[Smugsie]

  Hey guys. Newbie here. I've been slowly getting into hifi. Started with IEM's, then dac, now I'm investing in some headphones. I went with the 598's for the price but I'm finding them a bit too bright for my liking. I guess you can say I am sensitive to the higher frequencies. 
 
I'm using the FiiO E17.
 
0 gain but I have my treble at -2, -4 depending on the type of music.
 
 
My question to you guys:
Is there a break in period? Will burning them in do anything or is it just a placebo effect?
 
Should I just return these and save up for some HD 600 or 650's?
 
IDK i feel like I hear distortion. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? 
 
thanks!

Interesting, I thought the HD598's had the smallest treble peak of all my headphones, different preferences for different users I suppose!
I got my HD598's last month and burning them in didn't change much in regards to treble. To be honest I don't think the HD598's changed much at all with burn in... I had to get accustomed to the warm sound but that's about it.
I've never heard the HD600's or the HD650's but I think the HD650 is a lot less fatiguing can.
In regards to distortion, it could be the type of music you're playing. I noticed anything that's poorly recorded gets the smackdown from the HD598's.

 

[jl audio]

 

Interesting, I thought the HD598's had the smallest treble peak of all my headphones, different preferences for different users I suppose!
I got my HD598's last month and burning them in didn't change much in regards to treble. To be honest I don't think the HD598's changed much at all with burn in... I had to get accustomed to the warm sound but that's about it.
I've never heard the HD600's or the HD650's but I think the HD650 is a lot less fatiguing can.
In regards to distortion, it could be the type of music you're playing. I noticed anything that's poorly recorded gets the smackdown from the HD598's.

 
Thanks for your response.
I made sure I had flac files at my disposal so you can eliminate that.
I think its just my sensitive hearing. 
They're great, just a tad sharp. 
 
I got these over the ATH-M50x
Different styles I know. I felt like from what I heard these were better. Now I'm beginning to wonder if the grass is greener..

 

[pp312]

I was a 595 owner, tried the 598 and didn't like the treble at all. It wasn't brightness; I just found the treble quite hard and piercing. I sold them after a week.

 

[streetdragon]

   
Thanks for your response.
I made sure I had flac files at my disposal so you can eliminate that.
I think its just my sensitive hearing. 
They're great, just a tad sharp. 
 
I got these over the ATH-M50x
Different styles I know. I felt like from what I heard these were better. Now I'm beginning to wonder if the grass is greener..

 
 

  I was a 595 owner, tried the 598 and didn't like the treble at all. It wasn't brightness; I just found the treble quite hard and piercing. I sold them after a week.

After the earpad softens the treble will calm down quite significantly and the sound would be a lot warmer.

 

[Bansaku]

  In regards to distortion, it could be the type of music you're playing. I noticed anything that's poorly recorded gets the smackdown from the HD598's.

 
Not so much 'poorly recorded' as 'heavy compression'; Lets go with 'poor recordings'. 

Anyway, thanks to the loudness war and the end result of heavily compressed music modern music can sound bad when played through the HD598. Their lightweight aluminum drivers are very sensitive to not only loudness but clipping. I am not saying they can't go loud, because believe me they can get defending without distortion. I have yet to experience any glare, grain, or distortion when playing good recordings whether it be music, movies or games. Sadly though most records released in the past 20 years are highly compressed and LOUD.
 
Suggestion: Use a limiter, enable the 'Prevent Clipping' option, or take the gain down by 3dB (or more)! How is up to you, sorry. Obviously this won't restore lost sonics, but this will significantly take away the distortion and glare, while making it easier to discern the sounds and notes. Using an AU/VST metering plug-in with modern music I witness constant clipping. It does not matter if it is K-12 or K-20, or a standard -32dB, all I see is music constantly going into the red (clipping) zone. HD/HiRes tracks and those with light compression levels seldom go into the yellow (or caution) zone during loud passages and rarely in the red during peaks. Using this method I can enjoy listening to Death Metal without having my ears cringe akin to nails on a chalkboard.
 
My personal pick and favourite plug-in is FabFilter Pro-L. It may be overkill, but I like it's flexibility. Hope this helps if one is having issues with certain tracks or genres.
 

 

 

[blse59]

Audio is so subjective. What works for other people won't work for you and vice versa. The only way to find a headphone you like is to audition them before you buy.

 

[pp312]

 
 

  I was a 595 owner, tried the 598 and didn't like the treble at all. It wasn't brightness; I just found the treble quite hard and piercing. I sold them after a week.

After the earpad softens the treble will calm down quite significantly and the sound would be a lot warmer.

