[charliex]

SENNHEISER HD 580 c) HD 600 GRILLS & HD 650 CORD

Yes I know that there already is a Sennhesier HD 580 appreciation thread out there. However, after just receiving my modded HD 580’s with the HD 600 grills and HD 650 cord, I couldn’t help but notice that there are/were a growing number of these particularly modded phones being bought and sold. So I thought I’d start a thread dedicated to this unique Sennheiser headphone mod combination.
I’m just starting to appreciate these fabulous fones with their well-articulated highs that are of almost perfect brightness (not too little, not too much), silky and liquidy smooth mids, and fairly tight, full bodied bass.
I love the cosmetic improvement with the 600 grills (not sure what they do if anything sonically). And not having the old cable to compare to I’ve read that the 650 cable is a significant and audible improvement over stock.
I’m sourcing at the moment from my 5.5 gen 80 gb iPod video (with the renowned Wolfson DAC) as my computer has been down for past 6 weeks with major issues, so I can’t use my Audigy card or even onboard PC audio. I’m using a brand new (not burned-in Little Dot MK III amp set to high gain (10) and using stock factory supplied tubes.
I’d love to hear from other head-fiers who own or have owned this headphone/grills/cord combination. General thoughts, comments and reviews would be appreciated as well as other recommended mods and source/amp reflections and suggestions.
Hope to be hearin’ from you fellow 580/600/650‘ers.

 

[PowderLegend]

I love my modded 580s. I wasn't a cable believer until I switched it to a 650 cord...

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

They are nice. I also removed the foam to brighten them up a bit. Awesome value for the money.

 

[deeza]

Are these the cables you're talking about?

Retail 2002

 

[thismike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deeza /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are these the cables you're talking about? Retail 2002

yeah they are.

 

[swt61]

I love mine! They have Fitz' balanced Black Clover cables, 650 grills, APS foam removal mods and a Black headband to give them that all Black Johnny Cash look.

They sound phenominal out of my balanced Beta22, and I prefer them over the 650.

 

[charliex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I love mine! They have Fitz' balanced Black Clover cables, 650 grills, APS foam removal mods and a Black headband to give them that all Black Johnny Cash look. They sound phenominal out of my balanced Beta22, and I prefer them over the 650.

What does the APS foam removal mods do to the SQ? And is it an easy DIY?

 

[moodyrn]

I think the 580s with 650 cable/600 grill mods are the best value going in headphones today. To get that quality of sound for around 150.00 or so is simply amazing.

 

[Aura]

Might as well get a pic in here if we're gonna have an appreciation thread for the mods alone.

Right now my pair has the 600 grills and 650 cable; within the next month I plan on recoating the headband in a flat black and adding wood accenting to the grills (think HE90 style).

Anyhow, it's the only headphone I own now, so I guess I like it

.

 

[mr.khali]

I just added grills and cable to mine last week and they did improve over stock. A little more bottom end, detail and soundstage to my ears. Listening to Joni Mitchell to wind down as I write this and she sounds amazing on these!

You sold those pretty JVC's Aura?! That is saying a lot about the 580's although not surprising as they perform well with pretty much everything.

 

[Aura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.khali /img/forum/go_quote.gif You sold those pretty JVC's Aura?! That is saying a lot about the 580's although not surprising as they perform well with pretty much everything.

Sure did. The HD580 was a bit of a reality check for me, the amount of value it carries at its current pricepoint is about as good as I think it gets for headphones. That's not to say that I thought the 580 was better than the DX1000, but I had 5x as much money wrapped up in that headphone for a sound that wasn't superior, just different.

I also agree with Steve (swt), HD580/600 has won hands down against HD650 every time I have compared the two. The latter cannot match the balance of the former; to me, Sennheiser's house presentation is better represented by the HD580.

 

[kaushama]

I had the modded version one year back! Not much different from HD650. Very good SQ.

 

[moodyrn]

Sennheiser definitely got it right the first time with the 580s.

 

[linuxworks]

I was thinking about upgrading my 580's to have the 600 grills but I've heard they can DENT (?)

the 580 grille, while regular plastic, IS pretty tough. both seem acoustically transparent to me.

here's my franken 650 upgrade thread, fwiw

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/pro...w-pics-390615/

580 headband, 580 grills, 650 cord and 650 drivers.

 

[charliex]

Thanks AURA for the pic, and LINUXWORKS for the franken thread.
Let's get some more pics of this modded classic up, and further details, descriptions, reviews are always welcomed. (Listenin' to some Terry Callier through my 580's as I write this..awhhh - heaven!)