[RockStar2005]

how good it sounds with those particular type of songs in comparison to other headphones like the audio techncias or something like beats.

Ok.

After listening to the 3 YouTube songs on my Cs, my review statements STILL apply, even on these mp3-quality streaming tracks. All 3 sounded fantastic! The details, sound separation, overall clarity and feel was great considering the source quality.

Compared to the M50X, I think the 3 songs sound MUCH better on the Cs because you don't have the poor soundstage and muddy bass in your way that I got from the M50X cans. Beats are probably even worse based on my own experience with them + that Beats owners I've talked to in person have said that not only are they too bassy, but they also tend to distort the bass at louder volumes.

It's funny to me the people who keep insisting on comparing these to the open-back 598 & 598 SE are saying they simply can't compete with those open-backs. When I auditioned the 598 SE back in Feb, I noticed the bass would also distort, though only at REALLY loud volumes. Still, it happened, yet I don't have this issue at all with the Cs, or even my old AKG K550 headphones. So I continue to disagree that the 598 & 598 SE sound better. And I know others on here and YouTube agree with me as well. The comfort is also much better on the Cs too.

 

[aertus]

 
Hey, if you like that kind of shoegaze music like DIIV - Dopamine, I suggest you try an old album, but very very good:
"The Cure - Disintegration". Different style but I get the same vibe from the sound of the guitars.
This genre benefits from open sounding headphones, or generally hp with good soundstage and separation.

 
definitely man I dig the cure. IT's exactly the sort of sound I'm talking about. MBV were the originators of this sound obviously, but lots of other bands were inspired by them and also slowdive. What you think of the songs?

My AKG K702 can make shines that tracks, but not my 598Cs. K702 makes me cry but i need a close headphone, easy to drive and all-round, not bassy.

Yeah, honestly idk if I was living by myself I would go for open back but closed backs are the only thing appropriate for me since there are always people around me in my house, and outside it's no good for travel. The AKG k702 sound good though. 
 

Ok.

After listening to the 3 YouTube songs on my Cs, my review statements STILL apply, even on these mp3-quality streaming tracks. All 3 sounded fantastic! The details, sound separation, overall clarity and feel was great considering the source quality.

Compared to the M50X, I think the 3 songs sound MUCH better on the Cs because you don't have the poor soundstage and muddy bass in your way that I got from the M50X cans. Beats are probably even worse based on my own experience with them + that Beats owners I've talked to in person have said that not only are they too bassy, but they also tend to distort the bass at louder volumes.

It's funny to me the people who keep insisting on comparing these to the open-back 598 & 598 SE are saying they simply can't compete with those open-backs. When I auditioned the 598 SE back in Feb, I noticed the bass would also distort, though only at REALLY loud volumes. Still, it happened, yet I don't have this issue at all with the Cs, or even my old AKG K550 headphones. So I continue to disagree that the 598 & 598 SE sound better. And I know others on here and YouTube agree with me as well. The comfort is also much better on the Cs too.

thanks for taking the time to test them out. I hope you didn't hate listenting to these tracks I know this type of music isn't for everyone. It's  head-fi forum and we always talk about the equipment, however at the end of the day aren't we all music lovers? So I thought it was approripate to bring some music into this discussion since thats the whole point of these. 
 
Yeah, I thought as much I have tried the beats myself but I never knew the m50x were like that too. I always thought because of the amazing reviews they always get and the praise by youtubers and whatnot as being amazing I always thought they'd be a lot better. 
 
would you say open backs in general are overrated or is there a clear advantage in being open back. For me I wont buy any time soon because they are not practical for my enviroment. Also, two seperate categories so it doesn't make sense to compare them. 

 

[RockStar2005]

   
definitely man I dig the cure. IT's exactly the sort of sound I'm talking about. MBV were the originators of this sound obviously, but lots of other bands were inspired by them and also slowdive. What you think of the songs?
Yeah, honestly idk if I was living by myself I would go for open back but closed backs are the only thing appropriate for me since there are always people around me in my house, and outside it's no good for travel. The AKG k702 sound good though. 
 
thanks for taking the time to test them out. I hope you didn't hate listenting to these tracks I know this type of music isn't for everyone. It's  head-fi forum and we always talk about the equipment, however at the end of the day aren't we all music lovers? So I thought it was approripate to bring some music into this discussion since thats the whole point of these. 
 