 
Not sure I buy that. Certainly burn in and ear pad deformation will have an effect on treble in terms of quantity, but quality is another matter. As I say, I didn't find the 598 to have too much treble (I currently use a Beyer DT880); I just didn't like the treble quality. Can't explain it, especially after enjoying first the 595 and then 650 for so long. I'd be happy to give a burnt in unit a go though, if the opportunity presents, but I doubt it would wean me away from the 880.

 

[Heat1]

Hello guys, im kinda new to audio so idk much but are these supposed to sound so bad and uninvolving. I've had them for about a month and they have over 300 hours of burn in but I haven't noticed any difference since i bought them. They just sound so shrill and because of the harshness anything over about 28% volume is torture to the ears. They also have this nasal quality to the vocals which makes it sound more like someone is yelling at you rather than singing. Lows are fine to my ears they have a nice punch even if they don't go down very far.
 
In terms of music I listen to everything across the spectrum with the exception of country. All files are either flac or 320kb. Listening is primarily done with my laptop or sometimes my Htc one. When listening through my laptop i use the schiit fulla as the amp/dac and sometimes i try my fiio e12 but the schiit sounds better. for the phone I use the e12 through headphone out. It's possible these don't work well with the 598's but idk.
 
Anyway when compared to my weston umpro 30, Aurisonics Asg-2.5 or Beyer dt770 250ohm these just sound like garbage. Heck 99% of the time I would rather listen to my apple buds because it is actually more resolving than the senns. So anyway sorry for the long post I just want to know if I'm doing somthing wrong because I really wanted to like these headphones

 

[nihontoman]

  Hello guys, im kinda new to audio so idk much but are these supposed to sound so bad and uninvolving. I've had them for about a month and they have over 300 hours of burn in but I haven't noticed any difference since i bought them. They just sound so shrill and because of the harshness anything over about 28% volume is torture to the ears. They also have this nasal quality to the vocals which makes it sound more like someone is yelling at you rather than singing. Lows are fine to my ears they have a nice punch even if they don't go down very far.
 
In terms of music I listen to everything across the spectrum with the exception of country. All files are either flac or 320kb. Listening is primarily done with my laptop or sometimes my Htc one. When listening through my laptop i use the schiit fulla as the amp/dac and sometimes i try my fiio e12 but the schiit sounds better. for the phone I use the e12 through headphone out. It's possible these don't work well with the 598's but idk.
 
Anyway when compared to my weston umpro 30, Aurisonics Asg-2.5 or Beyer dt770 250ohm these just sound like garbage. Heck 99% of the time I would rather listen to my apple buds because it is actually more resolving than the senns. So anyway sorry for the long post I just want to know if I'm doing somthing wrong because I really wanted to like these headphones

hm, maybe you have a fake?

 

[Arsis]

hm, maybe you have a fake?

+1 mine are far from shrill and harsh.

 

[uli87]

I feel the 598 can be shrill with some recordings and not the greatest with modern pop/rock/metal/rap.
 
Overall the sound is quite neutral with a tilt towards the bright side of things. My favorite part about these headphones is how spacious they sound and the excellent instrument seperation. For me these are more relaxing and smooth rather than dynamic and exciting and it could be that you would need to ween yourself off of your more v shaped bass heavy phones for a while to accustom yourself to the sound of these. 
 
Maybe you just don't click with them, that's fine too.

 

[jl audio]

I'm really trying to like these 598's but they are too bright for my liking.
 
I feel like returning them and taking the plunge on either the 600's or 650's instead. Which ones should I go for?

 

[blse59]

I'm really trying to like these 598's but they are too bright for my liking.

I feel like returning them and taking the plunge on either the 600's or 650's instead. Which ones should I go for?

Adorama.com is having a sale on the 650 for $290. It is known as a darker headphone than the 600 which is considered neutral. This is the time for anyone wanting a 650 to get one. This is the cheapest i've seen it in a long time.

 

[teb1013]

I moved from the 558s (same driver as the 598) to the 600s and am blown away by the detail and sound quality. I shied away from the "darker" sound of the 650s and got the 600s through Kickstarter for $275 USD, a great price. The $290 price mentioned by blse59 is however so good that it sounds truly unbeatable (the 650s are usually $100 more than the 600s). If that deal had been available when I was in the market I would have taken the shot for it.

 

[spykez]

 

I'm really trying to like these 598's but they are too bright for my liking.

I feel like returning them and taking the plunge on either the 600's or 650's instead. Which ones should I go for?

Adorama.com is having a sale on the 650 for $290. It is known as a darker headphone than the 600 which is considered neutral. This is the time for anyone wanting a 650 to get one. This is the cheapest i've seen it in a long time.

I just checked Adorama and they don't have any sales on the 600 or 650, however...amazon does. The page on adorama has been removed when you click on the headphones so it was probably a mistake.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-650-Headphones/dp/B00018MSNI/