Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Review & Measurements
Mar 30, 2019 at 2:14 AM Post #3,661 of 4,844
I have not used the Little Bear, but for HD58X it should do well. Unlike the older siblings, HD58x are not a chameleon. In other words, their sound dont change as much from amp to amp.

My personal recommendation for HD58x would be to go for a proper, reasonably-priced solid state amp like JDS Labs Atom. Less worry (possibility of tube going out/burnt is real), good customer service, etc.
Okay, so I found links from Alibaba for the B1 and B4, so now shipping is free. Which one of the two is better? Also, will I hear any "tubey-ness" from the HD58X?
 
Mar 30, 2019 at 8:16 AM Post #3,662 of 4,844
Okay, so I found links from Alibaba for the B1 and B4, so now shipping is free. Which one of the two is better? Also, will I hear any "tubey-ness" from the HD58X?

Based on some of the comments (below) from another thread, tweaking the pots may help with "tubey-ness".

Well, I think the goal, is to get the tubes to flood in as much as you can without creating distortion. Each Op-amp is a little tiny bit different. The more you "lessen" the trim pots (counter clockwise) the colder the sound. The more you open them up, the warmer and more open they sound (tubes...voltage..not sure). You can do it with your earphones on and with the unit on with a tiny screwdriver. Tune it by ear. You'll be able to hear when it starts to distort, then dial it back. If you are at a point of balance now, make a note of where your trims are at then incrementally increase each pot the same amount. If you get out of balance, you'll hear it. You may be out of balance to begin with since I don't know how well they tune these from the factory. Again, you'll have to trust your ears. And when I say incrementally, I mean like an 1/8 - 1/4 turn of the trim pots. Adjusting these does make a big difference. From the factory, mine were turned down about a 1/4 on the low side. My guess would be it's on purpose so as to not get any complaints of distortion or extraneous noise.

Additionally, there are several folks in that thread that also swapped out the opamp (Burson B5i, Sparkos, etc.) to "upgrade" the sound
 
Mar 30, 2019 at 8:41 AM Post #3,663 of 4,844
Anyone using the HD58X with the little bear B4/B4X? Would you recommend it as a first amp? (after watching Zeos' review, I really, really want one, but IDK if it's wise to ship it from the US to India with very little possibility of returning it)

I've got both. Really like the combo. The smoother nature of the B4-X tends to tame that ever so slight graininess that the 58X can produce in the high mids on some tracks.
 
Mar 30, 2019 at 9:04 AM Post #3,664 of 4,844
I've got both. Really like the combo. The smoother nature of the B4-X tends to tame that ever so slight graininess that the 58X can produce in the high mids on some tracks.
The B4-X is an interesting little amp...almost pulled the trigger on it while ago. Any noise floor or EMI issues with it? It does seem like it would be a nice portable compliment to some Senns (and Beyers)!
 
Mar 30, 2019 at 1:47 PM Post #3,665 of 4,844
The B4-X is an interesting little amp...almost pulled the trigger on it while ago. Any noise floor or EMI issues with it? It does seem like it would be a nice portable compliment to some Senns (and Beyers)!

Never tried that amp myself, but from what I've read the tubes it uses are rather microphonic. Probably better for desktop use because of that.
 
Mar 30, 2019 at 2:24 PM Post #3,666 of 4,844
Never tried that amp myself, but from what I've read the tubes it uses are rather microphonic. Probably better for desktop use because of that.
Yeah...should've actually said transportable (i.e. work, coffee shop, hotel, etc)...just use my G7 for truly out and about.
 
Mar 30, 2019 at 3:40 PM Post #3,667 of 4,844
Still rocking the 58x. I am at 100 hours.
I still think it’s a bit unrefined in the upper treble compared to the hd600. This is the only very minor complain.

The pro are:

More fun sound
More PRaT
Better bass response
More width and depths

Vocals are amazing on the 58x as well as the 600.

For fast paced music, rock, metal, elettronica I think the 58x beats the 650 and 600.
 
Apr 1, 2019 at 5:42 AM Post #3,669 of 4,844
First post on this forum, but I've read damn-near every page of this thread. I went ahead and ordered a pair of 58x's from the most recent drop -- I'm beyond excited for them to arrive!

My only other experience with proper headphones was the dt 990 Pros (250 ohm). Can anyone who's owned (or used) both offer a comparison, by any chance?

I enjoyed the 990s a lot, but had to return them as the treble was too strident for my ears -- even after EQ. Really, I'm just hoping that the bass & sound stage of the 58x's (after EQ, planning to use Oratory1990's EQ settings) won't be too much of a drop-off and/or disappointment compared to the 990s (whose bass & sound stage I enjoyed a lot), as I think I'll prefer the 58x's in most other respects. I probably should have thought to clarify this information before investing in new headphones, but they seem fantastic across the board, so I couldn't help myself!

Cheers!
 
Apr 1, 2019 at 6:32 PM Post #3,671 of 4,844
First post on this forum, but I've read damn-near every page of this thread. I went ahead and ordered a pair of 58x's from the most recent drop -- I'm beyond excited for them to arrive!

My only other experience with proper headphones was the dt 990 Pros (250 ohm). Can anyone who's owned (or used) both offer a comparison, by any chance?

