[Bvachon29]

Those modded 580's look amazing. I wish I would've kept my 595's and went a similar route.

 

[SHAMuuu]

  Here are my 580's modded by PETEREK.
 

Is there any other mod except cable? Some more picture would be nice if possible. At first I thought that was some ad lol.

 

[Charliemotta]

Paint job and grills too.    ♫

 

[onestep2]

That is why I will not cut up the old grills.

I am amping these with a Schiit Vali2 right now. I would like to pick up a Darkvoice 336 next time Massdrop has them.

 
As I wrote earlier, I replaced the same things but kept the grills. These phones were my first 'expensive' purchase; bought them soon after they came out. Finally replaced deteriorating parts- but mostly original. Still sound comfortable and almost new.. 
I love the bass- feels like the more power you put into them, the more they want. 
 
Due to a bunch of hospital visits, not much money for new anything- still have the Shure E500C earphones so I can load up a FiiO X3-ll, then I can listen to okay sound in the hospital; but always look forward to coming home and putting on the 580's.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I have for so many years.

 

[HollowNoise]

If anyone wants to sell their HD 580, hit me up! I also have a DT 880 Premium 600 Ohm for trade if anyone is interested!

 

[Picassofish]

I have 2 different 580s:
- Flat name plate, "Made in Germany" (1st generation, 1993)
- Raised name plate, dark driver screen (3rd generation, post-1997, perhaps around 2005)
It's actually kind of bizarre that these two bear the same name. For my ears, they have far less in common than the 600 and the 650! And I happen to like both - for different reasons, and for different music. (I heard the 2nd generation too, but I don't own one of these.)
From my own experience I agree with some of pkshan's sound descriptions on page 94 (and if you prefer bright signatures, his judgements might be spot-on), but my conclusions are a little different. Here's what I hear:
1.) The early German made 580s are a little bass shy (not that unusual for 1993) and markedly on the bright side, but very balanced and natural and IMO closer to a "neutral" sound than the 600s. There's something beautiful and engaging to the tonality of these cans that's hard to describe in objective terms, a certain charm the other versions cannot quite convey: They tend to give music a slightly ethereal touch, more like an early electrostatic, which is good when the music calls for it, but they may be a touch too bright for harsh recordings. Gesualdo's madrigals sound stunning on these (as does much well recorded classical music); but don't ever give them anything like Balinese metal gamelan (ouch).
2.) The 2nd generation of 580s has got a similar, but warmer signature - not in the sense of more rolled off treble / mids, more like a neutral sound with a soft belt around the waist. When I compared the 1st and 2nd generations, I preferred the 1st by a modest margin (which is odd, given my usual inclination towards warmer sounding cans), maybe because its signature sounded more consistent to me; but these are perfectly fine headphones in their own right. They may lack the "ethereal" timbre of the 1st generation, but I hear no problems with harshness either, so they may be less picky in regard to genres and mastering quality. (No hard rock headphones though.)
3.) The 3rd generation 580s are something different altogether. Compared to the 600s (which came out in the same year), these actually have some kind of "fun tuning" (for 1997, that is); no pumped up bass, of course, but they're edgier and more direct. I guess it was a conscious decision to give the new more "refined" sounding 600s a contrasting, more "fun" counterpart by retuning the 580s... They're considerably warmer too, but I wouldn't call them "muddy" at all (a slightly cool DAC/amp combination like the Micro iDSD works wonders). As to musical genres, I think that these are more adequate for rock music than the 600s and 650s (IMO, YMMV, etc.).
4.) Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the 4th generation 580s, because I have never heard one...

 

[interface95]

Nice review!
I got my first used HD580 now like one year ago and I love it!
For listening it's my favourite headphone.
Since last year I bought two other HD580 which have raised name plate.
One I sold again after some weeks because they just didn't sound as good but I thought I had bad luck on it.
So no I bought another one wittch raised name plate, even with new earpads and again, sounds not as good as the old one .

I can't really tell why, I'm not able to say which frequencis are missing/too much in the newer ones.
All I can say is, that the old one sounds much more musical and so more real to me.

I will measure them in the next week or so and maybe I can tell afterwards what the major differences are, because there is no doubt to me, they sound different.

ps. how can you tell the differences in the versions other than the name plate?

 

[Picassofish]

This weekend, we had a little meeting in Vienna (like 30 people) and at first I didn't even know what to take there but then I brought the HD580.
No one had listened to them before (I own the newer HD580) and everyone who tried them, was surprised how good they sound.
Most of them also said that they prefer them to the HD600.
And about me.. I had my HD580 as a preference and compered it to the other and I have to say that they are not as detailed as modern headphone,
but when it comes to nice sound I was most times kinda relieved when I went back to my 580s.
No harshness, and a real nice overall sound.
I bought them used, also without knowing them, I'm happy that I made that decision

That's funny: I've been at the same meet Are you from Vienna too?

