They may done just that…. with any new headphone (unless there is something that initially throws me off) I just like to wear them for a few days to a week and not try to do any comparative listening but by taking them on their own merits.
So the HD800S are tucked away and the 58X are then their designated substitution…. obviously they are not going to sound the same but that’s not the point….
How do I feel when listening to the music…am I being forced to recognize if there is enough body, bass….too much sibilance, high frequency energy….am I missing detail that I’m normally accustomed to, is the sound stage making feel claustrophobic, is the recreated ambience too ethereal and not apart of the music, does the recording feel disjointed, the presentation is too forward, too distant, am I falling asleep, jarred into listening…etc, etc.
Or have I forgotten about all these negative or even positive superlatives and just gotten into the music….well somehow Massdrop and Sennheiser have managed to pull that off with these 58Xs….with all comparatives put aside…so far these are IMHO a very balanced and satisfying listen……: )
These are the first headphones that I own/owned that I'm not constantly assessing. I'm just marvelling how much I simply enjoy listening to the music and how good the music comes across. That feeling applies to all 3 of my headphone setups.
@Tuneslover
“If anyone is on the fence and wants a neutral sound signature with good detail that isn't harsh, grab these immediately. Even at $200, these are a good value. We live in a world where the HD6XX is already a thing (and comes with a nicer box), but that shouldn't detract from what these headphones offer”
That’s the thing right there. Yes the 6XX exist, but are the 6XX truly better?! Is the price of the 6XX being higher just an illusion, which allows us to believe they are sonically superior? I don’t think they are, if anything the 58X are just different. Are the 58X underpriced, or what someone mentioned above, are the more expensive cans simply “overpriced”? At this current time, it seems the 58X are the best cans you can get under $200, and they are bang for the buck; it’s quite silly.
If you're into mods (this one is very easy and reversible), give the felt mod talked about here a try. It takes the midbass hump out completely and adds some clarity and speed to the sound. A great improvement if you find lower end too thick like I do. I still think the 600 sounds a bit more natural in timbre, but I was kind of shocked at the difference.
I may well do that - though if it just gives me another 600 soundalike there may not be much point(?). While the 600 would be my preference for most music, there might be some advantage to having a different voicing at hand.
Is the mod you are talking about removing the foam from the outside grille?
Here is my revised review, one week after my first experience with my new Sennheiser HD58X:
I just got the HD58x and had one week period of listening sessions with my iPhone X and Audioquest Dragonfly Red (with its 2.1V max output rms). The setup,i’m using is the same as the setup I normally use with my HD6xx and HD600 in portable mode (when i’m not using my living room headphone amp).
So here are a few comments so far:
- Bass is firmer than with HD6xx. Bass is heavier than HD600.
- It’s also without the famous HD650 mid bass bump, the sound is less thick.
- the sound is dryer, yet more dynamic, imaging as good as HD6xx or HD600.
- the highs are similar in level, maybe a little different, but comparable, without any sibilance. The HD58X are a little brighter in the lower treble than either the HD600 or HD650/6XX. HD600 is also bright. HD650/6XX seems to have more harmonics and better high treble extension.
But the thing is the mids are not as good as either the HD650/6xx or HD600. For now, they lack emotion, they lack sweetness, they lack the air, the harmonics that the HD600 or HD650/6XX are capable and have been famous for. The HD650/6XX is a lot more euphonic than the HD58X to my ears.
I tried a few songs from jazzy/soul/pop Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin and some of the emotion in her beautiful soul/jazz voice is gone. The mids are not only pushed back (less forward), they are also slighty shouty in the high mids(1khz),
I felt the same listening to The Chain from Fleewood Mac on Rumours and listening to Dire Strait’s Private Investigations. These two songs are famous for their acoustic sound qualities. They give me goose bumps when I use the HD6XX and even with my closed back HD25-1II. None of this with the HD58X. The harmonics of the strings on the guitars are not spectacular as they are on the HD650. There is a loss in harmonics, in the mids and also in the highs. Less musicality with the HD58X, yet more sub bass presence. The voices of Stevie Nicks in The Chain are simply not as outstanding on the HD58X as they are on the HD650/6XX or HD600.
