[Mr Trev]

Quick question regarding comfort.

I'm gonna start off by saying my ears protrude a bit farther than I'd like. It's nothing too bad, they're not crazy looking (thank god), but it sometimes can make headphones uncomfortable, because my ears touch the driver. That was why I needed other pads on my MSR7.

So, my question is this. When I wear my MSR7 with the HM5 pads, I immediately get a feeling of "Ooh, these are nice!" when the leather touches my head and it's nice and soft, but over time they can get a bit sweaty. With the 58x, when I put them on they are uncomfortable. Like, I need to move them around and then make a concious effort to not notice them, because my ears, especially the left one, touch the inside of the cup. But after a while they kind of disappear until I move them again. Does anybody get the same thing or is my head that weird?

I get the same thing. I was hoping that having oval earpads - the rest of my cans use round earpads - the 58x wouldn't be touching my ears, but no such luck. That's probably the only major complaint I'd make, but that's probably not on the headphones, but rather my own biology. Even though my ears do feel a tad crowded in the earcups, thankfully they don't touch the baffles. I usually just have to shift the phones around a bit to find the most comfy position and they really don't bother me.
My Grados on the other hand…

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

I di

I hear differences, especially soundstage: happy with my placebo!

I barely hear a difference and i think that the waiting while i'm remounting the grill do the trick (hoping dust wil not touch the rear of the driver). But with the felt mod, which turn a discrete headphone into a wonderful transparent, balanced and drivable beast, the foam can't really make any difference. So, in my opinion, being unrecommendable to remove the foam wothout the felt, i found this a useless argumentation.

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

Finally finished with the HD58X
Nice sound & bassy.
HD650 cable swap balanced out sound
Foam removed improved sound (rip bass, hello soundstage & details)
Felt mod...... tamed that treble so well, All i can say is Wow Sounded so close to my HD600 with this. Even A/B tested it to make sure.
I kept a lot of details on the changes with each mod, but don't plan on doing a review.

At no point did the HD58X sound similar to a HD6XX.
At no point was it HD660s Level or close enough for me to say it was HD660s level.
Would i sell my HD660s & keep the HD58X easy answer No! But If i didnt have a heap of HD600, HD6XX, HD660's laying around i'd buy 2 more so i have 1 stock, 1 with foam removed & 1 with felt mod.
With the foam removed sounded the best to me.

Where i'd put them:
 Music HD600 / HD660S > HD58X (no foam) > HD650/XX >HD580 (stock)
 Gaming: HD660S > HD58X > HD650 > HD600

The felt don’t tame the highs, at all. It removes every boomyness and fleshes out the the voices retaining at least the same quantity of highs, if not even increase it

 

[Luigi Milazzo]

Because it does sound different from experience!?!

Issue being people seeing Sennheisers use of the word "minimal" prior maybe? which its not! at least by my understanding of the word.
I also wonder about the pdf if it was a prototype or finished for that specific graph. I know what they show, but i also know how it actually sounds.....

Theres also a issue in this statement "Does not reinforce bass" "Or reflect back bass" So where did the bass go when it was removed?

I think that the difference is merely in the dampening. The structure behind the magnet of the 660 is absent in the 58x. The felt mod, as the measurement shows, allows the same fr. So the statement of sennheiser is still correct. A driver includes the rear dampening, so they are different. Only you, and all the 660 owners, can solve the mistery. But, everyone knows that someone is hearing a big difference where it is impossible to hear it - felt (less highs) + foam (more soundstage, even with the felt mounted) - can’t be a reliable counselor...

 

[tolis626]

Hey, guys... Ermmm, I took the backs off of my 58x to try them without the foam backing. Other than being able to listen to no difference at all with my music (briefly tested with a mix of melodic death metal), I saw something strange. This is the back of my left cup.

As you can see, the back of the magnet on my left cup is scratched. It's a pretty straight scratch and kinda deep (I mean, it catches my fingernail, but it doesn't seem to go all the way through to indicate a broken magnet). Maybe a manufacturing defect? It doesn't seem to affect the sound, though, so I doubt I or Massdrop would bother with an RMA. What do you guys think?

