Steve999
smooth, DARK
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2002
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I was just comparing my Sony CD580s with my Grado SR60s, my Sony Eggo D66s, and my Senn HD580s (I have the day off and the family's out at a crafts fair). I had another thread in mind, but I don't want to obliterate the intent of the other person's thread, so I'm starting my own thread.....
FWIW, the Sony CD580s won to my ears, with a sound by far most similar to the Senn HD580s, but with somewhat more forward and brighter mids. They do have that Sony (non-V-XOO serires) signature, shared with the eggos and V6s and CD3000s, where the mids are on the forward and bright side, but much less so than the eggos and V6s.
The Grado SR60s sounded punchy and clear but thin and tinny next to the CD580s; the eggos sounded thin and tinny as well. They eggos and SR60s were both clearly brighter than the CD580s, and to my ears, the CD580s were much closer to "right." To my ears, the SR60s and Eggos were to be dismissed as "no contest" next to the Sony MDR-CD580s. Mind you, I DO like my eggos and SR60s.
The Sony CD580s have about the same amount of bass as the Sennheiser HD580s, but it doesn't creep up into the mids as much with the CD580s, but then again the deep bass doesn't sound quite as impressive on the CD580s either, so pick your poison, as they say. Tonal balance in the two overall is remarkably similar, though. The HD580s are a little more crisp and feathery in the highest highs, and the overall ambiance sounds more mysterious and alluring in the HD580s, but they are just not the natural-sounding comfy pillows that the CD580s are.
Soundstaging goes to the HD580s by a good margin. I think this is because of the circumaural (cupped) design of the HD580s vs. the on-the-ear design of the Sonys. The HD580s have a more refined sound too, due to the soundstage, the more delicate highs and the deeper bass.
Saxes, voices, and other midrange meterial sounds very natural and smooth to me on Sony CD580s, with a slight forward edge, almost natural to the point of being bland, but for long-term listening, it's really quite nice, pretty close to perfect, and the beauty of acoustic sounds is conveyed well. The CD580s to me have the most accurate mids of all my headphones. Make no mistake, there is NO "veil" on the CD580s..... if anything, the mids are just slightly illuminated.
I often end up taking off my HD580s after a few minutes, wondering if I REALLY like my CD580s better, and putting on my CD580s and saying ahhhhhhhhhh.... now that IS better. I do feel the HD580s are great headphones, though, and I hope I've made clear that they have their advantages over the CD580s. The HD580s look tons better, too.
I was using Steely Dan's remastered Aja CD for the comparison today. I did direct A/B comparisons, two phones at a time, from the same source, trying to get the volumes very similar. I ran the other headphones through my Corda HA-1 (the eggos, HD580s and SR60s) because the MDR-CD580s just plain didn't need it to sound great.
I've compared the Senn HD580s and the Sony MDR-CD580s many many times in the past. My long-term impression is that the HD580s sound more "impressive," while the CD580s sound better. I could EASILY understand if someone liked the HD580s better though. (Trying to flame-proof this a little.)
I really haven't heard anything under $200 that can take it to the Sony MDR-CD580s for my ears; at the most recent head-fi meet in the D.C. area, only the CD3000s sounded obviously superior to me.
Well, just to make this complete, I just did a direct A/B of the CD580s vs. the HD580s on a Joachim violin concerto. This is where the characteristics of the HD580s take hold and accumulate for gripping effect to clearly surpass the CD580s, IMHO. I don't know how to account for it exactly, but for classical music, the HD580s "just do it." The slightly recessed mids but clear and etched mids are no problem, the soundstage is stunning, the refined and delicate highs add depth and beauty to the orchestra. Also, the extra mid bass seems to add some ambiance or reverbarative quality with the HD580s, and it sounds very polished. It's not that the HD580s are reverberating, but instead, I think, that they are slightly emphasizing some frequencies that correspond to reverberation of classical instruments in a concert hall. So if you're classically inclined, it's HD580s (or HD600s) or bust for you, IMHO.
I also noticed with Steely Dan vocals, that while they were more forward and brighter and a little more natural on the CD580s, you could hear what sounded like a little echo or reverb from the studio in the HD580s, I think because of the same mild lower mids / upper bass frequency emphasis on the HD580s again, that sounds so nice with orchestras or chamber music. It was a striking "you are there for the recording" effect.
The upper mid/low bass frequencies are exactly the frequencies where Sony non-v-X00 phones seem to be intentionally lean.
Sony describes the CD580s as open-back, closed front headphones. I don't get it. Well, actually, I think I do, and it makes them leak and isolate at the same time, I think. They have an odd looking semi-open grill on the back and a cushiony cover that sits right on your ears. I think Sony got the idea right -- they are not going to be able to make a comfortable, hi-fi headphone in this price range ($50-$100, depending where you look on which day) that is fully closed, so they bent the closed concept a little. They get negative points for style, BTW.
