Sennheiser HD 58x Jubilee Review VS HD 660

April 3, 2022

I think I finally i'll offer my review of the Sennheiser 58X Jubilee because I don’t think my opinion is going to change at this point anymore.

SPECS:

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

Even though I have to say this is not how I remember the Sennheiser 660 sounds like. There are actually people even that say that this is the exact same driver which by now know that is not the same because people took it apart. It is a very similar one but they’re not the same.

Most people don’t agree that it is 99% similar to HD 660s which with the price difference still makes it an easy recommendation. The HD 660 is $500 where this one from massdrop is $150 and even in Germany where the price difference is way smaller, the HD 660 is still $420 and the HD 58x with import $180.

But I want to let you know the differences at least the way I see them and the way I remember them because I felt different about the HD 660 and obviously there are some compromises due to a Massdrop design and so on.

The headphone is in the box and the cable was pretty much already it was pretty minimal packaging. But that’s good because all we want is those headphones. Even though this cable is not what I wanted because I don’t like it at all.

First of all, the cable splits into two pieces way too early and therefore is just too short I think it’s annoying but the cable, in general, is just too short at 1.8 m this is more like for mobile use. But I will never use an open back outside.

Many people like the fact that you can easily drive it with the phone but this is already where it starts. The HD 58x has to power just as much as my Audize LCD-2 which kind of makes no sense.

And this is also what I remember to be different from the HD 660s. The 660s were definitely noticeably easier to drive compared to the 660 that I had. So that’s already where my confusion started but there was a lot more when it comes to the sound.

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY

Its made from two different kinds of plastic which I don’t like the combination and the overall quality but I don’t really have an issue with that. I mean the luxury isn’t perfectly done in the build quality definitely.

For $150 I can let it slide because it feels okay but I had a lot of people having issues with kind of these things breaking on its own and it definitely doesn’t have a premium feel at all.

I’ve seen headphones cheaper ones that feel a little bit better put together. But still the slider still here, the headband is a good fit, clamping force down is good. We have also had the two splits at the top, where the HD 600 have 4 splits which I kind of prefer.

And also everyone seems to say that this is the exact same earpad like on the HD650 or HD600. I don’t get that my HD 600 where never that stiff they were more comfortable, size-wise they seem very similar and even the 650 for me seem different.

The grill looks a little bit odd. I’m gonna go into the modding a little bit later on but not that much since I didn’t get the time to do properly. We have a nice very stiff change in the headband which I like.

Your ear definitely shouldn’t touch because this is deep enough and it’s big enough because it’s not kind of Beyerdynamic round. This is more like what you actually look like to wear.

NOTICE

And let me tell you that even though I have these for like two-three months by now I still don’t really like the comfort that much my HD 600 for some reason feel way softer and it’s not because I wore it because I didn’t actually use my 600s that much as a whole. So even from the beginning dose on the more comfortable.

Obviously, there are tricks to kind of bend it outwards loosens it up a little bit but I mean I don’t really have an issue with the clamping force it’s okay. I think that the pads are less kind of flexible less kind of forgiving.

In general, it looks and feels like a slightly cheaper HD 660s, which is fine and what I have to say though is that the fit is great.

They sit very snugly and they are super lightweight which is a big deal but like I said the cable a letdown. I will try to find a better solution for me that works because this cable just for me is too short.

Obviously, no isolation since it’s open back. Leakage is there but fit is great. It’s not uncomfortable but it’s not something super comfortable.

I can wear them for a long time because they sit so well. You have enough space nothing catches my ear. But it’s not quite my perfect taste. Maybe if those pads should be softer!

POWERING

I don’t know why I have to power this just as much as my old Audeze LCD-2. I don’t get it. It should be way less the 660 I had a difference of like 10 when I used it in the volume mixer. This already where my confusion starts.

SOUND

I see a quite big difference. Not so much in terms of the sound stage even though also there because this sound stage is very small and claustrophobic but it still somehow manages to feel very open and very airy.

