afogs
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2002
- Posts
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Hi,
I bought the HD-580s (my first pair of high-end 'phones) about 2.5 months ago on Ubid for under $100 (it was just about the last of their HD580 auctions, as far as I can tell) and have been very happy with them.
I'm powering them from a Creek OBH-11se (off of a Sony NS500V) and have been happy with the combination. The problem was that since this was my only system for a large portion of my apartment, listening was strictly a solo activity, which was no good for me, my girlfriend, friends, etc. especially when I wanted to share some great music.
So since I didn't want to spend the 130-140 which was then the best price on 580s, I went in search of lower-cost 'phones that would be close enough to the 580s in efficiency to be run at the same-ish volume at the same volume setting.
I initially decided on lower-cost Sennheisers (212s), but then realized that what I really wanted to do was to try the AKG K501s. My music is exclusively classical/jazz/blues and so from what I read it seemed I was an ideal K501 customer and I remember trying a pair of AKGs years ago and finding them extremely light and comfortable. So I took the plunge: $150 at Headroom (so much for saving money on the second phones!), comforted by the fact that if I didn't like them, I could send them back.
So I received the 501s and tried them on Brahm's Clarinet Quintet, a piece I had been listeing to the day before on the Sennheisers.
WOW!
The clarinet sounded so sweet and clear, beautifully musical. The whole quintet was more inviting than I remembered it from the night before, though I had thought it terrific even then.
Over the couple of weeks since then, I've tried to AB these phones a bit, without letting the "equipment check" get in the way of enjoying the music. Even with an OBH-11se, it is not trivial to AB them, because the K501s play quite noticeably (though not hugely) quieter than the 580s at the same volume setting and because the K501s sound much better plugged into the OBH-11se solo, without the 580s plugged in. (I think it is because the sockets change impedances when two phones are plugged in, but maybe it's just an issue of power/volume.) Here are the observations I've made/opinions I've formed:
1. The 580s do have a darker, mellower sound than the brighter 501s. Some people who've made the comparison say that the 580s sound "muffled" in comparison, even to the point of saying that it sounds like the music is in the next room. That last strikes me as a crazy overstatement. But I do think that there seems, in comparison with the 501s, to be something like a (minimally helpful simile incoming!) sheen of oil over the music from the 580s. It gives the music a pleasing shine, but also can take away a bit of freshness and "involving-ness." That is an effect that is very nice sometimes, but really doesn't work very well (I think) for something like John Lee Hooker's raw early music. I wonder if this is what people mean when they talk about the 580s having a "laid back" presentation?
2. At the same time, there is no doubt that there is something more insistently present about the 580s. As my girlfriend put it, the music with the 580s is just more *there* (cupping her hands around her ears.) I think it may be something as simple as its level of isolation. When the 501s are on and play, you can hear just about everything in the room around you. The sound is airier in some way, but it can also seem to be just one of the things that are entering your ear. The 580s have more of a (Mr. T incoming!) "Here's the music, fool." kind of feel, where the music is really the only thing that you're hearing.
3. The bass. There is no question that the bass is heavier in the 580s and lighter in the 501s. I do have to say that at the moment, I prefer the 501's bass. I think after comparing to the 501s, the 580s felt like they had a "fatter" bass than I liked (though I certainly was not dissatisfied until I'd made the comparison.) It does seem like bass on the 501s is "tighter" and on the 580s the bass somehow seems to take up more sonic "room," kind of smearing out somehow. (Boy, if there is one thing writing these comments has convinced me is that English (or maybe us I) doesn't (don't) have as good a sonic vocabulary as a visual/spatial one.) I don't think it is by any means obvious that one ought to prefer the 501 bass, especailly if bass quantity is more important in the music one listens to than it is in what I listen to. But there is something crisper, if lighter, about the 501s in the lower registers, and that's a sound I seem to prefer.
In sum, I'm glad I have both 'phones. I think if I had to keep just one it would be the 501s, but it's better to have both.
