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are there or aren't there good studio headphones?
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Waveman
Psionyx
Started Topics :
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107
Posted : Feb 13, 2004 20:58
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Ack! Turns out I actually have the HD-580's - sorry for the misinformation. It helps to actually look at the model numbers now and then 
Anyway, the 580's are, to my ears at least, very flat. No problem with midrange holes (300-1000 Hz) and the bass sounds quite flat as well. I ran a bunch of sine wave sweeps in SoundForge this morning and only noticed a very slight dip around 70Hz, but that may have been a Fletcher-Munson effect since it seemed to get better a higher levels. Bass was audible all the way down to 25Hz, at which point it dropped off rapidly.
Having a hole in the midrange, especially across such a big frequency range (you're talking a whole octave there) seems pretty odd.
For the real numbers, go to this page:
http://headroom.headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=10
and compare the HD500 to the HD580. Your headphones do tend to be a bit bassy (as you mentioned), but both are fairly flat except in the upper range where they both have some odd peaks and dips, especially the 500's. I was also pleased to see the very slight dip around 70Hz that I heard this morning, which does seem to confirm those graphs.
  -=Psionyx=-
"We make you feel strange." |
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Waveman
Psionyx
Started Topics :
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107
Posted : Feb 13, 2004 21:01
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Double post, whoops.
While I'm here, I'll add that the 580's are very comfortable too, with velvet covered surrounds and a nice wide headband. I used a pair of Sennheiser HD-25SP's before them, and I'd always have a sore spot on the top of my head after a couple hours. No fun.
-=Psionyx=-
"We make you feel strange." |
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Colin OOOD
Moderator
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Posted : Feb 13, 2004 21:11
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Just checked the plots on that website... On paper the HD580s seem pretty unbeatable! Don't know if I'd like to DJ or do a live set with them though; the open-backed design looks like they'd let in quite a bit of noise... but as studio monitor alternatives, I guess they'd be the ideal choice. |
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Waveman
Psionyx
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
107
Posted : Feb 13, 2004 21:18
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Open-backed design? Curious where you saw that. The cups are fully closed - if I'm wearing them and listening to silence I still can't hear the phone on my desk ring Or at least, it's VERY quiet.
EDIT: nevermind, I was thinking just of the cups. Yes you are correct, they are open on the opposite side of the transducers, so they won't be quite as quiet as a sealed headphone.
-=Psionyx=-
"We make you feel strange." |
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Colin OOOD
Moderator
Started Topics :
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Posted : Feb 13, 2004 21:32
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The HD580 spec on the Sennheiser website says they transducer principple is "dyanmic, open" (compared with the HD25's "dynamic, closed"); also the marketing blurb says they're a "... top class open dynamic stereo HiFi/professional headphone." - plus (from the photos I've seen) they have a mesh design on the backs of the cans which indicates an open back.
Not to say they don't have great isolation, you obviously have a good report on that! The last time I used open-backed cans I could hear my cat purring across the other side of the room with them on; sounds like the HD580s have that licked.
All I need now is £100 and I reckon I'll treat myself to a pair... |
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Waveman
Psionyx
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
107
Posted : Feb 13, 2004 21:50
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Colin - yep, again, you are totally correct.
If you want I can do some more exact tests on their isolation properties before you run out and spend your hard earned money
Luckily mine were a birthday gift from my wife 
-=Psionyx=-
"We make you feel strange." |
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
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3954
Posted : Feb 13, 2004 22:33
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waveman, that graph describes exactly what I hear
a bit too much bass, which causes the low mid to sound a bit low and the mid mid sounds almost non existant
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ird
Started Topics :
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16
Posted : Feb 14, 2004 16:20
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2 Colin:
"Just checked the plots on that website... On paper the HD580s seem pretty unbeatable!"
Sure, just look at their method of measuring the frequency response:
"The raw headphone graphs looked so complex that we knew they wouldn’t be useful for most people.
So we decided to develop a way to measure headphones that was both easy to interpret and reflected what sounded good.
Basically, we took what are, in our opinions, the ten best sounding headphones, measured them, averaged the data all together, and used that composite data as the ideal headphone against which all individual headphone data is compared."
That is, the graphs do not show the absolute response curves, but rather the differences between what is considered a "good sounding" curve and the actual data.
The HD-580 and HD-600 were among the ten "reference" headphones they used for obtaining the "best average" curve, no wonder they look "flat" in their graphs. But take a look at the AKG curves... the's an obvious lack of lows and highs, but is this really the case? I don't think so.. what this means is that Sennheisers sound more bassy than the AKG, but not necessarily more flat. The truth is somewhere in between...
Too bad they didn't publish the absolute data... |
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Colin OOOD
Moderator
Started Topics :
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Posted : Feb 14, 2004 16:23
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Thanks ird, I missed that bit... |
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