HD580 Mods

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by Noodlz, Apr 1, 2016.

  1. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    @JoshMorr thanks! Yeah I haven't done any new mods to my pair of 580, loving them right now as my primary set. Bill is still continuing to tweak / experiment with my other pair.

    I had a listen to his latest version (back to stock pads but removed the spider cage and so other backing materials added and some kind of aluminum bird cage mesh magic of some sort lol) a few weeks back and it was super smooth and natural sounding. A very laid back, yet fast and detailed sound. It's hard to describe lol. Can't wait till I get his finished pair :)

    But yeah I think with this version of the hm5 pads and the brass tape it's already really awesome sounding
     
  2. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    Awesome @Noodlz ! Curiosity got the best of me and I bought a pair from Ebay for $130 shipped. The pads we both shot, the thin liner over the driver was disintegrating, smells faintly of smoke or insense. Replaced pads with hybrid brainwavz (copied you), cleaned out the shitty liner, put in a very thin rug liner with coin mod, and removed rear foam. Curious if similair mods as HD650 would apply. Maybe dynamat mod next? But that is a tough mod to reverse, so I might have to do some digging / reading to see what I can do to tune this old dog. This might be the headphone that drives me to setup a measurement rig.

    That sound that everyone talks about is there. Not as dark as HD650, not as bright as HD600 - sits in the middle. Blows my mind that Sennheiser came this close to perfecting the headphone 20 years ago. Manufacturers now produce junk in comparison with insane price tags that don't come close to the imaging, clarity, tonal balance, or control of this headphone that is old enough to legally drink. I will have to hear it again, but this almost reminds me to the PMx2 that I heard at a meet a while ago with its neutral flat flat response.

    Does @Bill-P still visit here? He is the mad scientist that I want to hear from. Would love to get a picture of what you did, hear a description of mods etc.
     
  3. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    I have to say that I am really enjoying these headphones the last couple of days. I tried to copy Noodlz look, but kept stock grills. I basically HD650 modded them, removed rear foam / spider, added dynamat, coin mod, but I added brainwavz hybrid pads, changed cord to stock HD650 cord and replaced old headband pad with new HD600 one. These sound a just hair brighter than the HD650's but other than that, almost identical. Would love to get some measurements on these to confirm what I hear and to see if the mods made the freq response similar to my modded HD650's (like Bill P's goldilocks HD580, not too hot or too cold).

    I feel that these are so similar that I have given my HD650's a temporary vacation. Biggest complaint is that the brainwavz pads get a bit warm compared to stock pads. Super stoked to hear how awesome a very inexpensive pair of headphones can cost. $130 for headphones from ebay, $25 new pads, $15 headband pad, had some dynamat, had single ended HD650 cord. Interested if HD6x0 grills make a sonic impact or not, but probably wont splurge for new grills. These headphones looks brand new, even though they are almost old enough to go to prom. Pics below, sorry for shit quality, I have no skill or passion for headphone glamour shots.

    IMG_20160606_213315.jpg
    IMG_20160606_213351.jpg
    IMG_20160606_213423.jpg
     
  4. Enigmatic

    Enigmatic Friend

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    @JoshMorr - Those are the flat print HD580s, which are one of the earliest HD580s (pre-1993 iianm). Said to have better drivers than the post-1993 ones. True or not, I don't know, but what I know is people are willing to pay top bucks for those. That's a very nice find for the price.

    The picture below shows the post-1993 HD580s where the HD580 Precision print is done on a "raised" platform:
    [​IMG]
     
  5. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    Thanks @Enigmatic , I had no idea, just lucked out. It came with original packaging with a date of 3-93 on it, but not sure if that was a manufacture date or what.

    Also says made in Ireland, and having some Irish blood in me, I thought this was cool. Who knew manufacturing was a thing there?

