I moved from Sennheiser HD555 to DT880 (250 Ohm) and gaming is pretty good paired with ASUS STX. They are neutral and accurate enough for positional info.. 

They have similar frequency response curve to HD555/595, except its like if someone put needle in middle and gave lows a bit more punch and highs lowered a tiny bit.   Not sure what works best with them.. probably something that emphasis a mids and highs tad bit more than rest. Or just...

Hm.. I wasnt aware of this issue.. if it touches ear then Im going to have some issues too. Sigh... guess HD 650 for me too. :D   EDIT: Just got them. Ears small enough I guess. Sound pretty good, with EQ. Not so good without EQ. Bit lacking tho.. hope it goes better in time..

HD650 are comfortable (most Senns are, like really comfy). Sound is different from DT990. They are more "flat" than almost anything else (apart from old HD555/595), so no issues with spikes in highs. Compared to DT990, they might sound like lacking in bass department, but they are IMHO "about...

Wouldnt bet much on any soundcard properly handing 600 Ohm headphones. Plus DT990 have tad bit extreme curve for gaming, something flatter is probably better choice. Why not DT880 250 Ohm edition? Soundcard should handle it without issues and it should have pretty balanced sound for gaming (and...

Im currently using HD555 with STX. Music via ASIO in Foobar2K (UNi drivers). With tiny bit of EQ work (advanced EQ for F2K) it sounds really really good. At least as long as source is good. Hope you did that "tape-mod" for HD555. :D   For music, even buying STX and using it as I do, positive...

http://personalaudio.ru/raa/otchety/naushniki/sennheiser-hd-555/   Well, that whole page along with their tests explained thing or two to me.. and it apparently reflects reality very well.   And also means I will have really hard time finding something to actually replace HD 555.

Heh, yea I did. Wouldnt make change anyway, its on plug-on board (which isnt present on mobo at this time) so when its not there, its not there. No "on-board" sound.   Since you do have DT880 Pro and HD 558, how these two compare? I looked a bit more for DT880 and looks quite promising..  ...

I have HD 555 for.. well, many years (5-ish). They are slightly falling apart. No ill effect on sound tho. But, I wanted more (I always want more..). So, since I apparently like Sennheiser way of treating sound (or so I thought) I picked HD 598. According to interwebz, it has response curve very...

If 558 is anything like my 555, its a good choice.. And take out the foam tape, if you buy them. :)

Dunno, does Apocalyptica have bad mastering? So far I considered them as very good..   Otherwise thanks all for answers, very much appreciated. :)

So hello, Head-Fi'ers.   Some long time ago I lurked around (about that time when I tried couple of headphones and stayed with my HD 555 nearly forever). And I decided I will go back for some advice, cause right now I need to get my old HD 555 repaired from Sennheiser (cracked and simply worn...

Well, for past two years or so my Bravura + HD555 worked flawlessly, but recently I started to get wierd loud cracks during listening to music and today even when playing BF3. Its completely random, can be fine for hour and then crazy cracking and then it goes off again. Its quite loud.  ...

Its not same. Theres something tiny bit different in HD 595, which makes it sound clearer in highs. It has some sort of "sparkle" in highs, that HD 555 doesnt have. Though, its hard to recognize for most ppl. Price difference is bit wierd, considering they basicly sound same. Well, if you remove...

Best? HD 800 from current line-up. But price is somewhat "off".   For neutral - get HD 595 (and maybe mod them a bit).   For less neutral - get HD 600 and new cable   For fun, but far from neutral - get HD 650 .. and prepare to be "bassed". :)   Otherwise if you want neutral...

I hope you know that HD 650 are completely different than HD 555. Its maybe bit wierd, but if you want something like HD 555 in better quality, its HD 800. To me, HD 650 sound great, but they are no way neutral as HD 555, but HD 800 are completely neutral (maybe even bit too much). Though, I...

Forte not worth it. Not for headphones. HTHD 7.1 or Bravura.. or ASUS.

iPod is pretty good for driving HD555 .. but if you want to spend some money and have PC, get Auzentech Bravura. Sound from this combination is really great.   And I agree that they are veerry comfortable, sometimes when my music stops I forget that Im wearing them. :D   Yea and that...

If anyones interested - for Auzentech Bravura and Forte using headphones up to 300 Ohm is 100% ok, using 600 Ohm can result in lower volume level (but it should be ok even then).   Thats what Auzentech says (I asked them cause I was curious :D).

Ive tested couple of ASUS soundcards, ST amongs them (its same as STX, only its PCI not PCIe .. which in fact is tiny bit better .. STX is PCIe converted ST).   I had Forte, now I have Bravura. ST is quite good, but sounds bit on tin can side (probably due OPAMPs, which I dont know if will...

Than is maybe mistake somewhere else.. I had them and I wouldnt say bloated bass nor veiled highs.. veil disappeared after week or so.. bass remained massive as from start. Have you tried pluging it simply to iPod (just iPod).

Its hardly enough.. even Forte is better than STX (at least with default OPAMPs.. and both are beaten down by Bravura, which is amazingly awesome. :D   I would probably use STX as gaming only card, for listening (especially with AKG 701) I would get proper DAC+AMP.

I think that RCA to XLR cables are best solution (at least cheapest). But kinda doubt it will sound great.. STX itself isnt exactly pinacle of sound quality. Not even PC sound quality.. 

You need both.. good AMP and DAC. Its called synergy.. if one part fails, it simply fails.. But even quite bad headphones can sound quite good with perfect DAC/AMP.