kabforks
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2011
- Posts
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Hello there.
In my eternal quest for a nice headphone, I'm now standing before a difficult choice.
I currently own the Sennheiser HD650 and HD555 (mod). Previously I've owned AKG K501, AKG K702 and Beyerdynamic DT770 pro.
The HD650 is relatively new, I've owned them for a month or so. But to be honest, I'm disappointed, and I actually find myself going back to the HD555 quite often. I WANT to like the 650's, but I cannot.
First, let me tell you what I think about them.
Pros: Musical, laid back, easy treble, no grainy sound, mid-range is very nice. Smooth sound, in general.
Cons: Narrow soundstage, slow, fat bass. The bass seems to affect the entire sound of the headphones. Everything sounds the same.
The cons are the biggest dealbreakers. Coming from the AKG-world and the dynamic, open and airy HD555, HD650 was quite the opposite. The cans also came with a £150 Russ Andrews HC1 (Kibmer Kable) cable. (I bought them used). But the lack of soundstage is maybe my biggest concern. You might ask why I sold the AKG's... The K501 was a mistake, but the K701 was too dry, analytical and boring.. and the soundstage was too wide, and not that deep. They also lacked the bass impact that could have made them fun.
On the HD555 (mod), i find the bass is layered and faster. The soundstage is way wider than the one on HD650 and the general sound is easier on the ear. However, the headphones general sound is not that smooth. It struggles on high volumes and I find it a bit grainy sometimes. The sound is not as effortless as the HD650's.
If I am to take Headfonia's word and this personal review on Headphone.com the new Sennheiser HD598 improves on HD555/HD595 in every possible way. The HD598 have allegedly an improved soundstage over HD555, which speaks in my favor.
So what I'm actually considering, is downgrading. Replace the HD650's with the HD598's...
Any input on this maybe not-so-clever-choice?
In my eternal quest for a nice headphone, I'm now standing before a difficult choice.
I currently own the Sennheiser HD650 and HD555 (mod). Previously I've owned AKG K501, AKG K702 and Beyerdynamic DT770 pro.
The HD650 is relatively new, I've owned them for a month or so. But to be honest, I'm disappointed, and I actually find myself going back to the HD555 quite often. I WANT to like the 650's, but I cannot.
First, let me tell you what I think about them.
Pros: Musical, laid back, easy treble, no grainy sound, mid-range is very nice. Smooth sound, in general.
Cons: Narrow soundstage, slow, fat bass. The bass seems to affect the entire sound of the headphones. Everything sounds the same.
The cons are the biggest dealbreakers. Coming from the AKG-world and the dynamic, open and airy HD555, HD650 was quite the opposite. The cans also came with a £150 Russ Andrews HC1 (Kibmer Kable) cable. (I bought them used). But the lack of soundstage is maybe my biggest concern. You might ask why I sold the AKG's... The K501 was a mistake, but the K701 was too dry, analytical and boring.. and the soundstage was too wide, and not that deep. They also lacked the bass impact that could have made them fun.
On the HD555 (mod), i find the bass is layered and faster. The soundstage is way wider than the one on HD650 and the general sound is easier on the ear. However, the headphones general sound is not that smooth. It struggles on high volumes and I find it a bit grainy sometimes. The sound is not as effortless as the HD650's.
If I am to take Headfonia's word and this personal review on Headphone.com the new Sennheiser HD598 improves on HD555/HD595 in every possible way. The HD598 have allegedly an improved soundstage over HD555, which speaks in my favor.
So what I'm actually considering, is downgrading. Replace the HD650's with the HD598's...
Any input on this maybe not-so-clever-choice?