Yeah, I thought as much I have tried the beats myself but I never knew the m50x were like that too. I always thought because of the amazing reviews they always get and the praise by youtubers and whatnot as being amazing I always thought they'd be a lot better. 
 
would you say open backs in general are overrated or is there a clear advantage in being open back. For me I wont buy any time soon because they are not practical for my enviroment. Also, two seperate categories so it doesn't make sense to compare them. 

 
Not a problem man. The tracks weren't the kind of music I would normally listen to, but they had a catchy enough "beat" or feel, so it was all good. 
 
Yeah it's good to share musical likes & dislikes too here and there. Even in my OP on here you may have noticed I mentioned 4 different Zeppelin tracks that I used to evaluate sound separation. In many other various posts I've talked and suggested all kind of music to ppl on here, with a special focus on Hi-Res music. That was what REALLY got me into the Hi-Fi arena. I realized that to really hear & enjoy the albums in this format I'd need premium equipment. And so that slowly led me to where I am today. (See the bottom half of THIS post from my Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 thread for more info on that.) Of course, those Hi-Res albums only sound better b/c they use better masters on those releases, not b/c of the higher resolution. Anything above mp3 will sound the same despite what many ppl say. I've encountered statistics that even more prove that. But the only way to GET those superior sounding recordings is to buy the Hi-Res versions. 
 
Yeah the M50Xs are praised by many, but to me they're like the most overrated headphones in existence. lol I've learned that reviews work great as guides, but to know FOR SURE if something is right for you, you have to try it out yourself. What I cared about 2 years ago differs than what I care about now (i.e. I thought extra bass was "cool"........now I realize it isn't. lol) 
 
I've only really tried ONE (well ok 2) open-back headphones, the original ivory HD 598. Then I tried the 598 SE, but that I believe has the SAME EXACT sound signature, so it doesn't really count does it? lol From what I remember, the soundstage on my closed-back AKG K550/K553 sounded JUST as wide as the open-back 598 SE did. So when ppl say the Cs "doesn't compare" to the open-back 598 or 598 SE or whatever, I really don't agree. But everyone has an opinion. lol So yeah, I do think they're overrated. But my experience is limited. Maybe the AKG open-back 'phones are better? Or maybe if I'd tried the higher-end Senn open-backs like the HD 650, 700, 800/800 S, etc, I might think differently? Or not? lol 
 
And yes, I agree strongly there too. It's like apples and oranges, so when I see ppl mention that in their reviews on here or even pro reviews, I tend to roll my eyes and skip over that part. Whether they really are better or not, the fact is, they are of different categories. 

 

[Spider fan]

Nice run of 5 star reviews on amazon tonight to get it up to 4-star overall. 

 

[aertus]

   
Not a problem man. The tracks weren't the kind of music I would normally listen to, but they had a catchy enough "beat" or feel, so it was all good. 
 
Yeah it's good to share musical likes & dislikes too here and there. Even in my OP on here you may have noticed I mentioned 4 different Zeppelin tracks that I used to evaluate sound separation. In many other various posts I've talked and suggested all kind of music to ppl on here, with a special focus on Hi-Res music. That was what REALLY got me into the Hi-Fi arena. I realized that to really hear & enjoy the albums in this format I'd need premium equipment. And so that slowly led me to where I am today. (See the bottom half of THIS post from my Sony Walkman NWZ-A17 thread for more info on that.) Of course, those Hi-Res albums only sound better b/c they use better masters on those releases, not b/c of the higher resolution. Anything above mp3 will sound the same despite what many ppl say. I've encountered statistics that even more prove that. But the only way to GET those superior sounding recordings is to buy the Hi-Res versions. 
 
Yeah the M50Xs are praised by many, but to me they're like the most overrated headphones in existence. lol I've learned that reviews work great as guides, but to know FOR SURE if something is right for you, you have to try it out yourself. What I cared about 2 years ago differs than what I care about now (i.e. I thought extra bass was "cool"........now I realize it isn't. lol) 
 
I've only really tried ONE (well ok 2) open-back headphones, the original ivory HD 598. Then I tried the 598 SE, but that I believe has the SAME EXACT sound signature, so it doesn't really count does it? lol From what I remember, the soundstage on my closed-back AKG K550/K553 sounded JUST as wide as the open-back 598 SE did. So when ppl say the Cs "doesn't compare" to the open-back 598 or 598 SE or whatever, I really don't agree. But everyone has an opinion. lol So yeah, I do think they're overrated. But my experience is limited. Maybe the AKG open-back 'phones are better? Or maybe if I'd tried the higher-end Senn open-backs like the HD 650, 700, 800/800 S, etc, I might think differently? Or not? lol 
 