    I've always been a hair skeptical of the perceived differences between different Senn drivers. I heard no difference between the older black HD650 drivers and the newer silver ones, while most reports have the older drivers sounding veiled. Probably tough to measure, but has this been tried or proven?
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2016
  6. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    @JoshMorr niice work~! I actually perferred the 650 grills on the 580 as it gave it a slightly airier / crispier sound (though i did find it to be too sharp at first, i had put blu-tack in the inside of the grills to soften it a bit). the stock 580 grills on the 580 makes it a little darker, and you're right i think it makes it sound a lot closer to the modded 650, so if that's the kinda sound you dig then its perfect =)

    i thought i would retire the 650 after getting the 580 too, but then i realized depending on the tube setup i have sometimes the 650 still has a little more "magic" in the vocals compared to the 580, but they're so close, i may eventually just sell my 650 lol.

    P.S. if i recall i think bill is traveling out of the country at the moment? guess we gotta wait patiently for the return of the mad scientist~
     
  7. Enigmatic

    Enigmatic Friend

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    3-93 - Third month of year 93? Maybe? Haha. I don't think I've even started with kindie then. Sennheiser moved their factory to Ireland during 1990, started making the "raised platform" HD580 some time close to 1994.

    But yea, I don't have both HD580s with me so I'm just speaking from hearsay (this may change over the next couple weeks/months), so don't take it seriously anyhow.

    OTOH I heard quite a difference with the black vs silver Senn HD650 drivers. Though eventually I wasn't bothered much anymore as it seemed harder to find a black driver instead of a silver driver one.
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2016
  8. fiddler

    fiddler New

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    Just put the Hybrid pads on my HD600 and measured them. Green is stock for reference.

    [​IMG]

    I am not a fan...

    By the way I kept the thin nylon-like lining, and the foamie is also still in place.
     
  9. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    @fiddler iinteresting~ that looks kinda right though. i recall when first trying the hm5 hybrid pads without cutting out the center lining it did muffle the sound. That being said i think 580s sound a little different than the 600 comparing stock. i wonder how you'd like the sound with the lining cut out?
     
  10. fiddler

    fiddler New

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    I can cut out the lining and re-listen (and remeasure). I don't think the suckout around 1-4K can really be caused by a super thin piece of cloth though.
     
  11. fiddler

    fiddler New

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    [​IMG]

    Green with lining.
    Blue removed.

    Some minor differences overall, with a noticeable change at 6-8K. Still, this is too much of a warm tilt for me with too much upper midrange sucked out.
     
  12. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    oh interesting. i just noticed that you said foamie still in place. im assuming the foam in the back of the spider (outside of driver) is still there? my impressions are with them removed. dunno if that changes anything for ya
     
  13. gibtg

    gibtg New

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    I do really appreciate seeing those measurements, I was going to try the hybrid pads but I suppose not now :( I was hoping for some at least marginal improvement in bass extension.
     
  14. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    So stock pads are best or is there another third party recommendation?
     
  15. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    Depends on your preference and also the mods you choose I think. I opted for the hybrid hm5 pads with the way I nodded mine, but bill-p has another mod that make it sound great with the stock pads. I'd recommend just buying the hybrid pads and trying it for yourself to see how you like it


    Note: I believe fiddler's measurements are for his hd600, not the hd 580
     
  16. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    FWIW I made some measurements of some Bill-P-modded 580s at the last Bay Area mini meet. Not great conditions for measuring, but in case it's valuable:

    BillP-modded HD-580 FR.png

    BillP-modded HD-580 CSD.png
     
  17. Noodlz

    Noodlz Almost "Made"

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    Nice @philipmorgan , i believe these are very close to the mods i have now (this is the 580 with the hybrid pads & the lining cut out + brass tapes inside). It would be really interesting to hear / measure bill's latest version when he gets back~ (stock pads with some material mods + spider removal i think)
     
  18. fiddler

    fiddler New

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    @philipmorgan : Do you have measurements of a stock 580 as a reference?
     
  19. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    I'm sorry but I don't.
     
  20. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    I swapped out the pads from the brainwavz hybreds to new stock sennheiser HD580/HD6x0 pads and they sound much better. Measurements at a meet showed that the mids were sucked out in the 3-4k range, which seems to be a common problem with these pads. More natural sounding with stock pads, even if the hybreds looked bad ass. Its almost like Senn engineers designed the ear pads for the headphone...
     

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