Massdrop x Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee

Couldn't agree more. I think the hyperbole and hype around these cans need to be kept in check, as too many inexperienced folk directly ascertain these as legit members of the HD6X0 family and the 660S. The majority actually do think these are the same drivers as the 660S, but they are, like you say, basically a rewound HD5XX driver. This is both evident in the physical attributes of the driver and it's sonic performance. You also described the treble performance of the 58X perfectly. No amount of modding/damping changes is going to transform the inherent limitations of the driver. Unfortunately a lot of HD58X owners think otherwise which further leads newbies astray.

 

They are pretty nice but compared to a 6xx, it's just not quite there. I will have them both. 58x for my ifi/ipad combo and 6xx for desktop.

 

About the foam on the 58x, upon further listening the grain is more apparent without the foam and with it back on, it doesn't actually reduce the highs but makes the bass more bouncy/less clinical which shifts ones focus to the low end instead. The imaging is cleaner in stock config as well. I'll just leave it as is now since I also have a 6xx coming due to the aftermath of comparing 600, 6xx and 58x out of my setup.

 

I have been doing more comparisons and I like the 58x with more music without the back foam in the end. In fact, out of my schiit vali2 using the reflektor tube I got from the tubestore, I find the midrange tonality of the 58x more natural than the 6xx. The stock 6xx I have has a shoutier midrange that I don't find super natural. Since it is much cleaner and plays louder than the 58x without distorting, I am keeping them but am torn between modding and tube rolling just to remove that shoutiness. I am afraid though that the modding may not correct the thing that I want corrected though and since distortion goes up when removing the back foam, I am hesitant to do that as well hmm. I have heard an hd6xx with older pads that sound more forward in the lower mids but is mellower in the area that I find annoying so it could be a pad things as well.

 

I had the hd600 for a long time and get used to the slightly shouty midrange. The 58x seems more balanced to my ears too. I am listening to various kind of metal and the added bass is very welcome.
The 600 seems more transparent and has superior vocal intelligibility.
Both great headphones, 58x is a no brainer for the price point.

 

I haven't found that removing the back foam does much if anything to the sound, but today I removed the front foam. Hello clarity, hello detail! Can anyone suggest something more acoustically transparent than the stock front foam which I can use to protect the drivers from dust?

 

Unless you have cats or something it shouldn't be a problem. Lots of people have run 650s with the coin mod with no issues for years (myself included), which is essentially the same thing you're doing.

 

Oh wow! I decided to use some sheer curtain fabric to protect my driver from hair and such. It’s not completely acoustically transparent, but it actually brings the lower mids and bass back up to stock and leaves the upper mids and treble open and airy (with less of a peak at 8 KHz). This sounds frickin’ amazing and looks slick too!

 

Okay, I've posted a video about the HD58X curtain mod, I hope some of you find it useful or at least interesting.