[harrydog]

I'm new here, so be gentle.
I auditioned the HD580's against the Grado SR125's and preferred the Sennheisers. The Grados were fatiguing to me after awhile. The SR325's might have been a better comparison, but I think they're probably close enough to the SR125's that I would still have preferred the HD580's.
My question is reagrding the HD600 and how it compares. There is no way I can listen to them locally.
I realize this subject has been discussed many, many times - I think I've read every post on the subject - but there still seems to be no clear concensus of opinion.
Some say the HD600 has better bass, others say the HD580 does. Some like the 600 better some the 580.
When I think I'm ready to buy the 580's, someone else says the 600's are more detailed. When I decide on the 600's, someone says the 580's sound warmer with better bass. I don't know what to do.
I guess if they're this close in sound that the debate continues, either one would be a good choice. Still, I wish the better phones were more clear cut.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[wallijonn]

welcome to Head-Fi, Harry dog. Sorry about your wallet.

Just as you say that the sr325's are close enough to the sr125, so also are the hd580 close enough to the hd600. is the sr325 twice the headphone that the sr125 is? is the hd600 twice the headphone that the hd580 is? the hd580, at under $120, is an excellent entry level (for you) headphone. it may be awhile before you can appreciate the differences with the hd600, which goes for about $240. me, i'd buy the hd600 over the hd580 only because it looks prettier, but the pragmatist in me would say to buy the hd580 instead. what do you feel about the hd590?

 

[ooheadsoo]

The 600 is ultimately better, but the 580 is a fantastic value. The 600 are reported to have the slightest bit more detail and a tad better bass, but you actually need a lot of expensive equipment to hear the differences.

 

[raymondlin]

Hi welcome and hide you credit card now!!!!!

As been said above me (and many threads, do a search), the HD 600 is ulitmately better. but the price difference is quite a lot, it depends if you want to fork out the extra or plan to upgrade inthe future.

If you want 95% of the sound of the HD600 for about 2/3 of the money, get the HD580.

If you already plan on getting the HD 600, go for it now. it'll save you money in the long run. And it come in a nicer box.

 

[JahJahBinks]

The better your source, the bigger the difference. So if you listen to mainly to MP3, I guess the difference is hardly noticeable, am I right?

 

[harrydog]

Thanks for the replies.
My associated equipment is not the best, only OK. But I'll be replacing everything in my system, gradually, except the power amp and speakers, which don't matter anyway. Even so, I might be hard pressed to notice much difference between the two.
Whether I get the 580 or the 600, I can envision replacing the cables someday - I love to tweak things.
Only a very small part of me thinks I should get the 600's. Logic and common sense tell me to get the 580's, and that's most likely what I'll end up doing.
The best price I've seen is $154 but I don't know if it's a reputable place. $199 seems to be the common price, right?

 

[dave-g]

wow harrydog, your post was quite timely, I just logged on to do some research on this very subject. I currently own the 580's now and am very happy with them, however at $229 I can't help but wonder if I should go ahead and get the 600's for my home "reference" system as they seem to be a fair deal at that price.

As for the best price on the 580's newegg.com has just raised their price back to $199 so they are no longer the bargain king. pricegrabber is always a good place to start but didn't dig up any great bargains the other day for me...

dave-g

 

[ooheadsoo]

It's always an upgrade game with the senns, it seems. Upgrade the cables on the 580 and it is clearly better than the stock 600. Upgrade the cables on the 600 and it is again better than the 580. However, you will always be left with that initial price gap of $70-$120, which is said to "roughly equate" to about a 3-5% "improvement" in sound. It's all just about if that $70-$120 is worth that percentage of gain in "quality."

I'm pretty satisfied with my 580. They're excellent cans, with the foam insert mod. However, now that I'm in the headphone game, I plan on getting another set of cans that are even better suited for classical music and other varieties of music that frequently demand the reproduction of a large fine variety of timbres. Seems like AKG is a great way to go for that direction. As an entrylevel phone, the 580s are hard to beat. If you plan on moving on and up, my personal opinion of the 580 without actually hearing the 600 is that it's more than fine enough to get you started. However, if this headphone purchase will be your final purchase, the 600 may well be a very viable alternative.

 

[harrydog]

Quote:

Originally posted by dave-g at $229 I can't help but wonder if I should go ahead and get the 600's for my home "reference" system as they seem to be a fair deal at that price. dave-g

Where can I get them for $229? At that price the decision becomes easier!

 

[ooheadsoo]

I believe JandR.com is one of the stores that is offering the 580 around $150. They are very reputable.

 

[Symphony guy]

I just got my HD600s! Nice phones, they sounded a little better in the store. Do they need to be burned in? Oh - and for 229 including shipping on ebay. Hifforless.com

 

[Maxvla]

though i don't have good equipment i love my hd580s. bought them from newegg when they had them for 125.

if i could afford 600's you bet i would go for those. if you've got the money go with the 600s. you won't be dissapointed. they are the perennial kings.

 

[gswpete]

I have both now, the 600's have slighly deeper and more controled bass. It also has a slightly cleaner sound overall. And yes, you can hear the difference even with mp3's.

 

[Duncan]

The treble is the biggest difference between the two to my ears...

if the HD580s are a window into the sound, imagine the HD600s as having employed a window cleaner!

 

[dave-g]

Quote:

Originally posted by harrydog Where can I get them for $229? At that price the decision becomes easier!

harrydog, i saw them on ebay too and they are only $229 from hiforless.com but many places put them on special once in a while. keep an eye on newegg.com and j&r in nyc.

also, anyone heard the rumor about an hd700? is it for real? is it going to be in the hd580-hd600 range or are they getting wacky with the numbers?

dave-g