[ArChaos]

The front foam on all Sennie 6 series headphones is a big part of the tuning. Removing it boosts the uppermids and treble considerably. My friend who is a big AKG fan has always hated Sennheisers…until he removed the front foams on his 600..and now he absolutely adores it

Absolutely. I removed the foams from all my Sennies and the upper mids and treble sound much better to my taste. The timbre we all love remains the same if not better with less of the "Sennheiser veil" people are talking about on the 580/600/650 series.

Even on the HD540 Reference and 250 Linear, the series I like best of all Sennheiser phones (incl.the 800 series), about which no one can say lack treble, detail and clarity, removing the foams made them sound even more amazing.
By the way, there were a few posts here lately, wondering about trying various planars in order to get more clarity and detail but being worried of losing the wonderful Sennheiser timbre and sound signature. Well, HD540 Reference and 250 Linear are definitely the answer to that, IMO. There are dedicated threads on both of these headphones, here on Head-Fi.

HD540 Reference
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wow-sennheiser-hd-540-reference-are-so-good.670255/

HD250 Linear
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd250-linear-impressions-micro-thread.845221/

 

[nOoneNL]

I've been enjoying my HD580's for about a year now and it has quickly become THE favorite pair of headphones I've ever owned.

In the past I've gone through the HD545, HD595, DT880 (600ohm and 250ohm black edition) and even had a DT1990 for about a week.

Now, I only own the HD580 and a pair of HD565's (the latter I mostly use for the occasional movie watching and gaming).

The HD565 has the upper hand when it comes to soundstage, but noticeably lacks the timbre and refinement of the HD580.

But because I was using the 565 on a regular, the lack of soundstage began to bother me on the 580s. It also seemed a bit mid-forward and it missed a lot of bottom end.

So, as an experiment, I took of the plastic grills and found it made a small but also significant improvement. The sound opened up a bit, to my ears.

I then tried ordering some HD600/650 grills directly through Sennheiser, but was told they no longer sell these as spare parts... probably to keep people from buying 580's and slapping new grills on them? I imagine they figured this hurts the sales of their current HD6** models? Who knows.

I was however, determined to get the best out of these cans. After a quick search, I found a supplier in the UK, bit the bullet and ordered a pair of HD650 grills. Being in Germany, I even had to pay extra import taxes... but to me, it was totally worth it.

Visually the HD580 looks absolutly gorgeous with the HD650 grills!

But soundwise... eh...something was still lacking... (remember that bottom end I mentioned earlier?)

Hmm... I had already tried swapping out the original cable for a HD650 cable in the past, but I didn't like the results. It seemed to slightly muddy the sound and the sparkle was gone. Well, to my ears at least (for the love of God, I hope I don't ignite a three-pages-long cable discussion).

But now! With the HD650 grills ánd the HD650 cable.... Oh boy oh boy, do they sing! They're more open and at the same time more balanced (more bass, less mid-forward).

They are as close to perfect as I can imagine. I catch myself occasionally sighing while listening with these, because the music sound so sweet and really moves me like no other headphone has done before. I especially love acoustic music with alot of piano, cello and female vocals with these.

*sigh* What can I say? They just sound so... ALIVE.

So all in all, I love [LOVE] my HD580's and am glad I showed them a little love too. I'm positive these will be with me for a long, long time to come! (Dare I say... End...Game?)

 

[MattLee]

I never believed that cables would make a difference, but regardless, I agree the 580 is nice. I like the 600 and 650 as well, but I tend to use the 580 more than the other two. My black silk version sits nicely between the 650's warmth and the 600's forwardness, pretty much perfect for my taste. I used to have a black paper screen one as well, but to me that was a bit too bright and lean.

 

[thee mutz]

This morning i had the opportunity to buy a 580 for little money so i took it. It needs new pads, the foam headband is gone and it has a bit of a loose contact on one side says the owner. The black fabric that covers the driver needs some cleaning too as far as i can see it on the pictures. I am curious how they sound ( hopefully both drivers are OK ) as i read so much positive things about this model.

 

[holden4th]

If both drivers are OK you've done very well. These cans don't come up for sale often and get snapped up when they do. I've just been online and could only find one for sale - in Germany.

Replacement pads and headband foam are readily available. I'm wondering what the seller means by a loose contact. I am assuming that it's where the cable plugs into the ear cups. I removed the fabric from mine and this opened them up a bit. This could be anything from a faulty cable (easily fixed) to the contacts in the cup needing a little bit of solder. If you don't like them you won't have much trouble selling them.

 

[thee mutz]

The seller said that when you wiggle with the cable on one side the sound goes on/ off. So probably a bad cable, or the contact springs in the driver unit are to loose. there is a clip on youtube where someone takes a HD 600 apart and changes the contact springs. I found it very informative because it shows exactly how to disassemble the whole thing. Very funny also because some things go wrong ( he luckily did not edit his own mistakes out, so that is very good to learn things) i don’t know if direct links to youtube are allowed so i will just give the title of the clip so you can look it up for yourself if interested:

Dissasembly, Spring Repair, and Reassembly of the Sennheiser HD 580, HD 600, and HD650​

the moment at 8.20 where something goes wrong and especially his reaction on it makes me laugh out loud all the time.

 

[ArChaos]

The seller said that when you wiggle with the cable on one side the sound goes on/ off. So probably a bad cable, or the contact springs in the driver unit are to loose. there is a clip on youtube where someone takes a HD 600 apart and changes the contact springs. I found it very informative because it shows exactly how to disassemble the whole thing. Very funny also because some things go wrong ( he luckily did not edit his own mistakes out, so that is very good to learn things) i don’t know if direct links to youtube are allowed so i will just give the title of the clip so you can look it up for yourself if interested:

Dissasembly, Spring Repair, and Reassembly of the Sennheiser HD 580, HD 600, and HD650​

the moment at 8.20 where something goes wrong and especially his reaction on it makes me laugh out loud all the time.

