Want to preface this by presenting this picture, I'm not a TROLL or a A-Hole, I just like to mock the fu** out of headphones I dislike.
This time its time for the "Fehlerhaft HD598".
I'm a fan of the 580-600-650, I own all of them.
The 598 is interesting because it sounds crude. Coming from Senn I was surprised by how bad it sounded..the first day I got them I was certain I had a defective unit, so I went to Senn and was able to convince them I had a faulty pair.
They gave me a new one after a week, I was sure my first 598 was broken and I was expecting the new one to be just fine but...nope, the new one sounded exactly the same.
So then I was sure, these use cheap "Made In China" low fidelity drivers.
Anyway, I'll come to what's completely wrong with the sound soon, let's go over some other things.
Build -
They slightly worry me, they feel solid, nothing rattles but the headband is one of those bendy weird-like its going to break types. The side articulation spot seems to be the most scary one.
I don't think they'll break but they just feel too bendy rather than feeling solid, there is no metal in the construction..from the fake wood to maybe even the headband, its all ABS, the headband maybe some kind of a composite though.
I have to admit, although the wood is plastic, it looks pretty sharp. The grain detail is obviously not like real wood but looks pretty convincing for the most part.
Comfort -
I never have any issues with Senns, due to the oval pads mostly. The Headband never bothers me but with the 598, the Headband is pretty annoying..it sticks out..the headphones fall from my head when I look up or look down.
If you listen on your Sofa while resting your head, the 598 will be quite annoying.
Ther padding itself is pretty good, the Earpads are great..can't go wrong with Senn Oval Velour.
Cable -
The cable is removable, its proprietary of course..like we don't have loads of proprietary connectors to begin with.
I found out the cable has 4-Conductors inside, that means you can cut the cable and install a 4-Pin XLR and run it balanced on the HDVA-600 and the HDVD-900, which honestly is quite fantastic.
The stock cable is pretty soft bendy, not one of those sh**** silver conductors which kink and piss you off.
Another advantage is that since it is 4-C, you can make a DIY Microphone contraption, biggest problem the recessed jack on the headphone..the only way I can think of is a CNCd 2.5mm connector or maybe cut the stock cable and solder the wires which is the less elegant way.
Efficeny and Scale-Up -
I have no respect for IEMs and Low Impedance dynamic headphones, I really hate that Senn is going away from their High Impedance system for the newer models.
They are 63 Ohms or something..correct me if I'm wrong. They aren't that sensitive to be great out of a iPad or a iPhone, with my Nano 7G I barely get any dynamics due to the lack of efficiency, if you make a efficient headphone..fuc**** make sure its efficient..
If you can't do that, then just make a Non-Efficient one, don't fuc***** make one in the middle.
They have some issues with excursion, that can be cured with Amplifers with Low Output Impedances..I have seen some audible improvements in excursion limits, which is good to know.
I'll come to the excursion soon.
So, time for the Sound now..
Bass -
Impact-less, weak, slow, low excursion and all that crap.
The bass is abysmal, the bass is worse than the cheap Nexus 5 IEMs, they have zero impact, no extension to be found here.
Only some Mid-Bass, which happens to be pretty ****ty, the bass quality is so Low-Fi that its funny, they make me laugh...in my existence this is the first time a headphone made me laugh, except Japanese headphones -That's a different story, I should dedicate a segment to explain how shi*** those fuc**** Japanese headphones are.
Anyway, the 598s do Stand-Up, the bits are in the form of the bass they reproduce.
I hate the bass, if people can complain about accentuated bass, I sure can mock these 598s for having poor bass.
I haven't looked at the graph yet but audibly I think they roll-off severly at 120Hz, there is no sub-bass.
They hit excursion quick too, 60Hz at XX SPL, I am not stating an exact number because I haven't measured them, believe me its at medium volume which is pretty bad.
The driver seem to be cohesive in terms of hitting it, 1db tolerance maximum.
Overall, these headphones can't do bass.
Mid-Range -
Mid-Range works, its fine..nothing too striking from lower-mids, going to the presence region is clean..mostly, presence region and you have a peak at the lower octaves, adding thinn-ness to the overall sound, the upper-half is slightly uneven too, not the cleanest I've heard.
There is audible Break-Up (Distortion) which takes away from the transparency, overall the Mid-Range is NOT High Fidelity, lacks weight and body, slightly honky and grainy as well.
No Musicality here, very thin and Low Fidelity.
Treble -
I find the treble presentation to be rather respectable, they extend quite well..detailed high frequency response.
I wouldn't say its having the crazy upper treble resolution because it doesn't but..for the price, its above average in terms of treble presentation.
Like all BoPET membranes, there is break-up and its not free of grain but its not too grainy either.
Separation and Imaging -
Ooo they are angled, I've seen some idiots go crazy and start to believe a headphone sounds 3D if its angled, that's just stupid.
I mean really?
The 598s are just fine, they aren't congested sounding, they image decently. Nothing noteworthy in the imaging department.
Separation is useless to talk about because it depends on the recording, anyway if you are interested, there is speration, Ooooo.
Distortion -
Now I'm not an Engineer, I don't have much knowledge in terms of types of distortion. I don't know if its THD or IMD or whatever, there is audible distortion..thanks to the awesome drivers, thank you Senn!
Overall, I don't like them, its better than the hideously offensive and grainy ma900 but the 598 isn't that far from the ma900 in terms of how fu***** bad they sound.
I think the ma900 wins in terms of ****tyness..followed closely by the 598, wooohooo, congratulations ma900!
Get these headphones if you are a crazy headphone collector like me, for listening to music, I would rather just sleep than listen to these.
Also, owners, don't be offended..I'm just being honest..if you can leave some valuable and relevant comments, go ahead, don't comment and try to educate me.
Thanks for reading, here's my YouTube review -