And this is what makes it really great especially the imaging. If you want to play games with these, this is kind of your best choice with a cheap entry. There are so many people that always ask me which headset should I get if I want to really gain competitive for a cheap price.

And I would like to tell them the HD58X but what most people want is a microphone but that’s where the compromise starts. I would say go for something like this and just buy an external microphone.

You will get the best of both worlds and make no compromise because no headset nearly at that price will get you anywhere close to that that that’s just what it is.

But when it comes to the sound the differences how I remember it between the HD 660S and HD 58X is that the 660S didn’t sound that kinda intimate, felt a little bit wider, because this one feels may be in some way smaller than my 660s.

But that also has to do with the sound stage signature because this one feels not the nearly as bright actually total opposite. It feels way darker than the 660s.
The 660S weren’t super bright or anything like that but this kind of have a tendency to sound like the LCD-2 quite dark which is not a bad thing.

I did not remember it this way on the 660S and I’m not going to actually go to go too much into the differences.

BASS/MIDS/HIGHTS

Just think about the HD 58X feeling a little bit more narrow. Feeling a little bit darker with:

The bass a little bit more emphasis but not a lot.
Mids are still quite nicely pushed forward a little bit.
The highs are still not super bright but nice and detail.
I like how deep it plays bass response is great.

MODS

Let’s talk a little bit about the mods. There is this one mod that seems to be pretty much the best one that I’ve seen in terms of measurements.

So all you have to do is take that out then there is this foam. Take it out but then the driver is exposed from the back.

What you should do now is the following:

You should use double-sided tapes and then use some different sorts of foam or fillers those to kinda protect it but give you also still protection. The mod is a foam that seemed to have made the best impact because got the sound a little bit brighter, pushed the highs.

I think as far as I remember the bass got a little bit more neutral because this has a little bit more based on the 660s and that ultimately has to do with the sound too because it should actually open up.

You can use different kind of forms you could use the actual real one if you want to cut it out but I know that’s the things so let’s actually that already.

I still think it sounds great but in my memory, it just sounds a little bit different than the 660S did but you pay way less.

If I would have a choice HD 660S or HD 58X with the same price I would obviously always go for the 660S because for me the difference is just way bigger like 10 percent.

Because the build quality feels cheaper they cheap out on the cable you don’t get the second cable as you did on the 660s the balanced one, you finish looks a little bit different the feel a little bit cheaper but general comfort is the same.

The sound feels felt to me a little bit brighter a little bit more white slightly not really open because this is what they do great with amazing freakin amazing for gaming imaging and everything else.

MUSIC

Music I still like that the vocals are pushed in a little bit and it actually from all the headphones that a have right now sounds the most like an LCD-2 to mee. I mean the most part, I’m not saying that it sounds really like it.

There is still a significant difference is this the LCD-2 still is way more myth is still way darker and just a completely different thing. But it also costs way more so we don’t have to complain too much about it.

But otherwise, it does nearly sound like my HD 600. I don’t like them at all anymore, your personal preferences changes but when I reviewed them back then I loved them but by now I feel the bass is missing I feel the highs are just oddly annoying.

But this definitely doesn’t sound nearly as neutral as some headphones out it actually quiet sound but it’s super nice in detail. I still like the sound

I have to say that so I absolutely still can easily recommend them and I bought it for myself and it’s not like I regret them at all.

The cable I will have to replace. That’s the only thing. But then I’m fine because especially for podcasts I prefer something open back and then I would use these and obviously for movies still for gaming amazing of a choice.

You won’t nearly get anywhere at this price point in terms of imaging and so on. And I mean the biggest consensus for me is I did not remember the 660S sounds like that’s them.

That’s for me the most confusing thing about along with the part that I have to drive them way more.

I don’t think they’re broken because therefore this on still too much like the 660s but not quite. And I think taking out the foam which bright nominees or should get may actually way closes or maybe for some reason I perceive this 5% difference or the small difference between that two way bigger.

If I would have maybe both side by side I would think differently but that’s the way I think right now. And like I said I had long enough time to think about my opinion won’t change.