99.9% of the time I don't care what something looks like even out in public but sometimes the aesthetics of a certain item just bug me... the 598s happen to be one of those things.
And while I'll be wearing them during use I'll still have to look at them when they are not in use. My entire room/computer/theater system is black/silver/grey. The beige headset just REALLY doesn't fit in.
Still... if I had to choose based on aesthetics or sound quality, SQ would take the win hands down. I don't mind modding and can paint/dye the plastic/leather of the headset. Just not something I necessarily want to deal with doing.
If there are no other recommendations for something with my criteria (similar to the AD900 w/ slightly better bass) I might just have to paint/dye them to my liking. I do hope to get out to a store and try some samples before I start throwing my money around, but we'll see.
Part of me says I should buy an AD700 and see just how "poor" it is wrt bass. Worst comes to worst I have a decent set of phones for audio that doesn't call for low bass. The rest of me says to just buy one set based on this forums recommendatiosn and be done, otherwise I'll have another money-pit hobby
My Jeep, car, and computer already consume enough money, don't need another!