[SpoonMan]

Quote:

Originally posted by dkswong I CAN'T believe you are driving the HD590 with your iPod... It's the same as saying the Sonus Faber speakers suck on the Aiwa mini system. Audiophile quality equipment should sound poor on poor system. That's what make them truly fine equipment. There are guys out there who are SO MUCH used to sound coloration and bloat boomy bass that they cannot really appreciate the refinement of nicer equipment. It's sometimes impossible to recommend anything really good to certain people. They will not and they cannot appreciate the good in it. They just don't get it.

Though I do agree the better system = better sound...up to a point, I wouldn't say that the iPod is really that poor a source. With good quality mp3's an iPod sounds quite good to my ears. I'm not a fan of sound coloration and bloated bass on anything other then the odd dance track makes me sick to my stomach, and I've never heard bloated bass on my pod....except for the one time when I was playing around with the EQ settings.

I do agree on the second point though....some people are much better off with a cheapy pair of phones. My little brother uses a pair of sony street style phones, and has no problems with them what so ever, I can't even listen to them for a few seconds without feeling squeamish. He's all about bass, which doesn't seem to be rare these days, I often find the sub knob on my Klipsch pm5.1's turned up past 7 or 8 after he's been listening to them.

 

[psyco1]

You need to let any phone burn in before making any decisions about it IMO. And this one is one that really needs a good burn. It seemed for me like it needed 100 hours before it finally turned the corner, before then the bass wasn't very good, the treble was grainy and somewhat harsh and it was like looking through opaque glass instead of optical. Now they're

Plug it in to the comp and let play for a few days straight and then realize that the ipod isn't a great source. It's ok and should have enough power to run them adequately, just not optimally like a decent amp and good cdp would.

I found that the Equinox cable made a difference too.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

psyco1
HI: I agree with all that you said. I burned in my 590s fore 100 hours plus and also use a headsave ULTRA amp to get the 590s to sound very good indeed. I think any source is good but a amp is a must. The 590s are a great can and are a great headphone when a amp is used.

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally posted by 0roo0roo anyone compare a triport to a 497? those only run 47bux on amazon right now, and theres a 5 dollar rebate

If the Senn 497 is similar to the 495 which they replaced (and going by HeadRoom they are) they are easily better than the triports which I heard at my local BestBuy. Think of them as a baby Senn 580 and you won't be too far off.

 

[blessingx]

Yeah, I think the Triports are actually okay (and certainly one of the more comfortable phones out there), but the price (always the same) places them against phones like the HD590, and that's why they deserve heavy criticism. If they were $60-$80, I'd probably have a pair, but even in this price range they are beat by the V6, HD497, SR60/80, and my fave the CD780 (all but V6 open though).

I also agree that the 590s are a little harder to drive than their impedance indicates. I've even driven a pair of 580s temporarily straight off an iPod, and found them more satisfying at max volume. Neither were ideal, but I wouldn't go by just impedance.

 

[cadobhuk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lazyiesat 6. Can't believe on how HUGE this thing is, instead I can just get a helmet! I'm trying to listen to a MUSIC, not doing some experiment on my brain.

Try putting some cd3000s on,after that you wont believe how tiny hd590 is!

 

[tom hankins]

Your opinion on what you hear with your gear and your music is the ONLY one that counts. If you think they suck, they suck. Send them back and try another phone, or keep what you have.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

Tom,

Your sig is funny as hell. I cracked up for 5 minutes!

Tre

 

[tortie]

Originally posted by Lazyiesat

1. My 590 foam pad is much much BULKIER than my slim LEATHER Tripod pad.

Its foam is thicker, not bulkier. It's designed that way to be more comfortable.

2. Why on earth you call this a headphone when the person next to you can hear as loud as what you hear inside the rig. Instead, why dont you get a huge speaker!

It's called an open headphone. Anything that is "a receiver, as for a telephone, radio, or stereo, held to the ear by a headband" is a headphone, So the 590 can and should be called a headphone...

