[crispswish]

The 598Cs are closed back and the earpads are some kind of soft protein leather not velour.

Yep.

 

[nomad1]

Sup guys, sorry if my question was already asked, I don't know how to search inside a thread but does anyone know if these earpads http://headphonespares.sennheiser.c...es/hd-559/ear-pads-andndash-1-pair-hd559.html fit on an HD598? Appreciate ya.

I think replacement earpads of 558 would be more suitable for 598
http://headphonespares.sennheiser.c...es/hd-558/ear-pads-1-pair---black-094738.html

 

[gargani]

I think replacement earpads of 558 would be more suitable for 598
http://headphonespares.sennheiser.c...es/hd-558/ear-pads-1-pair---black-094738.html

I would say you are right. I own the 518, the 558, and the 598 (ivories). The material on the 518's is coarser and the padding is a little stiffer, than the 558's The material and padding on the 558's, is very similar to my 598's.

 

[Nidhal]

@nomad1 @gargani Thanks, so either the 558 or 559 pads, which ones you guys think are better? the newer 559 pads are 3 pounds more expensive than their counterpart, not sure if that's worth it.
I've found the 558 pads on sennheiser.at, €19 incl tax + free shipping, thank the gods.

 

[gargani]

@nomad1 @gargani Thanks, so either the 558 or 559 pads, which ones you guys think are better? the newer 559 pads are 3 pounds more expensive than their counterpart, not sure if that's worth it.
I've found the 558 pads on sennheiser.at, €19 incl tax + free shipping, thank the gods.

If you want pads as close to the 598's as possible, I think the 558's would be the safer bet. From what I can gather the 559 pads won't be as close.
All of this is based on my assumption that the 598se (black) have the same pads as the 598 (ivory); except for the colour.

 

[Midgetguy]

If you want pads as close to the 598's as possible, I think the 558's would be the safer bet. From what I can gather the 559 pads won't be as close.
All of this is based on my assumption that the 598se (black) have the same pads as the 598 (ivory); except for the colour.

Agreed. As far as I know, the newer 5x9 edition stuff used different material, ever so slightly.

 

[germanium]

I bought the HD579 & these had the tape in them as well. I removed that & heard an improvement in the reproduction of reverb in the recordings. This seems to effect the sound below 1000hz. I also removed the acoustic silk liner from the inside of the metal back as well as removed much of the plastic framework that held it in place so now you can see the back of the driver while looking in from the outside of the metal back. There is also some improvement in the high treble I.E. smoother & more extended. this I believe is because it reduces high frequency reflections from reaching the back side of the driver as there is no damping covering or filling the hole through the magnet. these reflections cause peaks & dips 7KHz and above. Eliminating these reflections brings out the higher frequencies. Do not remove the acoustic silk cover that covers the front side of the driver facing the ear as that provides the necessary damping to keep the upper bass & lower midrange from over powering everything else. I also removed the plastic tang that covers part of the outside of the metal grill.

I use my computer's modified Strix Raid DLX soundcard which I modified for listening. This is truly an exceptional sounding setup. I have compared it with my friends Mytek Brooklyn DAC & it actually sounds better than the Brooklyn DAC which cost 2,000 dollars. I was using the Brooklyn DAC only because it supports MQA. I was doing the null testing of MQA compared to Hi Res files of the same music for my friend but it allowed me to compare it to my modified soundcard. These headphones reveal the differences very well especially when modified. Main difference comes with the reproduction of room acoustics of the studio & a slightly more lively representation of instruments that have a lot of raw power such as electric guitar such as found in most rock music. Bass is equally represented & treble is slightly sweeter on the soundcard than the Brooklyn DAC.

One of the modifications I did to the soundcard was lowering the output impedance to .9 ohm from 10 ohm especially for driving these headphones in a way to give the best frequency response. Due to the strong resonance causing an impedance spike that more than doubles impedance at about 125-130hz they need a low output impedance to sound their best. Most headphones don't suffer as much as these do when powered by an amp of high output impedance.

