[Moosecraft]

would this be appliable to an HD558?
 
thx

 

[jschristian44]

Most of it, yes.

 

[Moosecraft]

any1 would like to show me how to do it on a 558 ?
 
thx

 

[liamstrain]

As far as I can tell - the process is identical. The pads come off the same way, the same screws hold things together, etc.  The grill mods may be different - but reviews are mixed on whether those are worth doing in the first place.

 

[jschristian44]

It is essentially the same thing for models HD555, HD595, HD558, and HD598.  They are almost exactly alike.  Sennheiser uses different colors, foam pieces, etc to classify them.  At this point, the HD598 is possibly the best value out there I can think of if your looking to get one of these cans.  I've modded the HD555 heavily and did a re-cable with the HD598 and the stock HD598 easily beats the HD555 in almost all areas.  I've never tested the HD595 or HD558, but the modded HD555 foam mod sounds identical to the HD595 from what I've read.  I can probably believe that.  The modded HD555 with the soundstage, re-cable, etc done to it probably sounds similar to the HD558 stock.  But a fully modded HD598 is the best value out there if your looking at these cans.  They are excellent all around cans that will benefit from amping.  I have just tested the M50 from Audio Technica and that phone easily beats the fully modded HD555 and probably the HD558 fully modded.  Those are great cans that get the respect they deserve for being so great stock and easy to drive.  But I've been reading and doing many mods to all the HD5xx series class of Sennheiser's and the HD598 fully modded is the way to go.  Of course, they won't even come close to my Wooden T50RP's, but to each his own.

 

[Moosecraft]

i opened up my 558's today and it seemed they have no outer grill(atleast it felt like it) so i didn't dare myself to actually cut it out any1 here did it to a pair of 558?
 
EDIT: they definitly only have one grill so this isnt really possible on a 558

 

[Zulkr9]

NO NO NO A big no
 
They actually have no inner grill, ps the only difference in sound with 558 and 598 is that the 598 is brighter and more brighter I guess its because of the outer metal grill cause the drivers are very similar if not the same !

 

[H8rsama]

I love this!!!
 
Im loving this old cans....
 
Recently i did the foam thing and they sounded better but now theyre improved.
Music is clearer now i can tell wheres every instrument playing. I also did a perma-eq on my sound card boosting bass a bit but ill keep playing with it cuz theres another option like that not using eq.
 
As for the soundstage goes......im gonna play bf3 for 2 hours or so and ill let you know.
 
Anyway, thnx thnx headfiers

 

[VeXun]

I did the foam mod to my HD 558's and I think the bass seems to be a bit more powerful, but that could also be from burning them in so I am not sure, I had no idea the foam was used as a surround reflector, Am I losing any sound quality by removing the foam? What is the purpose of it? Also I have about 60-70 hours of burn in time, how long until they are fully burned in?

 

[jesuscheung]

thx! Done this on my HD555. Overall, this mod by cutting the plastic is better than just removing the foam thing. By just removing foam, some music become extremely amazing but some music/sound becomes terrible (it can hurt my ears). This mod doesn't hurt my ears, but I do not get extremely great sound for some very specify music I listen to that was given me by just removing the foam. So, overall, I am happy with this.

 

[naike]

How is this mod? Removing the foam mod was awesome and it only improved the sound and you can easily reverse the mod.
 
But I'd like to hear some opinions of this mod before committing myself.

 

[Nazo]

It's really a matter of opinion. As someone demonstrated earlier in this thread, it does cause a very slight shift in the frequency responses (though basically the same shape,) so it does sound ever so slightly different but it's definitely not a night and day difference. For most of us it is an improvement. I don't think you could hate it. I suppose you could try just taking the drivers loose and holding them to your ears, but it's hard to imagine any way you could get the position and such just right, so it would probably sound too different to try that to really work as a good test.

I will say this. I don't care if everyone says the HD558/598 is better than the HD555/595. This modified HD555 is just so completely exactly perfect for what I want that I never want to change it. In fact, I'm going to have to buy a backup soon just in case something happens (a little paranoia on my part, but, if nothing else, most quality headphones can only last some ten years or so before they eventually get torn up from normal usage, so, lol, just another reason I want a backup for the future.) I won't claim it suits everyone, but I will say that for me at least the sound is absolutely perfect beyond any ability for me to even imagine the theoretical possibility of anything else ever being any better at all. (Well, obviously it won't suit everyone else's preferences so exactly, but in other words, it is at least good, lol.)

 

[naike]

Quote:

It's really a matter of opinion. As someone demonstrated earlier in this thread, it does cause a very slight shift in the frequency responses (though basically the same shape,) so it does sound ever so slightly different but it's definitely not a night and day difference. For most of us it is an improvement. I don't think you could hate it. I suppose you could try just taking the drivers loose and holding them to your ears, but it's hard to imagine any way you could get the position and such just right, so it would probably sound too different to try that to really work as a good test.

I will say this. I don't care if everyone says the HD558/598 is better than the HD555/595. This modified HD555 is just so completely exactly perfect for what I want that I never want to change it. In fact, I'm going to have to buy a backup soon just in case something happens (a little paranoia on my part, but, if nothing else, most quality headphones can only last some ten years or so before they eventually get torn up from normal usage, so, lol, just another reason I want a backup for the future.) I won't claim it suits everyone, but I will say that for me at least the sound is absolutely perfect beyond any ability for me to even imagine the theoretical possibility of anything else ever being any better at all. (Well, obviously it won't suit everyone else's preferences so exactly, but in other words, it is at least good, lol.)

Thanks, I went ahead and did the mod now...
 
First impression was pretty neutral, but after a while I realized that it just sounds more open, I can't really hear any difference in frequency response, maybe the mids are a little teeny tiny bit worse, but might be placebo.
On second thought, I'm pretty satisfied, and it also looks way cooler sounds opener now. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that bass isn't really affected, or at least I didn't notice anything immediately.
 
Also, I know what you mean, my friend got the 558s and though they aren't burnt in so I shouldn't say anything, but I preferred the sound of my modded 555s, the bass on the 558 kinda kills it for me.
The sound stage should be better on the 558 but for me it sounded worse, or maybe it's just the bass that made it sound more closed, or maybe I'm just too used to my bass-lacky 555s.

 

[Nazo]

The frequency shift before and after the mod is fairly subtle. It's hard to tell the difference and I couldn't really (though I did only a very very simple test as, at the time, I thought these headphones were nothing special and had just bought them on a whim to play around with.)

You can't compare if they aren't burned in though... In fact, one of the first changes in the burn-in process is usually the soundstage...

Really, the differences between the HD555 and HD558 shouldn't be that huge: http://i.imgur.com/jYjjfd0.png At least, when comparing a stock HD555 to a stock HD558 when both are fully burned in... The bass should be actually pretty close too. Many of the real differences between the two are harder to measure really, but the basic sound signature at least is the same.

 

[H8rsama]

I really like my moded 555 for old rock. Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, old punk......it sounds just right! Like it was meant to be.

For the rest of things im still using my DT880pro 250