The Sennheiser HD580 Appreciation Thread - Page 9

Rega Ear for over two years now

I have been loving the 580´s for over two years with the Rega Ear amp. Great synergy!

Cheers!

True... the AD8620 sounds overly aggressive to my ears at higher voltages, in particular like it's projecting bass + treble too strongly (sounds a bit unnatural). At 9v I like the 8620 a lot, it isn't aggressive sounding at all and has a certain delicacy and refinement I really like.

Since the new Go-Vibe v4 will have a DC jack, will that be running at 12v when plugged in, and run into the aggressive sound a bit?

Im lisnening to my HD580 / mint (AD8620, 18V) as I type... and IMHO it sounds incredible. Big, fast and dynamic Very energetic sounds from a headphone thats very laid back. Dreamtheater "Awake", is the material of choice.

IMHO the Mint really doesn't get the credit it deserves on this forum as an entry level (cheap) amp.

Garrett

At 12v, I highly doubt it. It's more when you get up toward 24v (at least in a Vibe type amp) that it gets very aggressive sounding, and perhaps another opamp would be a better choice.

Always a possibility it could be placebo as well, since there's just no way to easily A/B two different voltages.

Don't know why, but I never liked the Mint amp I had for awhile. Could be due to those BUF634s, which some people dislike the sound of. I thought it sounded kind of strained, and I never got the sense of intimacy and musical involvement I do with the go-vibe.

BTW, to stay on topic... I recently gave my HD580 some (sadly rare now) jack time, and still like its sound quite a lot. I'm really torn whether to keep or sell it... could use the money and really don't need three high end cans, but they were my 'first love' in heaphones...

I just got my pair, currently running unamped from an AV710 with volume on high for everything. They sound good, clearer than my px100's, but not as warm and a MUCH different bass.

Once I get my amp from Fewtch (Jan. 4 according to UPS) I expect to have a totally different experence.

I got these with a foam mod and the hd600 grilles. I actually didn't expect them to sound this good, but to my suprise they were decent unamped. I've listened to them for probably 8hrs today.

I had the same experience as you.

Keep us posted when you get your amp, I'd like to know how large the SQ jump is.

Just to let you know, the AD8620 isn't particularly warm sounding with the home-vibe, and can even be somewhat aggressive at 24v. This may be a good thing with the fairly laid-back HD580, it's up to your ears. To my ears, the AD8066 is less sparkly and energetic, more neutral sounding. Definitely worth trying both, particularly if you find something about the AD8620 you dislike. I'm not a big fan of it at 24v with livelier cans like the DT880, but given the HD580s tendency to be sleepy (in a good way) you may like it a lot.

One thing about the Vibe amps, they are *very* dynamic and seem like a match made in heaven (in the entry level category) with Senns. IMO you made a good amp choice .

About a month ago, I ordered a few of the HD650 stock cables from Sennheiser. They arrived, and, when I installed one on the HD580 (pop off grille, unplug old cable, plug in new cable, pop grille back on) it is a very cost effective improvement. The sound with the HD650 cable is NOT a different sound (that's a good thing), but everything that I already like about the sound from the HD580 with the stock HD580 cable (soundstage coherence, involving detail, visceral texture, spectral richness, timbrel vividness and decay to die for) all come through more fully, abundantly and effortlessly with the stock HD650 cable. It's a similar improvement to the one I obtained from replacing the stock power cord on the DEQ2496 with one of the Volex 14AWG shielded cords (for $7). In fact, a few albums that I'd put on my "listen-to-with-Grados" list (Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval) are now on my "listen-to-with-HD580" list. The improved spectral richness and sonic imaging allows them to handle the shoegazey element of these albums for which I'd previously needed the Grados. The HD650 stock cable (at around $12-ish) is an appreciable step of progress in getting an ever-increasingly engaging sound from the HD580 and an amazing value.

I remember this being answered before but couldn't find it in a search - where did you call to order the 600 Grills?

Just received my PIMETA with AD8620/8610 op-amps and wanted to give some impressions.

I used these cans for about a month ampless and I was very impressed by the sound as these were my first step into quality headphones.

The PIMETA adds a little something to every song I listen to. The treble really sings now, which sounds amazing with jazz/classical. The bass had tightened up, which makes hip hop a blast to listen to. I also feel that the soundstage has widened. I'm really happy that everything sounds balanced now, there isn't too much of one thing (highs/lows), it's just pure music.

Overall, I'm really happy with this purchase and it's my first step into the amp world

Congratulations CJC on your new amp acquisition! Enjoy your new toy!

I just picked up a used HD-580 (100 hours or so) after having new ones in my possession twice. For some reason I was never able to commit to keeping them, but this deal came up and finally I just had to add them to my small collection. For around a hundred bucks this is a great headphone for the money, and it balances out my Grado HF-1 very nicely. I'm diggin' on Cat Power's new CD (The Greatest) on the Senns via my AE-1 right now and it's pretty damned bitchin'.