JosephKim
1000+ Head-Fier
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Well here it is; my highly UNanticipated review of the Sennheiser mx 580. I am very new to this world of audiophilia, so I must warn you/apologize for certain things in advance:
1. I am coming from ibuds. Ibuds I stepped on while getting out of bed. Ibuds with one side crushed, wires exposed, and the other side slowly degrading in sound quality. Therefore, I do not have much to compare these Sennheiser mx 580s to.
2. I do not have the financial means to test headphones with different amps, sources, etc. I’m poor, and I have a feeling being here on Head-Fi is going to make me poorer.
3. Some of the terms I use may not make any sense at all.
4. I do not have experience in high-end audio and am not qualified to give a review.
So on to the review.
Sennheiser mx 580 Review
Appearance/build quality/fit
You know when you’re about to eat something, it may be the most delicious thing in the world, but if it doesn’t look right it might put you off? Well if you’re fat, you really don’t care what the food looks like. I’m fat when it comes to headphones. I could care less what they look like as long as they give good sound quality. The mx 580’s are black/silver and very basic. They won’t turn heads but to me, that’s a good thing. I would put pictures up but I left a buddy borrow my camera battery when he went on a mission trip to Haiti. That’s all I have to say about that ~Forrest Gump.
Now the build quality to me is more important. If you’re poor like me, you’re hoping that once you buy a pair of headphones they will last you the rest of your life. Of course this is unrealistic, but a few years would be nice. The quality of the mx580s isn’t bad. The actual buds look like plastic but seem durable. The cable is standard rubber with a dedicated volume control. I was a little worried about the volume control feature, but its very small, light, and does not get in the way. All in all the mx580s look cheap but seem fairly well built. The ultimate test will come when I step on these getting out of bed as I did with my ibuds (just kidding).
Cinderella + glass shoe = perfect fit. The mx580s are not my glass slipper. These earbuds come with a set of foam covers, silicon rings, and these weird looking silicone cone attachments. To my understanding, the mx580s are smaller in diameter than previous models. Even with the smaller diameter however, the only way I can get them to fit semi-comfortably in my ears is not to use any of the pads; they become too large for me otherwise. Especially the cone attachment; I don’t know any human who would have big enough ears to wear these buds with them on. They fit better with the foam covers and the regular rings, but they don’t feel right. I wouldn’t be able to wear these for several hours straight.
Sound Quality
After reading a few reviews here on head-fi, I had very high hopes and expectations for the sound quality of the Sennheiser mx580s. My testing method was to play several songs of different genres including folk, rock, classical, pop, and hip-hop. The quality of the recordings ranged from 128 -320 kbps mp3s and lossless audio. The two sources I used were my Sony Vaio laptop and my ipod nano.
Like a fat kid tearing open a piece of candy, I tore open the package of the Sennheiser mx580s and hooked them right into my laptop. I grabbed my cousin’s ibuds as well so that I could compare. I went through several different songs in my library, listening to each song on both the mx580s and the ibuds. My immediate reaction was, “What the %^&* I can’t hear a difference”. Upon further listening, I could hear a slight but noticeable difference between the two buds. But I had to really listen. By the way it was really annoying switching earbuds every song for about 2 hours lol.
High Frequencies
I actually wasn’t too impressed with the highs of the 580s. Really no sparkle at all that gave me chills down the spine. They sound very distant and a bit airy to me; the tap of a cymbal really didn’t resonate the way I wanted it to. That being said, it is still an improvement over the ibuds. Not good, but better.
Midrange
I was actually a bit impressed with the midrange of the mx580s. Voice dominated songs were pleasant to listen to; slightly forward and clear.
Bass
The mx580’s are marketed as bass-enhanced earbuds. I was a little worried about this because I am by no means a basshead. Of course to each their own, but I like a tight bass leaning towards neutrality. Fortunately, the bass on the mx580s are not overwhelming. This is one of the differences I could hear fairly early on between the 580s and the ibuds. The ibud’s bass is loose, can be boomy, and noticeably lacks depth while the 580’s bass is comparatively tighter and punchier.
Separation
Another difference I noticed early on between the ibuds and 580s was the separation. With the ibuds, I noticed that at some points the different instruments sounded like they were blending together; I couldn’t always make out what was playing what. While the separation on the 580’s are by no means spectacular, I could almost always make out the different instruments and what they were playing.
Soundstage
Soundstage is average. Hm I guess I can't really call them average because I don't know what average is. Well lets say I want to feel like I’m in the middle of the recording studio. I want to feel like I’m in the middle of the concert getting ready to throw my panties up on the stage. With the mx580’s, everything sounds fairly closed in with not too much depth. However, it’s not right up on my face; spaced out a bit. I occasionally got a tiny tiny bit surprised when I thought an instrument was playing beside me while I was listening to the 580s.
Again, these differences in sound quality between the mx 580s and ibuds are not huge; they are slight but noticeable.
Conclusion
Now to be fair, I think that I had such high expectations of these earbuds that when they did not deliver the way I wanted them to, I was a little shocked. I expected a Ferrari when I paid for a Hyundai. I expected to hear an immediate difference in SQ between the ibuds and Sennheiser mx580s. I expected to hear details in songs that I had been missing when using the ibuds. I expected a veil to be lifted from the music, like a veil lifted off a woman to reveal the face of a beautiful bride. Alas, this was not meant to be.
Bottom line is you get what you pay for. There are noticeable differences in sound quality between these and ipod stock buds, but there’s nothing that will blow you away. It’s like a fat person on a diet after one month. His body got a little tighter, his form a little clearer, but he still has a long way to go.
