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MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Review (Headphone)

amirm

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $170 from drop.com.

Other than not being able to see through the grill and observe the drivers, the HD58X looks quite similar to Sennheiser HD650:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Review open back headphone.jpg


The large cups are pretty comfortable to wear considering lighter than average weight of 265 grams:
lightest open back headphone review.png


Inside cup dimensions are 72x44 mm and the depth is 20 mm.

Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!

Fitment on the fixture was challenging even though the cups easily covered the artificial ear on my measurement fixture. This resulted in fairly large variations in bass response. I got the two channels to match which is a good sign but still, keep in mind the cautions above in bold.

HD58X Jubilee Measurements
As usual we start with the headphone frequency response as comparison to our preference curve:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Frequency Response Measurements open back headphone.png


Track is close to our target up to 2 kHz. HD650 as a comparison, did better past that:

index.php


Both are bass shy and will need equalization. Unfortunately distortion as with HD650 is rather high in bass:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Relative Distortion Measurements open back headphone.png


MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Distortion Measurements open back headphone.png


Back to frequency response, here is our relative curve for building an EQ:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Relative Frequency Response Measurements open back headphone.png


Impedance is markedly lower than HD650:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Impedance Measurements open back headphone.png


Combined with better sensitivity, it should be easier to drive:

HD58x vesus HD650 efficiency headphone.png


Group delay has a few distinct notches which can also be traced to wiggles in the frequency response:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Group Delay Measurements open back headphone.png


There are likely resonances mixing with the direct sound of the driver causing phase errors.

HD58X Listening Tests and Equalization
As with HD-650, out of box experience is fine and definitely usable. No reason to settle for it though as much better performance can be had with equalization:

MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE Equalization EQ open back headphone.png


Once there, the sound was delightful with surprisingly good amount of spatial qualities (I give it B+). I listened for the rest of the evening after I tested and did not want to put it down.

Compared to HD-650, the HD58X was noticeably louder so direct comparison was not possible. I was too lazy to set up dual headphone amps & DACs (to EQ each separately) with volume matching for this review. Will do that for future ones.

Conclusions
Hard to know if Sennheiser attempt to produce a lower quality headphone in dropping the price so much. What is there is very close to HD650 at a fraction of the price. With EQ, this headphone sounds darn good and is a superb value for just $170. This is half the cost of HD-650.

I can recommend the MASSDROP Sennheiser HD58X JUBILEE without EQ. With EQ, it is a hair from getting top honors from me!

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
 

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sweetchaos

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To import this PEQ profile into 'Equalizer APO', use:
Preamp: -8.5 dB
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 40 Hz Gain 5.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 2: ON LS Fc 75 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2300 Hz Gain 2.5 dB Q 3.0
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3478 Hz Gain 4.8 dB Q 3.0
Otherwise, see my PEQ guide.
..................................................................................................................
For those who don't have PEQ-capable app, and want to use GEQs instead:
See my GEQ guide for 10-band, 31-band, and 127-band GEQ profiles.
 

solderdude

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Compared to HD-650, the HD58X was noticeably louder so direct comparison was not possible.

The sensitivity differs only 0.7dB. 104.7dB/V for HD650 (measured by Amir vs 104dB/V for HD58X (acc. to Drop)
Almost 1dB is noticeable but to me they sound about equally loud.

O.K.... my HD58X is 5.4dB louder than the HD650 which brings the sensitivity to 110dB/V for the HD58X (102dB/mW) versus 100dB/mW for the HD650.

FR measurements align with mine. HD58X compared to HD650 (2017)
hd650-2018-vs-hd58x1.png

A bit more bass extension for HD58X and less energy -2.5dB (forwardness/clarity) around 3kHz
 
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sweetchaos

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Thanks for the review, Amir.
These are going on the Christmas wish-list.

It seems like this is the best bang-for-buck Sennheiser, right?
What would be the reason to spend the extra US$50 for Massdrop's Sennheiser HD 6XX over these?
 

Jwoooosh

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Hey Amir, do you plan on posting more to YouTube in the future?
 
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Ralf Stocker

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Reminds me of the story when Sennheiser said it had to relocate the entire production to China. At some point there were suddenly headphones from other companies on the market that had copied all of the know-how. Sennheiser then brought the entire production back to Germany. Lesson learned?
 

StuartC

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Reminds me of the story when Sennheiser said it had to relocate the entire production to China. At some point there were suddenly headphones from other companies on the market that had copied all of the know-how. Sennheiser then brought the entire production back to Germany. Lesson learned?
Steve Saleen's venture springs to mind. Byton as well... read into them what you will.
 

Funnyjelo

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I do. What do you like to see there?
I love your educational videos but your electronics reviews are great.
I found your channel because I bought a topping D30 and your video was recommended. I just bought a Burson soloist to replace my 789. Curious the measurements on it. They promise good number and the reviews are all saying how good the sound quality is.
Wonder if the claims hold water.
Either way your reviews are awesome anything you post would be great.
 

Jwoooosh

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I do. What do you like to see there?
I have always found the educational pieces to be the most interesting, as I find video as a format to be much more easily digestible than article / written word. My request would be for reviews to remain primarily in written form, with the YT channel being dedicated to educational pieces, 'debunking' videos, etc. I found the ones with "Understanding" in the title to be particularly useful and interesting, along with the video you did on listener training, and the ones on interference in speaker cables.

Perhaps you could return to 'Paper Digests'?
 

Mauro

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There was mention some time ago about assessing the room correction SW of some of the top AVR/AVPs. Those would make good videos.
Yeah I agree. Once I have read in a review on ASR that engaging the room correction would effect the SINAD bringing it down to -54dB. An in-depth analysis of Audissey-related measurements would be interesting!
 

ezra_s

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I do. What do you like to see there?

Not sure about youtube (probably not youtube) or just here, but is it any worth to measure attenuators to see if they are transparent?
436200.jpg
 

Funnyjelo

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@amirm Oh I worked it out. It would be great to know how much if a difference burn in makes. Lots of talk in audio about burn in, but is it actually doing something.
 

solderdude

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Not sure about youtube (probably not youtube) or just here, but is it any worth to measure attenuators to see if they are transparent?
View attachment 145250

They consist of resistors so no need to measure them. They are transparent but it does depend on the input capacitance of the load. Given those are usually less than the used cables I don't think that would be a problem.

These things can't be used directly on headphones though (to keep the HD58X on track)
 
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