The Sennheiser HD580 Appreciation Thread - Page 8

Totally agree... My post above has been edited to reflect this...

Garrett

hehe thanks garrett i've been reading your posts for a while and i was actually going to specifically ask you about the two headphones. Thanks for the direct comparison... i had no idea my ms1's were so close to the HD580's... I think i might like the laid backness of the 580's due to my growing dislike of even moderately bright cans. btw, whats the best cost/performance amp that will sufficiently make a pair of 580's whomp on the ms1's? more than likely i'll be pairing this combo with the AV710 and some foobar.
-sam

I have the same quesiton

Usually a headphone is more detailed and has a bigger soundstage because it is brighter than the phone it is being compared to. I find this with the 325i put against the HF-1.

I just made a few tweaks that resulted in the sound from my week-and-a-half old HD580 to improve from sounding "really good" to "awe-inspiringly beautiful". The more the HD580 were breaking in, the more I was hearing "the veil", or really "the vale" in their high frequency response. At the same time, their decay was becoming so lovely.

The first tweak was to swap the stock power cord on the Behringer DEQ 2496 for a Volex shielded 14AWG power cord ($7 from Carlton-Bates). What was perceived by my ear as veil over (vale in) the sound is now GONE. The second tweak was to order the HD600 Decorative Grilles from Sennheiser ($10 per grille). In other words, inexpensive mods. Sennheiser had one grille in stock (which I have received and installed on the side of my dominant ear), and the other is expected to ship in 3-5 weeks (from Germany). This tweak has given the sound considerably more openness and cleanness of soundstage/imaging, and has resulted in a new level of clarity in the sound that has enabled another layer of good detail and subtletly to be revealed. That faint hint of interference from the intra-phone reverberation is so nicely relieved from the side with the HD600 grille (not so "one-sided" as may be thought - as the brain integrates the sound of both ears to produce an overall really nice sound). Can't wait for the second grille to arrive. The illusion that I am listening to sounds that are coming from the room around me and arriving at my ears (rather than listening to sounds being produced by mini-speakers at my ears) is appreciably enhanced.

A lot of what I LOVE to listen to is slow, melodic female vocal (Carla Werner, Heather Nova, Dot Allison, Emiliana Torrini, Delerium, Poe, k.d. lang, ...) much with electronica background. The HD580 are becoming THE can through which I listen to these. Their jaw-droppingly lovely decay is just to-die-for. For faster, more piercingly-edged sounds (The Crystal Method, Angelfish, Alannah Myles, ...) the SR225 is still my phone of choice. But, MAN, what a tremendously complementary set of phones the HD580 and SR225 are - to my ear, a much more complementary set than the SR225/K501. The HD580 and SR225 are so nicely complementary for a) the different sounds that each does exceptionally well (so that between them, the range of sounds handled beautifully is increased), and (less noted) b) the aspects of their sound that they have in common (so that in gaining the special benefit of one, not much of what is really liked about the other is lost in the switch). One such common aspect between the SR225 and HD580 is the sonic impact that each is capable of. HeadRoom's one-liner on the SR225 for a long time has been "eye-blinking impact". There are tracks that my ear is used to hearing through the SR225 that, when I listen to through the HD580, the impact of the instrumental attack can literally make my eyes blink. Folks may call the HD580 "laid back" because of its high frequency response, but in terms of being able to deliver "slap-in-the-face / thanks-I-needed-that" impact, the HD580 are by no means "laid back" - much to the delight of my ears. And sonic textures are palpable (from ears to chest) with both phones. Both phones also deliver crystal clarity (without the faintest hint of grain), a sound quality that my ear revels in. My ears really LOVE the HD580 for what it excels in. And, when my ears love it, I love it. It's easy to hear where all of the appreciation expressed in this thread comes from.

I know this thread a couple weeks old, but I have chime in that I do love my 580's. They were my first headphones (actually recommended by DrewD for my Maxi Moy), and I still enjoy them. They act as my workhorse when I'm editing live recordings and the complement my sr225's as well as my 770/80's. I'm using a Headphile cable with it now, but I didn't know you could change the sound by simply changing the grills too.

While I know that the 650's are on my hitlist, I question if I could part with my 580s'. Great thread everyone!