1. I am coming from ibuds. Ibuds I stepped on while getting out of bed. Ibuds with one side crushed, wires exposed, and the other side slowly degrading in sound quality. Therefore, I do not have much to compare these Sennheiser mx 580s to.
2. I do not have the financial means to test headphones with different amps, sources, etc. I’m poor, and I have a feeling being here on Head-Fi is going to make me poorer.
3. Some of the terms I use may not make any sense at all.
4. I do not have experience in high-end audio and am not qualified to give a review.
So on to the review.
Sennheiser mx 580 Review
Appearance/build quality/fit
You know when you’re about to eat something, it may be the most delicious thing in the world, but if it doesn’t look right it might put you off? Well if you’re fat, you really don’t care what the food looks like. I’m fat when it comes to headphones. I could care less what they look like as long as they give good sound quality. The mx 580’s are black/silver and very basic. They won’t turn heads but to me, that’s a good thing. I would put pictures up but I left a buddy borrow my camera battery when he went on a mission trip to Haiti. That’s all I have to say about that ~Forrest Gump.
Now the build quality to me is more important. If you’re poor like me, you’re hoping that once you buy a pair of headphones they will last you the rest of your life. Of course this is unrealistic, but a few years would be nice. The quality of the mx580s isn’t bad. The actual buds look like plastic but seem durable. The cable is standard rubber with a dedicated volume control. I was a little worried about the volume control feature, but its very small, light, and does not get in the way. All in all the mx580s look cheap but seem fairly well built. The ultimate test will come when I step on these getting out of bed as I did with my ibuds (just kidding).
Cinderella + glass shoe = perfect fit. The mx580s are not my glass slipper. These earbuds come with a set of foam covers, silicon rings, and these weird looking silicone cone attachments. To my understanding, the mx580s are smaller in diameter than previous models. Even with the smaller diameter however, the only way I can get them to fit semi-comfortably in my ears is not to use any of the pads; they become too large for me otherwise. Especially the cone attachment; I don’t know any human who would have big enough ears to wear these buds with them on. They fit better with the foam covers and the regular rings, but they don’t feel right. I wouldn’t be able to wear these for several hours straight.
Sound Quality
After reading a few reviews here on head-fi, I had very high hopes and expectations for the sound quality of the Sennheiser mx580s. My testing method was to play several songs of different genres including folk, rock, classical, pop, and hip-hop. The quality of the recordings ranged from 128 -320 kbps mp3s and lossless audio. The two sources I used were my Sony Vaio laptop and my ipod nano.
Like a fat kid tearing open a piece of candy, I tore open the package of the Sennheiser mx580s and hooked them right into my laptop. I grabbed my cousin’s ibuds as well so that I could compare. I went through several different songs in my library, listening to each song on both the mx580s and the ibuds. My immediate reaction was, “What the %^&* I can’t hear a difference”. Upon further listening, I could hear a slight but noticeable difference between the two buds. But I had to really listen. By the way it was really annoying switching earbuds every song for about 2 hours lol.
High Frequencies
I actually wasn’t too impressed with the highs of the 580s. Really no sparkle at all that gave me chills down the spine. They sound very distant and a bit airy to me; the tap of a cymbal really didn’t resonate the way I wanted it to. That being said, it is still an improvement over the ibuds. Not good, but better.
Midrange
I was actually a bit impressed with the midrange of the mx580s. Voice dominated songs were pleasant to listen to; slightly forward and clear.
Bass
The mx580’s are marketed as bass-enhanced earbuds. I was a little worried about this because I am by no means a basshead. Of course to each their own, but I like a tight bass leaning towards neutrality. Fortunately, the bass on the mx580s are not overwhelming. This is one of the differences I could hear fairly early on between the 580s and the ibuds. The ibud’s bass is loose, can be boomy, and noticeably lacks depth while the 580’s bass is comparatively tighter and punchier.
Separation
Another difference I noticed early on between the ibuds and 580s was the separation. With the ibuds, I noticed that at some points the different instruments sounded like they were blending together; I couldn’t always make out what was playing what. While the separation on the 580’s are by no means spectacular, I could almost always make out the different instruments and what they were playing.
Soundstage
Soundstage is average. Hm I guess I can't really call them average because I don't know what average is. Well lets say I want to feel like I’m in the middle of the recording studio. I want to feel like I’m in the middle of the concert getting ready to throw my panties up on the stage. With the mx580’s, everything sounds fairly closed in with not too much depth. However, it’s not right up on my face; spaced out a bit. I occasionally got a tiny tiny bit surprised when I thought an instrument was playing beside me while I was listening to the 580s.
Again, these differences in sound quality between the mx 580s and ibuds are not huge; they are slight but noticeable.
Conclusion
Now to be fair, I think that I had such high expectations of these earbuds that when they did not deliver the way I wanted them to, I was a little shocked. I expected a Ferrari when I paid for a Hyundai. I expected to hear an immediate difference in SQ between the ibuds and Sennheiser mx580s. I expected to hear details in songs that I had been missing when using the ibuds. I expected a veil to be lifted from the music, like a veil lifted off a woman to reveal the face of a beautiful bride. Alas, this was not meant to be.
Bottom line is you get what you pay for. There are noticeable differences in sound quality between these and ipod stock buds, but there’s nothing that will blow you away. It’s like a fat person on a diet after one month. His body got a little tighter, his form a little clearer, but he still has a long way to go.
