Those cracks are far from normal, that headphone must have been badly misused. Also, it's very annoying how ignorant some posters are. The cracking issue of the 598 has been fixed as it's been told quite some times before in this exact thread. See the official post by Senn. in the HD598...

I use them primarily for metal, including some of the most sick types of it, and I don't have any issues with them, actually I found them quite good with it, especially with progressive metal. Maybe black metal sounds a bit strange, but I think it's due to the fact that BM recordings are far...

Well, maybe read the thread you're posting into? :) Or at least this post.   Quote:  

Your welcome!   I also thought about upgrading to HD6x0, but the fact is that I prefer the sound of the HD598. :) Sure it's less audiophile in many aspects but in my opinion it's the most musical headphone that Sennheiser offer (Well, in the acceptable price range anyways, I didn't had the...

I think this post worth a mentioning in this thread: Link.

Well, no, I'd use it at home, with my PC, so size, looks and such doesn't matter, I'm looking for the best result (SQ) for the bucks. But I was made an offer I can't refuse, so I'll buy an used Hifiman and see how it goes. Thanks anyways!   Quote:   Now that's really great to...

Well I was told that in Hungary they replace it without question when the crack reaches the three dots on the left side. So Sennheiser folk seems to be nice here, though I haven't tried it yet and also it doesn't help the fact that the 598s are so badly built.   Also, could you people please...

Yeah, I promised to write a few impressions, so I'll at least partially translate my little "review" I wrote on a Hungarian forum, right now I'm too tired for that, but will do it soon. Don't expect anything too fanciful though. :)

Well I have the HD598 and I do listen to a lot of metal and have to say they're really good for it. I can't really complain on any part, the bass is powerful and well controlled but not overpresented, so you get weighty kicks while still being able to hear the rest. Mids are probably my...

Well I couldn't stay away so ordered it already (yeah, now I'm officially a "looks-whore"). I think I'll have time to pick it up tomorrow and see how I like it. I guess I can still pass it without a loss if it's not for my taste since the MSRP is ~130-140USD (100 EUR).     Quote:

Sure it is. Though I did a proper comparison and there are differences in the specs (sensitivity, max imput power to be exact) so the driver in the Major could be an new/updated one. However it had to be hell of an update to sound even half decent. Meh, dunno, I'm dying for the looks but it's...

I'm so unsure about these headphones. I really do like the looks of it and I could get one for like 80$, but they share so many similarities (they're made by the same company, similar build, also the few specs we have are almost the same) with Urbanears Plattan that I'm really thinking they have...

And why are you so butthurt about the 595/558/598? I've been following these topics since I own the 598 and you turn up all the time and post a rant on them. I highly doubt you've ever tried these headphones. And you may remove the foam, add more foam, dismember the whole case, add golden...

I'm sure the 558 has the exact same casing as the 598 just with a different color, so eventually those will break, too. 

Yeah, that would be mine. One may see it here. The crack hasn't developed much if any since then, but still not happy that it's happening.   Quote: