A little disappointed with Sennheiser HD 580

Aug 15, 2004 at 11:18 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 29

amol

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I just recieved the sennheiser HD 580s a couple of days back.
first of all i have used the cans for around 10-12 hours or so.

The problem is that i dont like the bass on these. Its kinda weak, the philips HP 890s gave a better bass impact and it feels like having a subwoofer inside the headphones with the 890s. will the bass improve over time ?
besides that i dont see there is a HUGE leap on the sound quailty with the 580s. There are some differences, but they are not easily discernible switching over from the 890s to the senns. In fact at times i feel that the 890s give a more enjoyable experience compared to the senns.I expected a huge boost in sound quality over the 890s, which i dont see. Infact i am finding it really hard to notice the differences between these two headphones.

The other problem i am facing is with the comfort issue, my ears start aching after 10 mintues or so using these headphones, they grip the head too tightly.

Are there any solutions ? i am getting a little down spending the kind of money on these headphones and not getting what i really expected.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 11:27 AM Post #3 of 29
I wouldn't be to concerned, it's a preference thing. I know of at least one other member that preferred the 890's to the Senns as well.

I think your only error may have been expecting there to be a big difference between the two. From what I read in the past I got the impression the two have similar sonic signatures so if your looking for a bigger difference in sound I would say look into one of the headphones that are supposed to be on the opposite end of the spectrum.

As for the comfort I can relate. I don't find them uncomfortable per se but the grip did bother me and they did itch after awhile. By contrast I find my Grado's to be the most comfortable headphones I've used to date which seems to go against the grain of popular opinion.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 11:29 AM Post #4 of 29
I have noticed from my experience that there seems to be a point where music will not sound any better until the source and/or amp is changed. I'm happy with my source and amp and have realised that there would be no point getting into the high end headphones because they would only sound similar to what I already have due to my source being AAC files and they may even make my music less enjoyable due to exposing the weaknesses of the source. So in my case I would need a DAC to improve the sound, not new headphones. The HD 580's, from what I have read at head-fi have great potential usually lost in the source and amp. I would be begin by looking at your source and making sure the music path is starting from a good source, then follow the path to the headphone amp before giving up on your headphones.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 11:48 AM Post #5 of 29
i do find that HD580 is too tight to be comfortable for a long time too.
for a headphone you need something that is comfortable... whats the point of having a great sounding headphone when your ears will hurt in 30 minutes ?
even worse in your case, 10 minutes ?
i also think that tight headphones dont only hurt your ears, they also give you headache..

PS: if you want subwoofer headphone ...ummm....*cough...DT 770 ..cough....*
biggrin.gif
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 12:11 PM Post #6 of 29
In the comfort issue, you can put the 580s in-between a couple of thick books overnight, it should lessen the tight grip that you feel. Leave it that way for a couple more days if you feel the tightness is still there after the first night. Just dont use books that are too thick as the can may be overextended.

In the sound issue, you might just not like the 580 sound. Or the 580s just does not match well with your current equipment. The resulting sound that you hear is based on the total mix of all your components, not one.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 12:28 PM Post #7 of 29
My guess is that it's got something to do with your amp. I've heard the 580's called a lot of things, but bass-weak is not one of them.

I see where the impedance of the Philips is 32 ohms. They would be a lot easier to drive than the Senns, which would explain a lot. What are you using as an amp?
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 12:32 PM Post #8 of 29
The HP890's are a lot more fun than the HD-580's and their bass it pretty deep compared to the 580.

Why not get a refund on the 580 and just keep the 890?

Pinkie.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 1:43 PM Post #9 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by amol
The other problem i am facing is with the comfort issue, my ears start aching after 10 mintues or so using these headphones, they grip the head too tightly.


Did you try bending back the headband to make them looser? Should help.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 2:11 PM Post #10 of 29
What source / what amp ??

Bass is VERy source and amp dependant. I get "decent" bass with my cheapo sony but when I tried the HD-580 with a Philips 963SA I was wowed...and wowed even more when I tried it with a Shanling...and when I tried it with my CD player as transport and the Ack! Dack! as the source!!

Amp - what amp? tubes go very well with this headphone.

The difference between the HD-580 and any other headphone in that range is that it gets better as the rest of your gear improves. Others tend to stagnate inspite of surrounding improvements.

Oh - and for those who posted here - a refund is not an option for amol as I transported the headphones to India for him. I bought them from Audio Advisor more than 2 months back.

Cheers!
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 2:17 PM Post #11 of 29
You don't like the Senn house sound, no big deal and you are by no means alone. I had the 600 and would take earbuds over those any day. They aren't bad but they aren't anywhere near my taste either. If distant and dark aren't what you are looking for you won't be happy with the 580, ever. Sounds like you want a more Beyer type sound to me.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 4:23 PM Post #12 of 29
Good post Solude.

I myself, as much as I wanted to... couldn't live with the Sennheiser sound, once i'd heard (imo) better cans (i.e. Grado)

elrod-tom...

The Senn HD580 are definetly bass light / weak when compared to the HP890, which as skewed very much to the heavier side of neutral (read that as boomy)... so, yes - I would agree in direct comparison that the Senns would be bass light
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Aug 15, 2004 at 5:32 PM Post #13 of 29
you want bass? i hear dt770 might be...bassy.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 5:33 PM Post #14 of 29
Since returning it isn't possible, switch to them for a while and don't use the 890's. Try this for a week or two. This will do two things, physical burn-in as well as psycological burn-in. Then see if you can go back to the 890. If after 2 weeks with only the 580 sound you still prefer the 890 sound, well, you can try upgrading sources or you can try selling them to a friend. They certainly aren't a bad pair of headphones and I'm sure somebody will enjoy them.
 
Aug 15, 2004 at 8:00 PM Post #15 of 29
Quote:

Originally Posted by 3lusiv3
I'm happy with my source and amp and have realised that there would be no point getting into the high end headphones because they would only sound similar to what I already have due to my source being AAC files and they may even make my music less enjoyable due to exposing the weaknesses of the source. So in my case I would need a DAC to improve the sound, not new headphones.


This certainly seems to be a popular opinion among head-fiers. But do you mean "similar" literally? My pair of Stax sounds entirely different from my HD600s no matter what I listen to, even MP3s.

Amol, take it easy. Usually nothing feels initially as good as we expect. You just might be going through the "oh-my-god-what-have-I-done" phase (been there myself and so have most audiophiles, I think!).

Give your new headphones some time, a few weeks perhaps. Do not listen to your old phones during this time. At least it will be an interesting learning experience.



Regards,

L.
 

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