3. I've seen some of you saying that triport made out of a cheap plastic?
Well at least triport has some metal on its headband compare to this ALL plastic 590 band!

The 590s are made of plastic not because it is cheaply made, but it was designed to be light.

4. 590 with deep bass? Yeah right! my triport has a deeper bass than this 590.

Out of your Ipod, you may be right...

5. I watch this Terminator3 DVD with 590, after 30 min.. my ear HURTS!!

What are you talking about?!

I expect too much on how good is 590. When the fact that I hear no differences, whatsoever than my triport.

Bottom line. I see no improvement from my purchase, that's what piss me off the most. IMHO 590 is a total crap for the money. for $230, I can get myself triport with some change.

You may be one of the first here to declare a bose product having a better value for money against a Senn. But If you love the sound your triport, dont change it. Its your opinion that really counts, so please return that damn ugly and uncomfortable 590!!!!

 

[Geek]

It seems 95% of your complaints regarding the HD590 were that they were "big," "ugly," "cumbersome," "weird," and so on.

In other words, you don't really seem to care much about the actual sound quality. What do you think about the midrange? The treble? The impact? What about the detail? What about balance, or bass extension versus impact, slam? Which headphone is the most exciting to listen to? Which headphone is driven more loudly? Which headphone sounds brighter, or more neutral, or darker? What are your musical preferences?

The bose headphone I have heard, and it sounds good. . . for a headphone about a fifth of its price. I haven't heard the HD590 though.

My advice to you is perhaps reevaluate what you look for in audio. You're paying WAY WAY WAY too much attention to looks and "cool" factor, which in audiophile land such as head-fi is secondary to sound quality. Sure, we like good-looking equipment, but only if it sounds good to begin with.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[Geek]

Oh, yes, one more thing. What source are you running the HD590s / boses through? What dedicated headphone amplifier, if any, do you use? Are you using one that's just built-in to your receiver / stereo?

That's another problem. The HD590s need at least a decent level of quality in your source / amp chain. If you use them with, say, 160k .mp3s or below, on a portable player, with no dedicated amp, they are of high enough fidelity to reveal the flaws in your setup. This may be a problem but I need to know more information.

You may consider returning the HD590 and buying the HD580, which is a more relaxed headphone, but you'll definitely need an amp to drive it. Also consider the sennheiser PX100 - while they're tiny, they sounded better than the Bose quietcomforts at $40.00.

Also, none of these headphones isolate. They're "open grille" headphones, because resonances leak out into the ambient atmosphere. Closed headphones have more resonances and thus less fidelity.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[D-EJ915]

Okay, about the headband thing, believe me...the HD590's headband is far stronger, I've seen about 4 bose headphones with broken headbands, and "they've got metal", it doesn't make them good.

 

[lindrone]

What it comes down to.. it might just be the type of music you're listening to and what you're atuned to hear. Triport is known for being really, really strong on bass, so if you love bass, that might be the answer for you.

Triport does not have the mid-range and high-end resolution to compare with the HD590. Even with proper amount of burn-in, HD590 will not give you the boomy, super boomy, undefined, muffled bass of the tri-port.

But, you know, if that's what you like, that's what you like. It's just like how I always find it fascinating that kids driving rice rockets need 3 subwoofer in their car so they can feel the whole car rumble and shake when they drive... maybe to muffle out the creaking of their engine so they don't have to consciously notice that their engine's slowly falling apart due to that new stage 3 turbo they installed without proper cooling.

 

[D-EJ915]

Quote:

need 3 subwoofer in their car so they can feel the whole car rumble and shake when they drive

You obviously don't know how awesome that feeling is, it gets really annoying, but for some major stress relief...it works wonders. (and in your room too).

 

[lindrone]

LOL... I've sat in cars like that.. I didn't find it enjoyable at all. I guess it works well in an audio-therapy sort of way. However, it wouldn't be my preferred method of listening to music, I want a little more accurate presentation than that. "Little" being a major understatement

However, it works very, very well as a butt-shakin' back breakin' cheap massage... Even beats those free "trial" sessions at Brookstone