[Ptrick]

Hello there, just thought I'd like to share with you all:

I just bought a brand new pair of the sennheiser HD580's through eBay at what I considered to be a fair price of US$138... especially since they are unavailable down here in Australia, and also because they're supposed to be discontinued in the sennheiser line (the nearest alternative I could find in Melbourne were the HD590's that go for AUD$499 retail... around US$270)

And now I completely understand the obligatory greeting of "Sorry about your wallet" to new Head-Fiers like myself.

I've been reading through these forums for almost 3 weeks non-stop for every single detail and info on these cans, and now I can't wait till they arrive. They are to be a permanent mate to my Sony D25s for my bedside and home rig, and now my Grado SR60's will return to stay on my D777 as my portable rig.

Wish me luck on my new pair of headphones!

I can't wait...

 

[Guyferd]

well.. I hope you will enjoy em. Post a review as soon as you get them. hehe

Anyway, what amp are u using to drive em with?

 

[jpelg]

Ptrick -

Start saving for an amp now. Sorry about your wallet!

 

[Ptrick]

Guyferd-

Thanks! Don't worry, I definitely will post up my personal review of the HD580's when they arrive and after I've had a good listen to them. A good thing is that I'll be comparing them to the Grado SR60's, which I know could be like comparing apples to oranges... but it might still be useful to other people.

Right now I don't have an amp to power them through, but I will be using them with my Sony D25s pcdp, which should be able to drive them "ok", according to many opinions here. Remember, I have been researching these forums and other sources for 3 weeks straight.

jpelg-

Aha... you read my mind!

Watch this space, as the end of this year will most likely see me add a little headphone amp to compliment the 580's. (The META42 sounds quite tempting) heheheh.

 

[kenchi1983]

Ive listened to both the sr60 and seen580.

i can safely say that the 580 are two heads up against the sr60.

 

[HighwayStar]

Ptrick,

Congrats on the 580's ! I bought mine on eBay as well. The D-25S will drive them fine. I had an amp waiting for the 580's, but not for volume, that's for sure. I did jack straight in and didn't go past 4, 4-1/2 on the volume. If you're thinking about a META42 down the road, it's a great match. I really enjoyed the D-25S/META42/580 combo. Good luck !

 

[Ptrick]

Highwaystar,

How does the cosmic amp sound in your bedside rig along with the D25s and your 580's? For me, that would be the ideal amp to get but it's price is beyond my reach

... however, I would be willing to save up for a considerable time to buy it if it sounds phenomenal. Your rig seems to be what I aspire to getting sometime!

 

[Ptrick]

Actually, the headroom supreme is a much more realistic possibility for me, also since I will only ever power out of a portable - the D-25s

 

[Jeff Guidry]

I received my Senn 580's from limey just this week. I use them with my META42 with OPA637, Outlaw IC's and Sony 500v. This is an excellent combo overall, though there is some breathiness in the soloist's saxes that is missing now when I A/B the 580's vs. my Sony MDR-V6's. I am hoping that the addition of the Clou Blue cable will add back some of that detail. Otherwise, the headphone is quite comfortable, it has a nice soundstage, and has a sound that I can only describe as 'cohesive'. All the elements of the sound picture are honestly revealed in a non-opinionated manner (other than a warm bass) and every sound seems to have a synergy with all the others. This is in marked contrast to the very opinionated and fussy V6, a headphone I dearly love.

 

[eric343]

I highly recommend going the DIY route, you can save a lot of money that way.

Of course, you can also /spend/ a lot of money that way, too... *looks at bank account*

On the other hand, you might consider asking JMT to make you a CHA47 or META42, depending on your budget. In the scale of DIY amps, things go like this:

Cmoy ---> CHA47 ---------> META42 -?--------> KGCA/ppl

Of course, in ease of buildability, things go more like this:

Cmoy ----------->META42->CHA47->KGCA----------------------------------------------------------------->ppl
But that's assuming you go with all the published stuff with resistor values and whatnot; if you get into value tweaking, opamp rolling and the like the CHA47 becomes a bit easier to do than the META42.

And of course the above is all just my opinon on the matter; some people will probably argue that the CHA47 is easier; but I find that it's a much denser board and you have to do a lot more crammed-in wiring for things like the crossfeed.

And I've never built or heard a ppl amp, but the Great Apheared said it was one of the most complex layouts he's ever done, and that's good enough for me. I haven't built or heard a KGCA either...

 

[Ptrick]

Approx? Shipping from the US to Australia... any ideas from any head-fiers here, especially fellow aussies who have used eBay to buy something from the states?

I know I am impatient

since it's only been 3 days since ordering it.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

I would give anything at least 10-14 days to get to Oz from the States. Be patient........

 

[bifcake]

Be sure to burn in your phones at moderate volumes for 24-48 hours prior to listening to them. When I first got my 580's and put them on, I thought they were unlistenable. I HATED them and considered sending them back. After 24 hrs, there was a night and day difference. They really opened up. After 48 hrs, they became more airy and the soundstage widened.

 

[Ptrick]

bifcake, That would be 24-48 hours of NON-STOP playing at moderate levels correct?

Although with my SR60's, I listened to them breaking in - ie. up till the 100 hours or so until I was pretty sure they had 'broken in', I had them on my head, but I didn't have them playing non-stop (well, obviously not, otherwise I'd have headphone on my head for about 4 days in a row heh)

And so my burning in of the SR60's - however much they needed to be burned-in in the first place - to my was very very gradual to the point of not noticing the difference unless I think very hard to remember how they sounded when I took them out of the box.

er... I'm not sure whether I'm making sense here. (??)

 

[bifcake]

Yes, that's correct. 24-48hrs NON-STOP. You can listen to them if you want, but that would be disappointing since they don't really sound very musical until they're burnt in.

If I understand you correctly, it took you 100 hrs to burn in the Grados because you were listening to them right out of the box. You turned them off and then listened again, so it didn't take you 100 listening hours. Am I right? In any event, give the 580's proper burn in time and you'll be very happy with them. Once you've done that, get a good amp. Once you've done that, get a better source.