HOT!: Sennheiser HD570 69.99@Fry's

[jm0ris0n]

Well today I went into Fry's with the intent of picking up the Sony MDR-V6 headphones. I'm going to quakecon this year and needed some good headphones. After picking up the MDRV6 box I just glanced to my right and looked at the sennheiser headphones they had in stock.

I noticed they had the HD-570's and I just picked them up to look at the box. I then looked at the front to remind myself why I wasn;t going to buy them and to my surprise a pricetag reading 69.99 was placed over the original one of 129.99!!! After I saw they were 129 originally I knew I had to buy them as they were the headphones I've heard a lot of good things about.

Well thats it. Sennheiser HD-570 headphones are 69.99 at the Houston area Fry's electronics. Amazon has them for 110+ and so do most other places.

After a first listening run (i'm listening to them now with some 128kb mp3s playing) I must say they sounded quite bassy and even a bit harsh. My main speaker set is the 4.1 monsoon MM-2000 flat panel system, so I'm used to an amazing high-end, but in the past 45minutes theses haven't been able to match my monsoons.

Any suggestions from you audiophiles out there?

Anyways for those interested this appears to be a hot deal !

 

[joeld]

Many people suggest burning in headphones (some take longer than others) for many many hours for the sound to get ideal, although my pair of grado's didn't noticibly benefit from it. Also, before you judge the headphones to the speakers, try listening to a real audio cd instead of 128kbps mp3's, which don't sound that great IMO.

 

[TekDemon]

lol, I think the reason he thinks the HD570's sound bad is because headphones make it MUCH easier to tell the difference between an mp3 and a real CD. Regular speakers for the PC often have hyped up bass that sort of makes it near impossible to hear the problems in the mp3. Even my Jensen headphones let me tell the difference between 128, 160, 192, and 256...although between 192 and 256 it's pretty hard =)

So it's actually a good thing that your 128Kbit mp3s sound like crap(well depends on how you think about it lol) because 128kbit mp3s DO sound like crap =)

They sound fine on my Logitech Z-560's of course, but probably because the sub is running so nicely =)

 

[wshtb]

Originally posted by: TekDemon
lol, I think the reason he thinks the HD570's sound bad is because headphones make it MUCH easier to tell the difference between an mp3 and a real CD. Regular speakers for the PC often have hyped up bass that sort of makes it near impossible to hear the problems in the mp3. Even my Jensen headphones let me tell the difference between 128, 160, 192, and 256...although between 192 and 256 it's pretty hard =)

So it's actually a good thing that your 128Kbit mp3s sound like crap(well depends on how you think about it lol) because 128kbit mp3s DO sound like crap =)

They sound fine on my Logitech Z-560's of course, but probably because the sub is running so nicely =)

You are right. My (ealier) 128kbps mp3 collections sound OK on my (ealier) computer speakers. But after connecting to my home theater via spdif connection, they are absolutely not acceptable: NO HIGH, NO LOW.

NOW I always use LAME with parameter --alt-preset extreme when compressing mp3's. The result is around 220kbps(VBR) on the average. At this point, my poor ear can no longer tell the difference.

 

[fyleow]

The Sennheiser HD570s are not that great. I own the HD580s and they are MUCH better. Give it some break in time before listening to it again and use some better music (CD is best) if you can. They are too bright for my tastes though.

 

[flood]

the HD570s are designed for use with classical music.

 

[hoomza444]

funny that you bought those headphones solely on the price. Aren't they a totally diff type of headphone than the mdrv6 (closed vs open)? and yeah, usually anything with quality sound might not always sound good because of all of the flaws that it reveals in the music. This is a complaint that many people had about the mdrv6 a while back too. either way, i think both are good cans, although they are good for diff applications, whatever works. if you don't like them just return them and get the sonys......that model used to cost a lot too

oh yeah, not a bad deal

 

[fyleow]

Even for classical I find them too bright. Hell I find my HD580s a little bright, when I play Dvorak's New World Symphony sometimes the trumpets are near ear splitting levels even on normal volume. Besides it's better to buy headphones that are multipurpose. For that price range I recommend the Sennheiser HD497. The 570s need an amp to sound thier best, the 497s can be drive by a portable.

If you are going to use them in a convention I'm going to recommend you use the MDR V6 instead. They are closed at least so you can hear what's going on. The soundstaging shouldn't be as good as opened headphones though.

 

[flood]

for most uses, the v6 will sound better than the 570.
The v6 is closed and the 570 is open.
Also, the 570 doesnt need an external amplifier, it just needs a good one (sound card for you).

 

[jm0ris0n]

Lemme update a bit. I should have at first mentioned I'm an avid quakefreezetag player, so before listening to any MP3 I played quake. The bass was "boomier" than my monsoons and the word bright definitely applies here. My monsoon flat panel speakers really deliver the treble, and have a beautiful mid range. I almost expected the same from the 570's. I'm going to fireup morrowind and try to break them in a bit.

I really liked the foldability of the Sony MDRV6 and they felt more durable than the 570's plastic. I'd read these were pretty good in another hot deals thread and therefore picked em up (especially when they can be found for little less than $100 online, but price doesn't always guarantee the product will meet your needs).

The Sony's are only ten bucks more, but I've read they are a bit lacking in the audio volume as well. I'll check back after I give them a more thorough run-through.

