[Tuneslover]

Yesterday my friend dropped over to my place with his newly arrived HD58X headphones. We were planning on doing a listening comparison between his set and my 200+ hour HD58X pair once he received his. My friend is a music lover and we share similar musical tastes. He is relatively new to the headphone hobby and has been planning to jump into this hobby for a while now but has been put off by the cost of headphones and associated electronics. When Massdrop surprisingly announced the availability of an additional 1,800 units I urged him to get his hands on a pair. He did and they finally arrived a few days ago.

When I received my pair a few weeks ago I immediately connected them to one of my 2 channel integrated amp setups and piped music through them on a continuous basis for a couple of days. I didn't like the short cable that came with these headphones so I ordered a stock HD650 cable from Sennheiser Canada and a couple of days later they arrived. I switched out cables and continued burning them in for 4 more days. I listened to them throughout the burn-in process and did notice a change to the sound.

We used my Lake People G109S (and Mimby) setup which was going to work well for our listening session because this amp has 2 headphone outputs. We kicked off the listening session with the first song and I watched his reaction to what he was hearing. He had a satisfying grin on his face that I understood. Part way through the song we swapped headphones and after only 20 seconds or so he took off the headphones, as did I, to announce how different my headphones sounded to his. I immediately heard it too, recognizing the "out of the box" sound that my HD58X had a few weeks earlier. He was a bit perplexed not knowing which sound he preferred. I decided to let him revel in the sound of his headphones by minimizing the amount of headphone trading, although he was quite curious to hear the comparative sound.

My HD58X had a fuller upper mid and low treble sound with what appeared to be less dominant bass. I characterized my headphone sound as being better balanced as compared to the "out of the box" sound. In addition, my headphones sounded more detailed and conveyed a better front-to-back image giving more depth to the soundscape. Both sounded terrific but my burned-in pair sounded more comparable to my HD650/6XX sound but with substantially more liveliness and musical feel. I was surprised to hear this much difference between the "out of the box" sound and the burned-in sound.

 

[tafens]

My friend said his HD6xx needed new earpads faster than he expected, really hope thats not the case, I might get a pair of Dekoni earpads if that does end up happening to me, and hopefully the Dekoni will have amuch longer lifespan than stock. Not sure if he was just rough with them or what, but yeah I do find it a little troubling Sennheiser with all its money and production abilities doesn't produce longer lasting earpads. I have some Pioneer SE-A1000 headphones from 10 years ago or so, and 0 issues.

My second pair of HD6XX had bad ear pads to boot, I wonder if it’s Sennheiser or Massdrop QC that is lacking..? They sounded noticeable worse than my first, three months older pair. A set of replacement pads later and both pairs sound indistinguishable from each other.

I didn’t think that the pads would have such a large impact on the sound of these things, but they really do. One thing is for sure, if you are to make a comparison with a HD6-series phone, make sure the pads are good first, preferably brand new.

Moreover, if you listen daily-ish, it’s probably a good idea to replace the pads annually.

 

[Tuneslover]

Yesterday my friend dropped over to my place with his newly arrived HD58X headphones. We were planning on doing a listening comparison between his set and my 200+ hour HD58X pair once he received his. My friend is a music lover and we share similar musical tastes. He is relatively new to the headphone hobby and has been planning to jump into this hobby for a while now but has been put off by the cost of headphones and associated electronics. When Massdrop surprisingly announced the availability of an additional 1,800 units I urged him to get his hands on a pair. He did and they finally arrived a few days ago.

When I received my pair a few weeks ago I immediately connected them to one of my 2 channel integrated amp setups and piped music through them on a continuous basis for a couple of days. I didn't like the short cable that came with these headphones so I ordered a stock HD650 cable from Sennheiser Canada and a couple of days later they arrived. I switched out cables and continued burning them in for 4 more days. I listened to them throughout the burn-in process and did notice a change to the sound.

We used my Lake People G109S (and Mimby) setup which was going to work well for our listening session because this amp has 2 headphone outputs. We kicked off the listening session with the first song and I watched his reaction to what he was hearing. He had a satisfying grin on his face that I understood. Part way through the song we swapped headphones and after only 20 seconds or so he took off the headphones, as did I, to announce how different my headphones sounded to his. I immediately heard it too, recognizing the "out of the box" sound that my HD58X had a few weeks earlier. He was a bit perplexed not knowing which sound he preferred. I decided to let him revel in the sound of his headphones by minimizing the amount of headphone trading, although he was quite curious to hear the comparative sound.

My HD58X had a fuller upper mid and low treble sound with what appeared to be less dominant bass. I characterized my headphone sound as being better balanced as compared to the "out of the box" sound. In addition, my headphones sounded more detailed and conveyed a better front-to-back image giving more depth to the soundscape. Both sounded terrific but my burned-in pair sounded more comparable to my HD650/6XX sound but with substantially more liveliness and musical feel. I was surprised to hear this much difference between the "out of the box" sound and the burned-in sound.

