After a few months trading back and forth between these and the HD6XX, I really think most people will be much happier with these. I do most of my listening to my ripped ALAC collection and/or Tidal on my iPhone through the lightning adapter. The Hd6XX are fine with this, but definitely don’t shine like they do when plugged into my desktop computer or receiver, whereas the HD58X sound pretty much the same (great) no matter what you plug them into. If you had to have just one and will do any listening through a portable source, go for these.
As for actual performance, they sound like a slightly more energetic set of Sennheiser open-back headphones. Bass guitars come to life on these, and there is enough sparkle on the high end to satisfy most folks. A really great set of headphones at any price.
This is a tough review to write. I know these are not 5 star headphones but every time I change it to 4 I feel like I am selling them short. I have plenty of headphones that are technically better in every single way but found myself having to listen to music I normally wouldn't in order to appreciate what they had to offer. The problem I always had was the music I like is normally poorly recorded and those headphones would just suck the fun out of most of my favorite albums. This includes the 600's and 6xx's.
I'm not sure what I expected when I bought these. I've been daydreaming about the 660s and seen another 150ohm Sennheiser with the 6xx series looks for $150 and figured why not. Massdrop shipped them quick and they got here in no time despite the normally slow fedex/usps thing. I have a regular new headphone ritual where I open up foobar and play Reasonable Doubt. Normally I skip through that album in a couple minutes because those other headphones makes the poor quality samples and overall poor recording quality unbearable to listen to. I usually have to use my jbl s700's or ATH-WS1100's for old school hip hop.
This is where this review may get a little weird so I apologize in advance. Now I have these on and hit play. Can't Knock the Hustle starts playing and the heart beat starts. At the 30 second mark it dawns on me I am sitting here with my eyes closed remembering when I first bought the cassette back in the day not really even listening. Then the 42sec mark hits and sitting in a room alone I actually say ooh. I sat there with my feet up and eyes closed and listened to the entire album. Not once did I have the flaws of the album forced on me or even thought to look for them. The entire time I was having memories of the first time I listened to the album and enjoyed it just as much as I did then.
I know all that probably sounded weird but what I'm about to say may sound even more weird. All of my so called "audiophile" grade headphones always gave me the impression they were tuned by someone a generation older to fit the music they enjoyed when they were younger. These are the first quality pair of headphones that feel like they are tuned by someone from my generation. A lot of audiophile headphones don't seem to like hip hop or at least late 80's early 90's hip hop but these do. Everything just sounds pleasurable. My collection of music is just not hip hop and I normally have to switch headphones depending on what I want to listen to but I haven't felt the need with these.
The only real shortcomings I think these headphones have is the soundstage and separation. I'm strictly speaking stock in this review because those can be improved. I find the soundstage to be very close to the 600's and separation of instruments to be a bit less or softer than both the 600's and the 6xx's. I would definitely like more soundstage stock but I think the way these do separation is part of why they work so well with all music and are so pleasurable. If your playlist goes from wu tang to rage to Biggie to Nirvana to Dessa to Wayne to you get the point these are for you. I have seen some comments of owners saying they had some graininess with theirs but I have no sign of that with mine. I did have that with those ATH-WS1100's but it went away after a week of use so hopefully those who have/had that issue with these will have the luck I had with those.
That is a definitive yes. I think the only place that the beats can beat the sennheiser hd58x to is who is going to be quicker in going inside the trash can and I believe that beats will win that round hands down, no competition xD. But on a serious note, there is no way any beats model could surpass the sound quality that this can produce
I currently own a HD580 and this headphone is based off this old relic. It gets pretty darn close to the HD580 but it has less clarity and struggles a little with detail compared to the original 580.
Music Genres:Classical, Electronic, Hip-hop, Pop, R&B
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Great entry level open back headphones
I picked these up as a second pair of headphones which I mostly used at my work setup. The majority of the use was listening to music and on work calls. Note that these are open back headphones so sound will leak out, which isn't an issue since I WFH. They're comfortable to wear for hours even if you have a larger head. Soundstage is pretty nice and the bass is more noticeable compared to the HD 6XXs. While I do have a DAC/Amp on my main setup, I was using these directly plugged into my work laptop and had no issues driving these. I got these on sale for $150 and I'd definitely pick them up again at this price point if I was in the market for headphones.
Music Genres:Classical, Electronic, Jazz, Metal, R&B, Rock
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Some of the best value headphones available
I purchased these as someone who spends lots of time gaming but also wanted to do more critical listening to music, and I'm blown away by the sound I get from these. My old headphones were a closed back gaming headset, and the soundstage while listening to music as well as imaging in games is on another level from anything I've experienced before. I pick up on a lot more detail in some of my favorite songs that I've listened to a million times, and with EQ to boost the bass just a little these sound great for gaming. Big explosions in games like Helldivers 2 feel huge and full, and enemy placement from sound cues like footsteps in Counter Strike are super accurate. There were a lot of times I was surprised to hear a slight noise from behind me and be able to place my crosshair exactly where the enemy was just based off that cue.
As for the few things I can complain about, the plastic build gives me a little concern for their long term durability, but they seem solidly built and I won't be moving these off my desk anyways. I also have larger than average ears that protrude out quite a bit, and the tips of my ears rub against the inside of the earpad cup. Over a long period of time this can become a bit of a hotspot and I need to take a break, but for the average ear size these should be more than big enough to fully envelop them with minimal contact. The included cable is also much longer than I need, so I just keep about half of it bundled up with a twist tie.
Overall, it's hard to find another pair of headphones at this price range with sound this accurate. While the 6XX are considered to be superior by many, I'd say they're more like slightly different tunings of a very similar headphone. The 6XX has a little less bass and a little more treble, but they're so close that you really have to listen to them back to back to tell. The 6XX seems to be preferred by true audiophiles who almost exclusively use them to listen to music, while the 58X is more of an all-rounder that can fit a lot of different use cases. If you want a no fuss headphone that can plug directly into your device without any extra gadgets, these should be high on your list.
I bought these based upon the largely positive reviews but have to say I am not impressed with the sound quality. They just seem too flat to me - no punch, not extended enough in dynamics. Comfort is good, build quality is nice, but the most important aspect (sound quality) is just not there for me. I have had several other brands (including other Sennheisers) that just have better balance, crispness and "punch".