Product Description
The Sennheiser HD 590 Prestige headphones are the topmost entry in the company's revered "500" series, and were designed with absolutely unalloyed listening pleasure in mind! These open-back headphones are assembled from first quality materials, featuring large-surface "Duofol" diaphragms. The Duofol consists of two foils welded together to reduce standing waves to an absolute minimum. A newly configured transducer orientatin ensures better localization of sounds, and superbly natural sound reproduction. Connection Cable - 3 meter OFC copper cable
Amazon.com Product Description
The Sennheiser HD590 Prestige is a full-size headphone designed for high sonic performance. Audiophile-grade components, lightweight voice coils, Duofol membranes, an open-ear design, and a frequency response of 12 to 38,000 Hz add up to music that's stunningly alive--be it classical, jazz, or rock. In addition, the HD590 works beautifully with both home and personal stereos, offering deep, natural bass without the need for bass boost equalization.
The HD590s feature large-surface Duofol diaphragms--special diaphragms consisting of two foils welded together to reduce standing waves (buildups at specific frequencies that unfavorably color the sound) to an absolute minimum. A new transducer orientation ensures better localization of sounds for a wide, spacious sound stage and generally natural sound reproduction.
A 10-foot OFC (oxygen-free copper) cord connects to the left earpiece only, reducing tangles and giving you room to roam. The 0.25-inch phone jack also comes with a miniplug adapter, making the HD 590 compatible with any size headphone jack.
The HD590's innovative BioNetic headband is key to its amazingly light weight. This headphone is designed to adapt to the shape of your head, and the adjustable band rides on an airy, plastic cushion for added comfort.
Sennheiser's HD590 Prestige has replaceable parts and a two-year warranty.
Customer Reviews:
Great headphones - a bit fragile........2007-11-30
These headphones sound wonderful, and I have enjoyed them for 4 years. But, today the plastic hinge above the left transducer broke off rendering the headphones unusuable. When I purchased these headphones, I was a bit concerned about the plastic headband and hinges. It's too bad. They sounded great, but I expected them to last longer. (I STILL have a working pair of Koss Pro-4AAs that are over 30 years old!)
(Also, please note that this model has been discontinued)
Outstanding Headphones.......2007-02-12
I have been listening to this pair for possibly a year now and am satisfied they are the best phones I ever had. I listen to classical music and want accuracy of sound - no false base boom or colorations to remind me that I am not listening to live music. These HD950s deliver all that with complete conviction. A huge surprise was the high efficiency, they can be used with little CD players as well as gigantic power amps. The accuracy of these phones at the high end came through to me when I used them to do a direct comparison between a Grade cartridge vs a Shure. I was able to detect a slight "steel" edginess to string sound using the Shure cartridge but could hear a slight "sweet" sound with the Grado. First time I ever had a sound reproduction system with so much wide range and accuracy that such a difference could be detected. My greatest pet peeve with headphones is the eventual failure of the cord - not to worry about these babies - just unplug the bad cord and buy something comparable at Radio Shack! Unconditional praise is well deserved with this product.
Comfortable and clean sound.......2006-11-23
These are the best set of headphones I have come across. I have tried probably 5-10 different kinds from brands ranging from Sony, Bose, Koss, etc...
These will give you comfortable listening and top notch sound for hours. I have owned these for over a year now and the only downside I see is that you need to clean the earpads or else they will get dirty. However these are easily removable too. Having an optional shorter cord (comes with 10 ft by default) would also be nice.
Amazing clarity, better than your stereo system.......2006-04-21
I read all the reviews for the Sennheiser 555s, 580s, 595s, and 590s before I made this purchase. As expected the sound quality is spectacular. I'm a big fan of open air headphones, and these seem to be the creme de la creme of what you can get for under $500. I've only had them for 2 days, but I can already tell that these will revolutionize the way I enjoy music.
I've tried a bunch of blue tooth headphones and was fairly happy with the sound clarify of the Logitech for iPod wireless headphones. The headband on those snapped, however, and then I started a long arduous process of searching for the best that the headphone industry has to offer. Among bluetooth headphones, I also tried the Creative and Princeton brands, but returned both of those because the sound quality was just not up to snuff. Needless to say, bluetooth technology isn't quite there yet, so if you're really interested in sound quality, you should go for wired headphones. This may sound like an obvious truth to some, but it was news to me. My last headphones were open air collaspable Pioneer ones (~$20). I was pleased with these, and I plan to keep them for more casual use because they leak less noise than the 590s and I don't really care if they get beaten up.
I'm just using the 590s with my iPod. I don't have a fancy amplifier yet, but now I'm starting to wonder how awesome these would sound with one. To my novice ears, these do seem to have the perfect blend of lows, mids, and highs. I can actually hear the *harmony* of all the different instruments in a song. It somehow emphasizes each range without overwhelming your ears. I've noticed echoes, voices, drumlines, etc. that I never heard before. The clarity is great too, but I've come to realize that a lot of my mp3 files are bad rips. The bad ones tend to have a slight background buzz, but good files have utter silence during refrains.
