HOT! Sennheiser HD580's for $120 on NEWEGG - Price Drop to $105 Shipped!

[NewSc2]

For all those of you always asking about good speakers for computer, or good headphones overall, look into this very decent deal. Regular street price is often around $150-200.

Link

I have this pair myself, and I must say it was well worth the $140 I paid for them. Great soundstage, clarity and reproduction. They are open headphones, but people often confuse this with being able to hear many outside noises. It's pretty hard to hear any conversations while listening to these headphones at average volume, and at above average volumes they even drown out my cell phone next to me.

Currently OOS, but looks like they'll have it in before the weekend's over.

 

[Kenji4861]

Shucks, I just purchased the HD-497. I'm not too satisfied with the quality, but would it be worth paying $100 more for the HD-580?

 

[Imported]

If only I had the money..

My 495s will have to do for now. :[

 

[dc]

nice price.

crap, i have to go rob someone now for the money.

 

[LivinLaVivaPollo]

Yeah, I picked mine up from an auction site about a year ago. 129 bucks for me back then, so this is a good deal, considering you don't have to bid for it. Great cans, most say these are better than the successor 590's, and only slightly lesser than the high end 600's. These are indeed open air headphones, think about mini speakers next to your ears. So people do hear what you are listening to if you are in a quiet environment, such as the library.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: LivinLaVivaPollo
Yeah, I picked mine up from an auction site about a year ago. 129 bucks for me back then, so this is a good deal, considering you don't have to bid for it. Great cans, most say these are better than the successor 590's, and only slightly lesser than the high end 600's. These are indeed open air headphones, think about mini speakers next to your ears. So people do hear what you are listening to if you are in a quiet environment, such as the library.

You can still listen to music in the library without people hearing you, the music will just be fairly quiet (not quiet to the point where you can't hear the music, but quiet to the point where you will be able to hear a conversation above the music)

 

[Kreggo]

Originally posted by: Kenji4861
Shucks, I just purchased the HD-497. I'm not too satisfied with the quality, but would it be worth paying $100 more for the HD-580?

Absolutely.

 

[dlaw]

Originally posted by: Kenji4861
Shucks, I just purchased the HD-497. I'm not too satisfied with the quality, but would it be worth paying $100 more for the HD-580?

Or 5 times more money you mean?

 

[weepul]

my roommate has a pair of HD-570 and got it off amazon for $55 shipped. is the 580 that much better?

 

[dlaw]

Originally posted by: weepul
my roommate has a pair of HD-570 and got it off amazon for $55 shipped. is the 580 that much better?

I don't understand the numbering machanism of their headphones too.... could someone please explain?

 

[exisle]

I've had these headphones for about 2-3 years, great headphones. Sound quality is probably comparable to about $1500 worth of speaker audio equipment. These headphones do require a good bit of amp power to hear good as far as computers go. On my sblive I put the volume all the way up in the windows equalizer and sometimes I will come across audio that isn't loud enough. The problem is when people don't record audio sources properly, like in mp3s of video files, sometimes the audio level is less than desireable, and with all the volume controls maxed out you can't get it any louder. Of course this can be remedied with programs like mp3trim, but people with different sound cards with better built in amps should have no problem. As far as the naming convention goes there's really not much logic into it, don't take the model numbers to mean much. Basically, the HD-600 is their top of the line consumer headphone, Sennheiser makes headphones that cost $20,000, but the HD-600 is consumer based and cost around $300 retail I believe. The HD-580, and the HD-600 use the EXACT same drivers(speakers), there's no difference. The only difference between the two models is that the HD-600 uses a more expensive material to make the headphone case around the speakers, and they get better sounding bass. Basically, HD-600 > HD-580 > HD-590.

 

[weepul]

how bout the 570, how does it rank in your equation?

 

[Kreggo]

Here's a couple of great sites for headphone info
Headroom.com
Headwize.com

 

[Thump553]

Good writeup, Exisle. I have a pair of Senn 600's (past Hot Deals puchase for about $200-220) that I use every day on my computer and love. Warning, though, the Senns take a lot of power and you should really run them through a headphone preamp-it makes a world of difference. I had a CMOY built for me (CMOY is a headphone hobbyist and moderator at the www.headwise.com forums) and I think its great. Not supposed to publically discuss the price (PM Cmoy at headwise), but its not bad and well worth the money. He builds the preamp to match your headphones and listening preferences.

 

[mithrandir2001]

I bought these off of eBay for $145 about 2 years ago. They were refurbs whereas it appears the newegg one's are new (they've been out of production for some time though). When you reach this level of quality, the price can't drop much further.

The HD570s are a bit below the HD580s in quality. At this price I would not consider the HD570s at all.

 

[mithrandir2001]

Originally posted by: exisle
The HD-580, and the HD-600 use the EXACT same drivers(speakers), there's no difference. The only difference between the two models is that the HD-600 uses a more expensive material to make the headphone case around the speakers, and they get better sounding bass. Basically, HD-600 > HD-580 > HD-590.