And yes, I agree strongly there too. It's like apples and oranges, so when I see ppl mention that in their reviews on here or even pro reviews, I tend to roll my eyes and skip over that part. Whether they really are better or not, the fact is, they are of different categories. 

one artist i followed said that HI-res is how we should really listen to music because its the way the artist Intended it. It's kind of like 4k for me. Is 4k TV worth buying? maybe one could argue there isn't much native 4k to support buying one but Sony Tv's come up with upscaling software to make buying one a more future proof deal which they are certaintly future proof. However, you do not get true 4k content unless the SHOW ITSELF is 4k. One good example is the new planet earth 2 it looks amazing because it was reocorded with 4k cameras. The source is more important than the output (tv, speakers etc). 
 
The same is true for sound. It only makes a huge difference when the artist recorded it, mastered it, and mixed in HI-resolution that you will truly get the full experience of HI-res which is like the 4k format of music if that analogy makes any sense. However, you will still notice an imprvoment in quality by the very nature of having a larger bit rate and bit depth than mp3 320kbps. But the source will always be more important. You can have a 4k tv but if the person who made the show used a ****ty smartphone the 4k tv can only do so much. 

 

[christsreturn]

 
I've only really tried ONE (well ok 2) open-back headphones, the original ivory HD 598. Then I tried the 598 SE, but that I believe has the SAME EXACT sound signature, so it doesn't really count does it? lol From what I remember, the soundstage on my closed-back AKG K550/K553 sounded JUST as wide as the open-back 598 SE did. So when ppl say the Cs "doesn't compare" to the open-back 598 or 598 SE or whatever, I really don't agree. But everyone has an opinion. lol So yeah, I do think they're overrated. But my experience is limited. Maybe the AKG open-back 'phones are better? Or maybe if I'd tried the higher-end Senn open-backs like the HD 650, 700, 800/800 S, etc, I might think differently? Or not? lol 
 
And yes, I agree strongly there too. It's like apples and oranges, so when I see ppl mention that in their reviews on here or even pro reviews, I tend to roll my eyes and skip over that part. Whether they really are better or not, the fact is, they are of different categories. 

 
I haven't found another closed set of headphones that has the open and airiness that my HD595 has, but I haven't tried those AKGs so I can't comment on those. What I can say is that my HD595s certainly have a more open and airy sound than the 598cs does. What I do find incredible though is how small the difference is. I mean its not what I would call splitting hairs, but its also not a night and day difference. I like to put things on a numerical scale, and if I drop the HD595 at a 10, then I would have to drop the 598cs at about an 8, and my M50 at a 4.The M50 was thrown in as it is a very popular closed set in this same price category. I feel like the 598cs has done an incredible job of emulating the 598/595 experience while utilizing a closed design. I feel that because of this they made some other trade offs though, primarily in the areas of sound leak, and ambient noise reduction. 

In general, I would say comparing an open and closed design is an apples to oranges comparison. With the 598cs though, you have a closed design attempting to recreate the experience of one of their popular open designs. In that respect, just this once, it definitely makes sense to compare this set to its open counterpart. 

 

[RockStar2005]

  one artist i followed said that HI-res is how we should really listen to music because its the way the artist Intended it. It's kind of like 4k for me. Is 4k TV worth buying? maybe one could argue there isn't much native 4k to support buying one but Sony Tv's come up with upscaling software to make buying one a more future proof deal which they are certaintly future proof. However, you do not get true 4k content unless the SHOW ITSELF is 4k. One good example is the new planet earth 2 it looks amazing because it was reocorded with 4k cameras. The source is more important than the output (tv, speakers etc). 
 
The same is true for sound. It only makes a huge difference when the artist recorded it, mastered it, and mixed in HI-resolution that you will truly get the full experience of HI-res which is like the 4k format of music if that analogy makes any sense. However, you will still notice an imprvoment in quality by the very nature of having a larger bit rate and bit depth than mp3 320kbps. But the source will always be more important. You can have a 4k tv but if the person who made the show used a ****ty smartphone the 4k tv can only do so much. 

