I got a pair of these in today. I've purchased the HD-600 way too many times and always preferred the HD-598, so I felt this would be a cheap alternative to get a sound similar to the HD-600. Paid around $160 for these shipped. Most of that coming from a SR-325is I sold.
Does anyone know the part # of the HD-600 grill and is it even worth upgrading it? If it's over $40..forget it. It's not listed on the Sennheiser website.
This pair sounds a little different than the HD-600 I had before. Both are silver screened versions. I know it uses the same driver.
This pair seems to have an impression of slightly more bass then the HD-600. Like maybe 2-3%? No idea if some of all of this is from my amp..if that's even possible.
This one must have lots of use because it sounds much clearer than my old HD-600's. It's much more detailed than my last pairs, but it could be due to having a new DAC. I never previously used my old HD-600 with a very good DAC. Mostly from a full sized CD player (a good one).
I was really some reviews online saying the HD-580 has recessed mids for some. Possibly earlier pairs? This pair has very aggressive upper mids. Strange because I don't remember the HD-600 being like this.
Treble seems ok and these don't seem as forgiving of source file as I remember. Could be the new DAC helping somewhat.
What's interesting is that on my amp they need to be cranked just as high as my Q701.
They're 100% more warm than my HD-598 and HD-600 and just what I was looking for. I'll still prefer the HD-598, but I'll try these with gaming.
Most likely there differences from the HD-600 I had are just due to the new DAC and different grill. The more aggressive mids could be due to my DAC too. I'll have to try these with an E9 just for fun. The HD-580 is pretty much my limit for how warm a headphone can be.
Seems fairly neutral so far, except for maybe a slight mid-bass boost (to my ears).
Soundstage also feels slightly smaller and the sound less airy. Not sure why, but could be due to the grill and my amp/dac.
Oh yeah..this definitely has more bass than my HD-598.