[Marximus]

Well, the question's kind of irrelevant now, since I paid that much, and I got them today.  Anyway, the box was a bit beat up (I suppose that's to be expected for headphones this old), but they do appear to be brand new.  Beautiful. Impressions to follow.

 

[DukeSilver]

Those look pretty awesome. Nice purchase i say.

 

[Marximus]

As expected, they sound quite a bit like the HD600s/650s.  Bright and sharp, perhaps a bit harsh at times.  But "bright" is coming from D5000s, so that's also to be expected.  They're certainly an interesting complement to the Denons.  Very lively and nimble.  No hint of bloat or mud.  I bought them partially because I think it's cool to have a pair of these new out of the box.  I may or may not keep them, but it's good to have a bit of variety.

 

[Marximus]

Sennheisers = good for rock???  This appears to be the case.  I've got them running through my Denon receiver, and it appears they had a bit of meat put on their bones.  Or it could be psychoacoustics or burn-in.  At any rate, this is one good-sounding pair of headphones.  Good sense of impact and liveliness.  They're also extremely comfortable, about tied with the Denons.  I actually haven't touched the D5000s since I got these.  These do a lot of things very well.  Still perhaps a bit harsh with some songs, though.

 

[Kassem]

Quote:

Sennheisers = good for rock???  This appears to be the case.  I've got them running through my Denon receiver, and it appears they had a bit of meat put on their bones.  Or it could be psychoacoustics or burn-in.  At any rate, this is one good-sounding pair of headphones.  Good sense of impact and liveliness.  They're also extremely comfortable, about tied with the Denons.  I actually haven't touched the D5000s since I got these.  These do a lot of things very well.  Still perhaps a bit harsh with some songs, though.

I've never heard anyone call em harsh but I guess I'm not here much.
 
They should sound great with jazz

 

[Marximus]

Harsh = coming from my D5000s.

 

[Graphicism]

$250 sounds like a lot considering I paid $115 new about a year back before they stopped production. I have seen them sell used for $125-$200 and I'm sure as time passes the rarity will grow and prices will rise. ~ I used to own Denon D2000 and in comparison even my Sony XB500 have cleaner mids so I can imagine a stark comparison between the D5000 and HD580... perhaps hollow and tin-sounding at first, the more time you spend with them you'll find and enjoy their strengths for sure.

 

[dcpoor]

hd580/600/650's being described as "bright, sharp, harsh, lively"
I'm so confused. ;_;

 

[pp312]

Quote:

hd580/600/650's being described as "bright, sharp, harsh, lively"
I'm so confused. ;_;

You have every right to be--we all are. I even started a thread about why so many people are finding the HD650 bright and harsh. Never solved the mystery though.
 

 

[TheKisho]

They are a very nice pair of headphones that still can hold it's own, even today.  They still look very good!  I used to own a pair before I moved to AKG.   How is the clamping force of a new pair?  It's one thing that bugged me about them.  Any plans to put HD600 grills on it?
 
 
P.S.  I'm equally confused like the rest of you.

 

[Marximus]

They're extremely comfortable out of the box.  Not as clampy as the 650s or the 600s I owned briefly, IIRC.  Definitely as comfortable as my D5000s.  No plans to put 600 grills on them.  I like them just the way they are.  I will say that even though they seemed a bit harsh and bright out of the box, some combination of pyschoacoustics, burn-in and using my Denon receive as an amp has made them sound fantastic.  And again, that perception was coming from the Denons, so that makes a difference, as well.  I definitely prefer the sound of them over their two older brothers, from what I can remember.