[matiss]

@cCasper TFG
Thank you.
 
I have a question about sound cards and amps. For two days now I'm trying to understand and find what should I buy.
I'm very confused and don't know what to do.
 
A lot of people seem to recommend E-MU 0404 USB for HD580/HD600, but other people write that I still need headphone amp for that...
 
So, isn't it better to buy sound card for my PC and headphone amp insteed of E-MU 0404 USB?
 
I wanted to pay around $150 for that equipment.
 
I know that this topic was a lot of time on this forum, but I really don't know what should I do.

 

[matiss]

I think that I found my answer.
 
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
 
This sound card doesn't need amp... right?

 

[Boochie]

  I think that I found my answer.
 
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
 
This sound card doesn't need amp... right?

It has a built in headphone amp that is advertised to drive up to 600 ohm headphones.

 

[matiss]

Okey, Thank you. I will check it myself. Ordered

 

[Zaluma]

I currently own the Sennheiser HD 558 and am wondering how they would compare to the HD 580. I also own Beyerdynamic DT 880s (250ohm) so feel free to add those into the comparison. Any replies are appreciated

 

[pkshan]

The new production 580s (1997-now) & the old 580s (before 1995,flat name plates) sound totally different.
 
The new 580s sound like an inferior hd600, fatty,dirty & muddy sound. soundstage is smaller.
 
The old 580s(flat name plates) sound like stax nova signature,with a little more bass & mids,
sound is transparent, cleaner,more neutral.
sound quality is better than hd600s/650s
 
and only the very early production 580s (1993 & German made) have a very smooth,liquid-like,intimacy sound signature.
They are very rare.and IMHO, HD540 reference gold & HD560 ovation (non II) are better cans (most 540s & 560s are made in Germany)
 
I am not saying 580s aren't good, the old 580s are very good if you don't compare them to 540s/560s.
(HD540 gold & 560s are the best Sennheiser dynamic cans,
if you like the sounds of Sennheiser electrostatics but can't afford them,540 gold & 560s are your choice,
580s are very good too,just not as good as the 540s/560s )
 

 

 

 

[pkshan]

2 early production 580s,some old 580s paints have a different finish.

 
 
new production 580s,name plates are different,& some holes are blocked:

 

[pkshan]

Hi!



I bought recently my HD580. I wanted them for years, but always they were something that I could live without (expensive stuff).



Now I have them and I want to buy grills from HD600, I live in Canada and I asked sennheiser support for parts. grills are $28.40 for each. Isn't it to expensive? I also want to buy cable from HD650 and it is $16.67. Is it wort it to pay over $80 for that parts?

Cheers,

Matt

 
For HD580s,you must not change the grill & the original cable,especially the early production 580s.(flat name plate)
you will destroy the carefully tuned timbre & kill the "soul" of 580s.
 
the 580 grills were designed for controlling the air flow. make the air flow more stable=better sound.
Current Sennheiser developers are suck,a lot of things they did were wrong/have no clue why the old Senns designed in this way.
all they did was turned some legendary models & good designs into garbage

 

[PETEREK]

They grills give the HD580 a darker sound while the HD6x0 grills allow for a more open airy sound. Yes the grills were "Tuned" for the HD580 but swapping out those grills for HD600 or 650 grills essentially makes an HD600 (they share the same drivers). 

 

[mcteague]

  They grills give the HD580 a darker sound while the HD6x0 grills allow for a more open airy sound. Yes the grills were "Tuned" for the HD580 but swapping out those grills for HD600 or 650 grills essentially makes an HD600 (they share the same drivers). 

I have an old, made in Ireland, pair of HD580s and found the HD600 grill did open things up and I perceived no negatives relating to them. A few months ago, I took my pair to a store that had the HD800 and HD650s so I could compare. I really preferred my pair to the 650s. The 800s sounded better but only a little. Perhaps a longer audition would make me feel different.
 
Tim

 

[John Willett]

  Is it true that the driver units are the same as the HD 600's? because many ppl say the HD580/HD600 sound equal.

 
Yes, though I think the HD600 may be selected.
 
The HD 600 was originally the Limited Edition "HD 580 Jubilee" of which only 4,000 were made worldwide.
 
Sennheiser then realised how popular such quality headphones were, so they changed the paint job and renamed them the HD 600 (leaving the exclusivity of the Limited Edition HD 580 Jubilee model).
 
The 580 and 600 do not sound the same due the the different backs - however, when talking to the designer many years ago, he told me that the 580 had originally been designed to have the very open backs that are now used on the 600 and 650, so I swapped my 580 backs to the same as those of the 600 - my HD 580 now sound the same as my Jubilee model.

 

[John Willett]

  A few months ago, I took my pair to a store that had the HD800 and HD650s so I could compare. I really preferred my pair to the 650s. The 800s sounded better but only a little. Perhaps a longer audition would make me feel different.
 

 
Yes it would, I find my HD 800 very much better than my HD 650. HD 580 Jubilee and HD 580 - and also much better than the HD 700 which I had and then sold on.

 

[John Willett]

  The new production 580s (1997-now) & the old 580s (before 1995,flat name plates) sound totally different.
 
The new 580s sound like an inferior hd600, fatty,dirty & muddy sound. soundstage is smaller.
 
The old 580s(flat name plates) sound like stax nova signature,with a little more bass & mids,
sound is transparent, cleaner,more neutral.
sound quality is better than hd600s/650s
 
and only the very early production 580s (1993 & German made) have a very smooth,liquid-like,intimacy sound signature.
They are very rare.and IMHO, HD540 reference gold & HD560 ovation (non II) are better cans (most 540s & 560s are made in Germany)
 
I am not saying 580s aren't good, the old 580s are very good if you don't compare them to 540s/560s.
(HD540 gold & 560s are the best Sennheiser dynamic cans,
if you like the sounds of Sennheiser electrostatics but can't afford them,540 gold & 560s are your choice,
580s are very good too,just not as good as the 540s/560s )

 
Interesting .....
 
My own HD 580 are the very originals from the first production run when they first came out - I did not know they changed them (or maybe it was just due to moving the factory to Ireland) and have not compared mine to later versions.
 
I had a pair of the 540 "Gold" but moved them on.
 
I fine the HD 800 clearly very much better than all other Sennheiser headphones (except the Orpheus).
 
Oh - and as I use them for live recording, I am comparing them to real music rather than "what I like" and demand headphones to be ruthlessly accurate, rather than "sounding nice" and the HD 800 certainly do that.

 

[pkshan]

hd800s have some serious problem in the micro details, & the tonal balance
the vocal sound like a robot. not a real human,
mids are too thin
the overall timbre is too cold,bland & sharp
 
the only good things in hd800s are  the highs(seem too much though)
 
The high frequency & some "HIFI sound effects"(soundstage etc) will always grab your attention, make you/force you to lose focus on the music itself.
& when you pay attention on the "nice sound effects", you will find that they are just distortion.(vocals are shining....robot, strings & woodwinds are unrealistic,metallic)
this is the biggest issue of hd800.

 

[spookygonk]

Just dug out my old pair of HD580 and will be taking them to use at work. Was thinking of trying a replacement cable on them, something cheap off ebay.  I know I could buy the HD650 replacemnt cable (I have them with my HD600s), but I've been looking at a couple of ones from a Chinese ebay seller called jiangzhan2012. The two I'm looking at are:
 
1.  White Furutech Headphone Upgrade Cable with Japan FURUKAWA PCOCC
 
2.  8 cores Flat braid Headphone Cable with 8 cores Silver plated 4N OCC
 
For just over £30 each, would either of these be worthwhile?