doping panda
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2008
- Posts
- 421
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- 10
I just got them yesterday night! They're my first hi-fi headphones; needless to say, I'm really happy with them. They're a little beat up, but they still work fine. The only exception is that one cable connector shorts out sometimes, but I ordered a HD650 cable from Senn so it's not a big deal. I also ordered HD600 grills too although I'm not sure it'll make a difference at all in sound, but they definitely look nicer.
I'm only using my sound card and my portable right now to drive them. It might just be a lack of experience on my part, but to my ears these cans still sound great even out of a portable or a stock sound card. In pure sound pressure, both can generate much more than my normal listening levels, but I generally leave the volume pretty low. However, I feel that there's something missing that a decent DAC and amp would be able to give me. I'm currently saving up for an Audio-GD Compass and I can't wait to hear what these sound like out of it.
I haven't spend enough time with my new cans to describe my experiences in detail, but I can definitely give some brief first impressions. Putting the 580s on my head, the first thing I notice is how comfortable they are. The pads are very soft and the headband exerts very little pressure. As I kept listening to music, I forgot that they were even on my head. The tonal balance between bass and treble were excellent. It feels just right with neither part being neglected or overemphasized. The balance between the mids and the rest of the sound spectrum was excellent for the most part, but on some recordings the mids felt a bit distant. Perhaps this is the infamous veil? The bass is a big step up from the Soundmagic PL-30s I was using before. They are much more present on the HD580s as expected, but also of a higher quality. One problem with the bass is that on some recordings it sounds a bit muddy. The mids sound very smooth and lovely. In some recordings though, they feel distant and a little off. I can't particularly describe how they feel off, but to my ears they do sound a bit strange on some recordings. The treble is fairly bright at least to my ears, but not sibilant at all. The sound from these cans is rich and weighty. They convey the power of a full orchestra very well. Dynamics are strong also. When listening to the Richter Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no.2 on Deutsche Grammophon last night, I was genuinely shocked by some of dynamic contrasts in the first movement despite being familiar with the recording. Soundstage is fairly large and expansive. The imaging of these cans is pretty good, but when the music becomes very dense it starts to be "smeared" a bit. Detail-wise, these phones are pretty capable I feel. I can hear things in my music that I haven't heard before. Of course, I haven't listened to any of more detailed dynamics or any electrostats yet so my assessment of the detail is probably not very credible. Overall, I'm enjoying my cans very much and I'm only loving them more with each passing second they're on my head
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I'm only using my sound card and my portable right now to drive them. It might just be a lack of experience on my part, but to my ears these cans still sound great even out of a portable or a stock sound card. In pure sound pressure, both can generate much more than my normal listening levels, but I generally leave the volume pretty low. However, I feel that there's something missing that a decent DAC and amp would be able to give me. I'm currently saving up for an Audio-GD Compass and I can't wait to hear what these sound like out of it.
I haven't spend enough time with my new cans to describe my experiences in detail, but I can definitely give some brief first impressions. Putting the 580s on my head, the first thing I notice is how comfortable they are. The pads are very soft and the headband exerts very little pressure. As I kept listening to music, I forgot that they were even on my head. The tonal balance between bass and treble were excellent. It feels just right with neither part being neglected or overemphasized. The balance between the mids and the rest of the sound spectrum was excellent for the most part, but on some recordings the mids felt a bit distant. Perhaps this is the infamous veil? The bass is a big step up from the Soundmagic PL-30s I was using before. They are much more present on the HD580s as expected, but also of a higher quality. One problem with the bass is that on some recordings it sounds a bit muddy. The mids sound very smooth and lovely. In some recordings though, they feel distant and a little off. I can't particularly describe how they feel off, but to my ears they do sound a bit strange on some recordings. The treble is fairly bright at least to my ears, but not sibilant at all. The sound from these cans is rich and weighty. They convey the power of a full orchestra very well. Dynamics are strong also. When listening to the Richter Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no.2 on Deutsche Grammophon last night, I was genuinely shocked by some of dynamic contrasts in the first movement despite being familiar with the recording. Soundstage is fairly large and expansive. The imaging of these cans is pretty good, but when the music becomes very dense it starts to be "smeared" a bit. Detail-wise, these phones are pretty capable I feel. I can hear things in my music that I haven't heard before. Of course, I haven't listened to any of more detailed dynamics or any electrostats yet so my assessment of the detail is probably not very credible. Overall, I'm enjoying my cans very much and I'm only loving them more with each passing second they're on my head
