[niccav]

Hi

I have bought a pair of 10 year old hd580. According to the seller they are used roughly 15
Hours when they were bought for an audio project. The headband pads are flat as they come. Is this possibly with only 15 hours usage and time? The rest looks to be in great condition.

I tried them with Spotify from my phone since the dac/amp hasn't arrived yet. Although the music sounded different I wasn't "wowed". I compared them to the regular apple earpods while listening to Julia fisher Paganini: 24 caprices.

I guess I'm after your opinion on the deal I made; whether the they could have been used only 15h considering the headband, how age itself has affected them and how much of a difference a amp/dac will make (smsl m6). Can't wait to try it with the amp.

Talking of age, how long can I expect them to last if I take care of them?

Thank you,
Nick

 

[RRod]

I had the 580 and it took way longer than 15 hours of playtime to flatten the headband pads. Mine basically lasted 10 years, and that's only because I learned the valuable lesson of not letting your children near headphones.

 

[Bob A (SD)]

I still have and use mine acquired in December of 1993.  Over the years I've gone through a number of sets of earpads and headband pads.   The seller's statement of usage doesn't jive with the condition you describe of the earpads although certainly age depending on storage can contribute to deterioration too. 
 
Regardless anytime one buys a used set of cans hygiene alone demands new earpads and headpads be installed.  Heavily used ones also affect sound quality in not a good way.

 

[niccav]

Thank you, that was exactly the kind of feedback I was after. So it's likely as I suspected; that the headphones are used more than stated. I just wish I knew how much more. Btw, when you say "...heavily used ones..." Are you referring to the cans or the pads?

Wish I knew someone with prior knowledge of these cans in Gothenburg, Sweden that could listen to them and give me an opinion. If you are out there let me know

Ps, how do you like the cans to other you have used ?

Thank you

 

[DangerClose]

It'd take lots of hours to make the pads flat like you described.  But maybe poor storage is the actual reason.  Who knows what strange things excess humidity or cold or who knows what can do to 10-year-old pads.
 
HD580 isn't a "wow" headphone like various others, but if you're currently using it with a phone, then with an amp you'll probably be wowed. 

 

[niccav]

@dangerclose: thank you. He odd thing is that the ear pads feel fine. Anyway, I have decided to keep them. Although I'm not sure how 10 years will affect the sound quality of the headphones I hope I'm doing the right decision by keeping them. Please, any input on how age affects sound would be appreciated.

I was to believe the hd580 was very similar to the hd600...?

/Nick

 

[alynx]

@dangerclose: thank you. He odd thing is that the ear pads feel fine. Anyway, I have decided to keep them. Although I'm not sure how 10 years will affect the sound quality of the headphones I hope I'm doing the right decision by keeping them. Please, any input on how age affects sound would be appreciated.

I was to believe the hd580 was very similar to the hd600...?

/Nick

 
Yes.

 

[gfabbri]

Not so sure. I think age as much as use may degrade the pads. I had not been using mine nearly enough for the past couple years, but I recently broke them out again and the headband pads had mysteriously deflated really without much use.

The seller might not be yanking your chain...

And BTW, those cans are sweet. I still love mine years later. But they DO benefit GREATLY from an amp!

-G

 

[niccav]

@gfabbri: thank you. The pads (only the headband pads) were really in contradiction to his behaviour as he seemed really serious and offered to take them back and even pay the transport. A

Yes I can't wait for my amp/dac to arrive. Any day now...

If anyone in Gothenburg, Sweden with previous experience of hd580 would like to listen to them and give me their opinion I would be very grateful. This is my first serious headphone. Only used Apple EarPods previously.

/Nick

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

I have bought a pair of 10 year old hd580. According to the seller they are used roughly 15
Hours when they were bought for an audio project. The headband pads are flat as they come. Is this possibly with only 15 hours usage and time? The rest looks to be in great condition.
I guess I'm after your opinion on the deal I made; whether the they could have been used only 15h considering the headband, how age itself has affected them

 

 

I have the HD600 and the wear on the earpads can be accelerated depending on how you wear them, much more than the earpads. I need a replacement every few months, I just ignore it for some time because if I actually did buy every few months, I'd be broke (because the local distributor is useless - international shipping will kill me). When I bought my HD600 used, the earpads and headband pads were still what they came with, used for two months and then boxed for over a year. The headband was totally flat; the earpads I was able to use for a few months before I really decided to replace them. Barring my situation with international shipping, the only real PITA about the headband pads is removing the clips. Done it thrice and it hasn't gotten easier, just dented one of the clips actually.

 

Quote:

how much of a difference a amp/dac will make (smsl m6). Can't wait to try it with the amp.

