[kornel221]

Are they the raised nameplate or printed HD 580 Precision version ? And which of these two types did you have previously ? It could of course be aged drivers with a little damage to the cones giving distortion. It could also be spending alot of time with the HD660S and being focused on their signature. Memory of headphone's sound is also not very reliable in human beings.

Thanks for replying , they have the raised nameplate and black drivers the same type I had before , they are not distorting I have spent some more time with them today and they seem to sound a bit better than yesterday it might be because of spending too much time with the hd 660s , I have been listening to the hd 580 and then switched to 660s and to be honest it's night and day , I have bought them to use them for some TV watching to don't disturb at night but I might sell them and just keep the 660s

 

[Sefelt103]

I have owned your version in the past (3rd version). The HD660S are from what I know is quite a different headphone to the line that came before. My HD580 used to sound a little distorted after listening to other headphones and after I sold them the buyer returned them saying there was too much distortion. I think it was partly psychological as the headphones were well used. I can't imagine that many people would have a HD580 and HD660S, usually one would give way to the other as well as having a similar Sennheiser sound.

 

[mrscotchguy]

Finally broke down and replaced my earpads on my near 20 year old pair of hd580s. I lucked out and got these cans used from my favorite local audio store. They were from one of their older regulars that had an insane speaker setup supposedly. After he passed the shop helped his wife appraise and sell all the gear so she wasn't screwed over by an estate group.

Anyways, I replaced the pads when I picked them up in 2008 or 2009. Of course, I have been reluctant to pick up a new set of pad with Sennheisers price...

So I too a chance on the Geekria pads on Amazon. For sub $20, I am pleasantly surprised. I was shocked how much of a difference the sound degraded with nearly limp pads.

The sparkle in the highs, especially snares and chimes came back to life.. Bass response tightened up, and vocals became creamy smooth again to how I remember.

I have an essentially new pair of HD650s in storage so I may test if there's any sound difference between OG Senn pads and these, but I'm sure the difference is negligible.

The Geekria pads look identical to my old Senn pads (pre-deflation) except the foam is a bit stiffer and more rounded than the high vertical walls on the Senn pads. This makes the ear opening just slightly smaller, but should even out with a few weeks of wear.

So if any of yall have an old pair of Senns with limp pads and want to bring some life back to em, I approve of the discount pads.

(Edit: my hd580s have hd650 grills and the original foam inserts between the driver and the pad are still installed)

 

[GreenNeedle]

From my limited experience the £40 for the Sennheiser pads is a good investment. There may be cheaper options out there that sound as good but you never know how long they will maintain their shape nor their improvement in acoustics.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Heh...I originally just wanted to post a pic of my HD580 Precision in the gear thread and ended up writing a pseudo-ode to the headphone as well as to the classic Sennie 6 series
Anyway it ended up being a post that should’ve been posted in here..so yeah:

My return to the HD580 Precision has been a revelation of sorts - actually much like the one I previously experienced returning to the HD600 a good while ago. In short? The headphone simply steps out of the way and music just flows. That’s a very rare thing and ultimately has to do with tuning. I’ve spent time with a lot of different coconuts on the ol cabeza - headphones that cost the same as a used car - yet outside of better bass extension and clarity, I have yet to come across any headphone with better mids and treble than the classic Sennie 6 series.
One thing that has become very clear though is that these headphones don’t take particularly well to EQ in the bass - simply because they already come with their own little auras of bass-distortion..adding more bass via EQ ends up in mud and a complete loss of what’s going down in the low lows. Incidentally I find that the 650 is the one with the poorest deep bass whereas the 600 sounds much clearer and well-defined...yet the original daddyo seems wholly bereft of said midbass thump and as a result ends up sounding the clearest and most detailed of the lot. Then again not so incredibly surprising as bumps/peaks/valleys/troughs in the frequency response often have a way of masking detail close to them (also why the Eikon sounds that more clear in the low lows compared to the Atticus, ze bump).
I’m finding the HD580 almost impossible to take off my head. I want to listen to another album...and then another one! I just made it through Die Wilde Jagd’s selftitled debut with it’s contemporary electronic take on the Krautrock of yore with zooming bursts of deep bass synths and galloping earthy percussion dancing together like this beautiful psychedelic tango, and while I often tend to look long and hard after my HE500 whenever I’m listening to this album over the 600...with the old daddyo not so much.

