[ArChaos]

The HD58X does NOT use 5 series drivers. The drivers stem from the HD700 - just like the ones that sit in the 660. They are not precisely the same but it’s clear they come from the same family. Look up a frequency response of both and it becomes fairly evident as the two headphones look almost identical from the mids and up through the treble. Same damping factor and sensitivity as well. Think the difference between HD600 and HD650.
The 58X accomplishes this feat of having somewhat pricey drivers inside a tremendously cheap headphone by skipping a couple of steps in the production line…aka there is no view of the drivers. Instead of having to pretty up the drivers Sennheiser threw some acoustically transparent foam in the cups…and we ended up with yet another 6 series headphone..somewhat in disguise.
‘The headphone says 58X!!!! Must be related to the 5 series then’
Well it belongs about as much in the 5 series as the classic 580 Precision does
To me it sounds like a more exciting Sennheiser with better and tighter bass quality and reach down low. Like the 660 it rolls back the uppermids ever so slightly and gives off the same ‘exciting’ treble performance…but as mentioned earlier: the 58X is a tad warmer in the bass, and at least to me, sounds better and more inviting than it’s daddyo. Both headphones share the same edgy treble..but it’s only over the 660 that it gets hot and irritating for me.
The 58X is like a more refined ZMF Aeolus. I’ve a/b’ed the two quite extensively (my old friend owns the Aeolus) and find the Sennheiser to be the better headphone. They are both tuned with warmth and linearity in mind but it’s the cheapo Drop kid that sounds the most realistic and true to life per my ears.

Right on spot...

 

[Stylish]

I'm somewhat new to the hobby and a really cool person sold me a mint HD 580, its 2nd generation with Black Paper, easily the best headphone I've had the pleasure of hearing on my setup, so airy and lifelike, the timbre and dynamics on this setup are pretty close to prefect with this headphone. Made me sell my Susvara, as it does the Ethereal Airy presentation better.

 

[bifcake]

I've never heard the Susvara. Every time I think about trying a new headphone, I put on my HD580s, put on some music and I realize that this so good, that I would be hard pressed to find anything better for any sort of a reasonable price.

 

[dleblanc343]

I'm somewhat new to the hobby and a really cool person sold me a mint HD 580, its 2nd generation with Black Paper, easily the best headphone I've had the pleasure of hearing on my setup, so airy and lifelike, the timbre and dynamics on this setup are pretty close to prefect with this headphone. Made me sell my Susvara, as it does the Ethereal Airy presentation better.

HD580 Jubilee and my Flatplate and raised plates are all black paper, and definitely timbre and tonal kings vs a lot of even end game headsets, but it’s definitely nowhere near Susvara.

It’s too bad you never gave em a try on speaker taps.

 

[Stylish]

HD580 Jubilee and my Flatplate and raised plates are all black paper, and definitely timbre and tonal kings vs a lot of even end game headsets, but it’s definitely nowhere near Susvara.

It’s too bad you never gave em a try on speaker taps.

I tried it on the Accuphase E650 it wasnt really much different, Just an overall warmer but still clean sound. Its very pleasing to listen to but the timbre still isnt quite perfect for me. It also has a bit of compression thats done, its something thats painfully revealed to me on my system. Make no mistake though the Susvara's an incredible piece, It just doesnt do what I really like in a more natural way, IG Planar vs Dynamic Sound. Susavara has areas it exceeds in especially in raw technical performance regarding Imaging and Clarity but the HD 580 on a DAC like this ends up tying it a bit close without sacrificing punch, and slam / low end decay .

 

[Sefelt103]

I'm somewhat new to the hobby and a really cool person sold me a mint HD 580, its 2nd generation with Black Paper, easily the best headphone I've had the pleasure of hearing on my setup, so airy and lifelike, the timbre and dynamics on this setup are pretty close to prefect with this headphone. Made me sell my Susvara, as it does the Ethereal Airy presentation better.

That's remarkable although I seem to remember earlier in this discussion, another individual saying they liked it more than the same Hifiman headphone. If you'd like a slightly brighter, more analytical feel in the same form then the rare Jubilee from 1995 might be of interest. They are more costly but approximately a tenth of the price of a new Susvara. The rarest of all is the 1st version (pre-production ?) flat plate made in Germany. I once saw one of these for sale in America (unfortunately in poor condition). Never been able to find much sonically descriptive information about these though.