I got my pair of CD580s for $40 refurbished at a Sony store in Lancaster, PA, I guess it's been well over a year now, maybe 18 months. I bought them more as a curiosity than anything else, wondering what in the world Sony had in mind with these bizarro world things.... and I'm so glad I did.
Well, as long as I'm at it, classical music sounds very nice on the CD580s too, relaxed and natural with heft on the bottom strings and sweet midrange sounds for the woodwinds, horns, violins, etc.; a symphony sounds grand but relaxed and not bombastic. Chamber music sounds intimate and detailed.
Jazz is great too, you hear everything, everthing's natural, detailed, plenty of heft in the acoustic bass, mids sound great for pianos, trumpets, saxes, and vocals. High hats and cymbals are closely detailed but not dominating. The Senn HD580s take the low notes of the acoustic bass with a little more depth, that's an advantage of the HD580s, and the highest highs again are a little more feathery and light on the HD580s, a nice sound. But the CD580 mids are just right, rather than the slightly laid back but very clear and etched mids of the HD580s. I guess to me, for jazz, the window dressing (upper treble and low bass) is a little better on the HD580s, but the glass is cleaner and more clear in the CD580s.
Still, I hesitate to recommend the Sony CD580s to anyone, because it is one WEIRD set of headphones. They are, if nothing else, unique. Nothing else sounds like it, looks like it or feels like it. They look weird, the huge cushions sit right on your ears, and they're quite big though not heavy. I would recommend them for headphone geeks more than people looking for their first good pair of headphones, I guess. But for me they've stood up to months and months and months of comparison and many contenders, and remain my favorites for actually listening to music very comfortably, with very high fidelity, and with a mild (less than eggos) but helpful amount of isolation.
As long as I'm at it, I should mention that the Sony MDR-CD580s are as efficient and easy to drive as any headphone on the market, or at least very close to it. I think they are 40 ohms and in the 106 db efficiency area, IIRC.
More often than not, if I don't need too much isolation, when I reach down into my big pile of headphones to actually sit or lay down and enjoy some music, I pick up the CD580s. I do love my HD580s, but I'm most drawn to them for classical.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, they are great lying-down-in-bed headphones, the fit is just right. They get more and more comfortable as the months go by, like soft comfy pillows.
Well, if you actually read this, thanks for your time. This wasn't really intended to be this long at all. But I got into brain dump mode.
Thanks.
FWIW, the Sony CD580s won to my ears, with a sound by far most similar to the Senn HD580s, but with somewhat more forward and brighter mids. They do have that Sony (non-V-XOO serires) signature, shared with the eggos and V6s and CD3000s, where the mids are on the forward and bright side, but much less so than the eggos and V6s.
The Grado SR60s sounded punchy and clear but thin and tinny next to the CD580s; the eggos sounded thin and tinny as well. They eggos and SR60s were both clearly brighter than the CD580s, and to my ears, the CD580s were much closer to "right." To my ears, the SR60s and Eggos were to be dismissed as "no contest" next to the Sony MDR-CD580s. Mind you, I DO like my eggos and SR60s.
The Sony CD580s have about the same amount of bass as the Sennheiser HD580s, but it doesn't creep up into the mids as much with the CD580s, but then again the deep bass doesn't sound quite as impressive on the CD580s either, so pick your poison, as they say. Tonal balance in the two overall is remarkably similar, though. The HD580s are a little more crisp and feathery in the highest highs, and the overall ambiance sounds more mysterious and alluring in the HD580s, but they are just not the natural-sounding comfy pillows that the CD580s are.
Soundstaging goes to the HD580s by a good margin. I think this is because of the circumaural (cupped) design of the HD580s vs. the on-the-ear design of the Sonys. The HD580s have a more refined sound too, due to the soundstage, the more delicate highs and the deeper bass.
Saxes, voices, and other midrange meterial sounds very natural and smooth to me on Sony CD580s, with a slight forward edge, almost natural to the point of being bland, but for long-term listening, it's really quite nice, pretty close to perfect, and the beauty of acoustic sounds is conveyed well. The CD580s to me have the most accurate mids of all my headphones. Make no mistake, there is NO "veil" on the CD580s..... if anything, the mids are just slightly illuminated.
I often end up taking off my HD580s after a few minutes, wondering if I REALLY like my CD580s better, and putting on my CD580s and saying ahhhhhhhhhh.... now that IS better. I do feel the HD580s are great headphones, though, and I hope I've made clear that they have their advantages over the CD580s. The HD580s look tons better, too.