A few more notes before you buy...
* The sound leakage really is significant. More shocking to me than the sound that leaks out is the sound that leaks in. Listening to these on a loud, crowded train was less than ideal. I don't mind the stares, but the sound of the train started to drown out my music. Probably better to stick with your earbuds or enclosed headphones for traveling.
* The comfort is amazing, but in my case, that wasn't a major reason to buy. I wear glasses, and I notice that they squeeze them a little bit, but still, these are more comfortable than other big headphones that I demo'd in the store. They're much lighter than they look, and the construction is sturdy.
* These work well with an iPod. Would definitely make a great present for any music lover you know. I've noticed that you don't get quite the same volume as earbuds, but this seems logical since the diaphragm is farther away from your eardrum. Still, more than enough volume for me. I listen to these in my office at about half strength, which is enough to hear the music well but keeps the sound leakage to a undetectable level.
Anyway, go for it! You deserve them.
A movie (NOT MUSIC) review........2006-02-27
I gave the phones a quick twelve hour warm up and started watching movies over the weekend.
I was very impressed with the sound, I had to take them off a couple of times to be sure my sub. and speakers were not on.
The dialoge was crisp and clear. Explosions gave off a very deep pure sound.
I was re-watching the new Battlestar Galactica on DVD and heard things that I had never heard before.
I am using my SONY amp to power them so I could adjust the settings a bit to cater to the phones.
The quality of them are very good as well. I'm sure it could be better, but so could just about everything that is available.
If anyone is in the room they will be able to hear what you are watching. I put them on when my wife and daughter go to bed so they are in another room, so no problem there for me.
They are comfortable, the padding is soft, and the sound doesnt kill your ears or give you a headache like some of the others.
Over the weekend I watched: Battlestar Galactica (new series), Band of Brothers, DOOM, Star Trek Enterprise, and Stargate SG-1.
All were only inhanced by these phones. I am glad that I went with them with no regrets!
Amazon.com Product Description
The Sennheiser HD590 Prestige is a full-size headphone designed for high sonic performance. Audiophile-grade components, lightweight voice coils, Duofol membranes, an open-ear design, and a frequency response of 12 to 38,000 Hz add up to music that's stunningly alive--be it classical, jazz, or rock. In addition, the HD590 works beautifully with both home and personal stereos, offering deep, natural bass without the need for bass boost equalization.
The HD590 features large-surface Duofol diaphragms--special diaphragms consisting of two foils welded together to reduce standing waves (buildups at specific frequencies that unfavorably color the sound) to an absolute minimum. A new transducer orientation ensures better localization of sounds for a wide, spacious sound stage and generally natural sound reproduction.
A 10-foot OFC (oxygen-free copper) cord connects to the left earpiece only, reducing tangles and giving you room to roam. The 0.25-inch phone jack also comes with a miniplug adapter, making the HD 590 compatible with any size headphone jack. The HD590's innovative BioNetic headband is key to its amazingly light weight. This headphone is designed to adapt to the shape of your head, and the adjustable band rides on an airy, plastic cushion for added comfort.
The HD590 is a factory refurbished product, meaning it was returned to the manufacturer and restored to like-new condition. The product comes with a two-year warranty on parts and labor.
What's in the Box
HD590 headphones, 10-foot cord, miniplug adapter, user's manual.
Customer Reviews:
Great headphones but some caveats.......2005-06-27
I really like these phones. The only problem with them is that they leak sound like no others. I bought my pair from Amazon for about $110. I've been checking the price of these headphones for a few weeks now and they seem to hover around $150 and $110 which is a huge range. I work for Amazon, but I don't understand how their pricing works. :) Although they are factory reconditioned, I cannot discern any physical difference between these and some brand new ones in store. There's no scratch; it's even packaged in its original box; and of course, there's no compromise on sound quality. My favorite part of these phones is that they are so darn comfortable. For the first few days, I thought these headphones were too tight and they hurt my ears and warmed them to the point of sweating after using them for an hour. But now, they are perfect. It's as if they're adapting to my abnormal head size. At first, I thought the previous reviewers were crazy, saying how comfortable these are. But now, I'm agreeing with them. I guess I shouldn't have judged them too early on. I gave these phones a 3 after my first three days of use, but now I changed it to a 5.
Another thing, I find some mp3 files to play terribly on these headphones. It's because they are too accurate to the point where even a non-audiophile like me can tell the difference in sound quality in some mp3 files. This is both a plus and minus, so I'm not going to count points off because of this.
Also, I really like the detachable cord. It's useful when I pack away my headphones. Sometimes, when I go "out of range", the cord will just detach from the headphones instead of jerking my head and/or damaging the headphones.
Watch for amazon's $120 deals - they're an amazing bargain!.......2005-03-16
The Sennheiser HD590 is something of a bastard child among headphones. Disliked by audiophiles and passed over in favor of the newer HD555 and HD595, unheard of by consumers who flock to the terrible Bose Triports and Sony MDR-V700's, the HD590's have fallen out of favor with the audio community, in one way or another.