 

[holden4th]

I tried it on the Accuphase E650 it wasnt really much different, Just an overall warmer but still clean sound. Its very pleasing to listen to but the timbre still isnt quite perfect for me. It also has a bit of compression thats done, its something thats painfully revealed to me on my system. Make no mistake though the Susvara's an incredible piece, It just doesnt do what I really like in a more natural way, IG Planar vs Dynamic Sound. Susavara has areas it exceeds in especially in raw technical performance regarding Imaging and Clarity but the HD 580 on a DAC like this ends up tying it a bit close without sacrificing punch, and slam / low end decay .

When I read that you preferred the HD580 Jubilee (almost an HD600) over the Susvara I was gobsmacked. Then I read your last post and I think I might know where you're coming from and possibly it's all about the music you listen to. I'm a classical musician. Timbre and a natural tone are very important to me and the 580s I've got provide both of these. I want to hear a piano reproduced as accurately as possible and also all the facets of the human voice. I use my 580s for historical performances, a lot of chamber music and certainly piano. I can still remember when I heard the 580s for the first time. At that stage I had a pair of 540 Golds and I wandered into my local HiFi store and Javed, one of the store owners sidled up to me and said "You have to hear these." I just couldn't afford them. I rectified that about 10 years ago but they were not the German originals I heard in the store.

I own a pair of planars, the humble Audeze LCD1 and they are brilliant cans for all music. But at certain times, I put them aside and bring out my beloved HD580s. Is the Cavalli your only HP amp? Never heard of the Rockna DAC.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Well he is certainly not the only one to prefer the HD580 to the Susvara. I do too. I also prefer the Sundara over the Susvara..because I tend to go for a neutral presentation..and well the Susvara is tuned like pretty much all planar magnetics ie with laidback uppermids. The HD580 does not sound laidback - it sounds about as natural as they come.
The only REAL contender coming from the planar magnetic world, at least if one values one’s midrange, is the Sundara. Why? It sounds realistic, pure and simple. It sounds a lot more realistic than any other planar on the market which includes it’s big daddyo, the Susvara.
Sound quality does not go hand in hand with price tag…not at all in fact.

 

[Stylish]

When I read that you preferred the HD580 Jubilee (almost an HD600) over the Susvara I was gobsmacked. Then I read your last post and I think I might know where you're coming from and possibly it's all about the music you listen to. I'm a classical musician. Timbre and a natural tone are very important to me and the 580s I've got provide both of these. I want to hear a piano reproduced as accurately as possible and also all the facets of the human voice. I use my 580s for historical performances, a lot of chamber music and certainly piano. I can still remember when I heard the 580s for the first time. At that stage I had a pair of 540 Golds and I wandered into my local HiFi store and Javed, one of the store owners sidled up to me and said "You have to hear these." I just couldn't afford them. I rectified that about 10 years ago but they were not the German originals I heard in the store.

I own a pair of planars, the humble Audeze LCD1 and they are brilliant cans for all music. But at certain times, I put them aside and bring out my beloved HD580s. Is the Cavalli your only HP amp? Never heard of the Rockna DAC.

My background is classical orchestra I used to be a cellist^^ Im glad you came to that conclusion, yeah its the only amp in my personal rig atm, but ive heard a few and had extended time with the Accuphase E650. Wavedream Signature XLR is basically what makes the magic really work, I really care the most about Timbre and Natural Tone regarding an audio system and this system is meant to bring out timbre and tone to the best I can possibly get it with a 580. It also doesnt help with just how planars compress sound and it being painful on certain tracks especially a lot of Historical Classical Performances etc.