So here is Part 2 of my earlier post, which turns out to be a bit of a revelation. After switching headphone cables during the burn-in process I did notice that the headphone sound changed pretty quickly. I simply assumed that the headphones themselves were beginning to change in sound due to burn-in. As additional burn-in time continued the familiar "out of the box" sound had disappeared and gave way to the more balanced sound I described earlier. This morning I slipped on my HD58X's while working on my MacBook pro and reading today's headline news. Then it hit me, could the change in sound be attributed to the cable swap? I thought, nah. I decided that there was only one way to find out so I re-installed the original short cable and had a listen. Well to my surprise there was that familiar "out of the box" sound again. Not precisely like what my friend's new HD58X sounded like but pretty darn close. Go figure.

 

[tafens]

I noticed that the clamping force reduces rather quickly (you can even see it). No doubt that the earpads probably start do deform based on ones head shape. I'm pretty sure that all that will affect the sound.

I would recommend to bend carefully on the metal arms (when fully extended) to lighten the clamping force. This will make them more comfortable as well as make the pads last longer

 

[spacequeen7]

Yesterday my friend dropped over to my place with his newly arrived HD58X headphones. We were planning on doing a listening comparison between his set and my 200+ hour HD58X pair once he received his. My friend is a music lover and we share similar musical tastes. He is relatively new to the headphone hobby and has been planning to jump into this hobby for a while now but has been put off by the cost of headphones and associated electronics. When Massdrop surprisingly announced the availability of an additional 1,800 units I urged him to get his hands on a pair. He did and they finally arrived a few days ago.

When I received my pair a few weeks ago I immediately connected them to one of my 2 channel integrated amp setups and piped music through them on a continuous basis for a couple of days. I didn't like the short cable that came with these headphones so I ordered a stock HD650 cable from Sennheiser Canada and a couple of days later they arrived. I switched out cables and continued burning them in for 4 more days. I listened to them throughout the burn-in process and did notice a change to the sound.

We used my Lake People G109S (and Mimby) setup which was going to work well for our listening session because this amp has 2 headphone outputs. We kicked off the listening session with the first song and I watched his reaction to what he was hearing. He had a satisfying grin on his face that I understood. Part way through the song we swapped headphones and after only 20 seconds or so he took off the headphones, as did I, to announce how different my headphones sounded to his. I immediately heard it too, recognizing the "out of the box" sound that my HD58X had a few weeks earlier. He was a bit perplexed not knowing which sound he preferred. I decided to let him revel in the sound of his headphones by minimizing the amount of headphone trading, although he was quite curious to hear the comparative sound.

My HD58X had a fuller upper mid and low treble sound with what appeared to be less dominant bass. I characterized my headphone sound as being better balanced as compared to the "out of the box" sound. In addition, my headphones sounded more detailed and conveyed a better front-to-back image giving more depth to the soundscape. Both sounded terrific but my burned-in pair sounded more comparable to my HD650/6XX sound but with substantially more liveliness and musical feel. I was surprised to hear this much difference between the "out of the box" sound and the burned-in sound.

Funny I was about to post something in regards to 58x burn -in ,noticed changes occurring about a weak ago
They become more balanced with mid's taking a step forward and treble step back ,I agree much more musical

 

[Tuneslover]

Funny I was about to post something in regards to 58x burn -in ,noticed changes occurring about a weak ago
They become more balanced with mid's taking a step forward and treble step back ,I agree much more musical

I couldn't definitively say whether the treble changed or not but definitely the mids became more prominent bordering toward a bit more shimmer which is why I referenced the lower treble region. I'm sure hearing varies between people but I noticed that the sound became more detailed over time (burn-in or change in cables or both).

 

[spacequeen7]

I couldn't definitively say whether the treble changed or not but definitely the mids became more prominent bordering toward a bit more shimmer which is why I referenced the lower treble region. I'm sure hearing varies between people but I noticed that the sound became more detailed over time (burn-in or change in cables or both).

Treble seems less shouty and more refined it seems which brought up the detail ,sound stage expended slightly ,..they do sound different then out of the box no doubt

 

[turbomustang84]

I now have all of the 6 series except for the HD-650 which will be remedied when my HD-6XX ships but I personally think the HD-58X is what I reach for almost 100 percent of the time. .

I actually bought these out of boredom waiting for the HD-6XX who knew they would be this good

 

[yangian]

I now have all of the 6 series except for the HD-650 which will be remedied when my HD-6XX ships but I personally think the HD-58X is what I reach for almost 100 percent of the time. .

I actually bought these out of boredom waiting for the HD-6XX who knew they would be this good

Really?! What kinds of music you listen to?

