First post!

I plan on getting a new set of headphones to replace my SONY MDR-CD180's. The Sennheiser 500/600 Series seems to be pretty reliable from what I hear people say. I mostly listen to music (all kinds) on my computer, but eventually I hope to get a portable that supports --alt preset standard. Specifically, I'm looking at the HD-570 and 580's because they're a little more in my price range, but if I do get a portable I want to be able to use these headphones with it. Are the HD-570 or 580's very efficient for portable use? I might even go down to HD-500's or the 400 Series if need be.

Is it true that you need an AMP to use Sennheiser 500/600's? The closest thing to an AMP I have is the one that came with the Cambridge SoundWorks DTT2500, shown here. I guess when it all comes down to it, I should choose the headphones according to where they would get the most use--my computer. Any of your opinions would be much appreciated.

Hi, and welcome!

I've recently purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD-590's, and I'm thoroughly happy with them. One thing you should know is the sonic characteristics of each model you are considering.

The Sennheiser HD-580 and HD-600 use a diffuse EQ function to move the soundstage a little more in front of you than other models, as opposed to sounding like the music is coming from "inside your head". They are also high resistance for headphones (300ohm) and somewhat low sensitivity. They are not ideal for portable use without an amplifier, but they are likely the most favored headphones here at HydrogenAudio.

The Sennheiser HD-590 and HD-570 are very dynamic in nature (sound "brighter") and have a closer soundstage than the 580/600, though this can be controlled with software or hardware crossfeed functions (as with any headphones). They are lower resistance (120ohm for the HD-590 and 64 ohm for the HD-570). The HD-570 has a sensitivity rating of 95dB, similar to the 580/600 (97dB), while the HD-590 has a rating of 102dB. This simply means that with an equal voltage (generally 1mV) and with a signal at 1KHz, it will produce a sound 102dB in volume. This may make it more suited for portable use without amplification, but it will depend more on the built-in headphone amplifier in the portable player.

Regardless of the resistance and sensitivity ratings of any of these models, you may still want to consider a portable headphone amp. Personally, I use the Xin Super Mini portable headphone amp, though if I were buying today, I'd likely get the newer Super Micro, which has the even higher quality AD8620 opamp (and is half the size of mine).

You should personally audition each of these headphones and determine which sounds the best to you. All of these models are high-end headphones, and as long as you're satisfied with the sound characteristics of the ones you choose, you'll never regret buying Sennheisers. For the same (street) price range of about $150-$170, you should compare the HD-590 and the HD-580. Most people prefer the HD-580 for classical and jazz-type music, while the HD-590 seems to be more cut out for rock and pop. This is entirely subjective, though. The HD-580, I believe, has received more acclaim here than any other headphone overall.

But listening for yourself on a source device similar or identical to the one you'll be using, and with music you're familiar with, is the best way to guarantee your own satisfaction.

The 580's & 590's are very nice phones and I echo what ScorLibran has said. You should also give Grado SR225's a try if you get the opportunity. They are of similar quality to the 580's, but an almost opposite signature and are easier to drive off a portable. Also the CD780's should be looked at. They are a step down, but a major jump from your current phones and can be found for half the price of the Grado/Senns. Not terribly portable, but I'd say the same about any of these phones. For that give the Etymotic ER4P's a try. As always give a visit to Head-Fi for lots of info.

Scorlibran has it entirely covered.
I prefer the HD-580's to any other headphone I've heard in its price class (the HD600 sounds quite similar - same drivers), but it will probably benefit quite a bit from a headphone amp if driven off a portable.
As he's already pointed out, taste in headphones varies, so it's a good idea to audition various models in your price range. Other brands you might consider include Grado and Beyerdynamic, as well as Etymotic if you like earplugs.

Your Creative DT2500 doesn't appear to have a headphone jack on the decoder/amp box at all. If you're using a Creative card you shouldn't have any problem using the DIN plug and one of the cards own outputs for headphones.
edit: blessingx got there first B)

Thanks a bunch for the advice. I'll definately check that forum out along with the Grado and Beyerdynamic headphones. What amplifier could be recommended for the HD-580 or 570's, and would I be able to grab it fairly easy at a place like Radioshack? How is the Grado-made amplifier? I was pretty clueless as to what amplifiers for headphones even looked like until tonight, some can get pretty big!

@Audible!: Are you saying that using a Creative card and a DIN plug is an alternative to using an amplifier? (I'm probably wrong here) Will a DIN plug work with an EPoX EP-8RDA+ nForce2 motherboard?

The DIN plug is used only as a proprietary connection between the certain Creative sound cards and speaker sets. It will not work with another devices.

Lucpes covered this -> the DIN connector allow you to have a single interconnect between those speakers and Creative Labs sound cards (Live! and later), but it doesnt bypass the amplification at all.

As I stated in the other thread, in order to use a digital connection between an NForce2 board and this speaker set, you need to have an SPDIF output bracket (which you must order from Epox because it doesnt come with the 8RDA+) and connect that to the SPDIF input (not the DIN plug!) of the DT2500's decoder.

okay?

As you can see in my signature I'm another happy user of those HD 580s... I'm also using them with my portable, but the IPod's output is way too weak to do the job properly... At home I drive them with my Audigy2->Yamaha amp which works perfectly.
I already ordered a Xin Micro some weeks ago, and I'm waiting for it to arrive longingly!

Regards, fileman.

Edit: grammar

If you're interested in neutrality (within reasonable limits anyway), I wouldn't consider anything in the Sennheiser lineup but the HD-580, HD-600 or HD-650 (the latter is the newest model, and the priciest). Note that if you listen to a lot of electric guitar oriented music like hard rock and metal, you may be unsatisfied with all of those three Sennheisers -- they have a sense of "distance" as compared to most headphones with the "in your head/in your face" kind of sound. Some say that Sennheiser voiced them specifically for classical music, to make acoustic instruments sound as natural/realistic as possible.

Or if you need sealed headphones that block a lot of ambient noise, HD-280 Pro is a possibility (although they are typically a "like it or hate it" type of affair).

And I would say that an amp will (at minimum) help greatly with dynamics if you're considering the 580/600/650. Some sources will drive them OK without an amp (some are too quiet), but most people find that they perform best with plenty of voltage swing available.

BTW, none of the three are particularly good portable cans. They are pretty large and with the open-back design they leak a lot of sound, and let a lot of background noise in as well. The HD280-pro could be used portably, but frankly... they're big and very ugly.

'If you're interested in neutrality (within reasonable limits anyway), I wouldn't consider anything in the Sennheiser lineup but the HD-580, HD-600 or HD-650'

Me agrree's


I'd just like to point out that I don't feel categorizing headphones to be best for listening to certain genres of music is an accurate way of purchasing or choosing what headphones are right for you.

I listen with HD580's mostly to music that some may box as electronic or dance music, yet the kind of sounds I like are quite natural sounding and allot of the music composition is in a almost classical style. Many Times I wasn’t even interested in testing the HD580's because I had read so many times that they were especially good for classical music.

When I finally listened to them they were just beyond any of the so called Dj type headphones I'd listened to before. They fit very well, are light for their size, and personally I'd say the sound perception is more 50/50 in and out of the head and eliminates the disorientations I used to feel when listening to other more 'in head' sounding headphones.

The HD580 are far from being sonically...? or naturally! perfect, as in to match and equalize with' human audio' yet they are close enough to make me believe that one day headphones maybe made that perfect.