What is it with cheap old Sennies and their ability to not only compete with but for my tastes completely annihilate most of the new competition? It’s baffling to say the least.
Not that I’m complaining. I paid something like a 100$ for what effectively is my ‘endgame coconut’ and I was prepared to pay about 20 times as much for the very same result

 

[GreenNeedle]

I was wondering (don't laugh.)

I broke my headband's yoke when I sat down on it after a few too many beakers of Port a couple of months ago. And so I ended up buying a replacement full headband which is the HD600 Avantgarde one. Exactly the same fit and dimensions.

Problem is that it has the bright blue HD600 painted logos on it. I initially thought that these were "push in" parts but on close inspection they (and the original 580 ones) are like pretend pressed badges not separate pieces. The 580 then printed on and the HD600 looks painted on.

Now I'm not into them completely looking like they are HD600s nor do I like the bright blue badge on them. Does anyone know anyone that can do up some small 580 Precision stickers to put on top of the blue HD600? So that they look good but are not to pretending to be something else?

Failing that I will butcher up the old headband and try to use the original raised part sanding it as thin as possible and gluing it on.

 

[Sefelt103]

Sorry to hear about your accident with the HD580. There are 2 replacement headbands for the HD600:
586411 HD600 Avantgarde (the speckled one) headband
586415 HD600 headband (plain)
Presumably most people would buy the latter for a HD580.
https://sennprospares.co.uk/pro-audio-headphones/hd-600
Alternatively you could go the modern 3D printed way (doesn't have Sennheiser written anywhere)
https://www.shapeways.com/product/9QKXAU59F/sennheiser-replacement-headband

 

[Sefelt103]

Not that I’m complaining. I paid something like a 100$ for what effectively is my ‘endgame coconut’ and I was prepared to pay about 20 times as much for the very same result

Interesting thoughts. I like my early version (non-nameplate version). If you have 2000$ to spend on a HD580 version for me there are 3 options (in order of preference):
1. The HD580 Jubilee (not the 58x)
2. The original (made in Germany printed on HD580 precision) HD580
3. The 2nd version (made in Ireland printed on HD580 precision)
These unfortunately are difficult to find. In my view while most common the raised nameplate versions (3 and 4) are less pure than the versions above. Comparing the HD600 to my early version (2nd version). It seems to have narrower bass/treble extension, it's flatter (more neutral, less euphonic) and in general a plainer more purist/accurate type of headphone. I think of the HD600/650 as gloss paint and the HD580 as matt paint. It's more revealing of flaws in the recording. So while the raised nameplate versions have more general appeal they lose the delicacies of the earlier versions. Here's one I found, only £580.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sennheis...lee/274478650413?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144

 

[holden4th]

I've had the pleasure of hearing the German originals - once. Went into my local hifi store (1980s can't remember the year) where I'd bought a pair of the HD540 Reference Golds a few years previously and the sales guy said "you just have to hear these." I was gobsmacked but I couldn't afford them. My current pair (raised label, Made in Ireland) are Gen 3 I believe. I got them used about six years ago for around $AUS180. They are my go to open back cans for chamber music! They are a superb headphone.

Now my understanding is that the Jubilees became the HD600s so why would you pay GBP580 for something you can get for GBP350. Is it a vintage thing or do they sound better than the 600s?

I would love to hear the original German made ones again. What would they cost?

 

[Sefelt103]

Now my understanding is that the Jubilees became the HD600s so why would you pay GBP580 for something you can get for GBP350. Is it a vintage thing or do they sound better than the 600s?

I would love to hear the original German made ones again. What would they cost?

Well it's the rarity, style. Unfortunately I've never heard a really exotic HD580. I can't imagine it would be much better than my 2nd edition (made in Ireland) but they have a certain 'je ne sais quoi'. There were some pre-production HD580s for sale earlier this year but I missed them. They go for similar prices to the 2nd gen, £150-250. From what I've read on this thread they are even more pure than the later models, bright and less bassy, electrostatic fast. I have often heard people say the HD600 is the same as the earlier HD580 model. For me it has a different presentation which is more modern and in keeping with their 'house sound'. It's just slightly thicker, slighty more euphonic and less plain than the early models. From the 3rd gen onwards Sennheiser added make-up.

