the headphones are outstanding

requires good amplification, the DSP unit is a fluff toy

I recieved my HD580 and DSP combo that is currently being blown out on the net for $200US or less. If you are interested in a really good quality headphones these are definately a top choice.

I have not listened to Grado so I can't compare these to anything except my old Koss TD65 which is not fair cause they really sound like trash compared to Sennheiser. I didn't listen to anything Sennheiser before ordering them, I went solely on the basis of continually strong reviews from here and other sites. People are not lying when they say these sound amazing.

After a few hours of listening to them I'm totally hooked on them. Superb sound. Very clear, uniform flat frequency response. These do have plenty of bass, substantially fuller and cleaner bass then my old Koss'. I listen to rock, electronic, and industrial music, and I'm finding myself going through all my collection to hear how cool music sounds through them. On top of that they are very comfortable, well built, and attractive. I can listen to these for more than 5 hours straight without any large degree of fatigue, you forget that you're wearing them.

I'm running these through a Yamaha RX595 stereo reciever headphone outlet, and I'm sure a headphone amplifier would be a waste of money for me, cause they sound amazing as they are. I can turn the volume up even louder than the HD580's can handle (yes they do have a limit but that limit is far beyond regular listening levels). The beautiful thing is that these headhpones sound very nice hooked directly into the headphone outlet off my Yamaha CD changer. I only use the reciever because it has more power, the max volume directly out of my CD player is not quite loud enough sometimes. Through my reciever I do not have to boost the bass and treble controls to get a good sound out of them - leave your tone controls dead at 0db and the HD580's will sound amazing.

Note though: a portable CD player or computer sound card is quit loud enough for these headphones. Either use your home stereo reciever or consider the addition of a headphone amplifier (X-Cans seem to get good reviews).

The 580's are being shipped with a separate headhpone DSP/amplifier unit - but do not buy this combo for the DSP, buy the combo because the headphones are what you want. IMO the DSP it's a piece of junk for music listening, that's why they are giving it for free in this combo. Music sounds far better through my reciever than with the DSP. For DVD movies they add only a very subtle effect - I can hardly tell the difference when switching between "theatre" and "stereo" modes. The amp in that unit is junk, it distorts the sound and does not do justice to the quality of the headphones.

I found, contrary to other reviews here, the DSP is also very poor for listening to computer games through your soundcard. What I do is run an output from my soundcard to my stereo reciever and plug the headphones into the reciever - this will give you much better/cleaner sound than the DSP provides. However given that most people don't have their computers in the same room as their stereo, the DSP would be better than plugging the headphones directly into your soundcard (that's a no-no). But a separate amp is what is ideal.

Anways, the headphones are fantastic, the DSP unit is included for free cause it's junk, the HD580's are easily worth the $200 price tag and I would buy another one of these headphones in a heartbeat if I had to. Enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Koss

Amazing Comfort! Excellent range and beautiful sound.

Slightly distorts bass at high volumes.

Everyone has to have a pair of these headphones! They are simply amazing. I picked mine up at Ubid with the DSP attachment for $137.99.

If you like watching dvds on a portable player or at night, you need these cans. The quality of the sound surpasses anything I have ever heard.

Go buy some NOW!

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Nothing compared to this!

.

Supremely comfortable; beautifully clear; wonderful subtlety

Don't filter out loud ambient noise very well

I switched to these when my Sony MDRs became so tattered it was embarrassing. I decided to go whole hog on the cost--what a great decision. I thought the MDRs were good (what did I know, right? :-), so the first time I listened to the Senn HD580s I was hooked.

I wear headphones all day long at work (I'm a graphic designer) both to be able to listen to music and to filter out the distractions of the office around me. So for me comfort is a huge factor--and I can comfortably wear these guys for as much as 12 hours straight.

The clarity of the sound is wonderful--I suddenly heard new details in recodings I've listened to a hundred times. I could see that you might not like them if you like a warm, woody sound, but I like their sound, which feels clean and wide open to me. (I'm also a serious fan of Martin Logan speakers, if that helps give you a sense of where my taste lies.)

The only possible weakness for me is that they don't filter out loud ambient noise very well. I've often wished they would better hide the sound of phones ringing and of marketing folks having long loud phone conversations. But, in the end, their superb sound and comfort is well worth it for me.

Next step: I'll check out those 600s...

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR

Spacious, clear, comfortable

Can sound bright and polite; expensive

I purchased these headphones pretty much on the basis of the extraordinary reviews they received in the audio press. I listened through a Byston B-60 amp and a Micromega Stage 6 CD-player. On good recordings they sounded wonderfully clear and precise. Unfortunately, with the current state of the software good recordings are about as rare as hens teeth. I found for the most part I was shreeked at. Again, I don't think this is a fault of the phones. I seem to be particularly sensitive to the problems of the CD. Pop music stands out as generally terrible these days. When are the record companies going to get their collective acts together on this? The audiophile stuff sounds great,but the performances....If you listen to specialty stuff these phones are great, otherwise get something less precise and coloured in a pleasing way.

Similar Products Used:

Koss porta-Pro, Koss Pro80...