 

[turbomustang84]

Really?! What kinds of music you listen to?

well all kinds but I'm a Tool fanatic.
But lately Black Mountain has tripped my trigger I like the fact that I can be playing all genres and these headphones have great highs but unlike the other Senn's I have I never feel they are lacking. Bass impact .
I went and auditioned the 660s and they sounded quite similar but only $300 more money ..
I know a lot of people don't think burn in makes much of a difference but the high end has gotten much better after a week worth of continuous use and I must admit I love these things .

 

[Nutsid]

Burn in on my HD558's was pretty much non-existent. The HD58X Jubilee's are a totally different story, though. I almost felt like it was a mistake buying them the first full album I listened to. The longer they played, the better they sound. They also really opened up once I put them through a dedicated dac and amp as well.

 

[Marco99]

One word of caution from someone who listens to a lot of rock music. Right now I am listening to Led Zeppelin II (Remastered) FLAC 96kHz/24bit over a balanced cable on my Pioneer XDP-300R. Incidentally, I have observed this on some other tracks and artists as well. Basically, if there is some distortion because Bonham is thrashing the drums too hard and too fast or Page is grinding the guitar distortion too loud, the HD -58X really does not respond very well. My sense of the issue is that if the loud distortion is there in the recording the HD-58X just doesn't handle the edges of it in a way that I appreciate. Maybe someone else would just write it off as rock music distortion and that is that. But I have heard the HD-660s subdue this type of distortion and not bother my ears. So, if you have recordings with some distortion and like to listen to your headphones relatively loudly be prepared to possibly find these headphones a little lacking.

 

[jonathane40]

One word of caution from someone who listens to a lot of rock music. Right now I am listening to Led Zeppelin II (Remastered) FLAC 96kHz/24bit over a balanced cable on my Pioneer XDP-300R. Incidentally, I have observed this on some other tracks and artists as well. Basically, if there is some distortion because Bonham is thrashing the drums too hard and too fast or Page is grinding the guitar distortion too loud, the HD -58X really does not respond very well. My sense of the issue is that if the loud distortion is there in the recording the HD-58X just doesn't handle the edges of it in a way that I appreciate. Maybe someone else would just write it off as rock music distortion and that is that. But I have heard the HD-660s subdue this type of distortion and not bother my ears. So, if you have recordings with some distortion and like to listen to your headphones relatively loudly be prepared to possibly find these headphones a little lacking.

Do you mean clipping in the recording? Like Stairway to Heaven starting around 5:30? I hear the guitars clipping. This reminds me of the Lou Reed album Rock n Roll Animal where Sweet Jane has some annoying clipping. Both of my recordings are the remastered 24bits 94Khz. I ended up finding an older version of Reed’s album that was better mastered and does not have this issue.

If this is not the issue, could you elaborate a bit more. Other than this, I find the HD58X to be really nice and lively. More lively than the HD6XX.

 

[Mhog55]

One word of caution from someone who listens to a lot of rock music. Right now I am listening to Led Zeppelin II (Remastered) FLAC 96kHz/24bit over a balanced cable on my Pioneer XDP-300R. Incidentally, I have observed this on some other tracks and artists as well. Basically, if there is some distortion because Bonham is thrashing the drums too hard and too fast or Page is grinding the guitar distortion too loud, the HD -58X really does not respond very well. My sense of the issue is that if the loud distortion is there in the recording the HD-58X just doesn't handle the edges of it in a way that I appreciate. Maybe someone else would just write it off as rock music distortion and that is that. But I have heard the HD-660s subdue this type of distortion and not bother my ears. So, if you have recordings with some distortion and like to listen to your headphones relatively loudly be prepared to possibly find these headphones a little lacking.

I couldn't agree more. I can't do Metallic on these. They're just too edgy imo. Where these cans really shine imo is slow to moderately paced rock. Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc sound premium. The HD 25 and H6 I own handle clipping much better. Way more fluid. Slower Zeppelin sounds amazing on these though. Like Def Leppards remastered Hysteria album sounds wonderful, but High and Dry not so much. These headphones seem best with with remastered CDs I've burned into 24 bit flac. Poorly recorded albums are revealed on these no doubt. I would have liked slightly less hot treble on these. Like I said, I find aggressive, poorly recorded rock will eventually become fatiguing at some point, but well recorded slow to moderate paced rock rides that line of perfection for extended hours. I'm fixing to listen to some remastered Cars 24 bit flac in a few. Let the good times roll

 

[Anarion]

I would recommend to bend carefully on the metal arms (when fully extended) to lighten the clamping force. This will make them more comfortable as well as make the pads last longer

I've been bending the headband ever since I received these. Now they are finally starting to feel comfortable. Once the pads start to soften up a bit it's going to be quite close to HD 595 comfort level.