[Mad Lust Envy]

HD598 = no brainer.

 

[keanex]

 


Quote:

Huh? I guess it's true that no matter how good something is there exists someone who will find fault in it.
 
With that said, a very large majority of people who heard the ad900 agree that it has very good and impressive soundstage (one of the best ever).
There are not many people selling them used. Meaning, many who own them are not so willing to give them up. That's how I knew the ad900 was awesome before even listening to it. I've seen more other used good headphones for sale, like the akg701s, denon d2000 (hard to believe for such a good can), HD598s, etc. But not so much the ad900. Don't get me wrong, the hd598 is a great can (I had it). It is a jack of all trades type of headphone (good slightly forward mids, good soundstage, adequate bass, good highs, nice look to them, good comfort, etc.)  But I would rather trade slightly greater bass and better looks for greater clarity and even better soundstage any day of the week. Plus I have plenty of clean bass boosters (sony player, rockbox sansa clip+, fiio e11, digizoid zo, etc.) so having slightly less bass than the hd598 isn't a minus at all. Actually on quite a few of my music tracks the bass of the ad900 is just right and I'm a former bass head (jvc fx700 and fx500, hippo vb, ie8, denon d2000, etc).
 
Both are great cans and I'll you will be happy with either one, but I like the ad900.
 

 
I agree with this post.
 
The Ad900 don't lack in bass at all for me with slight EQ. I absolutely love them compared to the HD598, though everyone's ears are different.

 

[csm725]

Are they comfy? I've read the ears touch the drivers, etc etc.

 

[h1a8]

 The ears can touch the drivers but there is a way to adjust them to not. Even if they do touch then they are still pretty comfortable. I would say a 7-8/10. But there are easy and inexpensive mods to improve comfort even more (even improve the sound based off one's taste).

 

[keanex]

The ears only touch drivers if you're wearing them wrong, which most people do when they get them. I love the comfort of these, they actually feel refreshing to put on after wearing others.

 

[csm725]

Arg... I'm so confused. I'm thinking - get whichever one is cheaper.

 

[keanex]

Well the Ad900 is cheaper in the sense that you don't need an amp to enjoy them. Many like the HD598, many like the Ad900. Buy whatever appeals to you and if you aren't satisfied sell them and buy the other!

 

[csm725]

I guess you're right. 

 

[MegaMushroom]

That is too true.  You don't realize how comfortable the 598s really are until you take them off. 
 
Quote:

The ears only touch drivers if you're wearing them wrong, which most people do when they get them. I love the comfort of these, they actually feel refreshing to put on after wearing others.

 

 

[Naked Snake]

That is funny because I find them so comfortable I feel like they were custom fitted for my head. They fit just right (I have a slightly above average sized head). This was the only thing I was worried about before buying these, but I guess I lucked out. I don't know about anyone else but if you put them on correctly, i.e. so that they sit above your ear and surround it, you'll absolutely forget they're there. I've done 3 hour gaming sessions with no discomfort whatsoever or having to readjust them. They stay in position very well. If they don't sit on your ear well, I think there's a simple mod for it. I guess my head is just right for these. BTW, this falls just in line with their reputation in terms of comfort, either people love 'em or hate 'em.
 
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I can personally say I HATE the AD700s for comfort. Headache within 2 minutes for reasons I do not know of. Pads are just awkward to me, much prefer true circumaural rather than having it slightly touch my ears.

 

 

[tdockweiler]

If you have a small head, the AD700 is terrible. I'm not a fan of the pads because I find them too scratchy. For my AD700 I bent the headband inward.
The AD300 are actually smaller and much more secure, but have similar pads. Maybe I can wash them to make them more comfortable?
The AD900 might be more secure on my head than the AD700. The ATH-AD2000 is very secure, but the drivers touch my ears. They never did that with the AD700.
 
HD-598 is very comfortable, but a step down from the K601 when it comes to comfort.

 

[Velocity]

Wich would you say have the deepest soundstage of 598 and AD900?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Wich would you say have the deepest soundstage of 598 and AD900?

Heya,
 
AD900, like AD700, and the K701 for example, all have abnormally, artificially huge sound stages. That can be a Pro or Con depending on how you interpret it.
 
Very best,

 

[NA Blur]

The 598 being more expensive has nothing to do with quality.  There are plenty of expensive headphones out there that I would view and not any good.  It is a better phone because it extends more into sub bass region.  Both phones appear almost identical everywhere else.  I can speak for the 598's spatial imaging capabilities as being awesome.  They are open so they will be great for movies and gaming. The graphs below show the 50Hz and 500Hz square wave response as well as the impedance vs frequency.  The 598 does slightly better at reproducing the 500Hz square wave meaning it will give better presence of frequencies of multiples of 500Hz ( 500,1000,1500 ... 500(n) ).  There are fewer peaks is mainly what I am looking at there.  At multiples of 50Hz both phones look nearly identical.  The 598 has a nice spike at the fundamental in the impedance curve which will grab more power from your source.  Not a bad thing unless it goes above 400 Ohms or below 20 Ohms.  At those points the source may find problems with properly controller the driver mainly due to current flow.  You may find that the 598 needs a little amplification to sounds its best due to this issue.
 
Another issue with some Sennheiser headphones is the "veil".  Take the HD600 and HD650 for example.  The sound will appears as if it is going from the driver then through a pillow on its way to your ear.  It drives me crazy and is why I do not enjoy most upper end Sennheiser products. 
 
If you are looking at the AD900's I can tell you they get a little "honky" near 500Hz and below and to me are not a great phone.  Check out the 500Hz square wave response on the AD900's sometime.  It starts to look like a Grado in that the square wave is oscillatory when a perfect square was what went into the phone.
 
I really recommend you try any headphone before you settle on one or the other.  Who knows which headphone you will like the most.  In the end there are only two headphone types "ones you like and ones you do not".
 
Let us know what you choose and how you like them.

 

[keanex]

Quote:

That is too true.  You don't realize how comfortable the 598s really are until you take them off. 
 


 

 
I was talking about the Ad900 actually, sorry for the misconception.