 
That artist is correct. Tom Petty has said the same thing too. While I do not agree with EVERYTHING he says (i.e. the 5% comment), I do agree with much of it. The higher resolution doesn't make any difference though IMHO, as long as it stays above mp3-level. It's just that the studio use only the BEST masters for Hi-Res. Even more so than the ones used for mp3s and even CDs. So I guess I agree but also don't agree. lol 
 
See when it comes to TVs, the resolution thing DOES actually matter. A 4K TV is noticeably better than 1080p, and 1080p is EXTREMELY noticeably better than say, 480p. But when I get a 24/96 or 24/192 Hi-Res album, and do my usual downsizing to 16/44.1 (CD-Quality) or around there, it still sounds EXACTLY the same.....as long as its from that same original recording. I've done ABX tests and even read about statistical studies that produced results which proved this. Those who say they can hear a difference are simply guessing or lying. lol I go by facts, not fiction. lol 
 
Yeah the upscaling on TVs and blu-ray players has ALWAYS been a very nice feature. But no..........as I said above, Hi-Res won't sound better if it's upsampled. MP3s don't either. The upsampling used by like Sony's DSEE HX simply makes changes to the music it deems as being below minimum Hi-Res, which includes mp3s and I think CD-Q too. But yeah, with 4K TVs, having true 4K content is vital to producing the BEST video output possible. You might be right about the source being more important than the output device. 
 
I used to see it the way you did, but after speaking to some people on here even wiser than me, and doing my own research elsewhere, including my experiences/comparisons, I no longer see it that way. Sony, like several other companies, tries to make it seem like the resolution does matter when it comes to Hi-Res, but it just isn't true. Learning this truth has saved me money b/c now instead of having to pay for cloud storage I still have a ton of space left before I hit my limit because I downsample my songs to as long as they can go without losing quality..........256-320 kbps AAC (aka mp4, or next gen mp3s). Ok, I actually only go down to 512 kbps, but that's just the paranoid side of me. lol It also saves me from having to buy a larger MicroSD card than I need, and it also saved battery power cuz it takes more power to play a 24/96 file than it does CD-Q or 512 kbps AAC file. lol (See this post of mine for more info.) 
 
Yes exactly, if the recording was bad from the start, you can only do so much to salvage it. But that's why I buy Hi-Res, b/c THAT'S the format where the best masters are stored in. 

 

[RockStar2005]

   
I haven't found another closed set of headphones that has the open and airiness that my HD595 has, but I haven't tried those AKGs so I can't comment on those. What I can say is that my HD595s certainly have a more open and airy sound than the 598cs does. What I do find incredible though is how small the difference is. I mean its not what I would call splitting hairs, but its also not a night and day difference. I like to put things on a numerical scale, and if I drop the HD595 at a 10, then I would have to drop the 598cs at about an 8, and my M50 at a 4.The M50 was thrown in as it is a very popular closed set in this same price category. I feel like the 598cs has done an incredible job of emulating the 598/595 experience while utilizing a closed design. I feel that because of this they made some other trade offs though, primarily in the areas of sound leak, and ambient noise reduction. 

In general, I would say comparing an open and closed design is an apples to oranges comparison. With the 598cs though, you have a closed design attempting to recreate the experience of one of their popular open designs. In that respect, just this once, it definitely makes sense to compare this set to its open counterpart. 

 
The K550 was VERY open and airy, despite being closed-back. This review by What Hi-Fi further verifies that. I highly recommend checking them out just for the experience. I found them to have just as wide a soundstage as the 598 SE did. 
 
There is a BIT of sound leak I guess with the Cs, but I don't know if I noticed any difference in soundstage b/t the CS and the K550. The HD 595s are open-back, so to me it's ALSO an "apples & oranges" comparison, and not really worth dwelling on. 
 
I see what you mean, but the problem is, ppl are gonna believe what they think is true. And the general consensus is open-back is better, so people then proceed to hear that and then hear a difference. I'm just so tired of hearing about it honestly. lol It doesn't change my preference for closed-backs. But like I said elsewhere, maybe if I got one of the open-backs that were considered better than the 598/598 SE and listened to it, I might change my mind. I just don't think I actually would if I did. lol 

 

[pack21]

Let it burn they will open very well.

