HD580 Mods

Yeah, stock pads give a more even response at the expense of some upper treble and low bass impact. Basically making the HD6xx series and the HD580 more mid-centric.

Brainwavz hybrids give a more V-shaped response with more bass impact, and also slightly more soundstage.

It really depends on your taste in sound and how you'd like to tune your chain. Personally, I'd only use the Brainwavz ear pads if you're gonna stuff the back of the headphone and block the air vent in the middle of the driver because that will help even out bass response... and then you'd need some extra front damping to take care of the slight lower mid peak. It's not easy to achieve but can be worth it.

Otherwise, replacing the front damping foam and the rear damping foam in the stock headphone should be enough for most people. It simply adds air, while taking away nothing else.

 

I may have missed it, but did you ever release your mod, Bill?

Also, @AustinValentine, spill the beans on your HD580 mods! (I probably missed it somewhere)

 

Even though I'm on the wrong thread, I figured I would ask since the 580, 600, and 650 are all in the same family.

Have you guys figured out how to keep the damn stock pads on the damn headphones (on a 650)? I removed them a few times to try out rug liner, K240 foam, etc, and now even after I got a brand new pair of pads, these motherfuckers will not stay on. I feel like there is no locking/staying mechanism for keep them on since the area around the headphones where the pads go are the same size as the damn pads so there is nothing to squeeze them in.

 

The hard plastic ring on the pad snaps into a groove around the driver. If your liner to too large it will impede the snapage. Start in one spot and work your way around. You have to press firmly, or rear you fingers under the foam pad and push the plastic ring g directly.

 

The snap points are a quite large, actually.. roughly positioned at 2, 4, 8, and 10 o'clock on the front baffle. Way back when I was an Hd6xx noob, I had a bitch of a time getting the pads to stay snapped in, as well. After I saw these snap points, it's now easy peasy.. and no guessing if I've got the pads fully snapped place.

 

I never noticed those points. Wow now I feel like a straight idiot for the past few weeks.

 

I recommend punching down the areas around (above and below) each of the snap points I mentioned to ensure a full seal, too.

 

Yea I pressed down hard all around to make sure that the pads were secure. This saved my ass from a lot more frustration.
Thanks a bunch!

 

So I bought a hd580 from @AustinValentine in pristine condition. This one has hd600 grills instead of the stock ones and feel has a more open wider stage. Not like 40-50% better, but maybe 10-20% and significant enough to easily hear and enjoy the difference. Second - another confirmation that the stock cable should be replaced with an after market or stock hd650 cable.

I enjoy this headphone soooooo much, and would highly recommend anyone who hasn't heard the sennheiser lineup to troll ebay / hf / classifieds for one of these to come around. You can have real hifi sound for less than $200.

 

Even though the HD650 is already for those who are too cheap to upgrade, the HD580 is an even cheaper solution for those who are cheaper than the cheap people.

Speaking of which (change of subject rant), I'm still pissed that the friggin HD580 came out so damn long ago with the 600 and 650 pretty much being the same thing and that Sennheiser has said f**k you to all of us and refused to make something similar.

 

There is a saying up here in Maine - If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

That said, with most manufacturers updating models every year (inc Senn) its pretty remarkable that the HD600 has remained largely unchanged since 1997, and like Mr Buckets said, it was only a minor update of the hd580 released in '94. So Sennehiser (most sucessful headphone manufacturer), in the last 22 years or so has only released minor changes to HD580 (HD600, HD650) and made 1 radically different headphone, HD800.

Edit: Was still thinking and this is the exact opposite of Mr. Speakers release schedule

 

hi guys! just got myself a pair of these! Everything is stock in my pair (grills/cable/etc.).
Nobody finds it a bit bright sounding? I'm affraid the mods will make things worse....

 

I found out that in order to reduce the upper mids it is effective to put a ring of tissue-like material about half-inch large between the foam and the mesh around the largest perimeter of the driver (reduce 3khz presence) and around the inner hole of the mesh (reduce 4 khz presence).
I suggest to try it out if you find them too prominent there.

I used dried wet wipe on top of toilet paper

 

Got hold of an almost NOS pair of these for ridiculous $90. Ridiculous, because these sound absolutely fantastic. Tonality is awesome, absolutely fantastic midrange.
Did some work on the headband and headpads.



I am running these with some older Brainwavz velours at the moment. These bring down the upper midrange a bit.


Comparo of Brainwavz velours (red) vs stock pads (yellow)


Absolutely fu..n'tastic

 

Mod guide incoming...









You can experiment and potentially find your own paper material to replace the front foam, but I would recommend that you cut it to that very specific shape. I have tried almost every other shape, and none of them helped to reduce upper mid and bring out low mid like this one. Will include exact material that I used and everything else in the mod guide.

And yes, those are HE60 ear pads! The opening is much much much bigger than stock ear pads, and they, IMO, are the perfect replacement ear pads for your HD580.

If you'd like to order them, call Sennheiser USA:
Part #: 068951 (Sennheiser HE60 ear cushions)
Phone #: +1 (877) 736-6434

I think they are around $100 or so (could be a bit less, I can't remember). I had to wait for 4 months for them to ship so you may want to sneak your order in early.

 

Can't wait Bill!

 

That's interesting. I had a pair of old HD580's for a while that I regretted selling. I remember liking it more than recent silver HD600 and HD650 drivers, but I wasn't sure if it was just faulty memory and jaded ears. I can't find any HD580's currently for sale.

Are you sure those differences don't come from earpad break-in? Did you use the same earpads for the 3 graphs, or different ones?

 

@Bill-P we are still eagerly waiting for that mod guide

 

I have read rumors that the HD580 was initially manufactured in Germany (for a short while). I have been curious whether this is true. I have never seen evidence of that rumor. I just saw a HD580 with one headband clip stating "Made in Ireland" and one stating "Made in Germany". Does anyone know if any other Sennheiser models made prior to or contemporaneously with the HD580 using these headband clips? If there aren't any, maybe that "Made in Germany" clip is proof to the rumor.

Ebay listing (as long as it stays in their database).

Screenshot of the Ebay listing. (Click once to show image, and click again to enlarge.)

Some pics from the Ebay listing:
Flat print HD580

Made in Germany clip

Made in Ireland clip

 

@Bill-P are you still happy with the HE60 pads?