Headphones reviews

I am not a hardcore audiophile who believes in spending $5k on wires, but I do appreciate high fidelity and have been building loudspeakers and listening to music for years. I have had many sets of headphones and loudspeakers, but these are my reference standard. Any time I want to re-calibrate my ears back to what music should sound like, I can don these. They are so balanced, airy, and full with excellent imaging and overall sound quality. They have a nice low end without being annoying and the highs are airy without being shrill. Heck, they are even comfortable when work for long periods of time. I recommend these without hesitation to anyone looking for an excellent all-around headphone at a very good price.

I have owned my 580's now for a little over 3 years and love them the same as the day I got them. It is a real shame though that Sennheiser discontinued making them. You can still get your hands on them thru forums like Head-Fi for around $150 or a little less. The problem is however that now it is becoming more difficult as they are truly prized by thier owners and less and less people are willing to part with them.

These cans do truly hold thier own against some of the best I have heard. I currently own these and AKG K701's as well as a pair of Grado SR225's. I have to say though that I can not compare these to my other cans as they all have thier own character. These however are my go to cans for in the evening when I want to relax and enjoy some Jazz or Classical. Yes, I would have to say compared to my others they have a more "laid back" presentation, but all of the details and soundstage are there. I do listen to Rock and other geners and enjoy them just as well, so don't let anyone tell you that they are not good all around cans. My pair is very well broken in so the comfort level is supurb and they have just the right amount of clamping force. Just be careful if you get a new pair and attempt to streach them out as you can easly snap the headband. This is not to say that they are built flimsy, quite the contrary I think they are very durable. Then again I baby my cans and my pair has not a single blemish on them. One thing that I find myself doing however is taking a tape lint rollar and cleaning the ear pads. The black velour has a tendancy to pick up lint and show it very easy. Like I said though this is very easy to clean. Also one advantage that the 580/600/650 series has is that they are a very modular headphone. The cord, drivers, grills and pads are very easy to take apart and replace. Having a detachable cable is a nice touch as you have a broad spectrum of options if you ever want to upgrade it. From a simple HD650 ($14) cable replacement all the way up to a Equinox ($300) cable.

I guess the only advice I can give is that if you are sitting on the fence about these cans is get them now while you can. Also don't worry about not having the ability to fix them down the road if needed. Sennheiser has a good customer service and it really easy to look up and find your own parts on there site. If you take care of them I think you are in a long road of enjoyment.

These use the same drivers as the HD600, which I and many other people prefer to the top of the line HD650. I prefer the 580 to Beyer 880s and AKG 701s. A really fantastic headphone regardless of price.

The sound of this is fabulous as others have stated. But I cannot give this 5 stars because of these issues:

1. You *need* a headphone amp if you want to listen to this out of a computer or ipod. Therefore, these are not very portable.
2. Anyone around you can hear what you are listening to, and you can hear anything around you. These cans block no sound either in or out. You absolutely cannot use these in a cubicle environment. For moderate volume levels, someone standing next to you would hear the sound as if it was coming out of a typical laptop speaker; it is that loud.
3. They are not very comfortable in my opinion. Granted, they are not uncomfortable, but I have worn more comfortable cans.
4. They are very ugly looking if you care about such things (I don't, but I got teased by my wife).

With these negatives I am still giving this 4/5 stars. The sound quality is just so unbelievable with my headphone amp that it makes up for everything else. I bought a set of Sony MDR-V6s for the office (which does a great job of blocking sound in and out, and doesn't need a headphone amp). The MDR-V6s are great sounding too, but they are not in the same league with the HD580s + headphone amp for classical and opera. If you don't care about the limitations and are willing to get a headphone amp, the sound quality on this is absolutely unreal for the price.

To listen to movies or play games on these - the difference is amazing.
Classical music sounds like you're in a concert hall, although they're not that good for heavy metal or loud amps/reverb type stuff. Girlfriend loves playing her electric piano while using them. Makes me happy I got them.