Don’t get me wrong: the mids on the HD58X sound a lot better than many of my other headphones I own (better than HD25/Amperior, better than HD4.40BT, better than ATH-50X, better than PX100i and probably at par but still sounding different with less emotion than Momentum 1 and Momentum Wireless), but they are definitely a step backwards to the HD600/650/6XX. I cannot compare with HD660S because I never had the chance to hear them.
I cannot complain for the price I Paid, at 149$ they are very good, just not as good as the HD650/6XX. Everything else apart from the mids and the harmonics is « very good », but the mids are only « good », maybe because they are slighty « cold/dry » and slightly « shouty » compared to its 600 series siblings. The problem is than most of the emotion in the music I listen to is in the mids. I guess that if you are into EDM or rock concert type music, the HD58x are up to expectations, but even EDM music and rock benefit from good mids when there are singing portions in the music (most rock songs have some singing).
I must state that on my first day of listening my opinion was even more drastic against the HD58X. Over time I recognize the relative sound quality provided by this 600 series open air high quality headphone. But to sum it up: they are good, I even recommend them for the price, they have very good tight extended bass, but they would never be a remplacement to my HD6XX’s with its fabulous musicality and mids.
Just Adding a comment: slightly raising the 400hz and slightly lowering the 1khz sliders on my music app (I use Spotify or Apple Music most of the time) does restore part of the naturalness of the mids. They are then smoother and less shouty. Maybe the lack of emotion I find on the HD58X is something like a slightly too shouty (1khz) sound, which seems to be in common with the HD660S according to Tyll. Maybe I’m biased by many hours passed with my HD600 and HD6xx to truly enjoy the HD58X mids at this time. But I nevertheless give it a 4 star rating because of the overall sound quality, good firm bass (reminds me a bit of the HD25-1II bass although less firm since it‘s an open headphone contrary to the HD25) and fantastic pricing. I cannot think of a better headphone at this price. It’s also better sounding to me than most 500 series Sennheiser headphones, just not as musical and euphonic as the other 600 series headphones to my ears.
One more word on the built quality. I do not agree with many comments that say the built quality is not at par with other 600 series Sennheiser headphones. In fact, they have the exact same build qualities. you may or may not like the colour choices of the the grills and headband, but I assure you that the construction, build quality is identical. The finishing and colour is a bit more basic, I agree, but they remind us of the original HD580 finish. There is no doubt in my mind that these headphones will last as long as a new pair of 600/650/6XX/660S.
I recognize that my review is not in line with many other positive reviews on this site or on other headphone forums, but they are my sincere opinion of them, for the better or the worse, and I was able to do a direct comparison with my other headphones I currently own in my living room, such as the HD600, HD6XX, HD598, HD25-1, etc.
@Tuneslover
“If anyone is on the fence and wants a neutral sound signature with good detail that isn't harsh, grab these immediately. Even at $200, these are a good value. We live in a world where the HD6XX is already a thing (and comes with a nicer box), but that shouldn't detract from what these headphones offer”
That’s the thing right there. Yes the 6XX exist, but are the 6XX truly better?! Is the price of the 6XX being higher just an illusion, which allows us to believe they are sonically superior? I don’t think they are, if anything the 58X are just different, and/or are they underpriced, or what someone mentioned above, are the more expensive cans simply “overpriced”? At this current time, it seems the 58X are the best cans you can get under $200, and they are bang for the buck; it’s quite silly.
I understand what you say, and you can read my full revised review of the HD58X published today in this thread.
