So I initially planned to spend $50 on headphones...

Heya,

 

It's ok. This is common. You start with dribble. Then you realize there's a headphone you want. It needs some equipment to use well. You look at the bottom line. It's a big number. You either click off the website, or you start thinking, "Can I do this?" Get the Sennheiser HD650, get either a NFB-5 or NFB-12 and you're good to go. Or, let's look at some budget options.

 

Panasonic HTF600 with velour pads.

 

But hey, if you like the sound of the HD558's, just stick with them and don't sit on them.

 

If it's any consolation, I kept an HD580 for over 10 years and the plastic frame never cracked or got loose on me or anything; just don't sling them into backpacks, sit on them, or let kids play with them.

 

Very best,

Edited by MalVeauX - 11/24/11 at 7:58pm

It's too late for divine intervention.  

 

If you're happy with the 558's sound just stick with it. (the 598 has the same frame construction anyway)  The 500 series is surprisingly resilient, even if it doesn't look or feel the part.

I stumbled onto head-fi looking for a nice budget pair of headphones. Read about the HARX700 and was going to get that, but somehow then got drawn towards the m50s at 3x the cost. Ended up buying the HD 558 instead as well, not sure why but haven't regretted it.

Edited by GigaFi - 11/24/11 at 8:25pm

I feel sorry for your wallet, my wallet feels sorry for your wallet as well!

I came on head-fi looking for some info on a good $100 headphone.

After a month of forum reading and question asking, I ended up with two $200 phones, an $80 amp, $150 in mods/pads/upgrades ... and I'm still deciding on one more headphone for classical music.

 

My wallet hates all of you!! =)

I came to Head-Fi with a Grado SR-80. I just spent more than that cost of the Grado for my last cable upgrade. Cest la vie. lol

Guess what I've learned after all the money I've spent since becoming a member? Perfection doesn't exist. But it's fun chasing ghosts.

I think you would settle on the fostex t50rp, it has enough bass for my likeing but you need an amp to drive them, try those, these things are closer to neutral and natural and yea the bass would be satisfactory and affordable but the best thing of all is the clarity and lovely mid range of these headphones, they cost about something like 70 usd in usa or 100 something pounds in the uk.

 

Give those a try and if you don't like them i think you will have a hard time finding your perfect headphone unless you adjust your mental perception i don't know.

 

I have owned k 701 dt 880, dt 770, dt 48, dt 150, hd 650, m50, pc 350, xb500, hfi 580.

 

Out of all of those the fostex does vocals and other stuff in the mid range nicely the bass is satisfactory  and balanced, the clarity of this headphone sets it apart from my other headphones prehaps most if not all headphones currently for sale, because the clarity and the way the soundwaves arrive in your ear is like virtual sound and the sound makes you feel as if you were there and well to the point i did not hear the door bell go off and these headphones give your ear a sound of the ortho driver as in hearing the effects of the vibrations of the sound waves in your ear drums like a straining sound but this does not damage your hearing and that should give you an idea of the clarity of these headphones.

 

It would be a excellent start for some but for you a very good one if you get these or whoever gets these as their first headphone.

 

 

Edited by holylucifer - 11/25/11 at 2:34pm

The T50RP is a power hungry planar magnetic that requires modding to reach neutrality -- to call it neutral without mods is just completely misleading. They roll their bass off early and, given all the modding done to mass load them, are mechanically underdampened pretty badly under stock configuration. The stock frequency response curve is very much shaped like a ^ -- a shape that I wouldn't ever suggest to someone starting off into the headphone world. There's a reason why the V-shaped frequency response curve is so prevalent. 

 

The Fostex T50RP has great upside if you're willing to put out the money to get a high powered amp, spend the time opening it up and modding it and tweaking it for a while, and potentially spend more on higher quality pads, but they're also one of the last headphones I would suggest to someone who is just starting.