 

Mine are a heck of a lot better on an Ibasso D-Zero, my Meier Cantate.2, and even my Pangea HP101 vs my SGS3. My Note3 was a lot better than that phone but still the amps were an improvement, and so was the headphone output on my Marantz CD60. That said, I've tried other amps on it, and they either sounded "lazy" with no dynamics (despite no obvious distortion) or, as in the case of the Little Dot MkII, the "dynamics" were more of "wideband bass boost" - bass drum was more audible but the bass guitar was kinda muddy, and Norah Jones sounded like she has to clear her sinus first.

 

 

 

 

Quote:

Talking of age, how long can I expect them to last if I take care of them?

 

A lot of factors are involved here, like if anything in the signal might screw up the drivers or maybe even humidity. My HD600s are 9yo now though, and these kinds of Sennheisers are easy to repair at home - damaged parts can be bought from Sennheiser. It got to a point that a few years ago one guy made his own HE60 after buying the parts.

 

[niccav]

ProtegeManiac that's swesome feedback! I just ordered a couple of headband pads from Amazon, not originals but hopefully these will do for a while. Hopefully I don't break the clips. A little worried about that.

Can you really order all parts, even the drivers?

I'm happy I found this forum; I have gotten much help and maybe gotten a little addicted

The "offer" still stands; if anyone in the vicinity wants to take my headphones for a evaluation spin I'm grateful.

/Nick

 

[ProtegeManiac]

@ProtegeManiac that's swesome feedback! I just ordered a couple of headband pads from Amazon, not originals but hopefully these will do for a while. Hopefully I don't break the clips. A little worried about that.

 
Those might wear out faster, but again it depends on how you wear them. I have them really resting on the top of my head with barely any clamping pressure (bent the metal frame outwards on each side and using them around four clicks out from the tightest setting), so that really wears them out. Personally, if you're going to skimp on the pads, the headband pad is where you can do that. Even with flat pads and worn like that I don't exactly feel it pressing on my head, and it's not like I have an afro to cushion it (you see the hair on Roman busts? that's what my hair usually looks like, except for Pompey's combover).
 
As for the earpads though do not toss the old ones - later on you can cut the velour and foam out of it and use it to mount Brainwavz HM5 earpads. I have those on mine now - more comfortable (not as stiff when new, but doesn't seem like it will compress as badly either), improves the imaging as well (move the cymbals farther back a little bit and reduces the "glare").
 

Can you really order all parts, even the drivers?

 
On top of the DIY-ed HE60, there are a bunch of people who upgraded their HD580 with the driver screen/grill from the HD6x0, and those with dead drivers opted for the HD650 drivers.

 

[niccav]

ProtegeManiac Thank you for the advice. I was going to toss the old ones. Funny enough I wear my headphones just the oppose of how you do it since I can't stand the pressure on top of my head. The pressure around my ears I got used to while wearing Bose qc while travelling. Also it seems I ordered 4 headsband pads while tired so I'm probably set for the foreseeable future

Although I'm not going buy anything else for them atm I couldn't resist checking Sennheiser's site for drivers I could only find http://en-de.sennheiser.com/accessories--hd-580--hd-600--system-300r which seems to be drivers for hd600 but I'm not sure it doesn't say that they sold as pair. Most products specify 1 piece or pair. Couldn't find anything similar for hd650.

Now I'm just waiting for the amp/dac to be delivered. I just realised helping me choose one as well although I didn't buy second hand schiit in the end due to delivery fees.

/nick

 

[Beztis]

nv.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Funny enough I wear my headphones just the oppose of how you do it since I can't stand the pressure on top of my head. The pressure around my ears I got used to while wearing Bose qc while travelling. Also it seems I ordered 4 headsband pads while tired so I'm probably set for the foreseeable future

 
Try loosening the clamp force still. Before I did that new pads were very soft in about a week (roughly 2hrs use each day), and then were squished after barely a year.
 
 

Although I'm not going buy anything else for them atm I couldn't resist checking Sennheiser's site for drivers 

 I could only find http://en-de.sennheiser.com/accessories--hd-580--hd-600--system-300r which seems to be drivers for hd600 but I'm not sure it doesn't say that they sold as pair. Most products specify 1 piece or pair. Couldn't find anything similar for hd650.

 
Check with Sennheiser but given the photo and the price I'm going to assume that's just for one piece. It's always better to order two, ask them to match the drivers or at least make sure they can take returns if there's an audible mismatch.
 
And check with them on the HD650 drivers too if they're not on the site.
 

Now I'm just waiting for the amp/dac to be delivered. I just realised helping me choose one as well although I didn't buy second hand schiit in the end due to delivery fees.

 
What did you get?