HD598 or SHP9500?
Jun 14, 2017 at 11:04 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17

TheKingOfDucks

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So, soon, I'll be looking for a new set of headphones. I've only ever used Turtle Beach and Tritton, but I am very educated in the audiophile community. I know my crap, but not from personal experience. I'm currently eyeing the SHP9500s and the HD598 SE. I can get them for within the same price range, and money is not the issue here. I'll be playing games like Skyrim, Minencraft, Farcry, GTA. So, open world games. Mostly Minecraft. I like to be creative. I also listen to a variety of musical genres, but mainly music from Ludovico Einaudi. He does a lot of piano and strings, along with some digital synthesizer. I also listen to rap, mainly Eminem. All of his stuff. Some folk music, Gregory Alan Isakov, classic rock, Mumford and sons, Matthew Good, lots of 70s stuff, and a couple others. I'm leaning towards the 598s, because everyone loves them, whereas the SHPs have very mixed reviews. I like a natural but fun sound. Any help will be appreciated. I will also be recording my own piano music
 
Jun 14, 2017 at 9:32 PM Post #2 of 17
Wow this is a very interesting thread. I'd love to see some of the responses. I have never heard either pair...however, I do own the HD558 (with foam mod which many say bring it up to par with HD598) & I have the HD600.

I have to say, that while I LOVE my HD600 for music, I do prefer my modded HD558 for gaming & movies. While not as refined as the 600, the 558 really sound incredible with games!! They are a more "fun" sounding can for that type of audio, little more bass & can you say COMFORTABLE!!?? Sennheiser really knows how to make extremely comfortable cans bro. To me that's important for gaming so you can go for long sessions without discomfort, without sweating or getting hot. So that my quick take from my personal experience with similar cans to the HD598. I would prob recommend getting the HD558 & a portable amp to add to the chain. I use the Fiio E11 that has 3 EQ settings to boost the low end a bit. The combo is pretty incredible for explosions & sound effects. Something to consider :)
 
Jun 14, 2017 at 11:52 PM Post #5 of 17
I can't claim to know much about this and have only tried the HD598 of those two, but I think the reason they have so much praise is because they're comfortable and incredibly just... average... they sound fine. Everything is okay. Not very exciting. Kind of bland but nothing to complain about at all. Very comfortable. I think you'll be happy with them.

But I'd try them out first. I also got a pair of headphones from Creative for $29 on Amazon and for many genres they actually sound better. Thicker bass. But they are very small and have cheap build quality and not everything sounds better with them. For less money, the Koss Portapro sounds more fun to me, too. But they're very fragile. I had a pair and broke them. But... they're kind of awesome.

You can't go wrong with HD598s but if you're an audiophile I think you might ask more of your gear than they can provide because they just aren't exciting to listen to. I found myself upgrading very quickly thereafter and I'm certainly no audiophile.

They don't sound bad, but if you have a lot of audiophile experience I would warn you that you will not be blown away. That said, other similarly priced headphones that sound better might require a lot more gear (DAC and amp) to get good performance. HD598s sound good out of my Mac.
 
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Jun 18, 2017 at 5:36 AM Post #9 of 17
So, soon, I'll be looking for a new set of headphones. I've only ever used Turtle Beach and Tritton, but I am very educated in the audiophile community. I know my ****, but not from personal experience. I'm currently eyeing the SHP9500s and the HD598 SE. I can get them for within the same price range, and money is not the issue here. I'll be playing games like Skyrim, Minencraft, Farcry, GTA. So, open world games. Mostly Minecraft. I like to be creative. I also listen to a variety of musical genres, but mainly music from Ludovico Einaudi. He does a lot of piano and strings, along with some digital synthesizer. I also listen to rap, mainly Eminem. All of his stuff. Some folk music, Gregory Alan Isakov, classic rock, Mumford and sons, Matthew Good, lots of 70s stuff, and a couple others. I'm leaning towards the 598s, because everyone loves them, whereas the SHPs have very mixed reviews. I like a natural but fun sound. Any help will be appreciated. I will also be recording my own piano music
I have both HD598SE and SHP9500. If both are available for almost same price then there is no question that you should get HD598. For me HD598 are better than SHP 9500 both in terms of sound as well as comfort.

In terms of comfort, SHP9500 are too loose and pads of SHP9500 are huge but they are not very deep. HD598 have much better grip, pads are made of better material and are more comfortable (for me).

In terms of sound, with some music SHP9500 truly shines. But HD598 is better with more types of music. HD598 are considered by many to be bass light but I like bass of HD598SE. SHP9500 are bass light even for people who consider bass of HD598 to be adequate.
 
Jun 18, 2017 at 12:25 PM Post #10 of 17
HD 598 is $170.00 on Amazon
SHP 9500s is $55.00 on newegg
in terms of value, Phillips wins...but comfort and sound edge go to Sennheiser, agreed?
BUT for $25.00 you can upgrade to the Brainwavz pads the comfort issues go away, they should have come with these pads to begin with..... the bass tightens up, increases and goes a little deeper....
and you could add the Fiio a3 for another $60.00 My impressions are the soundstage increases slightly, the background seems a little more black, instrument separation and detail is just sort of clarified and with the bass boost on you can sometimes get an almost 'subwoofer' level of bass (fun for hip hop, kinda useless for most genres)
while we're at it, go ahead and add a cable with a mic anywhere from $10 - $30 (I happen to have one from a Fidelio L2 that works great)

So, back to the numbers,
HD 598 $170.00
SHP 9500s $150.00
(plus an extra set of pads, an amp and a cable with a microphone)
 
Jun 18, 2017 at 12:40 PM Post #12 of 17
In terms of how the two sound, I don't have a set of 598s to compare. My guess is that with the upgrades the shp 9500s sound better....it's just a guess based on lots and lots of reading comparisons, reviews and such of both headphones.
 
Jun 18, 2017 at 1:10 PM Post #13 of 17
Yeah, I didn't intend "average sounding" to be a ringing endorsement. The HD598s are VERY comfortable, but for a self-described audiophile I would NOT recommend them. They sound fine. No major flaws. No one should be wildly disappointed with them. But they're not exciting either.

I bought a cheap pair of $30 Creative headphones (Creative Aurvana Live) and while the build quality and comfort are a lot worse... they sound better for most music. I would not recommend either set to an "audiophile." You'll immediately want to upgrade. But if you're after "good enough" they are good enough I think for many people and the HD598 wins on comfort.
 
Jun 21, 2017 at 2:56 PM Post #14 of 17
I have both HD598SE and SHP9500. If both are available for almost same price then there is no question that you should get HD598. For me HD598 are better than SHP 9500 both in terms of sound as well as comfort.

In terms of comfort, SHP9500 are too loose and pads of SHP9500 are huge but they are not very deep. HD598 have much better grip, pads are made of better material and are more comfortable (for me).

In terms of sound, with some music SHP9500 truly shines. But HD598 is better with more types of music. HD598 are considered by many to be bass light but I like bass of HD598SE. SHP9500 are bass light even for people who consider bass of HD598 to be adequate.
 
Jun 21, 2017 at 2:57 PM Post #15 of 17
I'm actually borrowing the 598se from a friend right now. I find there to be too much bass for my music, but for gaming and rap, they're great. I'll probably get a pair of the SHPs to compare directly
 

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