I was using Steely Dan's remastered Aja CD for the comparison today. I did direct A/B comparisons, two phones at a time, from the same source, trying to get the volumes very similar. I ran the other headphones through my Corda HA-1 (the eggos, HD580s and SR60s) because the MDR-CD580s just plain didn't need it to sound great.
I've compared the Senn HD580s and the Sony MDR-CD580s many many times in the past. My long-term impression is that the HD580s sound more "impressive," while the CD580s sound better. I could EASILY understand if someone liked the HD580s better though. (Trying to flame-proof this a little.)
I really haven't heard anything under $200 that can take it to the Sony MDR-CD580s for my ears; at the most recent head-fi meet in the D.C. area, only the CD3000s sounded obviously superior to me.
Well, just to make this complete, I just did a direct A/B of the CD580s vs. the HD580s on a Joachim violin concerto. This is where the characteristics of the HD580s take hold and accumulate for gripping effect to clearly surpass the CD580s, IMHO. I don't know how to account for it exactly, but for classical music, the HD580s "just do it." The slightly recessed mids but clear and etched mids are no problem, the soundstage is stunning, the refined and delicate highs add depth and beauty to the orchestra. Also, the extra mid bass seems to add some ambiance or reverbarative quality with the HD580s, and it sounds very polished. It's not that the HD580s are reverberating, but instead, I think, that they are slightly emphasizing some frequencies that correspond to reverberation of classical instruments in a concert hall. So if you're classically inclined, it's HD580s (or HD600s) or bust for you, IMHO.
I also noticed with Steely Dan vocals, that while they were more forward and brighter and a little more natural on the CD580s, you could hear what sounded like a little echo or reverb from the studio in the HD580s, I think because of the same mild lower mids / upper bass frequency emphasis on the HD580s again, that sounds so nice with orchestras or chamber music. It was a striking "you are there for the recording" effect.
The upper mid/low bass frequencies are exactly the frequencies where Sony non-v-X00 phones seem to be intentionally lean.
Sony describes the CD580s as open-back, closed front headphones. I don't get it. Well, actually, I think I do, and it makes them leak and isolate at the same time, I think. They have an odd looking semi-open grill on the back and a cushiony cover that sits right on your ears. I think Sony got the idea right -- they are not going to be able to make a comfortable, hi-fi headphone in this price range ($50-$100, depending where you look on which day) that is fully closed, so they bent the closed concept a little. They get negative points for style, BTW.
I got my pair of CD580s for $40 refurbished at a Sony store in Lancaster, PA, I guess it's been well over a year now, maybe 18 months. I bought them more as a curiosity than anything else, wondering what in the world Sony had in mind with these bizarro world things.... and I'm so glad I did.
Well, as long as I'm at it, classical music sounds very nice on the CD580s too, relaxed and natural with heft on the bottom strings and sweet midrange sounds for the woodwinds, horns, violins, etc.; a symphony sounds grand but relaxed and not bombastic. Chamber music sounds intimate and detailed.
Jazz is great too, you hear everything, everthing's natural, detailed, plenty of heft in the acoustic bass, mids sound great for pianos, trumpets, saxes, and vocals. High hats and cymbals are closely detailed but not dominating. The Senn HD580s take the low notes of the acoustic bass with a little more depth, that's an advantage of the HD580s, and the highest highs again are a little more feathery and light on the HD580s, a nice sound. But the CD580 mids are just right, rather than the slightly laid back but very clear and etched mids of the HD580s. I guess to me, for jazz, the window dressing (upper treble and low bass) is a little better on the HD580s, but the glass is cleaner and more clear in the CD580s.
Still, I hesitate to recommend the Sony CD580s to anyone, because it is one WEIRD set of headphones. They are, if nothing else, unique. Nothing else sounds like it, looks like it or feels like it. They look weird, the huge cushions sit right on your ears, and they're quite big though not heavy. I would recommend them for headphone geeks more than people looking for their first good pair of headphones, I guess. But for me they've stood up to months and months and months of comparison and many contenders, and remain my favorites for actually listening to music very comfortably, with very high fidelity, and with a mild (less than eggos) but helpful amount of isolation.
As long as I'm at it, I should mention that the Sony MDR-CD580s are as efficient and easy to drive as any headphone on the market, or at least very close to it. I think they are 40 ohms and in the 106 db efficiency area, IIRC.
More often than not, if I don't need too much isolation, when I reach down into my big pile of headphones to actually sit or lay down and enjoy some music, I pick up the CD580s. I do love my HD580s, but I'm most drawn to them for classical.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, they are great lying-down-in-bed headphones, the fit is just right. They get more and more comfortable as the months go by, like soft comfy pillows.
Well, if you actually read this, thanks for your time. This wasn't really intended to be this long at all. But I got into brain dump mode.
Thanks.