 

[kman1211]

Hey, guys... Ermmm, I took the backs off of my 58x to try them without the foam backing. Other than being able to listen to no difference at all with my music (briefly tested with a mix of melodic death metal), I saw something strange. This is the back of my left cup.

As you can see, the back of the magnet on my left cup is scratched. It's a pretty straight scratch and kinda deep (I mean, it catches my fingernail, but it doesn't seem to go all the way through to indicate a broken magnet). Maybe a manufacturing defect? It doesn't seem to affect the sound, though, so I doubt I or Massdrop would bother with an RMA. What do you guys think?

That is weird it's scratched like that, but neodymium magnets are rather fragile. It won't affect the sound, so I wouldn't worry about it. Likely something happened during the manufacturing process, no idea what would cause that type of scratch though.

 

[DavidA]

With all this talk about foam/no-foam has anyone tried dynamat like its used in the HD650 mod?

 

[Electrolite]

So my HD58X finally arrived, I'm going to be sincere the gap between SHP9500 and HD58X was much smaller than I expected, as Tolis said this doesn't take anything from the HD58X but now I really respect the SHP9500 because I can see where the hype (altough a little too much) came from.

SHP mids are slight worse (maybe not even worse, they are less intimate, but it's a small change, they feel very similar), HD58X has more sub-bass when needed and they aren't sibilant at all, the HD58X feel like a more refined SHP9500 but the SHP9500 is so damn close hahaha I wonder if I'm a bad audio lover guy. I don't regret the HD58X at all they just aren't such a jump, if they compete with stuff at 300 dollars I wonder if the jump to something like a Sundara, DT1990 people said that they can improve in some weeks so I'll wait some more to really conclude here.


hahaha EDIT already, I'm listening to Glory Box by Portishead and yeah the gap seems futher away, the SHP9500 sounds thins compared, maybe the psychological burn-in magic is already taking effect.

 

[Mr Trev]

Hey, guys... Ermmm, I took the backs off of my 58x to try them without the foam backing. Other than being able to listen to no difference at all with my music (briefly tested with a mix of melodic death metal), I saw something strange. This is the back of my left cup.

As you can see, the back of the magnet on my left cup is scratched. It's a pretty straight scratch and kinda deep (I mean, it catches my fingernail, but it doesn't seem to go all the way through to indicate a broken magnet). Maybe a manufacturing defect? It doesn't seem to affect the sound, though, so I doubt I or Massdrop would bother with an RMA. What do you guys think?

I can say 100%, but I think that's a metal cover that protects the magnet. I suppose you could always sent a pic to MD and see what they say, but I'd say that if it doesn't effect the sound (if the magnet was cracked you'd know), then don't worry. Do the felt mod, leave the foam on the grill, and you won't know anythings wrong

 

[tolis626]

I can say 100%, but I think that's a metal cover that protects the magnet. I suppose you could always sent a pic to MD and see what they say, but I'd say that if it doesn't effect the sound (if the magnet was cracked you'd know), then don't worry. Do the felt mod, leave the foam on the grill, and you won't know anythings wrong

That is weird it's scratched like that, but neodymium magnets are rather fragile. It won't affect the sound, so I wouldn't worry about it. Likely something happened during the manufacturing process, no idea what would cause that type of scratch though.

Yeah, well, I suppose if the magnet was damaged in any way, it probably wouldn't make any sound, or something would be horribly wrong. I'm not worried the magnet is broken. What I'm kinda worried about is that, if it's the magnet that's scratched, maybe its structural integrity is compromised. I hope it's indeed a cover and not the magnet itself. If it is and my headphones aren't in any danger, I couldn't care less. It doesn't even show from the outside, so meh. I may shoot MD an email to see what they have to say, but I don't think these are due for an RMA. Or at least I hope they're not.

Regarding the felt mod, meh, I like their sound sig too much to do that. I'm no basshead, but I do like the thicker bass these have compared to what the others in the line have.

