Three decades ago, Sennheiser released the HD 580 Precision headphones that was much loved by the audiophile community. The product gained rave reviews from users for its great sounding audio and considerably affordable price point in the mid-fi headphone category. Even though the original HD 580 Precision has already been discontinued for years, it was refreshed by the HD 580 Jubilee. Later improvements to the HD 580 also led to the release of the popular HD 600 and HD 650 that were unanimously some of the top products from Sennheiser today.
Working together with Drop, Sennheiser released a customized version of the HD 580 Jubilee to meet the demands of audiophiles around the world – Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee. This pair of headphones were first introduced in 2018, and it contains design elements of the original Sennheiser HD 580 Jubilee. The key difference with the HD 58X Jubilee is that it incorporates the brand-new transducers and 150-ohm drivers. They are specially tuned by the designer of the original HD 580 Precision, Axel Grell and Massdrop, based on feedback from the audiophile community.
Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones
The HD 58X Jubilee spots the look of the original HD 580 Jubilee. Even though many new kinds of designs of headphones for better comfort and fit, little has changed for the HD 58X Jubilee. It spots a rather flexible headband that is well padded, and sits comfortably on your ears. Even though I was testing on a new pair, despite my considerably big head, the HD 58X Jubilee didn’t clamp on too tightly to my head as well. It should be a good fit to many of average head sizes.
While the idea is to retain its original look, I wasn’t particularly a fan of its glossy and plastic head band, which was later proved to be a fingerprint magnet.
The HD 58X Jubilee’s ear cups can also be angled for a better fit to your ears. Its head band can also be adjusted extended too. Ultimately, these features are made to ensure that the headphones can be placed on your head comfortably, and do not serve any purpose in enabling easier storage or portability.
Generally speaking, the HD 58X Jubilee weighs quite light, and you can barely feel it there when worn. This is in comparison to headphones in its same class, particularly the HiFiMan HE4XX, which was quite tight, heavy and tiring just to put them on.
The HD 58X Jubilee’s cables can also be easily replaced. This brings another level of customization possible on the HD 58X Jubilee. As these are analogue headphones, the quality of the cables to have a direct impact to the signals sent to the drivers of the headphones. A change of customized cables could change the quality of your sounds, but for a mid-tier headphones like the HD 58X Jubilee, many wouldn’t find too much difference in the type of cables used. The cables that comes in the box should be good enough for your daily needs, if you aren’t too particular with the types of cables used.
Specifications
- Massdrop x Sennheiser
- Glossy black headband, gray metal grilles
- Ear coupling: Over-ear (circumaural)
- Transducer principle: Open, dynamic
- Impedance: 150 ohms
- Frequency response: 12–38,500 Hz (-10 dB)
- THD + N: < 0.1% at 1 kHz, 100 dB
- Sound pressure level: 104 dB at 1V, 1 kHz
- Connector: ⅛ in (3.5 mm) gold-plated stereo jack plug
- Cable: 6 ft (1.8 m) OFC, detachable
- Weight without cable: Approx. 9.2 oz (260 g)
- Individually serialized
- Made in Romania
How it sounds
Our test setup consisted of the Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee that was driven by the Massdrop O2+ODAC DAC/Amplifier. The audio files came from an PC that plays lossless audio through the DAC/Amp.
HD 58X Jubilee sounded largely neutral, with a slight tilt towards the warmer regions. It had a good representation of sounds from all the different frequencies. Even though to be considered to have a warm profile, it didn’t neglect on the mids and highs, which was still decently present.
For first timers who are new to the headphones scene, they would be quite impressed with the HD 58X Jubilee. However, if we were to be more critical, the HD 58X Jubilee lacked range, as it fails to reach the more extreme ends of the spectrums for a more accurate showcase of what the sounds at those frequencies should be like. Another issue I had with the HD 58X Jubilee is its lack of clarity, which is attributed to the lack of proper imaging, separation and its comparatively narrower sound stage.
This means that sounds from the HD 58X Jubilee seems to be rather jumbled into a mess, which brings about a lack of depth to what you would be expected to get from a mid/high end headphones.
However, please don’t get me wrong – the HD 58X Jubilee is certainly still a high quality product that checks the boxes for many in terms of what they look out for in a headphone. As the audio experience is largely personal, you may find the HD 58X Jubilee to be very suitable for your needs and audio preferences.
Conclusion
The Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee retains the greatness of the original Sennheiser HD 580 Jubilee, and was able to bring good audio quality at a considerably affordable price to the masses. You would likely to enjoy the HD 58X Jubilee if you’re looking for a pair of headphone that gives decent amount of bass without being too overbearing. However, if you are more serious about clarity and better separation of sounds, you’ve got to look else where, such as the Drop HiFiMan HE4XX.
You can purchase the Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee directly from Drop.com at 199USD (before shipping price, which is about 15USD). Drop will ship the headphones directly to your address in Singapore. In the past, due to local presence of Sennheiser, Drop x Sennheiser products cannot be shipped here. The restrictions have now been lifted.