 

[germanium]

One thing I should mention I do not recommend hooking these to headphone amp that has a tube output stage. Hybrid amps that have tubes but the output stage it still transistor based are ok but output impedance should be below 20 ohms. If not you will upper bass lower midrange overpowering other parts of the music. I lowered mine to 0.9ohms & they sound fantastic with no part of the sound being overwhelmed. Very well balanced & can still listen for hours on end comfortably without listener fatigue.

 

[gargani]

One thing I should mention I do not recommend hooking these to headphone amp that has a tube output stage. Hybrid amps that have tubes but the output stage it still transistor based are ok but output impedance should be below 20 ohms. If not you will upper bass lower midrange overpowering other parts of the music. I lowered mine to 0.9ohms & they sound fantastic with no part of the sound being overwhelmed. Very well balanced & can still listen for hours on end comfortably without listener fatigue.

I use an objective 2 (02) headphone amp. It has an output impedance of .5 ohms. But I also have a Yamaha stereo receiver. The receiver has a very high impedance at the headphone output jack. Plugging the hd 598 into the reciever makes the upper bass and low midrange sound exactly as you describe. Plugged into the 02 the sound is much more balanced. The same applies to the hd518 and hd558, as well.

 

[germanium]

I use an objective 2 (02) headphone amp. It has an output impedance of .5 ohms. But I also have a Yamaha stereo receiver. The receiver has a very high impedance at the headphone output jack. Plugging the hd 598 into the reciever makes the upper bass and low midrange sound exactly as you describe. Plugged into the 02 the sound is much more balanced. The same applies to the hd518 and hd558, as well.

Receivers typically have very high output impedance, especially older ones as they typically don't have separate headphone amps. They just bring some leads back from the power amp section & attach a resister in series with the headphones. Typically this resister was about 430 ohms though would vary according to the power of the power amp section. It would be higher in a really powerful receiver, lower in a less powerful one. More modern ones may have a separate headphone amp as it has become less expensive to include one now days given they are mostly based on IC chips.

 

[germanium]

Been doing a lot of listening to the modified HD579's & am extremely happy with them. They are not perfect but very close. They still are slightly lacing in deep bass response but that is to be expected from an open ear design. From midbass on up they are very good up to just shy of 1KHz where they are ever so slightly lacking stealing a small amount of the life from the music. Above that there is a moderate peak at about 7KHz so overtones that are in this region get emphasized. This can in some cases give a slight metallic sound to these phones with certain music but it is not offensive. This gives the music a little life if & when overtones extend up into this region so at times it is actually welcome.

 

[germanium]

bump

 

[junneh]

Im looking at buying either the 559 or the 599.

I dont really have experience with higher end HP and this will be my first better open one (after a superlux)

The 559 I can get for 70 euro, the 599 for 140.

Is the 599 worth double the cost over 559? for gaming, stoner metal, edm (classic house, techno)?

 

[Midgetguy]

Im looking at buying either the 559 or the 599.

I dont really have experience with higher end HP and this will be my first better open one (after a superlux)

The 559 I can get for 70 euro, the 599 for 140.

Is the 599 worth double the cost over 559? for gaming, stoner metal, edm (classic house, techno)?

If these new versions hold true to the older style of hierarchy, I'd say now, the H599 isn't worth double the HD559. And again, if it holds true to the old sound signatures as well, I personally feel the HD559 would be a better all-around sound signature than the HD599. To be clear, I don't have either of those HD5X9 headphones, but I own the HD558 and have briefly listened to HD598 and I like the HD558 more as an all-around headphone. Certainly liked it more for EDM. Hope this helps with your decision

 

[gargani]

Im looking at buying either the 559 or the 599.

I dont really have experience with higher end HP and this will be my first better open one (after a superlux)

The 559 I can get for 70 euro, the 599 for 140.

Is the 599 worth double the cost over 559? for gaming, stoner metal, edm (classic house, techno)?

I have the hd518, hd558, and hd598..
The hd579 is the replacement model for the hd558, the hd558 sounds as good as the hd598; just slightly different.
I Don't think the hd599 is worth twice as much as the hd559.
The 579 might be another option. It should be better than the 559 and won't cost as much as the 599.