BTW: I'm using a santacruz soundcard

 

[ULI]

The MDRV6 is definitely not lacking in audio volume. It has great bass and treble. My V6, which is about 14 yrs old still sounds great I recently bought a Sennheiser HD280 Pro and although it's not 'burned in' yet, it sounds similar to the V6. Go to head-fi.org and visit their forum on headphones to get users opinions and reviews regarding headphones. Believe the 280 Pro or the V6 sounds better than the Senn 570, if you don't mind a closed headphone.

jm, it looks like you already bought the V6, but there are at least 2 websites that sell it for 69.95.

 

[FFactory0x]

No offense to you post jm0ris0n but when i saw you say

""""My main speaker set is the 4.1 monsoon MM-2000 flat panel system, so I'm used to an amazing high-end""""

I had to laugh

Dont take this the wrong way but that is amazing extremely lowend compared to a good stereo HT system and you really wouldnt know what amazing is until you went out ad purchased a decent Ht setup . And Im not talking about a $100,000 system. I can guaretee that if you save up $800-$1000 and go build a system you will want to throw your stuff in the trash.
Grab some Jbl N26's,N24's,Ncenter a sony Sawm40 sub and a Kenwood reciever and youll see what i mean about what you can get for low cost. It will put you stuff to shame at a relativily low cost

Anyway, Great post and great headphones. The only other option i would recommend though for the price are the Grado S-60's. Thay are the best sounding headphones in their class without having to use a headphone amp. GO out and get a pair of either of these. Both can be had for around same price

 

[jm0ris0n]

ULI, I should have more clear clear that Sony has a product display rack at Fry's where you can try on their selections and some poor quality audio to "test" them. This is where I was able to try out the MDR-V6.

FFactory0x, hehe, no I do not consider any PC speakers no matter who makes them to be high end I was referring to higher end frequency.

I'm going to play music (cds) through these and continue the "break-in" to get a better picture of their sound quality. The only "real" headphone set I've had was a set made by pioneer. The things are from the late 70s / early 80s and weigh around 5 pounds. Model # 405-SE if anyone is interested. They even have volume knobs on the side (are are hilariously huge!) . They've held up quite well over the years and I'd love to buy another pioneer set if I could, but they're no longer made. I'll see how these pan out some more. Thanks for the input.

 

[DanDrop]

Originally posted by: FFactory0x
No offense to you post jm0ris0n but when i saw you say

..... Anyway, Great post and great headphones. The only other option i would recommend though for the price are the Grado S-60's. Thay are the best sounding headphones in their class without having to use a headphone amp. GO out and get a pair of either of these. Both can be had for around same price

For the money you have to get the Grado SR-60 (around $65)... for about $20 more you HAVE to get the Grado SR-80(around $90). I have both the Grado SR-80 and a Senn 580, which i bought over $300 few years back. The Sr-80 sounds just as good or even better. The only darwback to the SR-80 is that i gets uncomfortable after a few hours of use.

 

[rubenswm]

I was lookin at some senn HD 495's.

 

[ivan2]

can anyone find me a online store that's selling the v6? i couldnt find any cuz tis been discontinued, and no frys here in NY... i was gonna get that for my dorm. Yes, my roomate was annoied even by the Senn's leaked noise. And i got no $$ for a amp that will drives the hd580 to whatever lvl that audiophiles mention.

 

[KrayzieKMF]

i'm still debating about whether I should pick up the Sony MDR-V700DJ's or the Techinics 1200a's... the 700's are like $95 and the 1200a's are about $105

 

[KrayzieKMF]

check out www.marsmusic.com or www.musiciansfriend.com

if you want to go to an actual store theres always guitar center
most stores that sell DJ equipment should also have the sony 600's

 

[jm0ris0n]

outpost.com http://shop2.outpost.com/product/120234 has them for 79.99 and next day shipping is only 7 dollars.

 

[flood]

v600 << v6
You cant really compare the two, the v6 is far better.
Also, if you need something for dj use, the v6 cannot be beat. The entire MDR-VxxxDJ line is overpriced and sounds like crap. see the head-fi.org forums for more opinions on them.

you can get teh v6 for 69.95 here

EDIT: the link to the v6's at outpost have the wrong picture (they show the v600).

 

[ivan2]

w00t thx guys. im afraid to order from outpost cuz the picture is not right lol. so how's this millionbuy.com? can anyone who has experience with them tell us?

 

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: ivan2
w00t thx guys. im afraid to order from outpost cuz the picture is not right

I was thinking the same thing, but Outpost is a reputable online retailer, you know? I mean, I figure that returning a "problem item" to Outpost is probably easier than to some Yahoo-shopping-doesn't-have-a-real-online-storefront company might be.

I found a couple other things on Outpost that have the wrong photo (one which was not even in the same item category) and the description of the MDR-V6 is pretty consistant for that item.

Even though Millionbuy.com has 5-stars, I just always feel a little nervous about those Yahoo-storefronts. It's just not that difficult to set up your own domain and e-commerce site.

 

[Glacion]

I bought a pair of the v6's from millionbuy about a year ago, they were in retail packaging (with a nice red faux-velvet lined cushion, no less), worked fine, shipping was quick, etc etc. Don't be afraid.

 

[KrayzieKMF]

i want to set up a yahoo store and sell bit char cars... wonder if i could actually make any sales

 

[src]

Funny this thread should pop up, I've been looking at headphones all day...

I know this is going to seem out of place in this forum... but does anyone know where I can get the Grado RS1's at a decent price? Best I've found is $599

thanks