[Iced]

First of all, I listen to Metal and Rock so the answer should be easy...but its not. I have a koss ksc50, sennheiser pc150 and a little dot micro+. I love ksc50 but for home use, pc150 is both more comfortable and sound quality seems better. I can say that the pc150 is a colored phone. Darker sound but deep bass and mids seem good also.
I am using this headphone for 2 years and now I want to buy a better one. I loved the sound of sennheiser ( I also love my ksc50's sound) and hd580 was my dream as it was the cheapest sennheiser high end phone. With the dropped price, hd580 is in my affordable list now.
When I read the reviews about hd580 for metal and rock everyone recommends grado/alessandro line. And metal is like the only thing that I listen. Hd 580 feels so right for the price but the reviews make worried.
The detachable cable is a plus for me also, as the most problematic part of a headphone for me is generally the cable. For long time use hd580 seems better for me as I live in Europe and if something happens to the cable I can just buy a new one. On the other hand, I have to send Grado/Alessandro headphones back if something happens to the cable or some other part. Btw, there is no local grado seller where I live so I can buy sr60 or sr80 online and also MS1 is another phone in my price range.

Will it really be a bad choice to buy hd580 for metal and rock?

Thank you

 

[MaZa]

I say every Sennheiser is bad choice for metal, except Funeral Doom and similar, which actually sounds excellent with Senns warm and distant soundsignature, the atmosphere is impressive with those.

Grado is THE metal headphone for me. Bass depth extension leaves something to be desired of, (not important for metal anyway) but bass impact is there and bass guitars have very healthy grunt. Also speed of bass is impressive, doesnt blur out even in fastest double bass mayhem. Also if you feel you need more bass, they respond EQing extremely well. But its the mids and highs that makes Grado so great for metal, guitars are very realistically vibrant and cymbals have lively clash and so on. Overall energic sound.

I like Senns more as classical music can. Warm, soothing, large soundstage and overall relaxing. But for metal, their warm bass is bit too blurry, and veiled highs are very unrealistic for what metal sounds like in live. Also relaxed sound takes the energy and final bite away from metal.


However, some ears DO pick the aggressive sound of Grados as piercing. Mainly because default bowl pads (except in SR-60) are not for everyone.
However, Alessandro MS-1 headphone are safe to buy blindly. They have some of Grados rocking sound and are not piercing, but unfortunately also not as exciting, but in the other hand helluva more versatile than normal Grado.



Also a final note, Sennheisers are polar opposite of Grados in about every way. Warm and dark opposed to energic and bright, relaxed opposed to aggressive, wide and distant opposed to intimate and headbanging. Difference is so easy to hear when you have ones side by side.

 

[Dimitris]

I own Senns and currently trying some Grados. If you need one phone to listen to Rock and Metal then Grados is the way to go.

 

[reivaj]

580 for metal? i heard the 595 is okay at metal but the 580 being more laid back hrmmmm.... sennheiser has this distant sound and i dont like how it goes with rock! it just makes me feel like i am away from the fun.

 

[MaZa]

HD595 (which i have) is supposed to be brightest of all Sennheisers, and even that is way too dark and warm for metal.

 

[Iced]

Thanks for the replies,
MaZa can you compare the highs of the ksc75 and grado? Ksc50 used to be bright for me but it feels good now.

 

[laxx]

i feel the same. my 595's are a bore with metal. i tried a set of grados during the NY meet and it was much better. =T

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iced /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the replies, MaZa can you compare the highs of the ksc75 and grado? Ksc50 used to be bright for me but it feels good now.

Quite similar actually. Grados are tad more harsher and lively. If you can handle KSC75 (same drivers as KSC50 i presume?), Grados shouldnt bring to much trouble, atleast after getting used to them. Of course, im speaking from my experience. Everyones ears are different.

 

[kramer5150]

I prefer Grados, although a MODDED 580 can do MUCH better than a stock one.

I for one don't like the 580 (in any from) with a warm tube amp, which the LDII+ is supposed to be. IMHO the 580 sounds best with aggressive SS amps.

The only metal I really like with the HD580 is Yngwie. I dont know why??... his tunes just sound better with an open soundstage type can.

 

[Arainach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iced /img/forum/go_quote.gif First of all, I listen to Metal and Rock so the answer should be easy...but its not. I have a koss ksc50, sennheiser pc150 and a little dot micro+. I love ksc50 but for home use, pc150 is both more comfortable and sound quality seems better. I can say that the pc150 is a colored phone. Darker sound but deep bass and mids seem good also. I am using this headphone for 2 years and now I want to buy a better one. I loved the sound of sennheiser ( I also love my ksc50's sound) and hd580 was my dream as it was the cheapest sennheiser high end phone. With the dropped price, hd580 is in my affordable list now. When I read the reviews about hd580 for metal and rock everyone recommends grado/alessandro line. And metal is like the only thing that I listen. Hd 580 feels so right for the price but the reviews make worried. The detachable cable is a plus for me also, as the most problematic part of a headphone for me is generally the cable. For long time use hd580 seems better for me as I live in Europe and if something happens to the cable I can just buy a new one. On the other hand, I have to send Grado/Alessandro headphones back if something happens to the cable or some other part. Btw, there is no local grado seller where I live so I can buy sr60 or sr80 online and also MS1 is another phone in my price range. Will it really be a bad choice to buy hd580 for metal and rock? Thank you

Get both. Start with one and then go to the other. I used my 580s for Rock for over a year and never regretted a thing. I eventually got a pair of SR-60 and then upgraded to my current SR-225, but I still love the HD-580.

The Grado Sound is nice, especially for Rock and Metal, no doubt, but once you hear true soundstage you'll never go back. I see that you're looking at the 580 vs. the SR-60/80/MS-1. Having heard the SR-60 and MS-1, I can safely say that the 580 beat them across the board in every single Genre IF you properly amp them. If you don't intend to be buying an amp in the near future, I'd get the MS-1. Later on, buy a decent amp (Pimetas provide a lot of juice for the money), and then add a pair of HD580/600 down the road. If you can see yourself buying an amp in the next six months to year or so, I'd be tempted to go with the 580 - they don't sound bad unamped (at least not until you hear them amped), but without amplification the Grados give a much more lively sound.

 

[Iced]

I have a ldm+ and I know that its impossible to drive the hd580s for 100% with it. But if I buy a hd580 and use ldm+ for a period of time, how effective can it be until I upgrade to a better amp?

 

[jpr703]

Gotta get Grados if you wanna rock!

 

[DarkWolf]

I've owned HD590, which I think you'd like better than 580 anyway, for a long time. I just recieved my second hand 325i tonight when I got home from work.

I was going to write my impresions, but it terned into a full review... Which I want to start in my own thread! I'll link to it here for you ass soon as I start it.

*Here's the link to me review. http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=210741

 

[Iced]

Thanks DarkWolf, I am looking forward for your full review.

 

[SnoopyRocks]

HeadFi conventional wisdom isn't always right. In this case, IMO, the presumption that Grado is much better Sennheiser for rock/metal is greatly exagerated.

Because I followed the flock, I went through the following progression MS1 to 325i to 325i w/ cpads to HD600. (I still have all of them.) Almost exclusively I use my HD600 for listening that primarily consists of metal / hard rock. In retrospect, I regret not getting HD580 in the first place when choosing between MS1 and HD580. My issues with Grado revolve around comfort (cpads fix this) and listening fatigue.

Between low end Grado (e.g. SR80, Ms1) and HD580, I recommend the HD580 hands down (even for metal). Others will disagree.