[Formshifter]

Hi there !!!

Now you're going to say "On which plenet does the 598 cost 150$ more than the 558 ? Well that planet is called Canada.....

Currently using a dying PX 100 -II  (sound is starting to cut off in the left ear) and looking mostly at the 598 vs the 558 since they fit most of my criterias (good all arounder with great comfort and the Senn sound signature). Now i've read pretty much everywhere i looked that the 598 was a more refined version of the 558 but is it worth 150 $ more ? I don't have any experience with either so and that's why i'm asking. I would get the 598 but if the difference is not worth the crazy bend over price difference then i will get the 558..

And yes i've looked around a lot for a better deal here in Canuckland. Can get the 598 on Ebay for slightly less but the difference is not really worth it. Maybe 10-15$ at most , thanks to those customs fees.

Basically the lowest i can get each (new and factory sealed) is :

Senn 598 - 259$ before taxe and shipping
Senn 558 -159$ before tax + shipping

And just so you know , even at that price both are supposed on sale LOL. TThe 558 normally goes for over 230$ here......This is crazy how we are getting ripped off on headphones prices here in Canada and it pisses me off , especially when i see the HD 598 at 187$ on Amazon.Com.....but of course they don't ship to Canada....

So my question is : Is the 598 worth it over the 558 at those prices ? My first instinct would be to say no but as i said i don't have any experience with either soit's hard for me to say

- Are there better alternatives in the Canadian market for 150-250$ ?

- Do you have any recommendation for me to get the HD 598 at the "normal" price ? I prefer to buy new and factory sealed just so you know. Never was a big "used" fan.

- Are there good deals on headphones normally during Boxing Day ? Someone told me the 598 were actually 169$ for a few hours on Amazon.ca during black friday but went back up to 279$ the same day. Had i knewi  would have snatched one up immediately but i was away for work and i wasn't in the hunt for headphoens at that time anyway.

Thanks in advance !!!.

Formshifter

 

[PurpleAngel]

The HD558 and HD598 use the same driver.
Also the HD558 comes with black rubber tape on the inside of the cups that covers 40% of the air holes.
So removing the black rubber tape from inside the cups of the HD558 makes the HD558 more open, like the HD598, but they will not sound exactly the same.

 

[jeremy205100]

Do what the guy above me said and mod the HD 558s. I have them as my secondary pair and although I've never heard the HD 598s, modding the 558s is supposed to be almost exactly the same. There's no way it's worth that much extra money. Besides, you're eventually going to want to upgrade beyond the 500 series anyway, so you might as well save it for a future purchase.

 

[FlyingPigman]

As Jeremy said. Once you get a listen to the 558's, you're gonna be hooked on audio . I would recommend staying with the 558's, they're pretty much the same headphones, and a lot cheaper. Mind you, they use the same driver as the 598's. Think of the 558's as a different colour scheme to the 598's.

 

[Formshifter]

Alirght , i'll probably go and bite the bullet on the 558. What i'm not sure of is if i should wait for boxing day and try to find better deals or just snatch a 558 right now at 170$cnd tax + shipping included. I need a new pair of headphones like now but at the same time i know there may be crazy deals on headphones in like a week , The Sony Wireless PS3 headset i'm currently using as a replacement is going to kill me lol. It's waaaaaayyy too bright and those highs and treble...good god they are terrible. They are decent for gaming and OK for some movies but for music ? Bad bad bad...at least for my tastes. I terribly miss my PX 100-II right now

Also , just another thing. I forgot to mention that i'm going to drive these headphones with my xi-fi titanium sound card. It's great with my PX 100-II and speakers but what about the hd 558 ? I've read that the 558 are 40ohm and the xi-fi is 36ohm. How much can this affect the sound ? Should i invest in a cheap amp so that it can drive the 558 slightly better ? And when i say cheap i'm talking about something in the 50-60$ range. Don,t want to spend 100$ + for an amp/DAC  , at least not now but i could invest 50 bucks for an entry one i guess.

