Comments on Profile Post by E_Schaaf

I thought the HD580 had the same drivers as the HD600. What makes it so different?

^The hd600 has closer matched drivers and a stiffer frame that reduces resonance.

@DEATHxMACHINE - which seem like improvements and confuses me when people say they prefer the HD580

A Chinese forum reports 9 HD580 variants across multiple drivers and screens. I have three types of drivers myself, most differences are between the earlier copper ring and the later non copper ring. Hard to say what HD580 version any of us have.

I think this deserves its own thread. I've been talking to locals about this, and been listening to the deltas myself (HD580, HD600 in stock, against HD650, stock and modified). There is a difference - audible, definitely! A little difficult to describe. It is easier to walk though in person, say playing a few songs, back and forth.

Man you sure like modding vintage OOP cans.

Might just be the very broken-in pads on this 580 from 2002... but for whatever reason every time I've heard the 600 it's felt a bit sharp and dry on top. 580 feels a bit fuzzier and softer even though the tonal balance is fairly similar. Just less fatiguing at the volume levels I tend to listen at even though the technical performance might be slightly behind.

Welcome to the club. I've had no less than 10 pairs of HD580 (when you can snipe 'em for $100-ish on eBay, that happens...) and can say that... driver variation is a real thing, but not in the way that you may think. If you get lucky, you may have an amazing pair of 580 drivers that actually have lower bass distortion than 600/650.

In general, though, I'd say the 580 is basically a less bassy HD650. This can be seen in frequency response measurement. I think whatever improvements made to the 600 drivers are also what caused it to have the sharp/dry sound. 650 is basically 580 but with more bass. I've tried to mod the 650 to be closer to neutral like 580 but... not sure how successful I am right now.

@Taverius it's because I can't afford the contemporary ToTL stuff, like to tweak, and know I can get sound as good or better than what's floating around out there for less $$$.

^ever thought about buying oem drivers and making your own headphone?

Yes, in fact I have 2 different drivers at home right now I'll do something with eventually. Need access to a CNC / 3D printer. A couple novel ideas in mind though.

@Bill-P how do the H58X compare to the Senn variants (assuming you've heard them)?

I've got someone that can print stuff for you if you have models.

@ergopower they're different. They use different drivers and stuffs. Sound-wise, they're closer to HD650-lite than HD580.