Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Review & Measurements
Nov 9, 2019 at 6:50 PM Post #4,246 of 4,844
I can't speak to the 58x, but I have the 650s, and my pair of 800 and S are far superior in SQ. I still like the 650s mind you, but they don't have the resolution of Sennheiser's totl cans.

I usually take anything written like this with a grain of salt.

I have noticed rather small differences between my HD 555 modded and HD 600, HD 650 and HD 58x. Notice I said HD 555 one of my favorite headphones of all time, I have always used that as a reference for where huge diminishing return starts to kick in. Everything I owned from Denon D5000 to HD 650 while sounded better than the HD 555 was NOT by a large margin, the diminishing return was massive. Which is why I take what you said about HD 800 being far superior with a grain of salt.

I am willing to bet it is in reality just moderately better than a HD 555 as there are lots of people who dislike the HD 800 and prefer HD 650 etc
 
Nov 9, 2019 at 6:54 PM Post #4,247 of 4,844
There is also the issue of what type of music you listen to, the Sennheisers shine with classical music and I am willing to bet the HD600 and 800 outshines the 58x here.

For anybody who listens to literally anything else (which includes 98% of music listeners), Marvin Gaye Sexual Healing, Fleetwood Mac Sweet Little Lies, any form of Hip Hop, Trance, pop, or any music that requires bass You WILL find the HD58x Sub Bass to be the far superior option to any of the open back sennheisers.
 
Nov 9, 2019 at 6:54 PM Post #4,248 of 4,844
I usually take anything written like this with a grain of salt.

I have noticed rather small differences between my HD 555 modded and HD 600, HD 650 and HD 58x. Notice I said HD 555 one of my favorite headphones of all time, I have always used that as a reference for where huge diminishing return starts to kick in. Everything I owned from Denon D5000 to HD 650 while sounded better than the HD 555 was NOT by a large margin, the diminishing return was massive. Which is why I take what you said about HD 800 being far superior with a grain of salt.

I am willing to bet it is in reality just moderately better than a HD 555 as there are lots of people who dislike the HD 800 and prefer HD 650 etc
Sure, you are right. Diminishing returns does kick in, but it depends what you're after. I like all my headphones and most that I listen to for all the differences out there. It's all subjective anyway and it's just the way I feel.
 
Nov 9, 2019 at 6:58 PM Post #4,249 of 4,844
There is also the issue of what type of music you listen to, the Sennheisers shine with classical music and I am willing to bet the HD600 and 800 outshines the 58x here.

For anybody who listens to literally anything else (which includes 98% of music listeners), Marvin Gaye Sexual Healing, Fleetwood Mac Sweet Little Lies, any form of Hip Hop, Trance, pop, or any music that requires bass You WILL find the HD58x Sub Bass to be the far superior option to any of the open back sennheisers.
For sure. My favorite cans for bass are the meze 99s. They are crazy with bass.
 
Nov 10, 2019 at 6:03 AM Post #4,250 of 4,844
Yeah, the 800's are very resolving. Massive soundstage, but are anemic sounding. I tried everything with my Woo WA6 rolling tubes , and could never get the 800's from stabbing me in the head with their resolution. There's absolutely nothing musical about them. As much as the hd700 got bashed. I always thought it was the better headphone. The 700's capture about 85 to 90% of what the 800's do well, but have way more bass presence and impact. Music sounds like music. They're very immersive . The 800's put the band on an operating table and dissect them lol. The only thing that the 800's do that is jaw dropping is opera music. Which I listen to maybe .0005% of the time. Put some edm on the 800's , and prepare to be beaten with spikes of lightning hammering your head.
All subjective though. Just how I hear it.
 
Nov 10, 2019 at 7:49 AM Post #4,251 of 4,844
Yeah, the 800's are very resolving. Massive soundstage, but are anemic sounding. I tried everything with my Woo WA6 rolling tubes , and could never get the 800's from stabbing me in the head with their resolution. There's absolutely nothing musical about them. As much as the hd700 got bashed. I always thought it was the better headphone. The 700's capture about 85 to 90% of what the 800's do well, but have way more bass presence and impact. Music sounds like music. They're very immersive . The 800's put the band on an operating table and dissect them lol. The only thing that the 800's do that is jaw dropping is opera music. Which I listen to maybe .0005% of the time. Put some edm on the 800's , and prepare to be beaten with spikes of lightning hammering your head.
All subjective though. Just how I hear it.
Like I said subjective. I've been around hi end gear most of my life and the 800 are the best headphones I've ever heard. Amazing musicality and resolution.
 