Anyway, I'd be interested to know what other folks think.
I bought the HD-580s (my first pair of high-end 'phones) about 2.5 months ago on Ubid for under $100 (it was just about the last of their HD580 auctions, as far as I can tell) and have been very happy with them.
I'm powering them from a Creek OBH-11se (off of a Sony NS500V) and have been happy with the combination. The problem was that since this was my only system for a large portion of my apartment, listening was strictly a solo activity, which was no good for me, my girlfriend, friends, etc. especially when I wanted to share some great music.
So since I didn't want to spend the 130-140 which was then the best price on 580s, I went in search of lower-cost 'phones that would be close enough to the 580s in efficiency to be run at the same-ish volume at the same volume setting.
I initially decided on lower-cost Sennheisers (212s), but then realized that what I really wanted to do was to try the AKG K501s. My music is exclusively classical/jazz/blues and so from what I read it seemed I was an ideal K501 customer and I remember trying a pair of AKGs years ago and finding them extremely light and comfortable. So I took the plunge: $150 at Headroom (so much for saving money on the second phones!), comforted by the fact that if I didn't like them, I could send them back.
So I received the 501s and tried them on Brahm's Clarinet Quintet, a piece I had been listeing to the day before on the Sennheisers.
WOW!
The clarinet sounded so sweet and clear, beautifully musical. The whole quintet was more inviting than I remembered it from the night before, though I had thought it terrific even then.
Over the couple of weeks since then, I've tried to AB these phones a bit, without letting the "equipment check" get in the way of enjoying the music. Even with an OBH-11se, it is not trivial to AB them, because the K501s play quite noticeably (though not hugely) quieter than the 580s at the same volume setting and because the K501s sound much better plugged into the OBH-11se solo, without the 580s plugged in. (I think it is because the sockets change impedances when two phones are plugged in, but maybe it's just an issue of power/volume.) Here are the observations I've made/opinions I've formed:
1. The 580s do have a darker, mellower sound than the brighter 501s. Some people who've made the comparison say that the 580s sound "muffled" in comparison, even to the point of saying that it sounds like the music is in the next room. That last strikes me as a crazy overstatement. But I do think that there seems, in comparison with the 501s, to be something like a (minimally helpful simile incoming!) sheen of oil over the music from the 580s. It gives the music a pleasing shine, but also can take away a bit of freshness and "involving-ness." That is an effect that is very nice sometimes, but really doesn't work very well (I think) for something like John Lee Hooker's raw early music. I wonder if this is what people mean when they talk about the 580s having a "laid back" presentation?
2. At the same time, there is no doubt that there is something more insistently present about the 580s. As my girlfriend put it, the music with the 580s is just more *there* (cupping her hands around her ears.) I think it may be something as simple as its level of isolation. When the 501s are on and play, you can hear just about everything in the room around you. The sound is airier in some way, but it can also seem to be just one of the things that are entering your ear. The 580s have more of a (Mr. T incoming!) "Here's the music, fool." kind of feel, where the music is really the only thing that you're hearing.
3. The bass. There is no question that the bass is heavier in the 580s and lighter in the 501s. I do have to say that at the moment, I prefer the 501's bass. I think after comparing to the 501s, the 580s felt like they had a "fatter" bass than I liked (though I certainly was not dissatisfied until I'd made the comparison.) It does seem like bass on the 501s is "tighter" and on the 580s the bass somehow seems to take up more sonic "room," kind of smearing out somehow. (Boy, if there is one thing writing these comments has convinced me is that English (or maybe us I) doesn't (don't) have as good a sonic vocabulary as a visual/spatial one.) I don't think it is by any means obvious that one ought to prefer the 501 bass, especailly if bass quantity is more important in the music one listens to than it is in what I listen to. But there is something crisper, if lighter, about the 501s in the lower registers, and that's a sound I seem to prefer.
In sum, I'm glad I have both 'phones. I think if I had to keep just one it would be the 501s, but it's better to have both.
Anyway, I'd be interested to know what other folks think.