580 cable is almost night and day difference in the sound quality.

between the hd650 cable and null audio cable, it wasnt a night and day difference but there were clearly some improvements on the stock hd650 cable.

on first listen with the hd650 cable, it was rather dark sounding with good bass quantity and impact. mids were not as forward but still enjoyable.

changing to the null audio cable, i could immediately feel the mids opened up(not as congested) and a bit more forward. however the bass quantity and impact is lose out by a bit. it is a bit brighter and gives slightly more cleaner sound than the stock hd650 cable.

conclusion, the stock hd650 is very good for reference, is still very enjoyable. the best value for money cable. however if you are looking for something more out of your hd6xx, upgrade cables is the way to go.

[nocturnalsheet]

Introduction

I first received my HD580 2 months back. As I only heard the HD600 to gauge the sound of HD580, it was still considered a leap of faith for me. Finally after about 2 months of listening, I am finally ready to give an in depth review the HD580.

General Information about the HD580



Equipment Experience

My headphone journey started way back after I completed my portable setup and has lead me to auditioned the following headphones, JVC RX-700, D1001, D2000(stock and modded), D5000(stock and modded), MS-1, MS-2, SR225i, RS-1, PS-1, A900, ES7, ESW9, ESW10, AD2000, A1000x, A2000x, HFI-780(both stock and modded), Proline 750, ED9, HD555, HD595, HD600(stock and modded), HD650(stock and modded), MDR-CD900ST, DT880(250ohm and 600ohm), K701.

Music - All Apple Lossless
They Don't Want Music - Black Eyed Peas
Reflections(I Remember) - Mary J Blige
Prisoner of Love - Utada Hikaru
Pax Deorum - Enya
CHERRY - YUI
Goodbye Days(Acoustic) - YUI
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
Delete - Younha
Yesterday and Today – Do As Infinity
Crashed - Daughtry
Angels – Robbie Williams
Everybody Changing - Keane
Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield

Equipment Setup

Foobar>D3 line out dac>Null Audio Mini to RCA>Millet Hybrid Max(12AE6A)>Null Audio recabled defoamed HD580.

Bass

Bassheads look away. The HD580 are not going to give you slamming bass like the Denons. Bass on the HD580 is neutral. If your source has bass, the HD580 will reproduce it as natural as it is and not adding any flavour to it. If your source has no bass, the HD580 will not give you bass. Bass extension, slam and quantity are not as much as or go as deep as some other headphones that I heard, but the HD580 excels in accurate bass. Bass is tight controlled and accurate. I guess most people with call the HD580 bass shy.

Mids

The Mids is clearly the strength of the HD580. Firstly they are not recessed as some would come to associate recessed mids with Sennheiser cans. The mids are also not forward mids like ESW10. Mids are right smack in the centre. What I enjoy about the mids of the HD580 is the airy feeling. This makes you feels as if the singer is surrounding you instead of singing in front of you. Details, clarity and tonal accuracy are one of the best I heard. Highly impressive. Granted the HD580 do not give sweet coloured mids like ESW10, it is very impressive to me.
In summary, i felt that the midrange was clearly the strength of the HD580.

Treble

For this review I do not hear any harsh or sibilance. However during my regular listening on lower quality files, I can hear hissing noise. The treble of the HD580 doesn’t have the greatest extension and they are neither forward also. Listening on the HD580, I would tend to notice the mids followed by the bass and lastly the trebles. Having said that, one might presume that the trebles are recessed. However, I do not think that the trebles are recessed. Instead they blend in together with the rest of music such that you do not actively notice it.

Soundstage, Separation and Imaging

Soundstaging, imaging and separation is another point that I would rave about on the HD580. As an open
can, I have high expectations of the soundstage. The HD580 doesn’t fails to disappoint. I experienced before soundstage that the headphone cannot handle(too huge to contain within the headphone). However for the HD580 soundstage, it is wide but not bigger than the headphones itself(if you get what I mean). As I mentioned earlier, the mids seems to surround me, giving me a very imaging that you are like in a room where the speakers form a circle around you. Fantastic in this aspect.
Instrument separation is good, clear and precise, but not too analytical till where each instrument is standalone. Separation is there but they are as a group also.

Sound signature and Balance

The HD580 sound signature is rather similar to AD2000. The AD2000 is cold sounding, light on the bass, with a clean and transparent midrange and treble.

Value For Money

I believe it was worth every penny I paid. Trying to acquire another one as a backup recently but was unable to strike a deal.

Grand Conclusion

In conclusion, I can tell why Sennheiser cans are highly regarded in the audiophile community. The ability to scale with your setup is immense. Feed it a good upgrade cable, you hear the improvement, give it a good source, it will tell you. Give it a good amp to drive it, it will sing. The potential is endless. For me i feel that i am only tapping only into a fraction of the HD580 power currently. =D
Hope you enjoyed reading my review. Good luck in finding a HD580 thou. =D

[nocturnalsheet]

Singapore Headphone Meet (22-03-09)

This meet will be archived in the following link

Headphone Meet--March 22,2009 - SGHeadphones