So my HD58X finally arrived, I'm going to be sincere the gap between SHP9500 and HD58X was much smaller than I expected, as Tolis said this doesn't take anything from the HD58X but now I really respect the SHP9500 because I can see where the hype (altough a little too much) came from.

SHP mids are slight worse (maybe not even worse, they are less intimate, but it's a small change, they feel very similar), HD58X has more sub-bass when needed and they aren't sibilant at all, the HD58X feel like a more refined SHP9500 but the SHP9500 is so damn close hahaha I wonder if I'm a bad audio lover guy. I don't regret the HD58X at all they just aren't such a jump, if they compete with stuff at 300 dollars I wonder if the jump to something like a Sundara, DT1990 people said that they can improve in some weeks so I'll wait some more to really conclude here.


hahaha EDIT already, I'm listening to Glory Box by Portishead and yeah the gap seems futher away, the SHP9500 sounds thins compared, maybe the psychological burn-in magic is already taking effect.

Well, there's always the law of diminishing returns. Something that's twice the price doesn't always offer twice the performance. And in audio, performance is just one thing. You can have all the technical performance in the world on a headphone that doesn't suit your tastes. That's a useless headphone. But I do think the SHP9500 fall quite a bit behind the 58x in some aspects. They're a bit similar in tonality, but let's say distortion wise they aren't even comparable. That said, it's more the fact that the SHP9500 punch way above their price bracket than anything else, as do the 58x. All that can't prevent you and anyone from prefering an objectively worse headphone, because tastes differ. If you like it more, then good for you! You're far luckier than those who need a 4 figure costing headphone to be pleased.

 

[DavidA]

So my HD58X finally arrived, I'm going to be sincere the gap between SHP9500 and HD58X was much smaller than I expected, as Tolis said this doesn't take anything from the HD58X but now I really respect the SHP9500 because I can see where the hype (altough a little too much) came from.

SHP mids are slight worse (maybe not even worse, they are less intimate, but it's a small change, they feel very similar), HD58X has more sub-bass when needed and they aren't sibilant at all, the HD58X feel like a more refined SHP9500 but the SHP9500 is so damn close hahaha I wonder if I'm a bad audio lover guy. I don't regret the HD58X at all they just aren't such a jump, if they compete with stuff at 300 dollars I wonder if the jump to something like a Sundara, DT1990 people said that they can improve in some weeks so I'll wait some more to really conclude here.


hahaha EDIT already, I'm listening to Glory Box by Portishead and yeah the gap seems futher away, the SHP9500 sounds thins compared, maybe the psychological burn-in magic is already taking effect.

If you consider the SHP9500 "close" to the HD58X then you have a pretty wide tolerance as far as noting differences . To me the HD58X is quite a bit better all around, a great bargain for the cost.

 

[tolis626]

If you consider the SHP9500 "close" to the HD58X then you have a pretty wide tolerance as far as noting differences . To me the HD58X is quite a bit better all around, a great bargain for the cost.

Well, what I think he means is that the differences aren't "in your face". Like him, I expected to be blown away, to put them on my head and just rediscover how music can be heard. I wanted the 58x to take my beloved MSR7 and make them look like a piece of junk in comparison. Well, they didn't do that, not by a long shot. What they did was give me a technically excellent headphone that very very pleasant to listen to. I can't directly compare them to my MSR7 because for how similar they are in their sound signature, they are also vastly different in their interpretation of that sound. So what I ended up buying was what was missing from my listening experience. I bought the open stage that was missing from my MSR7's large concert hall sound. I bought the airiness that was missing from my MSR7's intense detailed sound. I got the ability to lay back and let music play in the background of my attention, while with the MSR7 I had to be paying attention to it. It's the perfect companion and it has nothing to hide. Performance wise (in speed etc), I think they're so similar that it's a moot point to compare them. I was disappointed at first because I bought them for their performance, but instead I got so much more. Needless to say, I'm happy with my purchase.

