[bkelly]

Eagle Driver,

My favorite part of the Stephan Audio Arts Equinox setup is that you can get the cable in any length you want and I think with two different outer coverings. It is very flexible.





Best
Brian

 

[Geist]

Quote:

Originally posted by bkelly The second was an overall improvement in the midrange where it got bigger and vioices seemed like the center of the recoding and the bass and treble were just oustside color as they should be.

Perfect! Thank you fyrfytrhoges and bkelly, this is exactly what I was looking for. The one real (minor, IMO) problem I had with the 590's was a very slight "hollowness" to the sound. Very detailed and accurate (moreso than the 600's), but slightly lacking in the midrange. It sounds like, from your responses, that the cables may fix this.

It'll be about a month or so (damn student budget!

) before I can order them but I have definately made up my mind.

Thanks again, guys! Hopefully others will notice this thread and dare to try something other then the beloved 600's!

PS: fyrfytrhoges nice choice of music! Radiohead is one of my favourite bands.

 

[bkelly]

Geist,

More and more I am begining to think that the Stephan Audio Arts cable is a major part of the sound I enjoy from me 590's. Eagle Driver has also complained about the mid-range on his 590's (I even think he used the same "hollow" term at one point) but I swear I have never heard anything like that from mine. Hopefully "fyrfytrhodges" will comment on this area also.

Even though I have a nice amp (Melos SHA-1) my dream is to get a beautiful, luscious sounding tube amp for my 590's just to hear the mid-range on these phones in all their audiophile glory.

I'm with you on these phones. Everyone should audition them. Fact is, everyone should own a pair. I have said in other threads that the 590 is sonically positioned midway between the 600 and the Grados making them very easy to fall in love with and if you only owned one headphone this could easlily be the one just for that reason. I like them both but if I had to decide between keeping my 590 or my 600 I think you know which one it would be. In the meantime, I am keeping both of them with no plans to get rid of either one.

Keep in touch.






Best
Brian

 

[Taphil]

I used the term "hollow" as well. On good recordings, vocals are extremely withdrawn and distant while the highs are detailed and sometimes ear-piercing and drown out the vocals to the point where it's not listenable. On poor recordings with muddy bass and no highs or with muddy bass and too much highs, the 590 with the stock cable do pretty well.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by bkelly I've taken so much heat at Head-Fi about my opinions on this that one moderator suggested I might be unsuitable for membership at Head-Fi.

For the record, no moderator has ever questioned bkelly's "suitability" for Head-Fi membership based on his opinion of the HD 590.

Quote:

This thread should really be one the Headphone thread.

The thread discusses a cable upgrade; the cable forum is the appropriate place for it.

 

[bkelly]

Taphil,

It's hard to say what is going on here. The more common complaint about the 590's is how forward it is which to me is the absolute opposite of "hollow". I know many people feel that the META-42 will really wake up the 600's so it is possible that it may exagerrate the highs on the 590's which don't need the highs emphasized at all and that would explain that but the hollow sound is harder to pin point.

Other than that, it is hard to figure what is going on here. The typical hollow sound can often indicate phase problems but where that would be coming from I don't know. Is the META-42 sensitive to both low and high impedance phones or does the design have a preference? I know it is supposed to be one hell of an amp for the 600's but it may not be the best choice for the 590's which as you know sound different. It will be interesting to see your comments when you change over to the Stephan Audio Arts cable.

Keep in touch.





Best
Brian

 

[Taphil]

It really depends on the recordings. For me anyway, it's the recording that makes all the difference for judging the 590's. I'll give examples when I can sit down for a few hours and compare the stock and Equinox cable (thanks again!), and describe better what I mean. The instruments jump out, but the vocals/singing gets pushed way back, which is my biggest complaint. With such recordings, the 600's sound like I'm in the recording studio with the band or at a small club/venue (which is what I want), whereas on the 590 it sounds like I'm in a big 20,000 seat arena listening to the band, where I can just hear the highs and lows, while the mids and vocals are overwhelmed by the two extremes. This is basically what I mean by hollow.

The"hollow" sound is pretty much prevalent on the META42 or directly connected to my iPod or PCDP. I don't think it's the META42 that's the issue.

 

[bkelly]

MacDEF,

I know you would stick your nose in here sooner or later MacDEF. If you want to go at it with me all over again we can do that but just for the record let it be known that I asked you not to start any trouble.

I will let the above comment go since it is well known you like to double-talk everything to death.






Best
Brian

 

[bkelly]

Taphil,

I just donm't know what to say about your comments. I have never heard anything like that and other than Eagle Driver no one I know has ever claimed that the 590's sound distant. Instead it's the 600's that even fans of the phone recognize as having a distant sound. We need "fyrfytrhodges" in here for this since he also has both headphones.