Nov 10, 2019 at 11:19 AM Post #4,252 of 4,844
Hd58x is a very good headphone for the $. Even better at the short lived $135.
I put it into a setup I used to use with hd650's. The sound is far better balanced.
I could never get the hd650's to sound quite right.
I have q701's, ps500's, and stax sr202's. The Stax are better, but the Senns are
Far more comfortable over several hours, and the sound isn't that far off.
Now that the late season hot weather finally over, I'll be doing more
Swapping back and forth.
 
Nov 12, 2019 at 5:11 PM Post #4,253 of 4,844
The only open back headphones that has better sub bass than the HD58x is probably Planar Headphones is what I am willing to bet. And even then Fostex has a pair of Fostex TH-500RP $700 planar headphones on Amazon right now with inferior sub bass than HD58x. lol.

Yes, many planars will have better and more extended bass. For dynamics, Focal Clear and definitely Focal Utopia will be better than HD58X but not a big deal. Sennheiser HD800 (original) is also quite capable in the sub bass department when EQ'd. The HD800 driver is technically better than the 58X and 600 series... whether one likes their stock tuning is another thing.

Yeah , Zeos took a lot of heat when he reviewed the Utopia. Now people can't even get 50% back on what they paid for them new.

Generally, Zeos audience has a small impact on those that would be buying Utopia. What initially sunk the 2nd hand price was the non-transferable warranty. Now that it has been extended to 5-years (provided original proof of purchase from an authorized dealer) and transferable it has stabilized the second hand prices. Also, the MSRP was crazy high on these, and they are now more reasonable.

While the Utopia is on another level, for some I'd recommend Elex or Clear, but for most I'd recommend the HD58X. Ultimately, you are going to enjoy any of these sets, and won't really realize what you are missing when enjoying your music.

For bass music, get a cheap biodynamic like the Creative Auravana Live! or a more premium biodynamic like the TR-X00 (a favorite of mine) or IEM like XBA-N3, Blon 03, etc.

One thing that I all of the above have in common, you don't need to spend much money on amp / dac requirements.. just plugin and enjoy.
 
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Nov 12, 2019 at 5:24 PM Post #4,254 of 4,844
Yes, many planars will have better and more extended bass. For dynamics, Focal Clear and definitely Focal Utopia will be better than HD58X but not a big deal. Sennheiser HD800 (original) is also quite capable in the sub bass department when EQ'd. The HD800 driver is technically better than the 58X and 600 series... whether one likes their stock tuning is another thing.



Generally, Zeos audience has a small impact on those that would be buying Utopia. What initially sunk the 2nd hand price was the non-transferable warranty. Now that it has been extended to 5-years (provided original proof of purchase from an authorized dealer) and transferable it has stabilized the second hand prices. Also, the MSRP was crazy high on these, and they are now more reasonable.

While the Utopia is on another level, for some I'd recommend Elex or Clear, but for most I'd recommend the HD58X. Ultimately, you are going to enjoy any of these sets, and won't really realize what you are missing when enjoying your music.

For bass music, get a cheap biodynamic like the Creative Auravana Live! or a more premium biodynamic like the TR-X00 (a favorite of mine) or IEM like XBA-N3, Blon 03, etc.

One thing that I all of the above have in common, you don't need to spend much money on amp / dac requirements.. just plugin and enjoy.
I find it funny how Utopia's second hand price has tanked below half of its original MSRP while Susvara still retains decent value after 2 years, considering how much backlash hifiman took on pricing their TOTL $6K. Many Utopias from the first batch developed channel imbalance or has one channel stopped working completely within a year.
 
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Nov 13, 2019 at 8:24 AM Post #4,255 of 4,844
Hi all,

Just bought the HD58X, and they are indeed great headphones stock.
I do not have any other HD series to compare it to, but luckily I have measurement equipments at my disposal :ksc75smile:.
I performed the felt disk mod to put on the back of the magnet (thanks SolderDude), both with a 4mm and 5mm hole size.

This very simple mod simply transforms this great headphone into and excellent one:
  • Slightly predominant mid-Bass bump (stock) is decreased without loosing deepest extension.
  • High Frequency response is smoother (especially 4-6kHz).
  • Overall definition / dynamic behavior is improved, as the disk damps the back wave and prevents resonances (see CSD).

