Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Review & Measurements
Sep 9, 2018 at 2:06 AM Post #2,086 of 4,872
I hear absolutely no muffled sound from the 58x , whatsoever.
Regarding the term "upgrade". There isn't a can that I've previously owned that out preforms the 58x. There's definitely notable differences in presentation. At the end of the day preference will be the deciding factor.
Thanks for the songs, will add them to the HD58X playlist also thanks @Mhog55 you Quote didn't show but I got your suggestions



Thanks, I tried to keep some variety in the songs, so looks like it was a good decision to get the HD58X. I heard people saying the HD58X bass can make it feel more muffled than the HD660, do you feel that? Also from what you said the DT1990 should be more dynamic and energetic than the HD58X but more piercing highs, worth an upgrade, the Sundara got more treble and less bass, I'm not sure what would be an advantage of the Sundara over the DT1990 (Soundstage?) or even the Sundara vs the HD58X. If I ever upgrade the HD58X it should be something used for a great price (not more than $300 really) that when new was from the $400/500 tier, is there any other Headphone you also suggest?
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 2:28 AM Post #2,087 of 4,872
Wanted to chime in on my logged hours on these cans, and some changes I've noticed over time.
I'm at the 100 hour mark on my 58x as of tonight.
For anyone that just got these new. I would definitely reserve judgment until you at the very least get passed the 30 to 40 hour mark.

Key changes for me is in imaging and dimensional cues. These cans over time really come together as a holographic, whole of sound.
This is the only can where not one note gets lost in the mix. No other can I've owned has been able to do this, this well.

Bass on these has definitely opened up with a more spacious presence, even down to the lowest registries. Excellent slam , and extension. The bass is amazing on these.
Mids , and treble have smoothed , and blend absolutely perfect. This was a miniscule change. In the beginning, I felt things were a little on the dry side, with the treble a tad more forward than the mids. Everything is perfect now. At least for me anyway. Lol.

All subjective though. Just some thoughts I thought I'd share. Still in awe with these things. Especially for what I paid, and in comparison to what I've owned.

Cheers
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 3:14 AM Post #2,088 of 4,872
Wanted to chime in on my logged hours on these cans, and some changes I've noticed over time.
I'm at the 100 hour mark on my 58x as of tonight.
For anyone that just got these new. I would definitely reserve judgment until you at the very least get passed the 30 to 40 hour mark.

Key changes for me is in imaging and dimensional cues. These cans over time really come together as a holographic, whole of sound.
This is the only can where not one note gets lost in the mix. No other can I've owned has been able to do this, this well.

Bass on these has definitely opened up with a more spacious presence, even down to the lowest registries. Excellent slam , and extension. The bass is amazing on these.
Mids , and treble have smoothed , and blend absolutely perfect. This was a miniscule change. In the beginning, I felt things were a little on the dry side, with the treble a tad more forward than the mids. Everything is perfect now. At least for me anyway. Lol.

All subjective though. Just some thoughts I thought I'd share. Still in awe with these things. Especially for what I paid, and in comparison to what I've owned.

Cheers

I'm in complete agreement that you need to get 100-150 hours on these headphones before you judge them. I burned-in my first pair upon receiving them, the second pair I decided to just listen straight out of the box. The burned-in pair are much more balanced sounding with clearer treble. The slow burn-in (natural) pair still have deeper bass but the treble isn't nearly as matured.
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 3:30 AM Post #2,089 of 4,872
I hear absolutely no muffled sound from the 58x , whatsoever.
Regarding the term "upgrade". There isn't a can that I've previously owned that out preforms the 58x. There's definitely notable differences in presentation. At the end of the day preference will be the deciding factor.

Yeah and this is a very strong comment especially when I check all the gear you owned like the He560. Maybe I'll never upgrade the HD58X, it will be easier to get better amps/DAC or sidegrade cans for different signatures but considering my reality living in Brazil, $1 is about R$4.2 (local currency) this and the extreme tax in customs, there is no real way to upgrade the HD58X in the foreseeable future.

I'll be extremely happy with the HD58X when they arrive and considering how praised they are, even with people owning much more expensive gear I know that I'm not missing much without super expensive stuff. When I say I want to "Upgrade the HD58X" it's more like me looking for a life objective, something I can build upon when I start making money.

Also I'm glad I got the Sennheiser, I know they are sturdy and will be working for years.
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 5:29 AM Post #2,091 of 4,872
Thanks for the songs, will add them to the HD58X playlist also thanks @Mhog55 If I ever upgrade the HD58X it should be something used for a great price (not more than $300 really) that when new was from the $400/500 tier, is there any other Headphone you also suggest?

Imo the Onkyo A800 is the perfect upgrade from the HD58X if one is looking for a more airy presentation with better clarity but still retaining an overall relaxed presentation.
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 6:45 AM Post #2,092 of 4,872
Agreed. Didn't know AOT had such a good soundtrack. 58X is the right headphone for it due to the crispness. I got to get around going through the series someday.
I'm a huge Hiroyuki Sawano fan. Everything that he composes is fantastic. Re:CREATORS soundtrack is fantastic too.
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 7:34 AM Post #2,093 of 4,872
Now that I've had the HD58X for a month I've had the time to do some comparisons with some of my other headphones and I'd thought that it may be interesting to others as well so I'll share my findings here.

