Sennheiser HD580 precision - refurb or replace?

[haaammit]

I have a set of Sennheiser HD580 precision headphones that I acquired many years ago, brand new, for the vast sum of nothing. They are an incredible headphone - comfortable and amazing sound, but they are now starting to get tired.

The headband is no longer fluffy and nice and the ear pads are wearing through and are getting matted and uncomfortable.

A refurb kit of a new headband cushion and two new earpads with foam discs is £48 - I'm correct in saying this is the way forward, and not to put that £48 towards a new set of HD660 or similar? I'd love an upgrade but not sure that spending £430 instead of £48 will give me that much of an upgrade.

Thoughts? Cheers

 

[danza]

Replace the parts. The HD 580s are very good, even when compared to 650s (both versions). I don't think I'd cough up the extra for 660s seeing as you can get used higher-tier headphones for about the same cost (HD 800, LCD 2).

Do you use a headphone amp?

 

[Marsman]

In agreement with danza; definitely pay to have new pads.

£430 spent on HD660 is not money well spent as a replacement. As just as example; even if the HD660 were said to be better, the HD580 would be 90%+ as good, costing you just £50 to bring back to possibly almost new condition.

If the HD580 were smashed to pieces and meant buying new headphones, then sure, spending £300-£400 on HD600/650/660 would make more sense.

 

[haaammit]

I agree, but we all get bitten by the shiny new toy/upgrade bug!

I'll order the replacement bits and continue to enjoy my current cans seeing as the difference will be fairly negligible. I don't use a dedicated headphone amp, just the headphone socket on my amplifier.

Cheers for the advice

 

[Marsman]

Haha, we do indeed.

A headphone amp might be a worthy investment and cheaper than buying new headphones. Specs are rarely given for headphone outputs on speaker amplifiers and while some are likely better than others, without any specs to go by, it's trial and error to a degree. It may be doing a good job with the headphones, but then it could be rather average.

When anyone talks about how good a particular speaker amplifier sounds, they are talking about the sound from the speakers. Very rarely does anyone mention the headphone output quality. Many people probably automatically think that the headphone output on a decent speaker amp will be able to drive any headphone well just as it does with the speakers. Speakers require a lot more power than headphones, so the thought could be that any headphones should be a doddle for the amp. Volume wise, yes; but how well is it actually driving the headphones?

Another forum member recently decided to get a headphone amp because he felt his Beyerdynamic DT770 250Ohm headphones weren't sounding that great connected to his NAD 320BEE. Food for thought.

 

[Merlin5]

I bought my HD580 precision new around 2004 and are my only full size headphones to this day. Well I do have some Roland headphones but they're for monitoring when I play drums.

The 580 is still amazing and I replaced my headband and earpads with new Sennheiser parts when the original ones went flat for a similar price, about £40 I think it was. Prior to that I replaced the cable with a 650 cable which is thicker and has chunkier connectors. The original connectors were a bit flimsy and became intermittent in one ear.

I think the 6xx series are good for the purists who are happy to spend silly money on diminishing returns. One thing about the 660s though is that they're more easily driven as they're 150 ohms and the 580s are 300 ohms. So if you did want to buy new and shiny and wanted to use them straight from your phone, 660 would work well.

Check this video out. It's the first I've seen in years that even mentions the 580 and the reviewer compares it extremely favourably to the 660. I remember years ago when some hi-fi enthusiasts said 580s weren't proper audiophile headphones, but they are and this guy classes them as reference cans. I think the rarity of used 580s for sale means two things. That people are holding on to theirs and that perhaps they'll become quite valuable collectors items in years to come.

 

[Rroff]

I think the 6xx series are good for the purists who are happy to spend silly money on diminishing returns. Check this video out. It's the first I've seen in years that even mentions the 580 and the reviewer compares it extremely favourably to the 660.

Dunno about the 660s as I've not got to try them yet but quite frankly a lot of people do not pair the 600/650 up with a sufficient amplifier and never hear their true potential - especially people seem to think a stupidly powerful amplifier capable of putting out crazy current should be able to drive them and sure you might get them loud but will never get proper control over the drivers compared to an amp with the right voltage setup.

When you get a setup with the right synergy it is totally worth those diminishing returns and chucking silly money at the equipment to drive them a rare exception when it comes to headphones.

 

[danza]

I tend to agree with the above. I recently tried my old HD 580s from the socket on a Marantz PM66 KI and they sounded flat and lifeless compared to a half decent headphone amp (I used them with a modded headphone valve amp, a Graham Slee Solo and a 'deluxe' version Lehmann BCL clone - the BCL clone was the best and only cost about £150).

Maybe food for thought in this thread for the OP...