 

[mrscotchguy]

Sorry to hear about your accident with the HD580. There are 2 replacement headbands for the HD600:
586411 HD600 Avantgarde (the speckled one) headband
586415 HD600 headband (plain)
Presumably most people would buy the latter for a HD580.
https://sennprospares.co.uk/pro-audio-headphones/hd-600
Alternatively you could go the modern 3D printed way (doesn't have Sennheiser written anywhere)
https://www.shapeways.com/product/9QKXAU59F/sennheiser-replacement-headband

Thanks for this. The paint on the underside of my headband is starting to come off. I was not looking forward to plasti-dip surgery. It's good to know you can get a non-speckled headband replacement.

 

[GreenNeedle]

Sorry to hear about your accident with the HD580. There are 2 replacement headbands for the HD600:
586411 HD600 Avantgarde (the speckled one) headband
586415 HD600 headband (plain)
Presumably most people would buy the latter for a HD580.
https://sennprospares.co.uk/pro-audio-headphones/hd-600
Alternatively you could go the modern 3D printed way (doesn't have Sennheiser written anywhere)
https://www.shapeways.com/product/9QKXAU59F/sennheiser-replacement-headband

The "Avantgarde" option was bought a month or so ago and already fitted. I am just wanting to put the 580 precision branding on the Avantgarde headband.

 

[GreenNeedle]

Thanks for this. The paint on the underside of my headband is starting to come off. I was not looking forward to plasti-dip surgery. It's good to know you can get a non-speckled headband replacement.

There is also this site for spares. The prices on the site mentioned above and this one go up and down so always worth seeing who is cheapest at the moment. I have used both. They also have different shipping prices so weigh that up as well in finding the cheapest.

https://www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/index.php?dispatch=products.search&q=hd600&subcats=Y&status=A&pshort=``&pfull=``&pname=Y&pkeywords=``&search_performed=Y

 

[dleblanc343]

Now my understanding is that the Jubilees became the HD600s so why would you pay GBP580 for something you can get for GBP350. Is it a vintage thing or do they sound better than the 600s?

I have HD580 Jubilees and had the pleasure of comparing it with my friend’s Flatplate HD580 Ireland, and they are quite different sounding actually. Both are pristine condition. I also own HD600 black silk, HD6XX, HD58X and HD660S.

Jubilees are like an HD600 with less grainy highs, and more air and soundstage, and less wooly bass. They’re the leanest of the lot, but the most technically impressive immediately. It sounds absolutely phenomenal as long as your music doesn’t call for deep bass. My friend actually likes it almost as much as my Susvara for its pure enjoyment factor - and ironically I really love the tonality of his flatplate 580.

jubilees really sound like a hybrid of the HD580 Flatplate, but crossed with the 600. The charm of the 580’s are that the sound sweet and have a slightly more organic timbre (More reverby/ rich bass, warmer high freq) whereas the Jubilees sound effortlessly transparent but sometimes too much so.

As it stands, of all 600 series headphones, I’d rate as such my preferences:

HD580J>HD580 Flatplate 2nd gen=HD600 silver screen>HD600 black screen>HD650=HD660S>HD58X

What’s crazy, is that on any given track, 58X can jump to 2-3rd position, simply because the nuances of all these headphones are not drastic. Sennheiser really made an iconic series out of this mold.

 

[Sefelt103]

HD580J>HD580 Flatplate 2nd gen=HD600 silver screen>HD600 black screen>HD650=HD660S>HD58X

Interesting line-up. I think the HD580 Flatplate 2nd gen is slightly less forgiving and plainer than the silver screen HD600. The HD600 is also slightly more fatiguing. This line-up appears to be based on transparency/purity rather than 'fun'. I would place the raised nameplate 3rd/4th versions between the black screen HD600 and HD650 from what I remember of my 3rd version. Looking at this from a resolution/accuracy perspective old>new except the silver HD600 which is a little sad in a certain way. Markets don't have a soul. It wouldn't surprise me if the HD580 gen1 made in Germany slotted in after the Jubilee. Surprising your friend liked the Jubilee as much as the £5000 Susvara, perhaps with longer aquaintance that might change. Would be great if you could review the sublime Jubilees, there's virtually nothing on the internet about them.