[ggilman]

Looking at the Sennheiser HD 598's. Are there any other headphones at that price point, or below, that you'd recommend for great soundstage and imaging?

 

[syNRG]

Maybe consider the AKG K701/Q701? I think they might be around that price point in America.

 

[p0wah]

If soundstage is all youre looking for then the Audio Technica AD700X is what you want.

 

[ggilman]

Thanks for the tip. How are the AD700s comfort wise? That's my other big concern.

 

[FeelThaBeat]

I'd have to say the AKG Q701 also, you can find them for $199. They also sound very good to.

 

[charlie2]

Very comfortable Tried that before

 

[syNRG]

Careful for some of the AKG Q701s. Some are made in China, some are made in Austria. Since I have not heard the China ones, I'm not sure how good they are. The ones made in Austria are amazing. If you are going to pick up a pair, I would suggest finding a pair that is made in Austria, just to be safe. It should be written ("Made in Austria") on the outside of the earcup under the "Q" which is in the centre of the headphone. with the "Reference Headphones Q701" above the "Q".

 

[Matrixnobu]

Going against popular belief that closed headphones don't have a good soundstage. I say Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250ohm.

 

[syNRG]

  Going against popular belief that closed headphones don't have a good soundstage. I say Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250ohm.

It's not that closed headphones don't have good soundstage, I think it's more that open headphones have a far more open soundstage.

 

[ggilman]

Thanks so much syNRG for all the great information. How would you rate the the Q701's against the Audio Technica AD700X's? Any experience with those?

 

[syNRG]

Thanks so much syNRG for all the great information. How would you rate the the Q701's against the Audio Technica AD700X's? Any experience with those?

No I have not heard the ad700x. To be honest AT is known for their headphone almost always if not always being bright. I try and avoid them a little, (unless one pops up at a bargain price so I can try them) but to my understanding, the q701is undesputedly soundstage.king under $400. To be honest, it has such a wide soundstage it feel un-natural to some, artificial. If you're ok with that, which most peole are (including me) then there is no better match. But i still do agree the soundstage is unnaturally wide, and will probably be the widest that I will ever hear.

 

[MrLazyAnt]

  Going against popular belief that closed headphones don't have a good soundstage. I say Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250ohm.

It isn't, IMO, the pure "distance" feeling you get, but I feel a good soundstage when coupled with a certain airiness combines for a more realistic feeling. Airiness is something that opens offer with much less effort than closed-back. Effort, as we all know, often translates to price-tag in the audio world.
 
As to your question ggilman, I haven't tried the Q701's/K701's but the AKG opens and semi-opens that I have heard bring a lot of air into the mix. The cheaper AKG K141 MKII has a great soundstage for example, as do the K240's. Both headphones that scale up exceedingly well with a good source. I imagine the Q/K701's too scale up as well.
Don't forget that the source is a very important factor. My DX50 died a short while back and I'm to send it for repairs once I finish moving house. As a replacement I got a FiiO E18 Kunlun to connect to my Android device, and the pairing between it and my current "heavy-use" headphones (SoundMAGIC HP100's) is heavenly.
 
The point I'm trying to make here, longwinded though it may be, is pair your headphones with your source in the best way you can. I think it better to spend $150 on a source to be paired with $100 cans than just buying $250 headphones.
 
That being said, for a fair while I was satisfied with AKG K141 MKII's driven from a 2nd gen iPod nano. Those or the K240's I think might be good starting points if the Q/K701's are too pricey., and then as time progresses you can upgrade your source. This is all very general because your profile has no information so I don't know where you stand on DAC\Amp inventory.

 

[appsmarsterx]

MA900, if you can get them below $200