Yeah, yours are probably gonna last a lot longer than mine. They're my main pair so I've been using them almost everyday for the past two years now (got them Dec 2015), that's taking them on and off 10 or more times every day. They still sound amazing though.

Mine are doing the exact same thing. It's like the leather came unglued and the metal wire started pulling out of it. I don't know if I should try to contact the seller or Philips or something, they're two years old so I feel like I'm probably gonna have to fix them on my own.

Will 598s benefit at all from amping? The only reason I could think of getting the dac is to reduce that background noise from my desktop..   Would still be nice to get so I can upgrade later.