[nae45ro]

Do u guys think the hd's 580 are the best 150-200$ choice if i don't want to use a dedicated amplifier(i'll use my stereo amp).The source will be an onkio md 2521.My preferate kind of music is dance and eurodance and i'll use the headphones only at home.What do u think?Do u have other sugestions?

 

[johanneswolfgang]

For dance and other kinds of music requiring an extra amount of snap, bang, and excitement, but enough natural ambience and reproduction, the Grados are unparalleled price/performance wise. The widely trusted Grado Sr-60s are a very fine fit for your bill with about half of the price of the hd580 Senns.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

nae45ro
HI: For me the 580s are the very best cans for the money and with the equinox replacement cable are the very best that I have ever heard. Now keep in mind this is just my preferance and opinion. And there are a lot of cans that I have not heard. So I am not saying that the 580s are the best cans out there. I am only saying that for me they are the very best that I have ever heard or owned. I think that headphones are a personal thing for each person and it all comes down to what can you afford to get and do you really like what you get if so then that is the best headphone for you. A lot of members have many great cans and like most of them for different music and different moods and at any time anyone of them is the best cans at the time. To sume up yes the 580s are great cans among many other great cans.

 

[johanneswolfgang]

In addition to the better suited sound of the SR60s for your musical taste - the grados are much more bright, bouncy, quick and just more exciting than the Sennheiser HD580s and most other Sennheisers. The HD580s are great headphones in themselves, but for reproducing a different category of music altogether - IMO. The HD580s have a far more refined, reserved, yet elegant sound that matches ideally with classical music, and also they have a more distant sound than the Grado line. But for upfront, high impact, highly exciting sound, Grados are the easy choice, especially considering price and performance.

And in the end you will absolutely need a pretty good amp to drive the HD580s to any degree that the SR60s or any other grado can be driven to good sound. The HD580s without a decent amp can sound quite poor, especially in comparison to the SR60s without an amp. If you go with the HD580s you would end up spending near to $250 and up because you will be needing the amp. But with the SR60s you would probably spend closer to $150 with an amp to deliver even better more explosive sound - especially for your taste of music.

If you can find a store near you with both phones, listen and compare for yourself, the grados will be more suitable for your needs.


Best wishes

 

[pedxing]

If you are not going to upgrade to a headphone amp in the future, get the Grados.

 

[bifcake]

If you're not going to use an amp, the 580's are not the best choice. The 580's really come alive with a good amp. It's not that they sound bad without an amp, it's that they don't sound as good as they do with an amp. It's like having a canary in a cage. If you do use an amp, I think the 580's are terrific and are probably the best bang for the buck out there.

If you absolutely insist on using your headphones without an amp, you may want to look into the HD-590's along with the other offerings mentioned by other posts. The 590's are low impedence phones, so they can be driven by a portable. Additionally, they're brighter and snappier in the bass than the 580's. You might like them quite a bit. I find the 580's much more accurate and more refined, smoother and more musical. Alas, once again, they need an amp.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

nae45ro
When I first got my 580s I used them right out of my srereo amp headphone jack and they sounded great.

 

[prisoner #6]

Since not all stereo amps are alike, it's kind of tough to answer your question in the abstract. Some integrated amps and stereo receivers do allright with the HD580s, but others not so well.

Before I got my Creek OBH-11, I was using the headphone jack from my AMC 3025a integrated, and the Senns sounded *very* good from that setup. The Creek offered an incremental increase in sound quality, but I wouldn't hesitate to say that with the appropriate integrated amp, you'll get very good results with the HD580. Maybe 90% of what you'd get from an entry-level dedicated amp like the Creek or Little.

Hope this helps--good luck.

 

[bifcake]

Quote:

Originally posted by prisoner #6 Since not all stereo amps are alike, it's kind of tough to answer your question in the abstract. Some integrated amps and stereo receivers do allright with the HD580s, but others not so well. Before I got my Creek OBH-11, I was using the headphone jack from my AMC 3025a integrated, and the Senns sounded *very* good from that setup. The Creek offered an incremental increase in sound quality, but I wouldn't hesitate to say that with the appropriate integrated amp, you'll get very good results with the HD580. Maybe 90% of what you'd get from an entry-level dedicated amp like the Creek or Little. Hope this helps--good luck.

I have the Denon AVR-5700 receiver. When I use the receiver's headphone output, the phones sound good. However, I do get fatigued fairly quickly. When I use my Creek OBH-11 amp, it's a whole different world. The phones sound more refined, I don't get fatigued or get a headache. It's like a difference between mid-fi and hi-fi. The Denon receiver is not a cheap receiver, and yet a $150 headphone amp makes a big difference. It seems to me that if you're going to spend that kind of money on a set of headphones, you may as well spend an extra $150 and get a dedicated amp. I think that no matter how good your headphone jack is, the dedicated amp is going to be better. The question is: how much better? I guess that depends on how critical you are and how good your ears are. Personally, I have NO regrets about spending the money for a dedicated amp.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

HI ALL:
When I used my srereo amp all was well. Then I got the supreme amp that cost 450.00 and then 4 ics that cost 170.00 so for over 600.00 the sound is no way 600.00 better that my stereo amp and I would sell my supreme amp and ics in a flash and just use my srereo amp jack out and be very happy.

 

[bifcake]

I wouldn't spend $600 either because the sound improvements are not $600 better. However, I would spend $200 and consider that money well spent. I think that's about when you start hitting the point of diminishing returns unless you have high end source components.

 

[dhwilkin]

I would not get the 580 for mostly dance music, I'd get the Koss KSC-35. The 580 seems too laid-back to me for that music style w/o a dedicated amp, though others disagree. Haven't heard the Grados, but they would probably be a better choice as well.

 

[darkclouds]

Get a used pair of Grado SR325 if you can, otherwise, get a new pair of 225.