 

[FlyingPigman]

I think your 558's should be fine on their own, but if you want, you can invest in a Fiio E11, or E6. Both of these are great options, and will make your listening experience much nicer, Again however, they're not mandatory. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Alirght , i'll probably go and bite the bullet on the 558. What i'm not sure of is if i should wait for boxing day and try to find better deals or just snatch a 558 right now at 170$cnd tax + shipping included. I need a new pair of headphones like now but at the same time i know there may be crazy deals on headphones in like a week , The Sony Wireless PS3 headset i'm currently using as a replacement is going to kill me lol. It's waaaaaayyy too bright and those highs and treble...good god they are terrible. They are decent for gaming and OK for some movies but for music ? Bad bad bad...at least for my tastes. I terribly miss my PX 100-II right now

Also , just another thing. I forgot to mention that I'm going to drive these headphones HD558? I've read that the 558 are 40-Ohm and the Xi-Fi is 36-Ohm. How much can this affect the sound ? Should i invest in a cheap amp so that it can drive the 558 slightly better ? And when i say cheap I'm talking about something in the 50-60$ range. Don,t want to spend 100$ + for an amp/DAC  , at least not now but i could invest 50 bucks for an entry one i guess.

That is a decent price for the HD558s, I doubt the price is going to get lower any time soon (in Canada).
The Titanium (non-HD) should be able to decently drive the 50-Ohm HD558.
 
In the future, you might consider selling off the Titanium and getting a Sound Blaster Z (OEM?).
(Better DAC chip and a half way decent headphone amplifier)

 

[Formshifter]

  That is a decent price for the HD558s, I doubt the price is going to get lower any time soon (in Canada).
The Titanium (non-HD) should be able to decently drive the 50-Ohm HD558.
 
In the future, you might consider selling off the Titanium and getting a Sound Blaster Z (OEM?).
(Better DAC chip and a half way decent headphone amplifier)

Ah !!

Now that's funny because i sold a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS a couple of years ago and replaced with my current xi-fi the titanium. Reason was because of the ZS drivers support was shaky on Windows 7 64 and i needed a PCI-E card instead of PCI for my new PC for practical reasons.

But anyway if anything i'm probably going to get an amp instead of exchanging my sound card. If i do make the switch one day though it will be for the Essence STX but i'm in no hurry at all. The Xi-Fi does a great job for now with my Z5500 which is what i mostly drive with it.

Edit : OK i just realised that the Sound Blaster Z has nothing to do with the Audigy 2 ZS that i had before. I thought it was part of that line at first but the Z is much more recent. I don't know much about that card  though so i'll take a look at a few reviews. Look decently priced at 79$ (Oem) here in Canada so it could be an option i guess., especially if it drive my Z5500 better than the Titanium does. Note that I,m prefectly happy with my Titanium but it could be 2 upgrades in one which i"m not opposed to if it's worth it.

 

[Formshifter]

Just wanted to add even though you guys probably don't give a **** lol , i just dug out an old pair of Sennheiser MX 581 earbuds with the foam tip i had and forgot about and...well i'm actually quite surprised !!! It actually sound pretty decent plugged directly into my XI-fi after some EQ and treble adjustments  (sound is way too thin by default), actually much better than the Sony Wireless Set. Of course it's not a permanent solution but i only used my 581 with my Sansa Clip for running before and never with my PC

As i said i am pleasantly impressed. The PX 100-II are better but i never thought earbuds could sound better than full sized cans. Sound is warm and clear , bass is decent and not too overpronounced. It distort at high volume and in in the lowest frequencies but overall they are solid. My ears won't bleed and suffer anymore from the Sony set

That said bring on the 558 !!

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Now that's funny because i sold a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS a couple of years ago and replaced with my current xi-fi the titanium. Reason was because of the ZS drivers support was shaky on Windows 7 64 and i needed a PCI-E card instead of PCI for my new PC for practical reasons.

But anyway if anything i'm probably going to get an amp instead of exchanging my sound card. If i do make the switch one day though it will be for the Essence STX but I'm in no hurry at all. The Xi-Fi does a great job for now with my Z5500 which is what i mostly drive with it.

Edit : OK i just realised that the Sound Blaster Z has nothing to do with the Audigy 2 ZS that i had before. I thought it was part of that line at first but the Z is much more recent. I don't know much about that card  though so i'll take a look at a few reviews. Look decently priced at 79$ (Oem) here in Canada so it could be an option i guess., especially if it drive my Z5500 better than the Titanium does. Note that I,m prefectly happy with my Titanium but it could be 2 upgrades in one which i"m not opposed to if it's worth it.

The SB-Z comes with e CS4398 DAC chip, the Titanium comes with the CS4382 DAC chip.
The SB-Z comes with a headphone amplifier, the Titanium comes with a line-output that pretends to be a headphone amplifier.
The SB-Z comes with separate headphone and Front speaker jack, the Titanium does not.
The SB-Z's DAC chip should be better the the Z-5500's DAC chip.