[SonicGoat]

My sister recently purchased a pair of Bose SoundTrue headphones for my dad for father's day. Well, I've been testing them out, to see how they compare to my newly purchased Sennheiser Momentums and HD598s. The first time I plugged the SoundTrues into my early-2011 MBP 13", I was turned off by how soft the music was, even at the highest volume. A day or two later, I tried them with my iPhone 5 and I was astounded by how much louder they got, how much richer the sound was. The first conclusion anyone would draw is that there's something wrong with sound card on my MacBook, but that cannot be the case since my MacBook drives my two Sennheiser headphones to higher volumes than my iPhone can. 
 
Can anyone make sense of this? I'd like to know since I will likely be returning my Momentums tomorrow; great sound and aesthetics but not comfortable and tomorrow marks 14-days. I work at a major retail store, so I could get the super comfortable SoundTrues for less than $95 and use them as something of a closed-back beater complement to my solitary HD598s. But, I'd like to drive them with my MacBook, which contains all my lossless tracks. 
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[wuwhere]

  My sister recently purchased a pair of Bose SoundTrue headphones for my dad for father's day. Well, I've been testing them out, to see how they compare to my newly purchased Sennheiser Momentums and HD598s. The first time I plugged the SoundTrues into my early-2011 MBP 13", I was turned off by how soft the music was, even at the highest volume. A day or two later, I tried them with my iPhone 5 and I was astounded by how much louder they got, how much richer the sound was. The first conclusion anyone would draw is that there's something wrong with sound card on my MacBook, but that cannot be the case since my MacBook drives my two Sennheiser headphones to higher volumes than my iPhone can. 
 
Can anyone make sense of this? I'd like to know since I will likely be returning my Momentums tomorrow; great sound and aesthetics but not comfortable and tomorrow marks 14-days. I work at a major retail store, so I could get the super comfortable SoundTrues for less than $95 and use them as something of a closed-back beater complement to my solitary HD598s. But, I'd like to drive them with my MacBook, which contains all my lossless tracks. 
 
Thanks in advance.

 
Don't they have that integrated inline remote that may have been switched on or off?

 

[SonicGoat]

You can't turn it on or off but here's what I just figured out ... I took the cable from my Momentums and used it with the SoundTrues. Voila! Louder, richer sound.  

 

[wuwhere]

I read that they have that inline control to work with Apple products so taking that out freed the headphone?

 

[SonicGoat]

  I read that they have that inline control to work with Apple products so taking that out freed the headphone?

Actually maybe not. 

 

[tinyman392]

  I read that they have that inline control to work with Apple products so taking that out freed the headphone?

 
MacBook is Apple...  And it fully supports the Apple 3-button remote and mic (as well as single button ones). 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  You can't turn it on or off but here's what I just figured out ... I took the cable from my Momentums and used it with the SoundTrues. Voila! Louder, richer sound.  

This reminds me of when I replaced my QC15's two-year-old main cable and it dramatically improved the sound, especially compared to the remote cable.

 

[SonicGoat]

I don't know if I should keep the HD598s and pickup a pair of Bose SoundTrues for coffee shop drawing then hunt down a better cable OR return the HD598s (& forget the SoundTrues) and instead get the NAD Viso HP50s. 
 
Where I work it would cost me $160-something for the HP50s, which is around what I paid for the HD598s. The SoundTrues are $94.50 with my employee discount. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I don't know if I should keep the HD598s and pickup a pair of Bose SoundTrues for coffee shop drawing then hunt down a better cable OR return the HD598s (& forget the SoundTrues) and instead get the NAD Viso HP50s. 
 
Where I work it would cost me $160-something for the HP50s, which is around what I paid for the HD598s. The SoundTrues are $94.50 with my employee discount. 

Lucky! (That you get those discounts.) If you are considering the HP50, I would also look at the Focal Spirit Professional - that's the one I'm getting next. I've read a lot of reviews and no other model in the price range impressed me as much. (Haven't heard either, sadly.)

 

[SonicGoat]

Yeah, I've considered the Focal Spirit Professonal -- which I get a steep discount on too. From what I've seen, the HP50s have garnered the most ballyhoo. Today, I went to a local audio and video store and tried on the HP50s and they seemed comfortable around the ear but the headband pressed against the top of my head in a concentrated area. Not sure how comfortable they'll be over extended listens. 
 
I also went to the Apple Store and tried the P7s. I hate the way they have them set up there. They don't give you enough slack with the headphone cables. I had to hunch over to use them. When it was all said and done, I crossed the P7s off my list; not really suggesting I disliked them. 

 

[tinyman392]

  Yeah, I've considered the Focal Spirit Professonal -- which I get a steep discount on too. From what I've seen, the HP50s have garnered the most ballyhoo. Today, I went to a local audio and video store and tried on the HP50s and they seemed comfortable around the ear but the headband pressed against the top of my head in a concentrated area. Not sure how comfortable they'll be over extended listens. 
 
I also went to the Apple Store and tried the P7s. I hate the way they have them set up there. They don't give you enough slack with the headphone cables. I had to hunch over to use them. When it was all said and done, I crossed the P7s off my list; not really suggesting I disliked them. 

 
The cable is normally fed through a little hole in the table, you can pull that out further   But you are stuck using their iPod as a source. 

 

[SonicGoat]

   
The cable is normally fed through a little hole in the table, you can pull that out further   But you are stuck using their iPod as a source. 

Oh, that would have been nice to know. I did manage to use my iPhone, however, and played the handful of lossless tracks I had on it. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Yeah, I've considered the Focal Spirit Professonal -- which I get a steep discount on too. From what I've seen, the HP50s have garnered the most ballyhoo. Today, I went to a local audio and video store and tried on the HP50s and they seemed comfortable around the ear but the headband pressed against the top of my head in a concentrated area. Not sure how comfortable they'll be over extended listens. 
 
I also went to the Apple Store and tried the P7s. I hate the way they have them set up there. They don't give you enough slack with the headphone cables. I had to hunch over to use them. When it was all said and done, I crossed the P7s off my list; not really suggesting I disliked them. 

 
Ballyhoo is the reason I bought the QC15 before knowing better. Bose does more mass consumer marketing than other headphone manufacturers. I'm disgruntled at the misleading "best sound quality ever" claims in their ads. If I had only been at Head-Fi back then, I could have done much better for the price. Having to use batteries just to listen to music is an inexcusable design flaw.
 
I'm going for the FSP because they are neutral and balanced, yet engaging and punchy. The main thing I'm worried about is whether the ear cups will be too small.

 

[SonicGoat]

   
Ballyhoo is the reason I bought the QC15 before knowing better. Bose does more mass consumer marketing than other headphone manufacturers. I'm disgruntled at the misleading "best sound quality ever" claims in their ads. If I had only been at Head-Fi back then, I could have done much better for the price. Having to use batteries just to listen to music is an inexcusable design flaw.
 
I'm going for the FSP because they are neutral and balanced, yet engaging and punchy. The main thing I'm worried about is whether the ear cups will be too small.

If you're worried about the ear cups being too small, why not get the HP50s? My ears are big and there was no discomfort when I tried them on. 

 

[Music Alchemist]

  If you're worried about the ear cups being too small, why not get the HP50s? My ears are big and there was no discomfort when I tried them on. 

Because according to what I have read in reviews, I would probably enjoy the sound of the FSP more. The HP50 was at the top of my list in its category until I did more research. Both are excellent, at any rate. If you see my full wish list, you'll know that I have no qualms about buying tons of headphones! ^_^