Compared to the SHP9500, well, the differences might not be as apparent without better upstream gear. They're there, just not as blatant as you'd think. You'd need to listen a bit and get your mind away from the "ooh, this has bass" feeling you'd get after listening to the 58x for the first time after being used to the 9500. The delivery of the sound is different enough to distract one from the technical aspects of it. I suspect @Electrolite will be posting more in the next few days, saying how he slowly notices the differences between the 2, mostly in favor of the 58x. Let's see...

 

[Xbmyc]

How do you actually remove the foam? Can't open the gril.

 

[DavidA]

@tolis626, I think you and @Electrolite went in to getting the HD58X with very different expectations than me, I wasn't expecting to be "blown away" by the HD58X and only got them since they were so cheap I couldn't resist. I was surprised that I liked them more than I thought I would and compared to the other headphones that I have they do hold their own with some genres. I owned the SHP9500 in the past and it was a big disappointment to me since it was harsh/grainy in the treble, quite thin sounding, had no sub-bass and even lacked mid-bass IMO. It was one of the few headphones that I was glad to give away and I'm one that likes to keep most of the headphones that I've purchased over the years. You can see what I have/owned in my profile if you are curious. Another thing to consider is that I'm not looking for "upgrades" or "better" sounding headphones, I'm more interested in different sound signatures since I like how different headphones present each track in their own unique way. The only headphones that I have that are very similar are my HD650 and HD6XX (supposed to be the same but my two have slight differences), I got the HD6XX to mod and compare to my stock HD650 but since they sound different I haven't modded the HD6XX yet.

 

[Electrolite]

I removed my foam and painted some parts with black for the looks, I don't want to say that I feel more treble because it should be placebo but I kinda feel hahaha anyway I'll try the felt mod when possible.

The HD58X sounds very good but as Tolis said the SHP9500 is a really decent headphone. I need to look for songs that caused me sibilance to compare with the HD58X, this is something that I like on the Sennheiser, I don't feel sibilance and I was fearful that it would lack highs but the HD58X tonality is very good, I'm satisfied just not blown away, but yeah it's not like that a $150 would change my life and the way that I listen to music, maybe I had too much hype. At first I was underwhelmed by the SHP9500 I'll give my opinion after some weeks using only the HD58X maybe it's going to change. I already noticed in a specific song (forgot) that the SHP9500 sounded thin like David said.

Maybe I want something that isn't dynamic, like the wall of sound effect from a planar or eletrostatic. Maybe I'll look for a can that causes this wow factor, that feels like a big wall of sound, Monoprice 1060 maybe.

@tolis626, I think you and @Electrolite went in to getting the HD58X with very different expectations than me, I wasn't expecting to be "blown away" by the HD58X and only got them since they were so cheap I couldn't resist. I was surprised that I liked them more than I thought I would and compared to the other headphones that I have they do hold their own with some genres. I owned the SHP9500 in the past and it was a big disappointment to me since it was harsh/grainy in the treble, quite thin sounding, had no sub-bass and even lacked mid-bass IMO. It was one of the few headphones that I was glad to give away and I'm one that likes to keep most of the headphones that I've purchased over the years. You can see what I have/owned in my profile if you are curious. Another thing to consider is that I'm not looking for "upgrades" or "better" sounding headphones, I'm more interested in different sound signatures since I like how different headphones present each track in their own unique way. The only headphones that I have that are very similar are my HD650 and HD6XX (supposed to be the same but my two have slight differences), I got the HD6XX to mod and compare to my stock HD650 but since they sound different I haven't modded the HD6XX yet.

I see your point with different signatures, I want to find out is if for me there is a headphone, not in the crazy price range, that can cause a wow factor.
Now in your personal opinion does a crazy expensive headphone like a 009 or HE 560 ever caused you this wow factor? Or sound quality doen't get much crazier than HD58X standard just better quality overall but not a crazy jump.

In the end I'll have to find out myself if high-end is worth it, if I ever try to buy a more expensive headphone I need to listen to it before. January I'll go to Paraguay and I'll have the chance to test some high-end cans like the HE-560, Focal Utopia and Clear, some LCD etc and then I'll draw my conclusions.