I believe for the reasons explained in my review that the HD650/6Xx is a truly superior headphone compared to the HD58X. I recognize that the HD58X is 50$ cheaper than the HD6XX. But I also believe that in certain cases like in this case the last few dollars will make all the difference. If you are willng to pay 150$ for a pair of good headphones, maybe you should pay 50$ more for a pair of outstanding headphones. The 50$ difference is worth it in my opinion. That doesn’t mean that the HD58X isn’t a good headphone: read my review for details in the comparison of both headphones. And there are other reasons some will prefer the HD58x, like lower impedance, higher extension of sub bass, colour sheme, etc. But in my opinion 50$ is not a lot to get a great headphone that you may enjoy for many years, compared to a fair headphone that will never be as euphonic, musical, with accurate timbre of the mids as the HD6XX. It’s only my opinion, and I respect others’ opinions.
If I could only have one Sennheiser Headphone it would still be The HD-650 but luckily with Massdrop for the price of one 650 I can get these and the 6XXs.
There are things these can do that the 650 can not
(as I happily listen to tool on my imac with no further amplification )
Seems like my review is the first for the HD58x, but I'll definitely look forward to others' because I don't have my best equipment with me right now. But already fell in love with the cans. Definitely a great buy.
It seems slightly more open/airy probably due to cleaner treble or mild case of placebo ,hopefully others can agree or disagree (it only takes like 2 min for each cup and no kung-fu grip required )
@ Tuneslover ..yes I was thinking about that as well ,will do
After a full week of burn in, 1/3 warm pink noise, almost brown noise, and one day of my iTunes collection, and the rest (mostly) a local pop radio station. The sound is slightly better in the mids and highs. Soundstage is similar, bass is slightly reduced. I'd say give it a burn in if you think it's too much. Still a bit more than the HD650, but there is nothing hyped about the bass. I've got the closed headphones that favor the bass to take care of that aspect. As it is I couldn't imagine trying to mod it, it works in exactly the place I want it to work in my small collection.
I understand what you say, and you can read my full revised review of the HD58X published today in this thread.
I believe for the reasons explained in my review that the HD650/6Xx is a truly superior headphone compared to the HD58X. I recognize that the HD58X is 50$ cheaper than the HD6XX. But I also believe that in certain cases like in this case the last few dollars will make all the difference. If you are willng to pay 150$ for a pair of good headphones, maybe you should pay 50$ more for a pair of outstanding headphones. The 50$ difference is worth it in my opinion. That doesn’t mean that the HD58X isn’t a good headphone: read my review for details in the comparison of both headphones. And there are other reasons some will prefer the HD58x, like lower impedance, higher extension of sub bass, colour sheme, etc. But in my opinion 50$ is not a lot to get a great headphone that you may enjoy for many years, compared to a fair headphone that will never be as euphonic, musical, with accurate timbre of the mids as the HD6XX. It’s only my opinion, and I respect others’ opinions.
There are things the HD650 does better, no doubt, but unless you like that presentation...slightly veiled treble, weaker bass, and mid-centric sound... it's not necessarily a better headphone.
When we review headphones we have to make sure and look at it on a basis of neutrality because otherwise comparisons mean very little.
How does the 58X sound when EQ'd to match the HD650? I imagine the 650 is more resolving, but possibly less dynamic.
It seems slightly more open/airy probably due to cleaner treble or mild case of placebo ,hopefully others can agree or disagree (it only takes like 2 min for each cup and no kung-fu grip required )
@ Tuneslover ..yes I was thinking about that as well ,will do
Edit;
Being it is completely reversible I will give it a shot also but right now I refuse to take these off my head lol
I've got Tool Lateralus on heavy rotation and I love these things
I may well do that - though if it just gives me another 600 soundalike there may not be much point(?). While the 600 would be my preference for most music, there might be some advantage to having a different voicing at hand.
Is the mod you are talking about removing the foam from the outside grille?
The consensus I've heard from a few places is that it sounds extremely similar to a 660S. I've never heard the 660S myself, just the 600 and 650, but the measurements of the 660 do look similar, at least as far as frequency response goes.
The mod I'm talking about is attaching some crafting felt (1mm polyester) to the back of the magnet. It covers the hole enough to dull the mid bass without killing the extension. It's illustrated here.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