What amps have you found hold a good synergy with the 580's. On the converse, did anyone find any amps that weren't working the these?

I'm loving the HD580 with a PPA having a Larocco Dyno-biased Discrete Buffer and a triplet of OPA627's inside. I'm concurrently loving this amp with the SR225 as well. Whatever both phones need to produce beautiful, transparent sound, they are getting abundantly and effortlessly from this amp.

I've gotta thank TheSloth for recommending these cans. I've got about 80 hours on them and have fallen in love. They are just fantastic with my amp/dac combination. Leaning towards putting an Equinox on them but will wait until I have at least 200 hours on them before making the final decision.

I got HD580's for christmas and I'm loving them. This is my first entry point into high end headphones, so I can't really compare them to other phones. I'm currently unamped from my SBLive 24-bit. I know, it's embarrassing. In the next month, I'll have a Emu 0404 > Go-Vibe v4, which I'm sure will have an enormous SQ jump over an SBLive unamped.

My mint sounds incredible with the HD580, my fave budget amp for the senn.

Not too impressed with my govibe II, with the 2227, 9V. It seems to energize and add depth to the treble and sub bass, but it leaves everything else in between sounding kind of flat. Its a VERY subtle thing, but it is a difference I hear compared to my mint. I haven't done any OP amp rolling and Im only using it at 9V... so theres some potential there that I havent tapped into.

On other headphones that lack "oomph" at the ends of the spectrum (HF1, e2c, portapro) the govibe (in this configuration) works EXTREMELY well.

My millet, is a double edged sword. IMHO its a little mushy sounding and lacks the quick attack/decay transients needed for the HD580. But the bass extension is deep and resonant, and the soundstage is very broad and spacious. IMHO a "tighter" sounding solid state amp would be best for the senn. Or maybe tube roll for a tighter sound.

PA2V2 sounds dull to my ears... not enough mids or treble, and little dot micro just plain does not have the voltage capacity to do them justice.

What is the current opamp situation in your mint that you enjoy so much with the HD580?

The folks I've seen who really enjoy the Go-Vibe with their HD580/600 have the AD8620 installed.
The AD8620 is also one of the standard dual-channel opamps that mint amps are constructed with.
So, I was wondering if the opamp in your mint is the AD8620.

Also, in your mint, are the optional CRD's installed which bias the opamp channels into class A?
If they were installed, you would see them in D2L and D2R, on either side of the opamp, between
the opamp and each of the buffers.

Thanks, Garrett.

OOOH...!

Yes my mint has the AD8620 and Im running it at 18V, govibe has the 2227... So perhaps there is some room for improvement with my govibe.

I'm not sure about D2L and D2R... I'll have to take a look. I bought it used from another member for $35, and feel I really got my $$$ worth compared to my other entry level amps.

**edit**
D2L and D2R are not populated on mine

Garrett

A mint, with AD8620, running at 18v for $35! That IS a SWEET value!!!

Thanks very much, Garrett, for the information about your mint.

In case you're interested in trying an AD8620 in your Go-Vibe ...
I found, in an original Go-Vibe (before it had a number in its name), that the sound of the OPA2227 improved greatly by running the Go-Vibe at 18v (as distinguished from 9v). I did NOT, however, find the sound of the AD8620 in the Go-Vibe to benefit nearly as much from running it at 18v. In my estimation, the improvement was not worth the inconvenience of running my Go-Vibe at 18v. But, for the OPA2227, in my estimation, the improvement was WELL worth the inconvenience of running the Go-Vibe at 18v. ( In my case, it required leaving the Go-Vibe battery door open and snapping on a 9v battery snap connected to two 9v batteries in series - three 9v battery snaps connected together ). Fewtch has also communicated with me that, in an original "Vibe" amp, he preferred the sound of the AD8620 at lower, rather than higher voltage as well. YMMV, of course.

Just thought I'd share some experiences with Go-Vibe AD8620 opamp rolling (and input voltage), in case you might find it useful. It seems to fit into the discussion of amps to use with the HD580.

I got the 600 grills for mine too. Can't say they made a huge sound difference, but they look significantly classier minus the grey.

Lol, they only had one in stock when I ordered and it took 3 weeks to get another one! It took the long way, from Germany to America to England...