Massdrop HD58X (revised) Review and Measurements

You are absolutely right!
Me too!
With this procedure i manage to get about a year life time.
Oh and don't forget the dust covers too , or your sound get's veiled!

(oops sorry for the 2 posts i thought that they would be merged)

 

Well that was quick:

 

How is the headstage compare to HD650?

 

@purr1n I've just received the 58x. And I'm surprised that you made no mention of the foam behind the grill.

 

Does that stand against the HD650K?

 

Anyone have a FR chart that overlays the original HD580 with the HD58X?

 

Okay, here are some early impressions, off the cuff, with just a couple hours of burn in.

1. Looks are...okay. A little cheap TBH. The contrasting matte grey and glossy black is just a little weird. But decent overall. The different textures of the paints are just odd but in the way it looks and feels to the touch. I feel that these could have looked nicer than 650/600/6xx with just a little sense of style exercised. Shame about the looks, but...moving on.

2. Driver matching on this pair is typical Sennheiser. It's spot on. Providing beautiful imaging and a tangible "wall of sound" across the stage. Competes with much more expensive offerings here. The stage while not grand by any means is very coherent and typical of other offering in the family.

3. The earlier impressions stating that the 58x being closer to the 650 are pretty accurate. There is a slight feeling of "closed in" staging comparatively. Perhaps this is from the felt on the inside of the grills? And the 650 are able to flesh out subtlety an nuance on a higher level than the 58x. This difference is more apparent on high end sources and amps.

4. Last minute tuning changes...aka felt behind the drivers. First let me say, that Sennheiser engineers are damned smart. Their mods seem so simple and obvious once they're revealed...like a magicians trick exposed. And I think to myself, why the f**k didn't I think of that? I felt somewhat the same when I learned about the resonator in the hd800. The felt mod is both simple and effective. It's "smooths" the signature and IMHO moves the original 580 signature into the neighborhood with the 650. Let's call this a "baby 650." And at more than half the retail price of the 650. That's an accomplishment that needs to be appreciated. Think about the scope of the audience that now get to experience, to a large degree, the 650 signature because of the affordability of the 58x. It's a monumental achievement in my estimation.

But should have MD and Sennheiser have even made the change to the original prototype/production tuning in the first place? It's a fair question I think. This product that we all received is appreciably different than we thought we were getting. This is not a complement to the 650, like I thought that I'd be getting but more of a baby brother. I can see why some people would be pissed.

At the end of the day, I'm happy with the change. It's a better signature and I'm glad to own them. BUT, they don't truly complement my 650 and they don't really replace them either. If my 650 takes a dump and I'm left with only the 58x, would that be enough or would I need to buy another pair of 650's. I can't answer this question yet, but I think it's worth asking.

5. Fit and finish on the 58x is excellent. There is no squeaking when I rotate the cups against the gimbals like there was with my 650. Very well put together like the rest of the family.

6. No presentation box...f**k it. I'm happier with cash in pocket.

7. Amping differences...more minimal than you'd think. Doesn't accomplish what I hoped for. Give me an impedance difference that makes these offer desktop amp performance from a smart phone, then you've got something.

8. Fedex smartpost...sucks. And Massdrop, don't bother sending a shipping notice a week before you actually ship the product. Drives us audiofools nuts. Makes me rub the paint off my f5 key.

9. Overall I'm very happy so far with the 58x. It puts a serious smile on my face for a very modest outlay of cash. I'll need to burn them in and spend more time to develop anything of substance to say about them.

 

Question is do they compliment the 580? I am wearing my 13 year old 580s right now(beat up as they are) to get used to the again before the 58X gets here.

 

I'm not the best person to ask. I only owned the original for a couple of days (bought them used and the driver had a rattle).

 

Yeah one of my favorite audio memories is the first time I plugged my HD580s into my Gilmore Lite and listened to my favorite songs. A huge improvement over my 595s.

So much so that I used my 580s as my daily driver for over 10 years till they started to wear out. Its why I jumped on the 58X right away. Probably will always be my favorite can.

 

Listening to the 58x on the Gilmore Lite mkii right now I get whet you're saying. Sounds pretty damn good

 

Sold my Gilmore Lite years ago. Would pick up the MKii but dunno if its any better then the Asgard 2 I already own.

 

I'm interested how the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin would affect HD58X. Hope it improves it, like the HD600. I just don't find the stock pads comfortable. And their lifespan is pretty short.

 

I would say not. I tied those pads on the 600 (worked well) and then on the 650 (too bass heavy and gooey). Since the 58x is closer to the 650, logic says no.

 

Y

I suspected as much. Thanks ice-man.

 

Yes. Cleaner sounding with more energy and punch.

Value can be argued, of course, due to the price difference.

 

Early morning musings.

*Who does the 58x work for (best)?

1. Noob/rando on a budget? Yes and no. Certainly the 58x is a very good set of cans and if you are on a budget with your first setup, they could make perfect sense. Easier to drive might make the amp choice easier as well and less expensive. Consider this rig...Modi Multibit>vali2>58x. That's a real crotch kicking first setup. Hell, you could stop right there and just enjoy the music. All for about $600 including a nice NOS tube for the Vali2.

But if you don't plan to stop there, why not just get the 650 which will scale better and essentially doesn't have a real weakness all the way up to pairing it with mega buck amps?

2. Established hobbyist who wants a work or bedroom set of phones. This makes sense for me. I'll enjoy these downstairs in the bedroom recliner when I want to get away from domestic disturbances in my house. And because they are a little easier to drive, I can take them with me when traveling and get reasonably good sonics from my DAP. If I scratch them, no biggie considering the price tag. Plus they already have a shortish cable with a 3.5 plug for convenience.

But...in an expensive hobby where we spend sizable amounts of moolah on gears to eek out 10% more, why not just buy the 650? I see used 650's going for around $200 pretty regularly. Do I even have to ask if a used $200 650 is better than a new 58x?

So how much better is the 650 vs 58x? It may be a little tough to call until I've spent more time with the 58x. My early impressions would venture to say between 10-20%. Again, it's early and I reserve the right to waffle and adjust those figures. @purr1n is better at gauging those sorts of thing with a quick comparison and stamping an accurate number on it. Maybe he will chime in.

*What would I have changed about the 58x?

1. Paint the bottom piece on the gimbals gloss black to match the top half. It looks unfinished like someone forgot to paint the bottom half. I know, me and my OCD. Reminds me of driving a car around with bondo on one of the door panel. And he never paints it. Paint that f'ing door man!

2. Keep the original prototype tuning. Not sure about this one yet. The original tuning would have made the 58x more of a complementary headphone in my collection and I could have possibly used it more often in regular rotation. My gut tells me that I'm probably right about this.

Morning musings are over. Time for a cold refreshing glass of home brewed green tea.