Gear used:
I've used the HD58X with a very large amount of sources but for these comparisons I've used one balanced setup with the Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus in combination with two Nuforce HA-200 used as monoblocks.

The other setup is single ended and consist of the Burson Conductor V2+ fed by an Advance Acoustic Mda-503 tube DAC pimped with Burson V5 op amp and some NOS Ei tubes.

Both of these setups have enough power to drive pretty much any headphones that exist so power will not be the reason for any differences found here.

Please also note that my HD650 are modded with Dynamat at the back of the driver, foam removal and third party pads (all to make the sound more airy and open) and my HD700 are modded with the Anaxilus mod for a slightly fyller sound and more relaxed treble.

Music used is a variety of genres (classical and really heavy rock excluded as I don't listen to that) from both Spotify, flac and hi resolution files and all of the findings are of course highly subjective, so here we go:

Airy presentation:
700>598>58X>650
Subbass presence:
58X>650>700>598
Midbass presence:
650>598>700=58X
Bass quality:
700=58X>650>598
Soundstage width:
700>598>58X>650
Soundstage depth:
650>58X>700>598
Treble extension:
700>598>58X>650
Midrange quality:
650>58X>700>598
"Veil":
650>598>58X>700
For the record I don't really think that any of these have a "veil" but several of the do occasionally sound a bit wooly or closed in and I can only assume that this is what others are describing as "veiled".

One very interesting thing that I finds during these comparisons is that although the HD650, 700 and 598 is all quite different sounding the HD58X is actually quite similar sounding to all of them making them a mix of all to my ears.

To me the HD58X is the best overall performer among the four while the HD650 has a much better midrange and both the HD700 and HD598 have a wider soundstage. The only area that the HD58X is better than the others is subbass (both presence and quality imo) but it has overall less flaws in other areas compared to the others here.

(I'm late to be somewhere now so I will have to continue this post later tonight.....

Edit:
Ok, back home from some family duties and will try to wrap this up. Hopefully some of the questions raised after my initial post will be answered along the way as well.)

In the same way that I don't find the HD58X to beat the other Sennheisers that I've compared the with so far in this post in several areas I don't find the to be technically superior either and many times I've found both the HD650 and HD700 to sound more refined. I think this might be because the HD58X sounds a bit more two dimensional compared to both the others occasionally. For example, although I don't really like the overall signature of the HD650 (too rolled off in both ends and too warm for me) they have one of the best midrange presentation of all my headphones which makes them extremely good sounding with some music but definitely not a great allrounder for me in the same way the HD58X is. I'd guess in a way the HD58X, to me, is a jack of all trades but master of none.

Comparing the HD58X to the HD800S, HE560 and A800 makes this even more obvious to me and I can safely say that for me all of these three ranks quite a bit higher than the HD58X for my preferences. Of course the HE560, and to some extent the HD800S, different sound signatures than the HD58X and suites my preferences better. The A800 is more similar to the HD58X with it's more bass tilted and warmer signature and for me this is the perfect upgrade from the HD58X offering better resolution and more airy presentation.

Despite the shortcomings that the HD58X have to my ears and for my preferences I still like them a lot because they do present the sound in a way that's really easy to like and without any serious flaws. They also sound great from most sources and with most music. I'd say that they offer a easily digested modern sound, especially with modern pop and electronic music.

I bought them primarily to use in hotel rooms when traveling to be able to get a good sound without having to bring a power plant with me and for this they're just perfect. They even sound great from the $10 Venture Electronics Odyssey. In addition they're extremely comfortable and sits properly on my small head when wearing them in bed.

In total these headphones are a very easy recommendation to anyone looking for a great sounding all-round headphone without breaking the bank.
 
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Sep 9, 2018 at 8:41 AM Post #2,094 of 4,872
To me the HD58X is the best overall performer among the four while the HD650 has a much better midrange and both the HD700 and HD598 have a wider soundstage.

I don't understand how you get to this conclusion given you ranked HD700 #1 on 5 of 9 categories while HD58X is #1 on only 1 of 9 categories and #2 in 4 of 9.

Don't get me wrong...the HD58X are currently my favorite headphones. I'm just not following your logic.
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 9:37 AM Post #2,095 of 4,872
I don't understand how you get to this conclusion given you ranked HD700 #1 on 5 of 9 categories while HD58X is #1 on only 1 of 9 categories and #2 in 4 of 9.

Don't get me wrong...the HD58X are currently my favorite headphones. I'm just not following your logic.

I think all factors are not equal in rating the headphones. And it may vary from one person to another. For my part I value more the midrange quality, the bass quality, the depth than other factors. Therefore I still prefer the HD650 overall, however the HD58x grows on me every day, I appreciate the sub bass and the dynamic sound and I must say they got the most listening time lately. I do not like the HD700, too bright, and I never was crazy about the HD598, which is only a « good TV headphone » for me because of its comfort and wide soundstage. I agree with the findings of peter123, but At the end I would rate overall HD650/6XX>HD58X>HD700>HD598. It’s a personal opinion, I respect other’s opinions on the matter.
 
