Sennheiser HD 580

I bought these headphones used on eBay in November '07. They were cheap, and were drilled through the headband for a listening post. They came with brand new HD650 cables.

This review will not be 'editorial' quality, because I can't stand the pompous, flowery hifi-speak that most hifi journalists subscribe to. This is more about why I like my HD580s.

I bought them before I had an amp to run them with, and so built one. I'd been using AKG K141s for several months prior to buying these, and was fairly happy with them. However, as soon as I strapped the 580s to my head, I was hooked. This would be a headphone love affair that continued through several purchases, with these always in my no.1 spot.

These particular HD580s have 650 cables and 600 grills fitted, and a custom white with blue spatter paint finish. They look rather splendid compared to standard.

Anyway, I digress. I have a pair of newish HD600s with which I have compared these, and in all honesty there's not a lot of point in buying the HD600s apart from the fact that they're newer (is that even a reason?!).

The HD580s headband and earcup surrounds are made from a softer, less rigid material than the 600/650s, which some say effects the sound. Personally, I can hear no discernable difference between my 600s and 580s. One massive advantage of the HD580s over the 600s is that the headband is more compliant, and follows a larger radius than that of the 600s. As a result, they clamp FAR less than even correctly adjusted 600s (mine were adjusted by tweaking the metal strips which helped, but they're still leagues behind the HD580s). The enclosures into which the capsules/drivers are mounted are identical to those in the 600s at least, and quite possibly the HD650s.

Sound is fantastically easy going and detailed, but sometimes recordings can sound a little dull. Blues/jazz can lose a little HF edge, especially compared to AKG K701s, which also show the 580s/600s as being just very slightly ponderous (well the K701s are lightning fast, so that's to be expected). If I didn't own K701s, this wouldn't be a criticism.

Female vocals in particular are fantastic with the HD580s, and they do a great job with hip hop (Outkast), rap (Snoop Dogg, NWA, Ice Cube), dance, rock (Rancid, Motorhead, Guns & Roses, Picasso Trigger), reggae etc, but will not turn your mind to a pulp with extreme bass like closed cans will, which may or may not be a good thing.

These are my do-it-all headphones, and despite hankering after a different sound on occasion, I always find myself reaching for these over my other headphones. This is simply because they are comfier, less likely to have me reaching for the volume control due to their slightly laid back sound signature, and more suited to my main listening habits than other headphones I've owned.

For the price that these can be picked up for, you will find it very hard to do better than these. They are ideal fror progressing from HD555s/595s, or for someone looking for a nice, easy listening pair of headphones that won't ever make your ears bleed.

Sennheiser HD580 Review

Intro

I was at a point in which I was happy with my portable set-up and I then had a want for a good rig on my desktop for when I am on the computer. They were going to have to be full sized for the comfort aspect and I was in want for a full soundstage so they were ideally going to be open. The one thing I wanted to make sure is that they had the quality level of my IEMS so that I didn’t just end up wearing them indoors instead but I also wanted them to be cheap. It looked like it was going to be a hard mission.

After looking around anything that looked ideal such as the Sennheiser HD600 series and some of the AKGs were out of my budget then while scoring around I came across the Sennheiser HD580s! Yes they were a few years old but the reviews said good things and they were released in the same time as the Sennheiser Orpheus. Not a bad era in Sennheisers time line. So now it was finding a pair and there was few on eBay but they were being bid right up to £150 and I was going to move on when I got a brand new (damaged box) version with a Sennheiser HD650 cable! All for a magnificent £50.

Set-up

Having a high impedance of 300 ohms I had too then invest in amplifier so that they can reach their potential as well as a listenable volume. As it happened as I got them the hype of NwAvGuy amplifier the Objective 2 was just starting to hit the circulation so I put in an order for one from Epiphany Acoustics and boy did it live to the hype!

So ill be carrying out this review while listening to them from the Objective 2 amplifier and that connected to my iMac and all music will be FLAC, Apple lossless and a bit of MP3.

I am of course using the HD650 cable over the stock one which more than likely helps boost quality!

Build Quality/Design

Their design is very similar to both HD600 and HD650 with the main difference being the plastic grilles instead of the metal grilles. They have rotatable cups to angle the fit as well as they slide up and down for different head sizes.

The build quality is sturdy enough being these being made off al plastic. There are places in which the plastic look weak and maybe there is a risk of it therefore snapping but other than that good care should keep you fine. There cables are replaceable and that helps, as by breaking the cables it is not the end of the road. I can not comment of the cable build as mine only come with the HD650 cable which is think bulky and solid with a chunky termination. However the pin connectors seem to wear away easily which can lead to a weak connection that sometimes needs readjusting.

Comfort

These are so unbelievably comfy and this is the main reason I have kept on to them. However comfortable a pair of IEMS gets I just don’t seeing them matching these that is great. I could wear these no stop for the next 10 years and not feel fatigue! They have velour pads that are so beautifully soft and they gently relax over your ears. The headband also has 4 small cushions on it that prevent you head from possible pain. There is also seemingly no clamping force at all and they fit so gently on my head. Compared to other headphones you may have owned these are more comfortable by a long way than the Beats by Dre Pro that had extreme clamping force and fatigued quickly and there also more comfortable than my mates HD650 that have a tad of clamping and harder cushions.

Absolutely no niggles here.

Isolation

These are not intended to be worn out the house as the have an open design so therefore they were not designed with isolation in mind at all. As you would expect with any open design the let in a fair bit of ambient noise and leak out a lot.

But at the end of the day for there purpose they’re fine.

Soundstage and instrument separation

The soundstage on this is phenomenal! It is more expansive than any earphones I have ever used which boast the best soundstages on an earphone such as the Sennheiser IE8 and Aurisonics ASG-1. It is really airy and tranquil is what seems to be the right distance from the stage and you feel like you could be at a concert and seated in the prime seats. It is both wide, tall and the amp helps add the depth.

Instrument separation is as good as any and the presentation off the music seems to all fit just right.

Bass

The bass is fairly present in most song that need and can disappear quickly when not needed! It really has a nice impact and there is a fair bit of quantity but not quite bass head or HD650! There is a lack of detail slightly but it is very smooth!

The sub-bass is awesome and it really extends low with a big rumble! In song were there is an underlying boom happening while the upper ranges are going on it feels absolutely spectacular.

Midrange

The mids are recessed and hang back a bit but they manage to not feel overly veiled like headphones normally do when the mids are recessed. They are so buttery smooth and don’t suffer from harshness like the highs. Not the most detail. Vocalists sound great and natural.

Highs

The highs are in line nicely with the bass so there presence is quite good. They have a nice sparkle but can be harsh and are not as smooth as my liking. They do show detail but again like the rest of the headphone not the most. The highs are satisfying for anyone and wont be disappointed say coming from a DBA-02 like I did!

Overall

A very natural sounding headphone with a great sound in all frequencies.

If you can find a pair at any price I recommend picking them up as you will be stunned what you get from these all old headphones!

These are not my first headphones. Over the years I had various marks and types, and even an electrostatics (Jecklin Float Electrostat).

But those are the best that I ever heard for the price range. Dynamics is incredible, they sound in a very natural way, bass is full but very fast, midrange is very clean and warm, treble is detailed but always sweet, one can listen to all types of music with the same pleasure, and without any auditive tiredness.

Of course, like with all high end headphones, it is obligatory to listen to them with a dedicated amplifier to obtain the best sound.

I use a G&W T2.6F, a hybrid chinese headphones amp, with tubes on the input and pure class A single-ended MOSFETs on the output.

It has all the necessary power to drive the Senn HD580 perfectly.

In conclusion, a royal listening.