Yup, I remember the clip you're talking about, and the "someone" you're mentioning is Tyll Hertsens of Stereophile & Inner Fidelity( now retired), an ICON in the headphone world... Of course he didn't edit the video - he always wanted to help, educate people and share his huge knowledge with everyone.

https://www.samma3a.com/tech/en/we-bid-farewell-to-an-icon-tyll-hertsens/

One of the most reliable and trustful persons in the headphone world.

 

[thee mutz]

Yup, I remember the clip you're talking about, and the "someone" you're mentioning is Tyll Hertsens of Stereophile & Inner Fidelity( now retired), an ICON in the headphone world... Of course he didn't edit the video - he always wanted to help, educate people and share his huge knowledge with everyone.

OK, thanks for the info!

I just received the 580 i bought. After a quick inspection i can say that they look and sound OK. The loose connection was there, but disappeared after plugging the connector out en in again. I removed the pads to wash them because they smelled like perfumed hairwater or something like that.
The foam rings around the mesh covering the drivers are desintegrating so i removed them completely before the black crumbles are everywhere.
Is it necessary to replace these rings and where can i buy these, or do they come with new pads?

I also noticed a number on top of the driver , this one has nr. 3 on both sides. Has it something to do with matched drivers?

 

[Sefelt103]

The foam rings around the mesh covering the drivers are desintegrating so i removed them completely before the black crumbles are everywhere.
Is it necessary to replace these rings and where can i buy these, or do they come with new pads?

Did you know this was one of the rare early HD580s when you purchased it ? They tend to be more expensive than the raised nameplate versions. The oval foam that covers the drivers comes with replacement earpads. The previous owner has cut out the centre of these foams no doubt in the quest for clarity. In order to keep dust off the drivers I wouldn't recommend doing that. These headphones have a delicate, slightly warm neutral sound. I found mine slightly dark in presentation but after replacing the drivers only they're now a little brighter. I always check to see that there is foams behind the drivers also, some people remove these. The only change I've made with mine is a HD650 cable which seems allow for a higher signal level than the original cables.

 

[ArChaos]

Did you know this was one of the rare early HD580s when you purchased it ? They tend to be more expensive than the raised nameplate versions. The oval foam that covers the drivers comes with replacement earpads. The previous owner has cut out the centre of these foams no doubt in the quest for clarity. In order to keep dust off the drivers I wouldn't recommend doing that. These headphones have a delicate, slightly warm neutral sound. I found mine slightly dark in presentation but after replacing the drivers only they're now a little brighter. I always check to see that there is foams behind the drivers also, some people remove these. The only change I've made with mine is a HD650 cable which seems allow for a higher signal level than the original cables.

You just took the words out of my mouth - judging by the integrated "HD580 Precision" logo they really look as the early rare Germany made version.

@thee mutz: Did you check the inside of the head band? If what's written there is "Made in Germany" you got really lucky.

On my pair I took out the foams all together and replaced them with oval pieces of acoustic speakers cloth. Before that, I used dried baby wipes or thin hand wipes, the purpose being to maximize the transparency of the high range and simultaneously to protect the drivers from dust. Of course, there are people who prefer their sound signature with the foams, or the foams with the "coin mod" - I think that's a matter of personal taste..

 

[thee mutz]

It is a made in Ireland version. I knew that the versions with the text directly printed on the headphones were the earlier versions, but i could not see that detail clearly on the photos in the add. I was lucky to get this one: i saw the add about 7 minutes after it was placed, the price was more than OK so i went into a nervous hyperdrive to send an email , hoping i was the first to respond and get the chance to buy it.

i will start with buying new headband foam because that part is completely missing. Maybe new pads, the old ones seem not too bad, and oval foam or acoustic cloth to cover the drivers.

 

[ArChaos]

It is a made in Ireland version. I knew that the versions with the text directly printed on the headphones were the earlier versions, but i could not see that detail clearly on the photos in the add. I was lucky to get this one: i saw the add about 7 minutes after it was placed, the price was more than OK so i went into a nervous hyperdrive to send an email , hoping i was the first to respond and get the chance to buy it.

i will start with buying new headband foam because that part is completely missing. Maybe new pads, the old ones seem not too bad, and oval foam or acoustic cloth to cover the drivers.

Never mind - Early Made in Ireland is also a good find.

You can buy cheap (and good) headband replacements on eBay - it doesn't matter much IMO. Regarding the Ear Pads, they really influence the sound and I would go for the originals, as long as you can still get them. I think you can also find original foams, I don't remember if they come together with the Ear Pads, sometimes they do...

 

[Sefelt103]

You just took the words out of my mouth - judging by the integrated "HD580 Precision" logo they really look as the early rare Germany made version.

I suspect most of the early printed "HD580 Precision" versions were made in Ireland. I've seen more of the limited production Jubilee's for sale than the original made in Germany models.

 

[ArChaos]

I suspect most of the early printed "HD580 Precision" versions were made in Ireland. I've seen more of the limited production Jubilee's for sale than the original made in Germany models.

...and I suspect that what you suspect is absolutely right and moreover, that the superiority of the early German made models over the early Ireland made models is also a "legend"...

 

[thee mutz]

The legend of the “ made in Germany “ version also applies to the HD 250 Linear 2 . There is also a made in Germany and a made in Ireland version. Some people say that they sound very different but i have my doubts about that, or could it be that the Germans sparkle some magic sound dust over their headphones so that they sound better?