[NeilPeart]

The difference between the HD580 and HD600 is really subtle on low-end systems. However, even on humble rigs I noticed that the HD600 seems slightly more forward and airy. On a better rig, these differences are more easily observed and other variances are noticeable (mainly that the HD600 is blacker between notes and has a more articulate mid-bass). Yes, the grills do make a difference (just try removing the grills from the HD580 entirely to see what I mean). I bought the HD600 grills for under $10 from Sennheiser and replaced my stock HD580 grills – there was a slight difference (I actually prefer my modded HD580 to a stock HD600, and the Zu Cable only solidifies this). Here is the thread where I mentioned my grill transplant, complete with a picture:

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...5&pagenumber=8

 

[GlowWorm]

NeilPeart, thanks for the link, I'm going to try out it myself.

 

[pedxing]

Quote:

Originally posted by gort I thought HD600s were matched to 1db while HD580s were to 5db. If my recollection is correct, there is no way HD580 can be better matched unless HD600 is defective.

When a production line tests for quality control, someone at the factory will usually just test the finished product to see if that product has passed the minimum requirements. For example, if an HD580 was tested to have perfectly matching drivers, Sennhesier will probably ship it. I doubt they would say, "oh crap, this headphone is too good, we better sabotage it to make sure it has a 5db difference or we gotta remove the drivers and install it into an HD600". When you buy an HD600, Sennheiser is probably making the claim that the product has a minimum set of standards to pass and those standards are better than the minimum standards of those of the HD580. Some members have made the claim before that the HD600 drivers do not match as well as their HD580 drivers.

 

[Duncan]

lol pedxing, you never know... Sennheiser QC might do that

Yes, from my time with HD580/HD600 it was easy (for me) to hear that the treble extension on the 600 is better, as is bass depth, and the overall sound was cleaner on the 600 compared to that of the 580

 

[ixeo]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan lol pedxing, you never know... Sennheiser QC might do that Yes, from my time with HD580/HD600 it was easy (for me) to hear that the treble extension on the 600 is better, as is bass depth, and the overall sound was cleaner on the 600 compared to that of the 580

i think how the production goes is first the drivers are matched to 5db, and then from there they are matched again to see if they meet the 1db reqs

this will be a bit complicated but i believe it is how it works.

sennheiser manufactures a certain amout of drivers a month for the HD580 & HD600 models

assuming they need X amount of drivers for HD600 line, and Y amount for HD580

what they will do is simply match all the drivers to 5db, and then from there, they will match them for 1db.

of course, the total number of drivers is X+Y, what they would do is match for 1db until the amount X is reached, then the rest will naturally be Y

in other words it IS possible for HD580 to have drivers matched to 1db as well, just that it is not tested/guaranteed and chances aren't very high, but possible.

 

[Buster Sword]

I wil just buy the hd580 and upgrade the grill.

 

[Canman]

as far as I know, driver matching for the HD580 and the HD600 is identical. It has never been proven otherwise.

I do hear a difference though and it's not huge on most equipment. I agree with NeilPeart's statements -- the airier top end in the HD600 ultimately makes it more enjoyable for me.

 

[averydonovan]

Quote:

Originally posted by gort I thought HD600s were matched to 1db while HD580s were to 5db. If my recollection is correct, there is no way HD580 can be better matched unless HD600 is defective.

I sure hoped they are better matched than that! 1db matching is poor, 5db is unusable. Maybe you meant 0.1db and 0.5db? Given that the HD580 was the top of the line Senn headphone at one time I am betting that it's drivers are matched as well as the HD600.

I heard the HD580 with Cardas cable and HD600 with stock cable for a brief time at the Denver meet a few months ago and prefered the HD600. The HD600 had a more forward midrange and a more solid sound, but a little more spacious too. That was the first time I had heard either phone. I now have an HD600 with Oehlbach replacement cable and am loving that combo quite a lot.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Before choosing the HD 580s I auditioned both cans on the Sennheiser stand at the HiFi Expo fair in my hometown in August 2003. The source was an entry level TEAC cdp and the amp was one of those multijack recording studio type headamps. Both the HD 580s and the HD 600s sounded absolutely identical to me, so I ended up choosing the HD 580s just because it was cheaper. The HD 590 was not avaliable for auditioning and the HD 650 had not yet been released. The HD 650 is on my wish list now.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Alex Altorfer Before choosing the HD 580s I auditioned both cans on the Sennheiser stand at the HiFi Expo fair in my hometown in August 2003. The source was an entry level TEAC cdp and the amp was one of those multijack recording studio type headamps. Both the HD 580s and the HD 600s sounded absolutely identical to me, so I ended up choosing the HD 580s just because it was cheaper.

That's the problem with auditioning at a HiFi expo, head-fi meet, or even a hi-fi store... you tend to miss the subtleties because of background noise/disturbances and other things.

I think they sound close enough for a lot of people... they're absolutely not identical sounding, however. To be honest, I probably would have been happy enough just sticking with 580s, but Headroom had an excellent special last year so I decided that owning both wouldn't hurt

.

 

[zeplin]

i have heard them both exstensively on many setups and report that they are very similar, no doubt about that. but, they are different in some ways in that the 600's have a crsiper top end with much air surrounding the higher frequencies. everything seems slightly more controlled, or faster if you will, and is quieter in between the notes. basically i've found pretty much the exact same as many others here have found. so the differences are there, but they are subtle and i think one can only hear them after listening to one or being use to one for a long period of time, and then switching to the other. i think the reason why they sound different plays more in the housing materials used and not so much the driver material...but i could be wrong.

 

[3lusiv3]

I haven't been able to compare these two (580 & 600) directly, but reading through this topic it really looks like people are wanting to find a difference between them and therefore finding the difference.

I wouldn't be surprised if, in a blind test, there was no sonic difference.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by 3lusiv3 I haven't been able to compare these two (580 & 600) directly, but reading through this topic it really looks like people are wanting to find a difference between them and therefore finding the difference. I wouldn't be surprised if, in a blind test, there was no sonic difference.

There really is a difference, and has to be... the physics of the earcup grilles are different. Patterned plastic simply allows less sound to escape than metal mesh/screen, and I'm sure this could be proven objectively. Aside from the rumored better driver matching with HD600, there may also be other small differences in the way the drivers are mounted, etc.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Fewtch,

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch That's the problem with auditioning at a HiFi expo, head-fi meet, or even a hi-fi store... you tend to miss the subtleties because of background noise/disturbances and other things. I think they sound close enough for a lot of people... they're absolutely not identical sounding, however. To be honest, I probably would have been happy enough just sticking with 580s, but Headroom had an excellent special last year so I decided that owning both wouldn't hurt .

Very true. The source and headamp used at the expo were suckful to the point of not revealing the differences between the HD 580s and the HD 600s, but were good enough to show how superior these cans are to the comparatively poor HD 570s. Still, price/performancewise the HD 600s may not be enough of an upgrade for me to consider them the next step. The HD 650s should be another story altogether though. The difference should be more readily noticeable with the HD 650s.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[zeplin]

Quote:

but reading through this topic it really looks like people are wanting to find a difference between them and therefore finding the difference.

and then with others, it seems like they DON't want there to be any differences for whatever personal reason. and they too look for NO change. material-wise, the two are different. so why wouldn't there be any slight changes in the sound? some people may not be able to hear the differences plainly because of their hearing abilities. there's so many factors that contribute to hearing, or not hearing the changes that it's hard to pin-point specific reasons. i played the skeptic when comparing the two and still heard differences.