 

[holden4th]

I find that my Audeze LCD1s do a very good job of tone and timbre and add that little extra bit of bite to make a string instrument like a cello sound very realistic. Compared to many other planars the LCD1 does not go overboard in the bass section which I believe gives it a better midrange. I don't hear compression and what I really like is the pinpoint accuracy of instrument separation, especially in something like a string quartet. I could scale up the Audeze range but feel I might be disappointed because the sound gets warmer and warmer and therefore not as focused and natural. The HD580s have a decent amount of separation but just don't get near the Audeze in this regard. At least it's miles better than the HD650. I just don't get what people hear that I maybe I can't. Anyway, my 580s are keepers. I'd like to find a Jubilee but even better an original German made model. They simply aren't available for sale and I guess that's because they are so good.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Most planars tend to sound like they’re going overboard in the bass department, but what that really is, is actually the reduction of the mids and uppermids that end up pulling one’s attention to the bass. Most Audezes sound like this because they literally fall off a cliff in the uppermids…except for the LCD-1, the CRBN as well as the new LCD-5. The LCD-1 still sounds a tad laidback but nothing compared to an LCD-2 fx..yet the two flagships look to be about as neutral as the 580/600…until we get to the treble which looks to be on the warm side…but still, looks like Audeze finally made some flagship headphones worthy of Sennheiser fans’ time and dough.

Also…let’s get back to the 580
I remember a whole lot of Sennie fans prefering the metal grills of the 600 and 650..they even used to put them on the 580!
Maybe I’m mad, but I really dig the original grills. They remind me of the type of patterns one sees at the beach, like 10 cm beneath the water…y’know those beautifully wavy sand patterns that some times look like they’re copying the clouds up above.
So yeah…I’m one of those crazy bananas that prefer the original look

 

[Sefelt103]

Maybe I’m mad, but I really dig the original grills. They remind me of the type of patterns one sees at the beach, like 10 cm beneath the water…y’know those beautifully wavy sand patterns that some times look like they’re copying the clouds up above.

They're also tough unlike the HD600/650 grilles. I nearly bent my Jubilee's grille (which looks a different colour from the HD600/650 version) while changing earpads. The grey HD580 grilles can certainly withstand abuse, I just wish mine were gold instead of battleship grey. Being anti-modification I would not put HD600/650 grilles on a HD580, not only for durability reasons but because the grilles are slightly different (some of the gaps are blocked) depending on whether you own an early version or the later raised nameplate version. Modification might result in a change in sound (as well as reduced durability). I have however managed to squeeze HD650 cables into my two HD580s. The only non-psychological effect of this change has been slightly increased signal level compared to the original cables.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

That is indeed part of the charm with these 6 series headphones from Sennheiser: they never break! Maybe if one is careless whilst taking off the grills but really…I never see any problems in any of the 6 series threads. Even headphones that are 30 years old are still functioning perfectly. That is the mark of true quality.
I shudder to think how a Focal, ZMF or even an Audeze looks like after 30 years of usage. I had a Focal Elex for about a year and it started making these infuriating cracking noises every time I moved my head. It became so bad that it ended up messing with my music enjoyment. My friend’s Aeolus isn’t a year old and already looks like it could use a helping hand. Add to that all the driver problems I’ve seen rapported over the net.
Makes me think…maybe it isn’t as clearcut making a proper headphone. Maybe it takes time before the company gets it’s act together and fully understands the design it is working with and how best to tune and better it.
Perhaps that is why we almost never hear about all of these problems with old school companies like Sennie, Beyer and AKG….but then again, I can’t really imagine a German company producing anything that falls apart during normal circumstances. The folks to blame would most likely never see the insides of the factory again.

 

[Strat1117]

I came onto this thread simply to say that I got my 580s back after two year loan to my brother (who did not take care of them as I would, separate question later), but I see there is also a hierarchy between versions 1,2,3 and 4. I’m going to assume mine are 4s. I also own marble 600s and 650s, all made in Ireland, and all having some degree of modding. The 580s have 600 grilles, 650 cables, Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads and the rear foam removed and I’ll be dammed but I think they may well be the best of the bunch. They’re punchy, clear, gorgeous midrange, extended highs - everything you could reasonably want. Not that the others are bad - the 600 has custom cans copper weights which give them more power and depth to back to their neutrality which can otherwise border on the boring, and the 650, powered correctly and with a pair of Dekoni elite hybrid pads sheds some of that veil and provides a nice warm envelope of glorious music, but, much to my surprise, I think it’s the 580s that get it all right and give the most overall satisfying musical presentation.

The other problem I mentioned earlier is that my brother (or his son) handled the cans a bit roughly snd chipped up the plastic headband a bit on the 580s. Is there a fix for this or can any of you point me in the right direction for a replacement. I’ve searched the web with virtually no luck. Thanks!

 

[bifcake]

Sennheiser sells replacement parts including headbands.