HD580 advice

Nov 29, 2007 at 3:05 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 15

ronnielee54

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I have had the oppritunity to audition these cans twice. Once unamped out of ipod and once with an iBasso P1. Was dissapointed both times. Knew I would be with them unamped. Not quite as dissapointed with them out of the P-1 but something was still lacking. Have since upgraded to AE-2 and was wondering if this amp would be more suited for them (no longer have cans avilable for auditioning). Have found a couple of really good deals on used ones (around 120 USD shipped). Not much to loose and could always resell if I didn't like results. Would be used mostly for Blues or older Rock (no metal).
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 3:23 PM Post #2 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnielee54 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have had the oppritunity to audition these cans twice. Once unamped out of ipod and once with an iBasso P1. Was dissapointed both times. Knew I would be with them unamped. Not quite as dissapointed with them out of the P-1 but something was still lacking. Have since upgraded to AE-2 and was wondering if this amp would be more suited for them (no longer have cans avilable for auditioning). Have found a couple of really good deals on used ones (around 120 USD shipped). Not much to loose and could always resell if I didn't like results. Would be used mostly for Blues or older Rock (no metal).


HD-580 are very good with big orchestra works, I listen chamber music most of the time, they are still good but did not impress me. I use tube amp to drive them by the way.
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 3:32 PM Post #3 of 15
Wow. Interesting. You don't see too many people NOT liking the 580s on this site. I got some AKG 240s and am pretty happy with them, but I was thinking about blindly buying a pair of 580s and getting rid of the 240s because of the overwhelming positive reviews for them. Maybe not now. Exactly what didn't you like about the 580s?
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 7:24 PM Post #6 of 15
They just didn't have that WOW factor. Just sounded okay. When I upgraded to the AE-2, I was able to detect a noticble improvement in the sound quality of my ATH-ES7's and my PX100's even seemed to sound a little better. Was wondering if maybe the iBasso was the weak link when I last auditioned the HD580's.
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 7:31 PM Post #7 of 15
No, HD580 is smooth and laidback can. It isnt meant to have WOW effect in the way you probaply expected. They are "sit back, close your eyes and let the music flow around you" cans, stuff that really works with classical music and such.
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:26 PM Post #8 of 15
Maybe WOW was a wrong way to describe what I was expecting. They did sound good, but I guess I was expecting much more. PX100's were less than 20% the price of HD580's (this guy was a little high on his price), and they were not outperformed that much by the HD580's IMO.
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:28 PM Post #9 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnielee54 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Maybe WOW was a wrong way to describe what I was expecting. They did sound good, but I guess I was expecting much more. PX100's were less than 20% the price of HD580's (this guy was a little high on his price), and they were not outperformed that much by the HD580's IMO.


Well THAT is an odd thing indeed. I didn't even think the two headphones were in the same league...
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:33 PM Post #10 of 15
They aren't. That is the point I am trying to get across. For the substantial price difference in the 2, I was not noticing a substantial difference in SQ. Is it because the P-1 was not a proper amp to realize the true potntial of the 580's?
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:37 PM Post #11 of 15
Consider you source and amp. The 580s were/are reference-type headphones. If you feed them non-reference mp3s (for example only), a mediocre at best amp, etc. they will sound okay, but will not be the headphones that you've heard about. Give them a decent dedicated cdp or dac and lossless quality, and a good amp, they will start sounding as they were designed to sound. Up that some more, and you get more.

You may end up preferring a different sound, but I don't think you've really heard them yet. The AE-2 is a really nice portable amp. It's not the best choice for 580s, but should give you a better idea of whether you like them or not. Worst case scenario is that you really don't like them, but you should have no problem selling them to someone who will.
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 10:25 PM Post #12 of 15
The HD580's are my favorite for classical, operas, and vocals. It does not work that well off the P1 but sings rather nicely with my LD Micro Tube. The HD580's are not as impactful as the PX100's and the ES7's, since the sound is smooth and the level of detail and texture is that much better when amped properly. Maybe you like sound with a little impact or slam to it?
 
Nov 29, 2007 at 10:27 PM Post #13 of 15
Try them out with your new amp and see how they sound. More so than most other headphones, the HD580/600/650 line will scale up with your equipment. To really get the best out of the 580s you'd need a nice tube amp though, not a portable solid state. Still, the 580s should be a significant step up over the PX100s with your new amp and a decent source.
 
Nov 30, 2007 at 2:13 AM Post #14 of 15
Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnielee54 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
They aren't. That is the point I am trying to get across. For the substantial price difference in the 2, I was not noticing a substantial difference in SQ. Is it because the P-1 was not a proper amp to realize the true potntial of the 580's?


My comment was referring to SQ leagues, not price/rank in the heirarchy. Subjectivity at its finest
tongue.gif
 

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