[cmge]

hi

i was wondering are the Sennheiser HD570 good for portable use without an amp?... ive been contemplating in picking them up for the longest time now and since i have money i can afford to get them.... i was reading a review on it at www.goodcans.com and they noted that "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!!! These titles are BOGUS!"... is that true?

my main use for these cans are for my ipod and the occasional Counterstrike: Source scrims... i would like opinions from users who have had experience with these cans and if its worth to get?...

thanks in advance

 

[saturnine]

I have owned them, and would not recommend them for unamped use. Even amped, they sounded horrible IMO. Look at HD497, PX100, and HD280 for use unamped, and for gaming.

 

[mintyfresh]

Hmmm....I used an HD570 for 7 years. I thought it was okay. The HD570 is good for light acoustic that doesn't have too much bass. It's also good for pop music. If you try to play orchestral classical music the results can be murky and distorted.

The HD570 can handle the "foreground" but music more in the background you may never hear. Comparing the HD570 to the HD650, there's a passage of "Six Blade Knife" by Dire Straits at about 17 seconds in where some instrument is supposed to sound like a rattlesnake's rattle. On the HD650, it sounds like a rattlesnake behind a chair; on the HD570 (unamped through the minijack) it is very low volume and sounds like air coming out of a balloon. There's a passage in the piece "Angela" by the Rippingtons where there is a beautiful but very brief and airy vocal overlay -- I never heard this element until I used the HD650.

The HD570 was pleasant to me -- it is very light and has an muffled airy sound but can be very boomy when handling bass. It sounds better amped but not much better.

The difference between the HD570 and the HD650+amp is about the same as hearing music somewhat muffled and boomy from another floor of the house, and then walking up a flight of stairs into the room where the live music is being performed, respectively.

Of course, the 570 is about 1/6 the price of the 650+amp. I still use mine in the tub or when I want boominess. It is an okay mid-level headphone.

 

[McRat]

Very well said Minty!

HD570 were my first "real" headphones after letting the stock earbuds out of their misery. They gave me my first hifi-related "OMG!"-experiences. I still use them occasionally on games, because I don't have an amp sitting next to my comp and the HD570 are so unbelievably comfortable (more so than the DT531 and K501, which are both quite comfortable by most standards).

I have thought about selling them, but I just can't justify it, because they are so comfortable and I wouldn't get anything comparable with the cash. They eve adjust to my 2-year-old sons head, so we can both listen to some fine jazz sitting on the sofa together. I'm spoiling that kid, I know!

Overall, I think they are overpriced for the sound they give, but they make up for it in the comfort department. They don't sound too terrible and I don't have to lecture my wife or kid too hard if they break them

 

[Skylab]

HD570s sound pretty good IMO, but you can buy the better Senn cans like the HD600 for such a discount now that I'm not sure the 570s make sense (and aren't they discontinued?). But -- main thing is that they really are not going to work well being driven unamped from an IPod. I'd recommend picking up the AKG 240S (the 55 ohm ones) if you're OK with big phones -- they can be driven louder from an iPod without an amp.

 

[pedxing]

The only good thing about the HD570 is the comfort. The bass is flabby and the treble is shrilly. They require a lot of power to drive them. I do not recommend them. You can probably pay a little more money and get something else that sounds much better.

 

[RMgX]

Like the others say the 570 lose details in the music, because of their great comfort I still use them for listening to movies when I look at them on my computer. For counterstrike they might work, decent soundstage they do have imo, but from ipod naa, I did that for a while and I needed to crank my EU capped mini to max, and even then it was not loud enough in noisy environments ( no isolation ).
I have not heard them enough to comment but you might want to look at hd 555 or 595 for unamped use.

 

[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMgX I have not heard them enough to comment but you might want to look at hd 555 or 595 for unamped use.

Incidentally, even the HD590 is easier to drive than the 570... somewhere in between the 120 and 50 ohm versions of the 555/595. Not to mention it's a lot better than the 570. Possibly a good used buy.

 

[cmge]

ahhh.. thanks for the input guys... now im gonna shift my question abit as i was looking at some of the suggested phones... the HD280 has seem to have attracted my attention... any input in those phones?... again its highly appreciated...

not sure if this helps tho.. but i listen to alot of electronics and rap...