Is the sennheiser hd 598 a decent studio monitoring headphone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel521 

I need a headphone to leave at home to use while playing my guitar and maybe record some stuff. I know that a closed headphone would probably be better but apart from that, I felt like getting the hd 598 also to listen to music at home since I never owned an open audiophile headphone, so I will use it for both things. Thats why I kind of want the hd 598, so I want to know if its a decent monitoring headphone meaning there's little distortion and sounds good while being used with an electric guitar. If it works fine for my needs I'm willing to get it. Also, is it a big problem to use open headphone while using a guitar meaning will the sound of the strings being pulled bother me or something? If you highly discourage the hd598 for me, could you suggest a better studio head in the 250 price range, 300 MAX.

For studio monitoring (ie: mixing, mastering and editing) the best is the HD 800, followed by the HD 700, HD  650 and HD 600 - the old HD 580 is also very good for this.

If all these are out of budget, then the HD 598 would probably be the next best thing.

I have run my own professional location recording unit for many years - I got the HD 580 when it came out and upgraded to the 600, 650 and 800 when they came out (I skipped the 700 as it;s newer and not as good as the 800).

For closed I use the HD 25-1 and HD 250 (though the new Amperior is well worth looking at I think).

So - if you can go to an HD 600 do it - if it's absolutely impossible, then the 588 will probably be the best at the price.

I hope this helps.

The HD598 might be okay for general listening, but might be difficult for monitoring. HD280 would be a better choice for monitoring, but is closed and fragile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel521 

How about the hd 650? Its expensive but I could probably find a good deal in amazon.

Well, opinons on this matter are very mixed. 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/184443/do-you-think-the-hd-650-is-suitable-for-monitoring

I have the HD-650 and in my opinion: absolutely not. They hide too many flaws in recordings that I can pick up without even trying to listen on the HD280

Edit: If I had to choose between the HD650 and H598 then the HD598 would be better at monitoring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Willett 

For studio monitoring (ie: mixing, mastering and editing) the best is the HD 800, followed by the HD 700, HD  650 and HD 600 - the old HD 580 is also very good for this.

HD800 or HD700 being best (or even good) for monitoring? Lolwut.

To the OP, the HD598 measures well enough that it could probably be used for basic monitoring. That is, it doesn't have any glaring problems or areas in the sound that are overly pronounced or recessed. The HD600 is known for being fairly neutral (more so than the HD598) and is often recommended for such usage, but it will require much more in the DAC/amp area. The HD650 is tuned more towards the dark side.

The ATH-M50 is also not a bad option, if you want to go with a closed headphone. It measures towards the neutral side with a bit of a bass tilt. The upper mids and treble can be a bit rough, but, again, there are no glaring problems.

Hope that helps!

Quote:

Originally Posted by hans030390 

Quote:

 

HD800 or HD700 being best (or even good) for monitoring? Lolwut.

 

To the OP, the HD598 measures well enough that it could probably be used for basic monitoring. That is, it doesn't have any glaring problems or areas in the sound that are overly pronounced or recessed. The HD600 is known for being fairly neutral (more so than the HD598) and is often recommended for such usage, but it will require much more in the DAC/amp area. The HD650 is tuned more towards the dark side.

 

The ATH-M50 is also not a bad option, if you want to go with a closed headphone. It measures towards the neutral side with a bit of a bass tilt. The upper mids and treble can be a bit rough, but, again, there are no glaring problems.

 

Hope that helps!

signed++;

you got your answers OP

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel521 

Are you saying the HD 600 is better than the HD 650 for basic monitoring? cause I can get them for more or less the same... Also, do you think the TMA-1 Studio would be a good alternative for a closed can too?

The HD600 is considered to be pretty neutral. More so than the HD650. In that regard, it would be better for monitoring. Make sure you have a proper DAC and amp for them. The TMA-1 measures pretty poorly...far from a studio headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniel521 

thanks, I'll think about getting the hd 600. I just have two questions... What amp is necessary for the hd 600? I currently own a fiio e11, will that do? and is it a problem if the headphone is open? Usually studio headphones are closed thats why I wonder about this.

There are two types of studio headphones.

1) Headphones used for editing and mastering are normally open types and of high quality to give you a clear indication of what the sound is.  These would be the HD 800, HD 650, HD 600 and the AKG K701/2.

2) Headphones used for tracking are closed types so they don't bleed sound back into the microphone.  These are normally of lower quality as they are only feeding a guide track - the HD 215 are good for this as they can also be used one-eared.

3) A third type is that used for location recording - If the room is good, then headphones like type-1 would be used.  If the room is not good, then high quality closed headphones would be used.  I use the HD 25-1 for this, though the new Amperior may also be good.  The (now discontinued) HD 250 was also good for this.

The HD 600 actually works pretty well from standard headphone outputs - the 650 and 800 certainly need good amplifiers to get the best out of them.  So, with the 600, I would just say, get the best you can afford.

My own location recording rig is: the Nagra VI (£6,000 / $10,000 professional recorder) Grace m903 monitor controller / headphone amp., HD 800 open headphones, HD 25-1 closed headphones and ME Geithain RL906 active studio monitors.  And loads of microphones, of course; about £50,000 worth of Sennheiser, Neumann, Beyer, AKG, Calrec, Soundfield and Gefell.