 

[Saiden]

Hello everyone!
I'm very new to this world and first of all I wanted to say hallo to all my fellow audiophiles, amateur and pros alike.
Like many of you I just got my hands on this new HD 598 Cs from Sennheiser taking advantage from the black friday deal. I also bought the HD 598 SE from amazon with the idea to send back whichever I liked least.
I read a lot of comparisons between the two, and the general idea is that the Cs are more V-shaped that the se, and especially pumping a bit on the bass. 
Well I now can compare the two myself, and for some odd reason i can't explain my SE have A LOT more bass than the Cs. In general they are  far far superior than the newer model (except maybe for comfort). 
Can some more experienced user explain what am I doing wrong? Is it possibile that i have some faulty Cs or SE?
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[GoodBoy]

  Hello everyone!
I'm very new to this world and first of all I wanted to say hallo to all my fellow audiophiles, amateur and pros alike.
Like many of you I just got my hands on this new HD 598 Cs from Sennheiser taking advantage from the black friday deal. I also bought the HD 598 SE from amazon with the idea to send back whichever I liked least.
I read a lot of comparisons between the two, and the general idea is that the Cs are more V-shaped that the se, and especially pumping a bit on the bass. 
Well I now can compare the two myself, and for some odd reason i can't explain my SE have A LOT more bass than the Cs. In general they are  far far superior than the newer model (except maybe for comfort). 
Can some more experienced user explain what am I doing wrong? Is it possibile that i have some faulty Cs or SE?
 
Thanks a lot!

From what I remember SE are source dependent so they can sound super dull and neutral, but with some good amp and colored soundcard they can be bassy. The HD598CS are bassy regardless of source. It's interesting you said SE are more bassy then closed edition. CS are bassy enough for me

 

[StrayChild01]

Yesterday I got mines (yeih), and I have to say that is a big departure of all the headphones that I've owned -not that many, and none of them audiophile level. I quickly tested with Pink Floyd, Foo Fighters, Woodkid, Daft Punk, Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails and Cinematic Orchestra. Somehow I still don't feel the chills I felt when I tested the HD600 for the first time. Could be that I need to burn them so I can really listen the true sound or maybe that I'm dead from the inside.

However, for the price they are WAY better than a lot of options. The finish is superb and I like them.
 
By the way: I saw a comment from /r/ZReviews/ that he bought the 598Cs, so let's see if he makes a review about them.

 

[RockStar2005]

  Yesterday I got mines (yeih), and I have to say that is a big departure of all the headphones that I've owned -not that many, and none of them audiophile level. I quickly tested with Pink Floyd, Foo Fighters, Woodkid, Daft Punk, Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails and Cinematic Orchestra. Somehow I still don't feel the chills I felt when I tested the HD600 for the first time. Could be that I need to burn them so I can really listen the true sound or maybe that I'm dead from the inside.

However, for the price they are WAY better than a lot of options. The finish is superb and I like them.
 
By the way: I saw a comment from /r/ZReviews/ that he bought the 598Cs, so let's see if he makes a review about them.

 
Many have said that burning the Cs in DOES make a noticeable difference. I burned mine in for about 24 hours before starting. Still, I'm not completely convinced that it's the burning-in that improves the sound quality or simply that your brain gets "used to" the sound signature of the headphones. It's arguably the GREATEST debate on Head-Fi. lol
 
Nice on those bands, esp Zep! As you saw in my OP, I also used some Hi-Res Zep to test out the sound separation, which turned out well!
 
Yes I like the looks of the Cs too. Not as premium as some of the more expensive ones, but still premium-looking enough for me. 
 
Who's that? Ok. If he does, then please feel free to post a link to that review for us to see and discuss if you can. 

 

[akg fanboy]

   
Many have said that burning the Cs in DOES make a noticeable difference. I burned mine in for about 24 hours before starting. Still, I'm not completely convinced that it's the burning-in that improves the sound quality or simply that your brain gets "used to" the sound signature of the headphones. It's arguably the GREATEST debate on Head-Fi. lol
 
Nice on those bands, esp Zep! As you saw in my OP, I also used some Hi-Res Zep to test out the sound separation, which turned out well!
 
Yes I like the looks of the Cs too. Not as premium as some of the more expensive ones, but still premium-looking enough for me. 
 
Who's that? Ok. If he does, then please feel free to post a link to that review for us to see and discuss if you can. 

Measurements would say otherwise, 99% of "burn in" is the listener getting used to the sound, otherwise known as compromising to deny buyers remorse LOL.
Most if any at all changes in sound come from the first 10 minutes, even then the difference is hardly audible, but of course there will be audiophiles drenched in snake oil telling you that you need 200+ hours of burn in....

 

[RockStar2005]

  Measurements would say otherwise, 99% of "burn in" is the listener getting used to the sound, otherwise known as compromising to deny buyers remorse LOL.
Most if any at all changes in sound come from the first 10 minutes, even then the difference is hardly audible 

 
Ok. So it's really a waste of time then. lol Just put them on and listen & wait? lol