Quote: For both music and gaming, open headphones are superior. How do you plan on using these headphones? Indoors where it is quiet, would be the optimum environment to use these. If you need noise isolation, look at closed cans. 

Quote: Are you talking about the clamping force? If so, you could stretch these out more.    I like to wear the 598s slightly forwardish. 

Quote: Ah sorry :( . I thought it would mostly consist of USB cable topics. 

Any difference in sound quality if you were connecting your DAC between these laptop USB ports?

Yawn. Rest assured I'm not coming back to this thread. Some of you guys like the Q701 too much, and rather take things too personally when criticisms are involved. It's too dangerous to interfere with people's fantasies of their Q701s as near-perfect headphones. 

Quote: Even within a single post, you couldn't be more hypocritical.    "Again, I don't care about your impressions"    Okay so we all know you're an indifferent person who likes to live in his own world, without any curiosity for objective truth. What's ironic here is that you're...

Quote: I'll give you that one. Perhaps I should have said, "From my numerous experiences with live performances, I can't possibly understand how people can perceive these headphones as anything but natural, especially in regards to their treble". But it's no less condescending than people...

Quote: Haven't directly compare them. However, the HD 558 was designed to have superior soundstage. 

Quote: "Every time I hear something with my own ears, you have to claim i'm wrong or give me this stupid rant about expectation bias and this other nonsense."    I never said you were wrong except from an objective point of view. In addition, I was implying that I've had troubles with...

Quote: Grado SR-60 should sound good for metal, though you might want to EQ down the treble a tad. They are very fast compared to any of the Sennheisers so it would be a good pair to match with. 

Quote: I've auditioned many headphones, including the DT880 and Q701. They both shared similar problems: hot treble. The Q701 felt less balanced in that regard because it had less bass to cover up the treble. "100% not the headphones' fault" ? How in the world did you reach that conclusion...

Quote: Depends on the source of the music. It's best to buy a CD and convert it lossless for best quality. Itunes sell music at 256 kbps, which is really close to lossless format. What I don't like about AC/DC is that you have to buy their albums... and I don't find all their songs to be...

Quote: Meh. I've seen some people satisfied with the Q701 + ODAC. I think the whole idea of poor recordings is blown out of proportions. Sure there are plenty of poor recordings out there but not to the point where they sound awful. The ODAC by design is supposed to be dead transparent...

Quote: Others listed some pretty great suggestions here. I think you want something less laidback and with more bass.    I've listened to the D2000 but was a bit unimpressed. I think judging by what others have said, the HE-400 is a superior alternative.    The ultrasones are known...

Quote: Sorry but I consider the HD598 to have the best soundstage of any cans I've heard, and I've heard many cans near the $1000 range. And judging by the reviews, I think it's a safe conclusion. But lately I've heard the Philips Uptown Citiscape which surprisingly had a good sense of...

Quote: Agreed. People who aren't bothered by the treble have little experience with live performances, which is why they have little experience judging timbre and tonality, or even soundstage/imaging for that matter. The Q701, to put it lightly, doesn't do well in these aspects which is why...

Quote: I've heard the Aviators are great cans considering the Skullcandy branding, but still I'm a bit suspicious. The 558 is a great alternative to consider to the 598, especially for the price. 

Quote: The detail is good although it doesn't have the level of clarity as many more expensive headphones, which I think is partly due to the earcup size (smaller than most). Don't get me wrong though because it still has much more clarity than lower end headphones. I think the only aspect...

Quote: While I do agree the burn-in affects the sound somewhat, the 701 series do have very unnatural peaks in the treble region. There is no doubt this is bad for your ears, and it's the primary reason why these cans seem detailed, when in actuality, they're revealing things that should...

Quote: I don't know about "better"... it will most likely just be a different sound. Honestly, most "up"grades are more like side grades in the audio world. Most.    I remember a HE-400 owner talking about how he stopped using the D2000 after he received the HE-400... I think the first...

Quote: I have not tested these headphones for gaming but the Q701 will hardly be better than the AD700 when it comes to positional accuracy. Hardly. In fact, for music, the AD700 has more height to its imaging and far better depth as well. I don't really see how the Q701 could be better for...

Quote: http://www.head-fi.org/t/596482/the-sub-100-portable-amps-shootout-8-1-amps-compared   That's probably the best review of several amps I've seen yet. The FiiO E7 is a very good amp/ dac for the price imo. 

Quote: Maybe a problem with amping? I've only personally listened to the DT880/600 but I remember reading from Tyll's article at Inner Fidelity that the 600 ohm version was far superior to the 32 ohm version. A tube amp should provide enough sufficient voltage to such a high impedance can...

Quote: From my limited knowledge of amps, it will have tighter bass that extends better but it won't get heavier unless you EQ it. 

Quote: If you can't get a HD 598, you get a HD 558.    - a wise turtle    AD700 is just as good as the the others in terms of competitve gaming (hearing footsteps) but for sheer enjoyment...  They're "okay" with music but like you said, these are really lacking in bass. Someone who...