 

[Picassofish]

Nice review!
I got my first used HD580 now like one year ago and I love it!
For listening it's my favourite headphone.
Since last year I bought two other HD580 which have raised name plate.
One I sold again after some weeks because they just didn't sound as good but I thought I had bad luck on it.
So no I bought another one wittch raised name plate, even with new earpads and again, sounds not as good as the old one .

I can't really tell why, I'm not able to say which frequencis are missing/too much in the newer ones.
All I can say is, that the old one sounds much more musical and so more real to me.

So which version is your first one?

I will measure them in the next week or so and maybe I can tell afterwards what the major differences are, because there is no doubt to me, they sound different.

I'll have my 580s measured too in 2 weeks - it would be very interesting to compare the data...

ps. how can you tell the differences in the versions other than the name plate?

1st version: "HD 580" printed directly on the headphone; "Made in Germany" on the inside of the headband
2nd version: "HD 580" printed directly on the headphone; "Made in Ireland" on the inside of the headband
3rd version: Raised name plate; dark driver screen
4th version: Raised name plate; bright driver screen

To see the difference between the 3rd & 4th version, you simply have to remove the earpads. I remember that somewhere in this gigantic thread someone has posted photos (might be a while back)...

 

[interface95]

Nice infomation!

So my ffirst and also avourite one is the 2nd version.

I once owned a 3rd gen which had less bass than my 2nd gen one and now i also own the 4th version which sounds almost like the hd600.
Also the 4th gen hd580 has around the driver not some textil thing but some plastic fiber or so.

ps. this new design is crap, I just tried to find the gallery of the thread but failed
this whole website looks not like a forum anymore, more like a big commercial for anything that has money

 

[mbwilson111]

Last week I received a pair of HD580s. I have always been curious about them so I jumped on a used listing (not on headfi). Amazon. They were described as like new in the listing and also, in an email as mint. However, the headband cushion is flat and the pads, while clean, seem more squishy than I expected. They kind of flatten out when on my head. I think the foam inside has deteriorated with time. Also the thin black foam over the driver is crumbling. The right driver is actually exposed. Should these have been described as mint? No box or case but I was not expecting one. I could return them or I could replace the pads and headband cushion..would ask the seller for a partial refund to cover the cost. How important is it to get the official Sennheiser parts. There are ones on ebay from China. Has anyone used those with good results. Advice would be much appreciated.

 

[mysticstryk]

Most people recommend getting the official Sennheiser pads. 3rd party ones typically mess with the frequency response and how they sound. I would make sure there is no damage to the drivers. The foam that covers the driver will come with new pads.

No, those are absolutely not mint, that seller was lying.

 

[dvsone]

Last week I received a pair of HD580s. I have always been curious about them so I jumped on a used listing (not on headfi). Amazon. They were described as like new in the listing and also, in an email as mint. However, the headband cushion is flat and the pads, while clean, seem more squishy than I expected. They kind of flatten out when on my head. I think the foam inside has deteriorated with time. Also the thin black foam over the driver is crumbling. The right driver is actually exposed. Should these have been described as mint? No box or case but I was not expecting one. I could return them or I could replace the pads and headband cushion..would ask the seller for a partial refund to cover the cost. How important is it to get the official Sennheiser parts. There are ones on ebay from China. Has anyone used those with good results. Advice would be much appreciated.

How much did it cost you? They are definitely not as described so you have grounds for a return, however if you like it other than those things that were worn, get the partial refund. It's not worth overpaying for those particular Sennheiser parts as foam is foam. I've bought all those parts from China sellers on ebay and haven't have a problem.

 

[mbwilson111]

How much did it cost you? They are definitely not as described so you have grounds for a return, however if you like it other than those things that were worn, get the partial refund. It's not worth overpaying for those particular Sennheiser parts as foam is foam. I've bought all those parts from China sellers on ebay and haven't have a problem.

I have not yet contacted the seller... wanted to check with you guys first. I do not know if Amazon has software in place to do a partial refund. I paid £140... too much, right? I do like the sound. Was really enjoying a couple of albums last night. I had no idea how much a used pair should cost. I know I have grounds for a return... but do I want to? How hard would it be to find a mint pair or to find something like this one at a better price? I have never bought a used headphone before.

 

[mysticstryk]

At $140 USD, the headphone should be in great shape aside from maybe a pad change.