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Sep 9, 2018 at 9:38 AM Post #2,096 of 4,872
I've just joined the drop for 58x. I'm pretty excited, this will be my first pair of quality headphones. :L3000:

I'm in complete agreement that you need to get 100-150 hours on these headphones before you judge them. I burned-in my first pair upon receiving them, the second pair I decided to just listen straight out of the box. The burned-in pair are much more balanced sounding with clearer treble. The slow burn-in (natural) pair still have deeper bass but the treble isn't nearly as matured.

I'm new to all these techniques, how exactly do I burn-in a hp? Should I just let them play different genres for hours? :smile_phones:
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 10:45 AM Post #2,098 of 4,872
Now that I've had the HD58X for a month I've had the time to do some comparisons with some of my other headphones and I'd thought that it may be interesting to others as well so I'll share my findings here.

Gear used:
I've used the HD58X with a very large amount of sources but for these comparisons I've used one balanced setup with the Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus in combination with two Nuforce HA-200 used as monoblocks.

The other setup is single ended and consist of the Burson Conductor V2+ fed by an Advance Acoustic Mda-503 tube DAC pimped with Burson V5 op amp and some NOS Ei tubes.

.

Little confused regarding the set-up ..why would you want to have a mix of Burson discrete opamps and tubes in the same chain :)
 
Sep 9, 2018 at 10:56 AM Post #2,100 of 4,872
Now that I've had the HD58X for a month I've had the time to do some comparisons with some of my other headphones and I'd thought that it may be interesting to others as well so I'll share my findings here.

Gear used:
I've used the HD58X with a very large amount of sources but for these comparisons I've used one balanced setup with the Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus in combination with two Nuforce HA-200 used as monoblocks.

The other setup is single ended and consist of the Burson Conductor V2+ fed by an Advance Acoustic Mda-503 tube DAC pimped with Burson V5 op amp and some NOS Ei tubes.

Both of these setups have enough power to drive pretty much any headphones that exist so power will not be the reason for any differences found here.

Please also note that my HD650 are modded with Dynamat at the back of the driver, foam removal and third party pads (all to make the sound more airy and open) and my HD700 are modded with the Anaxilus mod for a slightly fyller sound and more relaxed treble.

Music used is a variety of genres (classical and really heavy rock excluded as I don't listen to that) from both Spotify, flac and hi resolution files and all of the findings are of course highly subjective, so here we go:

Airy presentation:
700>598>58X>650
Subbass presence:
58X>650>700>598
Midbass presence:
650>598>700=58X
Bass quality:
700=58X>650>598
Soundstage width:
700>598>58X>650
Soundstage depth:
650>58X>700>598
Treble extension:
700>598>58X>650
Midrange quality:
650>58X>700>598
"Veil":
650>598>58X>700
For the record I don't really think that any of these have a "veil" but several of the do occasionally sound a bit wooly or closed in and I can only assume that this is what others are describing as "veiled".

One very interesting thing that I finds during these comparisons is that although the HD650, 700 and 598 is all quite different sounding the HD58X is actually quite similar sounding to all of them making them a mix of all to my ears.

To me the HD58X is the best overall performer among the four while the HD650 has a much better midrange and both the HD700 and HD598 have a wider soundstage. The only area that the HD58X is better than the others is subbass (both presence and quality imo) but it has overall less flaws in other areas compared to the others here.

I'm late to be somewhere now so I will have to continue this post later tonight..... ..
Interesting. To my ear HD 6XX is wider than the HD 58X and the imaging might be a tad bit better too.

HD 598's treble extension though... It has quite prominent peak at 10K ish but there are some very clear slumps and I find the HD 58X has clearer overall more detailed treble and I think the HD 598 is more veiled. HD 700 has insane 6K peak that totally ruined it for me. Other than that the treble was pretty much fine. The mids were a bit too recessed especially because of that 6K peak.

I think all factors are not equal in rating the headphones. And it may vary from one person to another. For my part I value more the midrange quality, the bass quality, the depth than other factors. Therefore I still prefer the HD650 overall, however the HD58x grows on me every day, I appreciate the sub bass and the dynamic sound and I must say they got the most listening time lately. I do not like the HD700, too bright, and I never was crazy about the HD598, which is only a « good TV headphone » for me because of its comfort and wide soundstage. I agree with the findings of peter123, but At the end I would rate overall HD650/6XX>HD58X>HD700>HD598. It’s a personal opinion, I respect other’s opinions on the matter.
HD 598 is rather interesting... Personally I don't like it - HD 595 sounds much better to me. They are surprisingly different. It would be interesting to hear how HD 599 compares to them both.

I ordered these a couple days ago, excited to get them!

I may have to get a longer (3 m/10 ft) cable though, my setup is not perfect.

Could anyone help me find some?
https://www.google.com/search?q=sennheiser+092885+cable
 
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