I was just reading this âgrainâ thing of these headphones written by metal571.
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/bf1tqb/58x_and_shp9500_treble_grain/
This guy didnât even bother to describe what grain is. Itâs not related to FR, itâs definitely not distortion, and we canât measure it.
I guess he has mistaken sub bass with grain. Because yes I can confirm HD58x is more âtexturedâ than COP but with reducing sub bass, it is even smoother than COP.
Grain is (from my knowledge) typically harshness an a certain freq range. Treble grain would be harshness in the treble, causing things to sound unnatural.
Edit: the phrase is also commonly used to convey unrefinement in the presentation of a freq range
Thatâs true but as far as Iâm aware, the original meaning of grain is used in analog audio or really poor made DACs or headphones. It means high THD at midrange or highs, which I canât name a modern equipment having this problem.
But metal said you just have to listen to it. He clearly doesnât mean grain as high THD. Thatâs what annoys me cause I canât just borrow his (or the people who hear this grain) ears and realize what he means.
Yeah, I kinda wish there was an easier way to describe things without having a bunch of subjective phrases that mean different things to different people. I just gave a definition that would make the most sense for the 58x, since like you said, there really isnât an issue with high thd
HD58X vs HD650 for mastering. One test with the same little demo song.
Just received them⊠and I thought my HD280 Pros were more or less the most detail I could hear from any pair of headphones⊠damn, I was wrong.
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality
I took this test and, for the first time, Iâm shocked to find the wav files instantly. Like, âwoah, here it isâ. Even when the one I clicked before was the 320kbps mp3. 
And theyâre open-back. And the window of my room is open. And Iâm half asleep.
Well, holy shit. 
That grain tho?
LOL. Enjoy!
Maybe he found that because theyâre analytical AF from 10khz to 20khz+⊠look at the CSD. Whatâs that, 0.1ms?! Even planars⊠Hell, even stax arenât as fast as that!
He might have something against Sennheiser? Have said things of other Sennyâs headphones as well as this one. Things that are not true and noticed by many others as well. Ainât like he said.
Cause of these, do not like metal anymore or his vidâs. We are not perfect but still. Mistakes are made.
Yeah Iâm not a fan of him generally. He compares HD58x with 598+eq. Thatâs just silly.
Iâm saying, if by grain people mean oppostie of smooth, then yeah HD58x is grainy. But this grain is what I like 'cause I like detailed and not so smooth sounding.
Two negative things I always read about these headphones are actually the things I like about them.
grain, which is actually textured sound, and not-so-detailed headphones because these are actually more dynamic. diyaudioheaven describe it perfectly in its 660s review:
And thatâs the case with these headphones too as confirmed by many people hearing less details.
Just so you know, Iâm actually listening to them, loud⊠with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
In the red (orange) volume zone, but still. They definitely donât need an amp.
(Hey, would they be less âdynamicâ and more âin-your-faceâ with an amp? Or just louder, with the same amount of dynamics?)
By the way, Metalâs favorite headphones are M50xâs and LCD-4s⊠They both have in-your-face details (and like, zero dynamics compared to 58Xs?)
Jesus, M50x?
Iâm not saying liking more compressed headphones is bad 'cause you can, well, hear more details but these details arenât supposed to be heard that loud. Thatâs the case with bossted treble too.
But calling a more dynamic headphones weak is beyond.
I know I have hearing problems. In a car, with music playing, when Iâm in the back seat and someone in the front seat talks to me, or vice-versa, I have trouble hearing them. I can hear 17khz and more, though. With the HD58X I donât have to âconcentrateâ to hear anything (flat frequency response for the win!) â itâs just all there. But I noticed the dynamics. Some songs sound thin. Some details are⊠â1 foot away from my headâ.
Zeos said M50xâs are âfuck me with detailsâ headphones. This honestly may be my preference too (âŠand I listen to metal music and go to shows â hmm. Maybe Metal went to too much metal shows too 
â and no, I have nothing against him. Just a thought.)
From what I heard like physically listened to from the m50x they arenât really as harsh or as bad as zeos makes it seemâŠbut he is right itâs not a pleasant headphone. Thatâs coming from a guy that loves a non eqâd dt990. My buddy who loves metal loves the m50x but he hasnât really tried much beyond that. The issue with the m50x it would be an ok headphone if it had any type of soundstage and separation but like everything blends sort of a not good way. For reference I use. Tin t3 when Iâm out and about not o. My desk and that iem does a better job at being a headphone than it it actually has soundstage and separation. And thatâs the issue the m50x just straight up get soutclassed in itâs own weight class by Sennheiser, beyerdynamic, and itself with the m40x.
Not much soundstage with my hd280 pros honestly. And theyâre smooth and bassy compared to the hd58x.
there ae still 598 câs but i also forgot to include shure and sony in there as hey also make reakky good monitoring cans. but thats the nature of closed backs not a lot of soundstage but usually will have some leaving room for some imaging and separation the issue with the m50 is it straight up has none.
About the âgrainâ⊠If youâre used to bassy headphones and buy this, and listen to mp3s at high volume, everything youâll hear will be thinness and âgrainâ. Theyâre flat AF and analytical AF and cymbals and snares and strings and most of what you hear in the treble range is, in real life, âgrainyâ.
I mean, lower the volume: Youâll still hear absolutely everything. Youâre used to crank the volume to hear the highs, you donât need to anymore. If you believe youâre assaulted by graininess⊠well, of course, thatâs because you canât be assaulted by smooth bass anymore in every song with cymbals and snares, with neutral headphones.
âYouâ as in âmeâ. That was me yesterday, wondering if my hd58xâs were broken, because Iâve spent the last 15 years listening to everything with HD280 Pros almost every day.
Also, thinness and grain + mp3s⊠Considering I now hear less echo (and detail) in mp3s⊠I may hear more of the âspaceâ between these 320 kilobits per second now. Iâm now officially part of the âAudiophile Problemsâ group!
I also re-tried the âmp3 vs wav challengeâ (hahaha, letâs call it that) today. 9/10 wavs found.
Now listening to some Symphony X and hearing everything the guitar pick does. I love my HD58Xs! 