That is a shame. These are some damn fine phones. Amazon's occasional $120 deals on them are absolutely fantastic - you will not find better sounding headphones for this much money.
The HD590's offer a slightly bright, very detailed sound, with a very strong, punchy bass. Their mids are slightly recessed (i.e. quieter and more distant than the bass and treble), and it is for this reason that audiophiles bash them. I don't understand this, especially since the very same audiophiles praise the Beyerdynamic DT770's, which are much more recessed in the mids and brighter in the treble.
Their soundstage is very good. They are very three-dimensional sounding with the right recordings, portraying accurately the acoustic characteristics of the recording venue. If you have never heard hi-fi headphones before, you will be amazed at how these portray the spatial localization of each and every sound. They are also very detailed, especially in the treble. You will hear sounds in your recordings that you've never heard before.
These headphones can be driven by powerful sources without an amplifier, but portable devices such as iPods and portable CD players will be hard-pressed to drive them. I would recommend these headphones for home use with stationary audio systems. They will not truly come to life, however, until you add a headphone amplifier. There are many amplifiers available, and I will not list the multitude of different models here. This, perhaps, is their biggest drawback. They really do need a lot of power.
They're also very, very comfortable. They're light, they have a firm grip on your head, but because the pads are very cushy and deep, the grip never becomes bothersome. Instead, they just seem to disappear, like a pair of snug, comfy earmuffs. I've worn these for 10 hours straight, and I didn't notice that I have them on after 30 minutes. They're also very durable, even though they're largely built out of plastic.
The downsides? At $120, I really can't find any. At $150 or the regular asking price, I would say that they're a bit too bright and too recessed in the midrange, and there are other options which may be slightly better. But if you see one of Amazon's $120 deals pop up, grab these immediately! Your ears will not regret it.
Lastly, do keep in mind that these are open headphones. They will not isolate you from the outside world, and they will leak sound everywhere. People in the same room with you will definitely hear what you're playing. This isn't a downside of these headphones specifically, but a downside of open headphones in general.
I use these with my computer, in combination with a Chaintech AV-710 sound card, a 3' Kimber RCA-mini cable, and a Meier Audio Porta Corda Mk II headphone amplifier. All together, this makes for a very nice computer system. For serious listening, I prefer my Stax SR-4040 electrostatic system, but it's not really a fair comparison =D
Rating: A very solid 5 stars at $120. 4 stars at the retail price.
Amazing..........2005-02-25
I've owned a pair of Grado SR-80's now for a few years. Over time however I've listened to them less and less due to the fact that after about and hour or two my ears are sore. For whatever reason I just haven't realized that there were alternatives out there so when I saw these reconditioned cans I pulled the trigger. The sound is amazing and I'm finding that with time they're sounding better. The high's are amazingly unobtrusive and the bass is..well..awesome. For the money I simply can't imagine anyone would find anything better anywhere. I now listen to music a lot more and am enjoying relistening to music that I had forgotten I enjoyed so much. Buy them...no regreats.
Pretty Darn Good.......2005-02-20
Hey people, if you have any reservations about buying this product because it is reconditioned, worry not. I got mine the other day and there's absolutely no evidence of them ever having been used/touched in any way. And they sound real nice. I would give them 4.5 stars because they tend to get a bit bright when played at high volumes, but at normal (non-deafening) levels, they sound wonderful (Esp. with acoustic-type music). I've just come to expect god-like quality from any piece of audio equipment I purchase. They work pretty well with iPod too.... you just need to have the volume pretty high. Oh, and these suckers are VERY comfortable. Is there better out there? Maybe, but for (...), you can't really go wrong here (when purchasing an iPod, I listened to those (...) Bose triports they're trying to sell, and they sounded/felt like total (...) in comparison to the 590's). Hell, you can probably sell them for about the same price you pay here. So, if you've never heard a good stereo, give youself a treat and buy these, they're probably the cheapest way into high fidelity that I know of. Oh, and if you give these a try, you may want to give 'em a few days before you really judge them. Although I've always been skeptical of this "breaking in" of audio equipment, I seem to like the sound better a week after getting them (~40 hrs use). Who knows, maybe they're just "really growing on me," to quote the Darkness (Hey, what's a review without a Darkness quote anyways?). Enjoy.
True Audiophile Phones.......2005-02-05
Sennheiser is known for audiophile headphones, and microphones. Their vintage mikes are true collectors items, and chances are that your favorite crooners were recorded with sennheiser mikes. The 590's are almost identical to the top of the line 600's. I own both the 590 and grado headphones, and IMHO the sennheisers blow away the grado. The high and mid range are especially transparent and natural sounding, the bass clean, tight and not overwhelming. Great all around choice. They are of lower efficency than cheap phones, so you need a relatively high ouput device or a separate headphone amplifier to realize their full potential.
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