Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones Review

The Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee are very similar to other models like the HD 660 S, HD 650, and the HD 600. They have very large cups that have open-back grill backplates. While the HD 660 S have a matte black finish, the HD 58X have more of a glossy finish, which unfortunately looks a bit cheaper and is fingerprint-prone. The padding of the cups is made of a very similar microfiber-like fabric, which gives them a premium look. They are fairly low-profile due to their color scheme, but their sleek design is still very eye-catching.

Update: 08/12/2019 After comparing these headphones with other models, we found them to be very tight and reduced their score accordingly.

The HD 58X are comfortable headphones, but they are quite tight on the head, which can get uncomfortable fairly quickly for people with larger heads. On the upside, the padding is covered by a soft fabric that feels nice on the skin. The headband design is also quite similar to the HD 650's, and distributes the weight of the headphones well, though it feels a bit stiffer overall. Also, the cups are large enough for most ear shapes and sizes, which is good. If you want a more comfortable entry-level audiophile headphones option, check out the Audeze LCD-1. If you want open-back headphones that are quite a bit more comfortable, check out the Philips Fidelio X2HR, which perform marginally better overall.

These headphones don’t have any onboard or in-line controls.

Thanks to their open-back design, these headphones don’t get too hot when casually listening to music. The backplate grills allow for decent airflow, but the over-ear design won’t be as breathable as in-ears. Over time, the tight fit of the headphones will be more noticeable than the difference in temperature.

Like most critical listening over-ear headphones, the HD 58X don’t fold into a more compact format and their cups don’t swivel to lay flat. This makes these headphones quite hard to carry around and they won’t be ideal for traveling. However, they’re not really made to be carried around and will more than likely be kept in same place.

They don’t come with a case or pouch to carry and protect the headphones.

Build-wise, there isn’t a big difference between the HD 58X and similar models like the HD 600, HD 650, or HD 660 S. Their headband is made from a thin metal frame which is held by joints and yolks that feel a bit fragile and seem to be the weak point of the build. On the upside, the overall build of the headphones is good and the cups feel dense enough to survive an accidental fall. The cables are also detachable and replaceable, which makes them more durable.

These headphones have a very stable fit thanks to their high clamping force and don’t move around much. They still shouldn’t be used for sports, as it's not their intended use. However, even if their cables are detachable, they are hard to pull out, meaning that if they get stuck or hooked on something, it will pull the headphones off your head.

• Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee headphones
• 1/8” to 1/4“ adapter
• Manuals

Due to their open-back and earpad design, these headphones have near-perfect consistency in delivering bass. The maximum amount of deviation throughout the bass range was less than 1dB. However, they are prone to inconsistencies in the treble range, and depending on the positioning and ear shape there could be as much as over 10dB of variation in the treble response around 6.5kHz. If you want open-back headphones with a more consistent audio delivery, see the Sennheiser HD 6XX.

The bass of the Sennheiser HD 58X is great. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 29Hz, which is good and better than similar open-back Sennheiser models. Low-bass, responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy genres, is lacking by about 3dB, which won’t be too noticeable. Mid-bass, responsible for the body of bass guitars and punch of kick drums, follows our neutral target well. However, there is a very slight overemphasis in high-bass, which adds a boominess to the bass.

The mid-range performance of the HD 58X is also great. The response throughout the range is even and well-balanced, but slightly over our target curve by about 2dB. This means that vocals and lead instruments will be accurately reproduced but might be brought a bit forward in the mix. Take a look at the Sennheiser HD 560S if you're looking for similarly-performing open-back headphones with sightly more intense mids.

The Sennheiser HD 58X have a very good treble performance. The response is flat and even with a small dip in mid-treble, which will slightly affect the detail and brightness of those frequencies. On the other hand, there is also a small bump around 10kHz, which will make some sibilants (S and T sounds) slightly too piercing. However, not everybody hears the treble frequencies the same way, so your listening experience may vary.

The stereo imaging performance is excellent. Weighted group delay is at 0.19, which is very good. The GD graph also shows that the entire group delay response is below the audibility threshold and the spikes under 20Hz won’t be audible. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-matched. This is important for the accurate localization and placement of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit and yours may perform differently.

The Sennheiser HD 58X have a mediocre soundstage. The PRTF graph shows little interaction with the pinna and therefore doesn't activate its resonances much. There is no deep notch present around the 10kHz area, either. This means that although these are open-back headphones and may feel more open and spacious sounding than closed-back headphones, their soundstage won't be perceived to be large or located outside of the listener's head to create a speaker-like experience.

The Sennheiser HD 58X have poor noise isolation, due to their open-back design. In the bass range, where the rumble of airplane and bus engines sit, they achieve no isolation, making them a poor option for commuting. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they also don’t achieve significant isolation. In the treble range, occupied by sharp S and Ts and A/C fan noise, they isolate by about 11dB, which is poor and inadequate.

The leakage performance of the HD 58X is poor, by design. The significant portion of their leakage is spread between 400Hz and 20kHz, which is a very broad range. This means the leakage will be fuller-sounding compared to that of closed-back headphones and in-ears. The overall level of the leakage is quite loud, too. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage averages at 60dB SPL and peaks at 74dB SPL, which is a lot louder than the noise floor of an average office.

These headphones don’t have a microphone.

These headphones don’t have a microphone.

These headphones don’t have any active components and don’t have a battery.

These headphones don’t have a dedicated companion app for customization options.

These headphones are not Bluetooth compatible.

The wired connection of the HD 58X means they don’t have latency issues. This means you won’t have any delay between audio and the image from when watching video content or gaming.

The HD 58X have a 1/8” TRS connector that provides audio on all platforms that has the appropriate jack. They also come with a 1/4” adapter. They don’t have a microphone, so voice chat won’t be supported with these.

These headphones don’t have a dock.