[DangerClose]

So when people review HD 598 to have a night and day difference with a closed back, are they exaggerating?

 
The more your ears and brain get used to hearing differences in sound, the more easily the differences are noticed.  People argue over the last 5% of difference here, or even over a smaller difference.  But other differences are bigger.  The more trained your ears get, the bigger the differences are.
 
Night and day difference depends on your definition.  Replace "night and day difference" with "obvious difference," and the meaning could be similar if not the same.
 
HD598 has a very good soundstage.  I think since it's a popular first entry into mid-fi territory, popular in part because it doesn't need an amp like many competitors do, people get it and then gush over it as the best thing they've ever heard.  Well, it probably is the best thing they've ever heard, and probably the biggest soundstage they've ever heard.  It's easy to get overexcited about such things.  Especially if they are coming from a pair of terrible headphones. 
 
But while its soundstage is very good, it doesn't have the height or depth of certain competitors.  But most competitors don't have its width.  But while a competitor may still have plenty of width, the HD598 doesn't really have plenty of depth.  Some people prefer that in-your-face sound, so it's not necessarily worse, but if the topic is how big soundstages are, then we have to try to be objective.
 
I'd say part of noticing the width is also related to height.  The HD598 having good not great height helps make the width seem even wider since the sound gets more concentrated.  A headphone with more height can sound fuller and may trick you into thinking it's not as wide as it actually is.  
 
 

Again, incorrect.

That is the power of placebo and your brain playing tricks on you.

I have the HD 650. ANd I've tired the HD 800. Both of them better the HD 598 in this regard. But anybody with keen era would know that the sound still doesn't come from the front. That is an illusion. I have also tried the LCD2. And my HD 650 are better than most of your headphones.

With k701 you do get that front effect best. That I agree. With K701 you do feel they come from the front but again, that is an illusion.

 
Obviously sounds don't actually come from the front since there's no speaker there, but, as you just said, it can sound like sound is coming from the front.  That's what we hear, so that's what ultimately counts.
 
And pertaining to this thread, the HD598 doesn't do that as well as other headphones.  Which isn't a bad thing if the person enjoys that in-your-face/in-your-head sound, but it is what it is.

 

[DangerClose]

  Headphones (alas, no matter how expensive) simply aren't going to give you much at all in terms of soundstaging.
 
Want soundstage with a "surround feeling"? Get surround sound speakers.

 
Headphones can only do so much, but check out this guy's reaction to wearing headphones for the first time for a movie instead of using his $3000 surround setup.  He does use a subwoofer for the lows, but the rest is some good headphone praise.
 
 

I already have the dt990 and the xonar st, and after some serious testing and tweaks I can assure you guys this combo is amazing, Im using a tweaked DH3 config with the help of a real JBL PB12 (sub) near me for the feeling of the lows... wow, I totally forgot that I was wearing headphones!!! But not only that, the sound wasn't coming from inside my head, or the virtual DH speakers... Nope... The sound was inside the movie screen!!!! Omg, Ive never experienced something like this before, on one scene there was some sparks on the scenery and the sound was right there!!! Inside the movie, it was weird but amazing at the same time.

 

 

[RRod]

OP, if you want a more frontal presentation then try a bit of crossfeed.

 

[saikat1729]

  OP, if you want a more frontal presentation then try a bit of crossfeed.

That's a lot of work and if I do that myself I am sure I will end up with a muddy version.

 

[RRod]

  That's a lot of work and if I do that myself I am sure I will end up with a muddy version.

 
There are plugins that work pretty quickly; perhaps you are thinking of something else?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossfeed

 

[milosingh]

Yes. There are plugins for cross feed. They don't exactly give a frontal presentation but do Center everything. And they do push the stage further in the front.

 

[saikat1729]

So I tried my HD 598SE again but this time with the original longer cable (this version comes with two cables) and surprisingly it effected the sound stage in a good way.
 
Instrument separation is actually noticeably better and I am getting a bigger sound stage for sure.
With some recordings I am even getting a little frontal imaging.
 
Like with Genda Phool (directed by A.R Rahman). Not sure if anybody here listens to A.R Rahman or any Indian music per say but if you don't you should.
 
Now that's surprising. I never thought this could work as I thought no way the longer cable will give better output but it does and I'm sure as hell not having a placebo effect.

 

[saikat1729]

   
There are plugins that work pretty quickly; perhaps you are thinking of something else?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossfeed

I didn't actually know that. I thought I have to do it with EQ by myself. Thanks! I will have a look and let you know what I find.

 

[saikat1729]

Yes. There are plugins for cross feed. They don't exactly give a frontal presentation but do Center everything. And they do push the stage further in the front.

Don't know your music preference but I am getting a bit frontal represtation 

Yes. There are plugins for cross feed. They don't exactly give a frontal presentation but do Center everything. And they do push the stage further in the front.

 
 

   
There are plugins that work pretty quickly; perhaps you are thinking of something else?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossfeed

Don't know which kind of music you guys are into but I am getting a little frontal representation with
 
Patsy Cline's "Crazy" (320)
B.B King's "Ain't that just like a woman" (FLAC)
Dusty Springfield's "The look of love" (320)
Johnny Cash's "If I were a carpenter" (This one is special because here I can actually feel like he and June Carter are in front of me side by side) (320)
 
Can you listen to these? Just for a consensus.

 

[RRod]

  Don't know your music preference but I am getting a bit frontal represtation 
 
 
Don't know which kind of music you guys are into but I am getting a little frontal representation with
 
Patsy Cline's "Crazy" (320)
B.B King's "Ain't that just like a woman" (FLAC)
Dusty Springfield's "The look of love" (320)
Johnny Cash's "If I were a carpenter" (This one is special because here I can actually feel like he and June Carter are in front of me side by side) (320)
 
Can you listen to these? Just for a consensus.

 
Crossfeed for me generally moves things in and forward just a tad, enough to make extended listening much more pleasurable. I listen primarily to orchestra music, and I find no reduction in my ability to "point" at instruments in the virtual sound-space, and it joins up the middle of the ensemble nicely. Keep trying it (and try various settings) to see if it works for you.

 

[Metalor]

Wrong. The type of change he wants is unlikely to happen with burn in.

Many songs with my HD 650 and Ember have a centre like or sometimes slightly in front soundstage.

But out of my HD 598 from an iPhone that doesn't happen.

It is a mix of song, headphones, amp and source. And partially mental cues.

Yeah.. not likely at all as burn in is a myth.

 

[smy1]

 
Yeah.. not likely at all as burn in is a myth.

I believe in burn in

 

[Blazer39]

  Unfortunately that isn't available in my country (India). Looked like a surprising pair though. I would have been taken aback if that deliver any better performance than what I am currently getting.

 
you should try audio technica air series, they are all known for great soundstage( ad900x probably best bang for the buck).

 

[The Third]

With HD 598 you don't get the sound stage in front of you. I don't always get that even with my HD 650. Headphones are headphones.

A headphone with a bigger SS will have a slightly bigger SS. But it won't be magic.

In that regard I would say the HE-400/HE-500 have the most holographic soundstage, which actually have the soundstage being presented very much from the front and sides(but rarely from far behind). 

 

[serman005]

  In that regard I would say the HE-400/HE-500 have the most holographic soundstage, which actually have the soundstage being presented very much from the front and sides(but rarely from far behind). 

HE400S also has a quite expansive soundstage, particularly at its price point.