I enjoyed the 990s a lot, but had to return them as the treble was too strident for my ears -- even after EQ. Really, I'm just hoping that the bass & sound stage of the 58x's (after EQ, planning to use Oratory1990's EQ settings) won't be too much of a drop-off and/or disappointment compared to the 990s (whose bass & sound stage I enjoyed a lot), as I think I'll prefer the 58x's in most other respects. I probably should have thought to clarify this information before investing in new headphones, but they seem fantastic across the board, so I couldn't help myself!

Cheers!
I'll often go back and forth between the DT 990 Pro and HD 58X but from different sources so comparisons are sorta meh (I'll often use one at work and the other at home then vice versa). I'm not real keyed into audio descriptions as I'm not an audiophile reviewer but I'll do my best. My preference is for the HD 58X though I'll be the first to admit that I think it could be related to outside psychological factors and not just sound. It's probably because I've heard people say that they think the beyer can be harsh. There have been a few times listening to it where I feel like I'm developing a sensitivity to the higher treble. Overall the Senn feels more balanced through the spectrum. Down low, the beyer feels like it can have more bass impact but perhaps that's attributable to more recessed mids. I've never felt the beyers were missing the mids, just that they were less emphasized than the lows and highs. Since people say the 58X is drier than the 650/6XX, I'd be open to hearing that to see how a mid-emphasized signature sounds.

I remember once switching to the beyer while playing Breath of the Wild and, for some reason, everything felt more open. I think that the relatively increased bass and treble created a greater sense of impact and space respectively which made for a different sort of presentation. I've never felt the stage on either headphone was really lacking (both have caused me to turn my head thinking my phone was ringing or something was happening around me). Overall, I just feel like I can listen to the 58X longer and generally reach for it more often. But, to my largely untrained ears, I enjoy them both, as well as my secondhand AKG K7XX Massdrop collab (they just recently developed a loose wire that I haven't gone about trying to troubleshoot yet).
 
Apr 1, 2019 at 7:12 PM Post #3,672 of 4,844
As the other guys I also came from a brighter headphone and the 58X might sound veiled at first but it improves a lot when you get used to it.

The SHP9500 nowadays is airy and more open but also too bright for me, the 58X really made me love a more mid centric sound.

But as you mentioned using Oratory1990 EQ helps a lot increasing the highs.

But personally I suggest you try the 58X EQ in GitHub, it's a project called AutoEQ, in my opinion the EQ there is slight better than Oratory's

First post on this forum, but I've read damn-near every page of this thread. I went ahead and ordered a pair of 58x's from the most recent drop -- I'm beyond excited for them to arrive!

My only other experience with proper headphones was the dt 990 Pros (250 ohm). Can anyone who's owned (or used) both offer a comparison, by any chance?

I enjoyed the 990s a lot, but had to return them as the treble was too strident for my ears -- even after EQ. Really, I'm just hoping that the bass & sound stage of the 58x's (after EQ, planning to use Oratory1990's EQ settings) won't be too much of a drop-off and/or disappointment compared to the 990s (whose bass & sound stage I enjoyed a lot), as I think I'll prefer the 58x's in most other respects. I probably should have thought to clarify this information before investing in new headphones, but they seem fantastic across the board, so I couldn't help myself!

Cheers!
 
Apr 1, 2019 at 8:11 PM Post #3,673 of 4,844
knoknoise.jpg
I started with stock, then tried creatology felt, then K240 foam for the past couple months, and now trying a little dampening with KnoKnoise (thicker than Dynamat Extreme). It's a bit cleaner overall in a subtle way.
 
Apr 2, 2019 at 5:30 AM Post #3,674 of 4,844
First post on this forum, but I've read damn-near every page of this thread. I went ahead and ordered a pair of 58x's from the most recent drop -- I'm beyond excited for them to arrive!

My only other experience with proper headphones was the dt 990 Pros (250 ohm). Can anyone who's owned (or used) both offer a comparison, by any chance?

I enjoyed the 990s a lot, but had to return them as the treble was too strident for my ears -- even after EQ. Really, I'm just hoping that the bass & sound stage of the 58x's (after EQ, planning to use Oratory1990's EQ settings) won't be too much of a drop-off and/or disappointment compared to the 990s (whose bass & sound stage I enjoyed a lot), as I think I'll prefer the 58x's in most other respects. I probably should have thought to clarify this information before investing in new headphones, but they seem fantastic across the board, so I couldn't help myself!

Cheers!
Welcome to Head-Fi :beerchug:

I have the DT-990 premium and they are slightly modded so don't put much weight on my impressions.

My DT-990 are usually driven by BH Crack or Ember with output resistance set to high and I don't use EQ due to logistical reasons on my main system and my HD58X is usually driven by headphone output of my UD301 or Lyr2. My only issue with the HD58X is that it has a bit of grain in the upper mids/highs at times while the DT-990 has no such issues to me. The DT-990 is a bit more "V" shaped sound signature while the HD58X is a bit more mid centric to me so it depends on what you want and what your preferences are.
 
Apr 2, 2019 at 8:43 AM Post #3,675 of 4,844

I started with stock, then tried creatology felt, then K240 foam for the past couple months, and now trying a little dampening with KnoKnoise (thicker than Dynamat Extreme). It's a bit cleaner overall in a subtle way.

I have 2 pair of 58X and decided to do the felt mod on one of them. It just sounded like a bastardized headphone to me. I prefer to use the Schiit Loki to gently EQ the headphone when the mood strikes me but prefer the headphone how it is. They are my favourite all around headphones on all of my systems.
 

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