See measurements below. Disregard energy above 8kHz (too position-dependent to be seen as a reference).
CSD go very deep, ~40dB below bass/mid level. I'm not sure what happens there at 8.5kHz, might be my setup as I do not see this in recordings from others.

HD58x_Fresp_Stock_4mm_5mm.png
HD58x_Fresp_Stock_4mm_5mm_Zoom.png
HD58x_CSD_Stock2.png
HD58x_CSD_Damp4mm.png
HD58x_CSD_Damp5mm.png
 
Nov 13, 2019 at 8:54 AM Post #4,256 of 4,844
I find it funny how Utopia's second hand price has tanked below half of its original MSRP while Susvara still retains decent value after 2 years, considering how much backlash hifiman took on pricing their TOTL $6K. Many Utopias from the first batch developed channel imbalance or has one channel stopped working completely within a year.

It really isn’t too unusual. Even in the first year, you could buy a Utopia for much less than the msrp. Used prices reflected that. But they were probably a bit less due to non transferable warranty and yes, the first year models had a few driver issues. The avg used price of a Utopia is now about $2150USD.

Focal speaker lineup is well regarded as are their studio monitors. It was still quite a surprise for them to take Sennheiser head on - and surpass their dynamic flagship.

Focal has stood by all their headphones and they are quality products backed with strong warranties. However, if you want a headphone that is absolutely rock solid - Sennheiser is probably at the top.
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 1:07 PM Post #4,257 of 4,844
- an iPhone X drives it very well. Sounds better out of it than my N5ii[/QUOTE]

Sound quality of iPhone X better than N5ii?? Through balanced?? Cayin is way more capable i guess.
 
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Nov 17, 2019 at 4:33 AM Post #4,258 of 4,844
Which set of Dekoni pads should I get for my 58X? What flavor are people liking best, and why? I've read a few comments stating that the fenestrated sheepskin are good with the 58X, but they also have sheepskin, hybrid, velour, leather and suede.
 
Nov 17, 2019 at 10:35 AM Post #4,259 of 4,844
Which set of Dekoni pads should I get for my 58X? What flavor are people liking best, and why? I've read a few comments stating that the fenestrated sheepskin are good with the 58X, but they also have sheepskin, hybrid, velour, leather and suede.

I will never say it enough, here is my suggestion: if ain’t broken, don’t fix it. The very best pads soundwise for the Sennheiser 600 series (HD600, HD650, HD660S, HD58X, HD6XX) are... the Sennheiser genuine original pads. All other pads will have an effect on the sound they produce, and it is a negative effect most of the time (not to say ALL of the time). It you have a rage to upgrade, buy better headphones or buy yourself a better DAC/amp but don’t touch to those pads. Over time the genuine pads may flatten, so my advice is to change the pads (once a year if you use them on a daily basis or less frequently if you use them not that frequently, ymmv), but change them with... genuine Sennheiser pads! Dekoni pads may look good in real leather or suede, but they will not sound as good. If you favour the best sound, keep the Senn pads. Just my 2 cents of advice, in this case my advice may be worth a lot more...
 
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Nov 17, 2019 at 1:04 PM Post #4,260 of 4,844
I will never say it enough, here is my suggestion: if ain’t broken, don’t fix it. The very best pads soundwise for the Sennheiser 600 series (HD600, HD650, HD660S, HD58X, HD6XX) are... the Sennheiser genuine original pads. All other pads will have an effect on the sound they produce, and it is a negative effect most of the time (not to say ALL of the time). It you have a rage to upgrade, buy better headphones or buy yourself a better DAC/amp but don’t touch to those pads. Over time the genuine pads may flatten, so my advice is to change the pads (once a year if you use them on a daily basis or less frequently if you use them not that frequently, ymmv), but change them with... genuine Sennheiser pads! Dekoni pads may look good in real leather or suede, but they will not sound as good. If you favour the best sound, keep the Senn pads. Just my 2 cents of advice, in this case my advice may be worth a lot more...
My stock pads are still really good. I was just curious as other members seem to prefer the Dekonis. I'd rather not spend the 80 bucks to be honest, but I'm in the process of buying duplicate pads for some of my favorite cans. That has been my experience with pad swapping as well - originals seems to always sound best.
 

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