I agree completely with Iain's comments. I also use Beyer Dynamic DT-990s, but the Sennheisers are cleaner and more transparent. Both headphones are extremely comfortable for long-term listening, with the Beyers slightly superior in this regard due to their softer ear cushions. I run my headphones from a HeadRoom Maxed-Out Home dedicated headphone amplifier, which pulls the image out of the cans and markedly reduces listening fatigue. I would stronly recommend the Sennheiser/HeadRoom combo to anyone who listens to headphones on a frequent basis.

potential for excellent sound

ear cushions

This is potentially the same headphone as the sennheiser 600
The EQ curve needs a 3-6db shelf boost in the low end and the high end needs a slight cut 3db. If you do this you will have the sound of the senn 600. This will give it a fuller bottom to compensate for the ears natural deficiency.
the high end is just a little bright, drop it a little starting at 8k and it will be less fatiguing. I also highly recomend Dolby Headphone, you can get this as an add on for realjukebox, try it for 15 min free. I'm not sure who at sennheiser sits in the snow while testing headphones but based on their choice of heat retaining cushions,either their engineers all have cold ears or they figure the phones can double as ear muffs. Leather there's no substitute!
This is a fine headphone, and at the price it is currently selling at it is arguably the best value on the market.

Similar Products Used:

AKG,Sony, Stax, Bose

Airy precision

big, relatively low ohm rating, hard to crank up with a portable CD player

The best headphones I've used. Very airy experience, with wonderful treble and bass. However, while you can use the phones with a portable CD player, most portables cannot power the 580s to a loud volume.

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Various Sony models

open detailed,great on classical,jazz,comfortable makes you wonder why allot of other makes aren't. Above all Musical..

connection from to earpiece to cable connector. Lacks real slam for the rockers out there,and yes alittle big even if so comfy.

If you look further down the review chain,you'll find my other review of this awesome...though discontinued now if not soon terrific set of cans. Makes me wonder why can't everybody else make such a sweet sounding set of cans. Not fatiguing to listen to at all. Voices are well fleshed out. Strings are smooth,without that harsh "steely" sounding quality like on allot of lesser cans,and great extention down low,though not with the slam with say..like the Grados. Sure the Grados will boogey better on rock. Hard to imagine any other set of cans that can beat the Grados for that. But when I want to relax and enjoy flowing graceful tones,you bet that the Senns are my first choice. You got to try the Hd-600s' if they are not too dear for your budget. The only cans better than the 580. I have seen the 580 as low as $169.00,so there is no excuse for getting a bad set of cans elsewhere.
I must admonish you though on the Senns' only weakness that is annoying. The connection from the earpiece to the cable leading to your source..whatever that may be. The connector that joins the earpiece appears to be a cheap "nickel" alloy and the earpiece is a gold connection. As you may/maynot know,unlike metals do not interface well at all. I found that my connections on the cable side were reacting to the earpiece. So with a metal cleaner I was able to restore the connector on the cable to its' proper condition. I tried "De-oxit" by Caig products of San Diego California,and it cleans decently,but will not stave away the ravages of oxidation as long as I would like. So I tried this cleaner called "Flitz". It worked just dandy. The sound even improved a tic. I could now get a dependable connection with no loss of signal at all. I could move my head around without worry of loss or dropout of signal. I hope that Sennheiser has fixed this problem on their other phones...(I doubt it..) and one can hope,right??
Any rate,anyone else experiencing this same problem this is the solution. Keep those connectors on the cable clean and oxidized free. I tried to write to Sennheiser but no address was available,at least "e-mail" style anyway. So my rating for this awesome phone is very positive. I always reccomend this phone to anyone who loves music who wants to listen for any extended time. I use mine all the time. The projects I do,sound better when I do. Studio use,personal kicking back listening,this set of cans is my first and only choice. I don't even use my AKG-240s' anymore,and they have served me well too. Over 15 years and still going,short of using the AKGs'as a tow cable or rope,they still work since the first day I got them. Too bad they just don't sound as musical and magical as the Senns'. Don't bother with the other Senns',jump up to the HD-600s',you'll be glad you did. I love my 580s'and till they give up the ghost,they will continue to be in my listening world...unless I get the green for the 600s' then which..that will be a different matter altogether. V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser 565,600,grados and the Koss phones too many to mention,can't believe I tolerated those Koss cans...yuck.

Faithful reproduction of sound to its source.

None yet Discovered

Once in a short century, products come on the market which are nothing short of Genius. Meet Sennheisher's HD-580's. Comparable to Magneplanar Di-Poles. Better in some cases. You will undoubtedly find yourself taking these things off your head just to double check that such astonishing sound really can evolve from headphones.

I give a star for every time I've started laughing from disbelief, joy and awe upon listening to these headphones. Unfortunately this review only allows 5 stars to be allocated, which falls rather short of my experience.

If god were out to buy headphones, chances are these would take his fancy; They are faithful, in reproducing sound exactly to its source.

Find them, buy them, and listen to the future.

Cheers,
Tomas

Similar Products Used:

My old electrostatic Stax Cans.