New Senns HD-580s arrived

[finbad]

From Amazon...
As I read in the research before buying, the wire connectors to the headphones is delicate and their known weak point in design. However, I was suprised when right out of the box the LEFT phone did not play when the RIGHT channel did. Resetting the flimsy connector to the "L" can got them to work for only one CD length of listening. Again,after taking the phones off to change CDs the LEFT channel was inoperative. Removing the flimsy wire connector and reinserting it with the phones off the head did not fix it this time. Pulling the connector part way out, and sound briefly came thru... This is totally unacceptable for a new product and an obvious design flaw #1 to begin with. I WILL NOT EVER AGAIN purchace any Sennheiser products which are knowingly manufactured and sold with such a glaring design flaw. These Senns HD-580s come highly regarded for their supposedly high end quality of sound. I somewhat presupposed the plastic would at least fit together at the crucial connecting points to achieve such a high regard as to be concidered "high end" in the audio community !

What a let down; Sorta kills my enthusiasm I initially had to pursue this path of High quality sound enjoyment... Perhaps this is a good omen in disguise... I have put together a fine full range home 2ch system which has been cost effective due to internet research, and luck with its synergy affording a live,dynamic yet warm sound... Which was lacking with my admittedly short lived experience going the Headphone route...Perhaps i've been spoiled and didn't know how good my present system sounds and also, I didn't have a headphone amp and associated gear in line to maximize the good points of the headphone niche.

 

[RichardCory]

Your loss, I guess. I've listened to a bunch of high-end headphones--Sennheiser HD580, HD595, HD650; Beyerdynamic DT880; AKG K701; and some Grado (forgot the model number)--and I liked the HD580 the best. I wouldn't give up on it that quickly.

 

[BennyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi-Finthen From Amazon... As I read in the research before buying, the wire connectors to the headphones is delicate and their known weak point in design. However, I was suprised when right out of the box the LEFT phone did not play when the RIGHT channel did. Resetting the flimsy connector to the "L" can got them to work for only one CD length of listening. Again,after taking the phones off to change CDs the LEFT channel was inoperative. Removing the flimsy wire connector and reinserting it with the phones off the head did not fix it this time. Pulling the connector part way out, and sound briefly came thru... This is totally unacceptable for a new product and an obvious design flaw #1 to begin with. I WILL NOT EVER AGAIN purchace any Sennheiser products which are knowingly manufactured and sold with such a glaring design flaw. These Senns HD-580s come highly regarded for their supposedly high end quality of sound. I somewhat presupposed the plastic would at least fit together at the crucial connecting points to achieve such a high regard as to be concidered "high end" in the audio community ! What a let down; Sorta kills my enthusiasm I initially had to pursue this path of High quality sound enjoyment... Perhaps this is a good omen in disguise... I have put together a fine full range home 2ch system which has been cost effective due to internet research, and luck with its synergy affording a live,dynamic yet warm sound... Which was lacking with my admittedly short lived experience going the Headphone route...Perhaps i've been spoiled and didn't know how good my present system sounds and also, I didn't have a headphone amp and associated gear in line to maximize the good points of the headphone niche.

Stop whining and order the 650 cable for $11. from Senn.

Good luck with it.

 

[finbad]

Stop whining and order the 650 wire for $11. from Senn.

Perhaps they will upgrade it as a courtesy ; Or else they're going back to Amazon prolly to be sent out again as a disservice to the next unitiated schmo...

I'll give 'em a call......

 

[003]

Flimsy connections? I don't have the 580, but everything is solid on my 650.

 

[fwojciec]

You are just unlucky to receive a troublesome pair, I guess. I've had mine for over a year and I've never ever had any problem with them whatsoever. BTW, 580s are great headphones and their excellent reputation is IMHO well deserved.

Filip

 

[cmirza]

If the 'flimsy' connectors were such a problem, alot more people would be complaining about it. Obviously there are bad apples sometimes in a batch. But when you get a bad apple it doesn't mean the whole batch is bad. Take it back and get another one.

 

[sgrossklass]

Brand new HD580s should never have connector problems. Even when they hadn't been reworked yet it always took a while for them to appear. (My HD580 I bought used exhibits contact troubles, but that one must be close to 10 years old, seeing how the headband padding is all flat.) Return the faulty unit for a working sample.

 

[finbad]

Called Senns in Connecticut, of course they're closed...
Interestingly when I switch the red lead(R) to the other side that side produces sound... So it is the black leads pins which are faulty as each can plays when either is attached to the red lead.
Sorry, but this is frustrating due to my high expectations from a otherwise well regarded and new product...
I'll call Senns again tomorrow and ask for new wires... Maybe HD-650s if that is contemporary wisdom as a fix .....

Thanx

 

[sgrossklass]

Seems like a bad cable then. Now you can either return the cans to Amazon or get a '650 cable right away (which wouldn't be a bad idea to avoid trouble in the long run)... but in the latter case be aware that Sennheiser USA haven't always been the quickest to ship things, apparently having to wait for spareparts to be sent over the pond at times. Don't know what the current status is.

 

[skyline889]

Yes it is a sign, a sign to return them and buy either the HD600s or HD650s

.

 

[finbad]

Maybe HD-650s if that is contemporary wisdom as a fix .....

 

[RichardCory]

Unless you have a sound system that costs two or three times as much as the HD650, I doubt you'll hear much of a difference between the HD580 and HD650. At least I certainly didn't.

 

[skyline889]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardCory Unless you have a sound system that costs two or three times as much as the HD650, I doubt you'll hear much of a difference between the HD580 and HD650. At least I certainly didn't.

That's not true, the line varied very differently for me, I've owned the HD580Js, the 600s, and two pairs of HD650s, and I've borrowed the HD580s in the past, all were run out of a $200 Marantz amplifier and a $400 NAD 3150 (Didn't try these out with my $600 NAD C352 but I assume the results would have been similar). If you can't hear the difference between the line then something is definitely wrong, I guess more power to you though since you'll save a lot of money. But to the OP you don't need thousands of dollars worth of gear to enjoy these cans, the higher up you go with amps the better they'll sound of course but even straight up out of my zen vision (not M) the 650s sounded great, they'll sound even better if you've never heard them amped before.

 

[Xakepa]

Very surprized to hear that. I got mine new from J&R, and the connectors are so firmly pressed I gave up trying to pull 'em just of curiosity. Never have any quality issues - mine are made in Ireland, not in Asia...

The bad news is - it takes extraordinary long burn-in time, and the change is as dramatic as it's abrupt. I kept mine playing loud almost a month and I was just about to return 'em before 30 day period expires and one morining I put them on and my jaw dropped - it was a different headphone.

"Sennheiser veil" is not a myth, it's a feature.

The good news is - they have an enormous potential. You can make them sound like heaven or sound like hell - the way you like it.