[bifcake]

Try them with a good aftermarket cable. They really do come alive with a good cable.

 

[Zackobrien]

Hmm, all this praise is making me want them.. Lol

 

[bifcake]

They're kicking phones. There's a good reason I've stuck with them for over 20 years.

 

[rendyG]

Here comes my regrilled babies
Thinking about painting the headband also metallic black...

 

[mbwilson111]

Here comes my regrilled babies
Thinking about painting the headband also metallic blac

Beautiful!

 

[holden4th]

My 580s were purchased secondhand for a good price. The first thing I did was replace the headband covering. I now need to replace the ear pads.

Looking at the inside towards the driver I see a copper ring around the drivers and the silk covering has long since vanished. The name plate is raised and the grilles are rough and a dark grey so I'm not sure what model I've got.

How easy is it to replace the pads? I also wonder if I should. As they are closer to me ears surely the bass is stronger.

 

[Sefelt103]

This is either a 3rd or 4th version (there might be more versions if you take into account the type of driver). What colour screen is covering the drivers ? .It's very easy to replace the earpads. Genuine Sennheiser earpads are the only ones that will make the headphones sound as the designer intended and only for a relatively short period until they begin to compress and then the sound starts to change. If you want extra bass then these are not the right headphones, the HD650 may be more to your liking. When the earpads become worn and compress the sound is affected. The high frequency is not altered and the mid range is only slightly affected, but because the volume of air between the driver and your ear is reduced then the bass reduces considerably. The bass will increase if you purchase new pads. Because Sennheiser designed the headphones their genuine earpads are the only ones which maximise the design of the headphone and therefore they are rather expensive.

 

[interface95]

My 580s were purchased secondhand for a good price. The first thing I did was replace the headband covering. I now need to replace the ear pads.

Looking at the inside towards the driver I see a copper ring around the drivers and the silk covering has long since vanished. The name plate is raised and the grilles are rough and a dark grey so I'm not sure what model I've got.

How easy is it to replace the pads? I also wonder if I should. As they are closer to me ears surely the bass is stronger.

Hey, I really recommend you to use the old pads of hd580.
I use my hd580 with old pads and it sounds wonderful.
Much better then new hd600 and I wondered why for quite a long time, but I'm pretty sure now that the pads make the difference.
What version of hd580 do you have? Flat name plates I guess?

If you buy new pads, keep the old!
When comparing new to flat pads, first reaction is like "wow" but after some time you notice that wow is annoying.
Much punchier bass and more direct sound with flat pads.

Mine are so old that my ears slightly touch the inner foam but the sounds makes me forget it.
Haven't found headphones which are as neutral as my hd580 including hd600, dt880 hd800 and many more.
Of course the hd800 is much more detailed, but overall sound is much more important to me.

 

[rendyG]

My regrilled HD580 "coin mod" measured on my new diy rig with a cheap mic, turned out better tha what I expected.
Right side had actually +2dB bass, so I added some more foam on the back, after that, channel matching is excellent I wonder if the 12khz imbalance (and the bass) is due to replaced driver or it is like that from factory (not that it bothers me).
Black paper, made in Ireland.


I´m planning to do spider cage removal and other modifications such as adding dynamat equivalent in the future...

 

[interface95]

Nice, how did you do the measuring?
Looks little different than my measured response.

 

[holden4th]

This is either a 3rd or 4th version (there might be more versions if you take into account the type of driver). What colour screen is covering the drivers ? .It's very easy to replace the earpads. Genuine Sennheiser earpads are the only ones that will make the headphones sound as the designer intended and only for a relatively short period until they begin to compress and then the sound starts to change. If you want extra bass then these are not the right headphones, the HD650 may be more to your liking. When the earpads become worn and compress the sound is affected. The high frequency is not altered and the mid range is only slightly affected, but because the volume of air between the driver and your ear is reduced then the bass reduces considerably. The bass will increase if you purchase new pads. Because Sennheiser designed the headphones their genuine earpads are the only ones which maximise the design of the headphone and therefore they are rather expensive.

My new pads arrived today and after watching a youtube clip I installed them. Before I did so I auditioned some familiar tracks with the old pads on and of course am now playing those tracks with the new pads. The difference is night and day. The increase in clarity, soundstage and, as you said, bass, is amazing. I tried pressing on the outside of the cans to push the drivers closer to my ears to see what that would do to the bass. Yes, it increased it but it also made it muddier and I'm someone who likes their bass well articulated.

On another note, I didn't realise how revealing these were of inferior source material.

While fiddling around with taking off the old pads I discovered a "Made in Ireland" impression on both ends of the headband. I now know which version I have.

 

[interface95]

The difference is night and day.

I do agree that the difference is huge.
However, I don't thinks it's really better. I already wrote it, but again: You don't want a WOW-felling when changing headphones, but a natural headphone.
And a natural headphone wil NEVER do a wow-thingy crap.
My hd580 with older pads do sound a little "muddy", yes. And when I changed my pads I also was quite surprised, and that's the point.
The highs got annoying and sharp, not like those extremely smooth highs.

Smooth is the much better word than muddy.
And all the smoothness goes away with those new pads.

 

[ScareDe2]

Is the HD580 more neutral than let's say, the AKG k702 or HD600 or Shure1840? Any comparison?

I have been breaking in the Beyer DT880 for a couple of days and I am still disappointed although the sound got better and seems very neutral in the upper mid and treble region, there is like a boost in the lower region that make the sound boomy and almost bleed into the midrange. I find it very strange but note that it is the newer chrome edition 250 ohms. I don't know if Beyer tuned something up in the bass. They sound good but, a little disappointing.

 

[rendyG]

Nice, how did you do the measuring?
Looks little different than my measured response.

I used my cheap diy rig, so nothing precise, but its good for relative comparison.¨
The 10kHz dip is artifact.
Acutally for example on this site they are getting similarish results, I mean mainly the behaviour around 5kHz.
But ye, I know the Senns are probably tuned to have the peak at 3kHz as I believe for example Tyll´s measurements more

 

[Sefelt103]

On another note, I didn't realise how revealing these were of inferior source material.

The HD580 is a neutral headphone, it is slightly euphonic but not that much. A HD650 would gove you more bass and more bass extension, a thicker sound overall which would be more forgiving of poor source material. It is what's called a 'dark' headphone, the treble is rolled off giving a smooth, relaxing and slow presentation. It is much more euphonic (pleasant harmonic distortion) than the HD580, you might prefer it from what you have described.