I once remarked that Eagle Drivers phones may be broken and if the Equiinox cable does not correct this probelm (which truthfully seems unlikely) would you consider sending me your 590's to test alongside mine? I will pay all shipping costs.

You got my attention, I am going to go listen to mine with the stock cable if I can find it.

Talk soon.





Best
Brian

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Actually, I am no longer blaming my 590's for the subpar sound; I am now blaming its crappy stock cable for that. Sennheiser shouldn't have foisted this pile of crap (the cable, NOT the 590) onto their headphone line-up. The cable is extremely thin, and it has relatively high resistance.

In this case, a better, thicker cable (such as the Equinox) is a MUST for that 590 (and 570).

 

[Taphil]

bkelly – I’m too tired to read my cell bio book (who cares about nuclear transport anyway?), so I did some listening to describe what I mean:

Songs that I can’t listen to using the 590’s at all:
- U2 – Beautiful Day, Elevation, Walk On: too bright that Bono’s “s” and “th” syllables come out really bad ("Simblance" is what I've been told it's called) because the recording is bad, insturments are brought out more, but vocals go down big time
- U2 - I Will Follow: simblance, vocals drowned out
- Puddle Of Mudd - Come Clean: too bright


Songs that I perceive that the 590 push the vocals back while bringing the instruments forward:
- U2 - Pride, With Or Without You
- U2 - The Sweetest Thing (remix)
- U2 - If God Will Send His Angels
- Puddle of Mudd - COme Clean (album)
- Radiohead - OK Computer
- Travis - The Invisible Band (album): more balanced, fuller on 600
- Weezer - Hash Pipe


Songs where the 590 brings everything up front, more alive than the 600:
- U2 - New Year's Day: sounds better on the 590 than 600
- Alanis Morissette - Uninvited: this is what the 590's should sound like on all songs! Totally beats the 600. It's like a good balance that makes the 590's sound better than the 600.
- Goo Goo Dolls - Iris: a little too bright, but similar effect as the above song
- Coldplay - Clocks
- Doves - The Last Broadcast (album): the album is kind of muddy, so the 590's make up for that
- No Doubt - Simple Kind Of Life: a bit bright though
- Pearl Jam - Alive: a bit bright too


Songs that the 600 just sound better, although the 590's don't necessarily sound bad:
- Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (album)
- Coldplay - Parachutes (album): too bright for the 590
- Dave Brubeck - Time Out (album): sounds smoother on the 600, but more realistic on the 590
- Garbage - Version 2.0 (album): sounds "fuller" with 600
- Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (album): sounds fuller as well, too bright with 590
- Moby - Play (album)
- Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf: sounds more balanced on the 600
- Radiohead - OK Computer




Ok, so I don't know what the point of all the above was, but I guess I'm trying to say that the 590 does well on some songs and is horrible at a lot of others. Sometimes, it increases the highs and lows so much that it overpowers the vocals, so that it sounds like the vocals are distant and pushed into the background. This is where is sounds hollow or empty - not the instruments, but rather the vocals relative to the instruments.

I tested using original CD's->LAME --alt-preset extreme->iPod->META42, my only source at the moment.

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver Actually, I am no longer blaming my 590's for the subpar sound; I am now blaming its crappy stock cable for that. Sennheiser shouldn't have foisted this pile of crap (the cable, NOT the 590) onto their headphone line-up. The cable is extremely thin, and it has relatively high resistance.

Do you think the stock cable on the 600s is any better? The stock 580 cable could be described in much the same way. However, I do suspect Sennheiser uses fairly crappy cables, but I doubt this is the only problem.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by acs236 Do you think the stock cable on the 600s is any better? The stock 580 cable could be described in much the same way. However, I do suspect Sennheiser uses fairly crappy cables, but I doubt this is the only problem.

The stock cable of the 580/600 is only slightly better than the stock cable of the 570/590. Thus, if you think that the 580/600 stock cable is bad, the 570/590 stock cable is downright horrible.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by bkelly I know you would stick your nose in here sooner or later MacDEF. If you want to go at it with me all over again we can do that but just for the record let it be known that I asked you not to start any trouble.

Brian, I simply replied, as a moderator, to a) correct a statement that was inaccurate; and b) reply to your request to a moderator to move this thread. There was nothing personal, and no reason for you to start making personal attacks.

And to head this thread-crapping off, and to save everyon's time, I'll state clearly right here than any subsequent off-topic and/or personal posts to this thread will be deleted by one of the moderators.

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally posted by acs236 Since the 590 uses a single cord, presumably Sennheiser uses some equivalent of the stock cable to connect the right earpiece. I wonder if this influences the sound?

No one has an opinion on this? You would think the sound from the right driver would be degraded by the stock cable, which you are not replacing with the Equinox.