The HD-600 drivers are also matched to within 0.5dB. So while the 580 and 600 use the same driver components, Sennheiser has to spend time finding good matching pairs to make a 600. I've owned both the 580 and 600. They sound very much the same, as you might expect. I don't know if I could tell the two apart in a blind listening test. The audiophiles say they can (claiming the 600 to be sufficiently superior to the 580) but I have my doubts based on first-hand experience.

 

[Kwad Guy]

The HD580/HD600s (as noted, same sound, same drivers) are the best headphones
you can buy for less than close to a grand (that is, until you start look at things like
Stax). These are FANTASTIC headphones. Forget what anyone else tells you
(oh, I have blah blah blah, they cost $30, and they are Grrreeeatt!), there are
no cheaper headphones that sound better. None. And these also
feel quite comfortable.

The one downside, for some people, is that they are not really designed for low
output devices like walkmen, etc. These are better suited to home stereos.

Man, I have a pair already, but I may buy another pair at this price...

kwad

 

[kondrag]

As a number of people have mentioned, the HD580s are not very efficient--300 ohm impedence. So you won't be able to get the most out of them with a walkman or soundcard or even some home stereo receivers. A dedicated headphone amp is the key to audio bliss with these cans. For low-output devices, you'd probably be happier with a pair of HD497 (32 ohm impedence) or HD280s (64 ohm impedence).

Another option is a set of Grados--their SR line are all 32 ohm impedence and sound fantastic. I like the retro look, but it probably isn't for everyone. Some find them unfortable as well, but you can easily bend the headband to get them to conform to your head. I don't even notice mine are on.

A great place to get a pair is Decibel Audio. They have great prices on Grado products and free shipping on orders over $99 and fantastic service. In the same price range as the HD580, I highly recommend the SR125 for $129, which qualifies for the free shipping.

Beware though that Grados leak A LOT of sound. Not great for a library or at work if you are in a cubical environment.

 

[Crank]

I've got a pair of HD 540's, and I love them. They sound a fair amount better than the Sony MDRV6's that they replaced.
As many here have noted, the headphones are insensitive - I used to barely be able to use them with my Rio 500 because it's volume output was so low. They released a firmware that increased it, and that helped, but you still can't really get to those great earth shattering, ear damaging noise levels that we all love
Not that big a deal to me since they're so big, I wouldn't cart them along on a plane or wherever else I might use my MP3 player outside of the house.
If you have any sort of amplifier - i.e. a decent set of computer speakers or whatever, I'd think you could get plenty of volume with not problem - my Logitech Z 560's drive them well past comfortable listening levels.

One great thing about these headphones is the earpiece design - they're over the ear headphones, meaning that the cushions rest on your head rather than on your ear - this makes them very comfortable for extended listening sessions. With the V6's my poor little ears would get sore after 1.5 to 2 hours, with the Sennheisers, they feel fine.

I'd like to upgrade my 540's, and this is a fantastic price, but I'm so happy with them, I don't know if I can justify spending the dough....

 

[DanDrop]

I had an HD 600, Still have my HD 580 and Grado SR-80.

All are good headphones but here are my thoughts:

The Senn's are expensive, I bought my 580's for around 300$ about 2 years ago.
Very comfortable, clear, crisp but you might need a good, clean power source to be able to drive the headphones.

The Grado SR-80 are THE BEST headphones you can get for your money. PERIOD. For around $80-95, they sound just as good (if not better) than my Senn 580.
The only drawback is that the grados can get uncomfortable if used for a prolonged period.

If you are set on Getting the Senn HD580, $120 is a good price. However, try to audition the Grado SR80 at a local HIFI shop (if they carry it), trust me they are good and cheaper.

 

[iluvdeal]

Have a pair of Sony MDR V6 and Sennheiser 580's. Used to own a Grado SR60 but sold them as they became uncomfortable after 15 minutes of wear (they sit right on your ear). Out of those the Senns were the most comfortable with their plush velvet earbads that rest around your ear not on it. For $120, this is a good deal as it's the closest thing you'll get to the HD600 which IMO aren't $200 better than the 580's.

 

[Chu]

Incredibly important note. These will sound like CRAP without a dedicated headphone amp. The cheapo (or even good) headphones you are using right now have a resistance of about 32 ohms. The resistance on these is 300 ohms.

 

[corinthos]

Wonder what happened to Beyerdynamic... they made some kick-arse headphones back in the day, like the DT-990.

What does it cost for a decent headphone amp?

BTW, they have the HD-600 for $220 on ebay.

 

[huesmann]

I've been very happy with my 580s. I run them through my Audigy card, don't seem to have power problems. I like em in MP FPS games because I can hear peoples' footsteps AND the sound of the guns without having to raise the volume so far that I deafen myself with the guns in order to be able to hear footsteps. When I just use my Klipsch speakers, it's definitely loud, but it's TOO loud.

 

[CapnChaos]

Sweeeeet! I got in on these as a christmas present for me, from my mom...heh heh...