Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › My impressions on the Sennheiser 518/558/598/600
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

My impressions on the Sennheiser 518/558/598/600

post #1 of 2
1/14/12 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 

 

I just demo'd all of these at audioconsultants in chicago using a pretty decent home theatre DAC and amp, as well as without (Shoutout to Dave! Very helpful and accomodating, I suggest u guys check them out if you live in the area. Tracks I listened to were classical, pop, and rock.

 

518: The best sounding without an amp. Warm, colored sound. Not that big of a soundstage, but it was hands down the best without an amp. With an amp, it was clearly the worst. Tinny, muddy and muffled sound, a lot less detailed than the 558 and 598.

 

558: Without an amp: Cold, anemic and flat. Decent soundstage but everything sounded incredibly cold and flat. Detail was ok, but unpleasant to listen to. With an amp, much better. Good detail, even better soundstage, and everything was still crisp but sounded much more life-like than without an amp. Don't think you would be dissapointed with these. 

 

598/600: Putting these together because I couldn't tell the difference, then again I'm not a musician. Without an amp: Even more cold than the 558, almost unlistenable. With an amp: Great great sound. Huge soundstage, great detail, and good bass. Not a ton of bass like a beyer (tried those at guitar center, huge thumps!) but just the right amount to accent the music and keep it dynamic. I was on the fence before but now I'm planning on getting a 598.

 

Basically, they all have similar sounds, but the higher you go, the more detail and soundstage you will get. Also, the 558/598's are not worth it if you don't have an amp. They sounded much worse than the 518 unamped, but blew the 518's away once powered well. All were very comfortable to wear.

Reply
post #2 of 2
1/14/12 at 7:03pm

HD-598 cold without an amp? Definitely don't agree with this. IMO they're not even remotely cold, but not as warm as the HD-600. Of course there's another person here who thinks they're bright and energetic and not warm, so no big deal. I think it's signature is very smooth sounding, but still fun to listen to.

 

I'm really picky about amping, but I think the HD-598 are even good without an amp as long as the source is good. They even sound good from a Sansa Clip! Of course it's best to have an amp, but I actually listen to them all the time from a Clip. Nothing bass heavy though.

 

I've found the HD-600 to be less grainy than the HD-598 (very hard to tell the difference and requires specific music), but the HD-598 has a larger soundstage, more forward sounding mids and more detail IMO. I still prefer the HD-598 because it's a lot more fun to listen to. I've found it actually to be more revealing of source. Weird, I know.

 

HD-600 just felt it was a bit more relaxed, but still might have a tad more bass. Not 100% sure of this yet. I compared the 598, HD-600 and HD-650 side by side for a few hours last year. Ended up with the HD-598 because it's just so fun to listen to. It's actually the warmest headphone I own! I usually hate a very warm sounding headphone. Maybe that's why I don't have the HD-650.

 

I actually think the HD-598 has the largest soundstage, followed by the HD-600 and then the HD-650. I don't have a $1000 amp for the HD-650 though. One positive of the HD-650 is that it's soundstage actually isn't too huge. Strangely enough, the HD-600 sounds a lot more airy than the HD-650. Not sure why. Not like the K601 though I think.

 

It's possible that the sounstage of the HD-600 is more accurate than that of the 598, but never got around to testing that.

 

 

 

 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › My impressions on the Sennheiser 518/558/598/600