[jondsolo]

Hello, i'm new here, I was completely unaware of the audiophile world.. didn't know there was much better sound to be heard out here.
The two items I use for listening are my laptop and iPod, and I was interested in getting the most out of my HD598s.
This is my first quality buy of any headset besides gaming gear. 
I'm interested in getting as much quality these headphones can produce as possible through additional gear - since i'm aware the source determines the quality of sound more than anything. I read somewhere on here that with a dac/amp I can bypass my computers programs/soundcard and stream audio through the DAC? I am not sure how much of what I am saying is true, but if I can for instance play uncompressed audio and bypass my average soundcard then that would be ideal.

I'll be searching the forums but I figured someone here already knows the links/places I need to go to understand what sort of steps I need to take to get my headphones at their best.

One last question, does an AMP or DAC help with producing more bass? I was aware the 598s are not as strong with their bass when I bought them but if I could bring that up a tad then that would be awesome. 

I listen to electronic music, a lot of Aphex Twin, the rap I listen to is stuff like Andre Nickatina, and I do enjoy some dubstep here and there and I enjoy my Classical music as well.

It's a cool community here and i'm glad I found this place
 

 

[McPatD]

The Fiio E17 is a great all in one. Lots of info out there on it. I have a 598 I use it with. It even has adjustable bass and treble which sets it apart from other options.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Fiio E7, E17, iBasso gear, etc, will all do what you need.
 
However that said, you're not going to notice a marginal difference as the HD598 is rather efficient. Instead of spending an additional $140 or so on gear to make a headphone like the HD598 better, especially considering it's not performing what you want--which is bass heavy music like electronic music--maybe you could consider selling the HD598 and using your additional budget to get a headphone that actually does what you're looking for. Even with bass boosting, you're not going to get authoritative sub bass from the HD598. And too much will just create distortion. Maybe take a look at other headphone options. I say this simply because if you're willing to spend $100 just for "more bass" and "more from your current headphone" then it leads logically to just use that total budget instead to just get a better headphone that is capable in the areas that you're looking to compensate for. I would suggest you explore a Hifiman HE-400 for example.
 
Very best,

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello, i'm new here, I was completely unaware of the audiophile world.. didn't know there was much better sound to be heard out here.
The two items I use for listening are my laptop and iPod, and I was interested in getting the most out of my HD598s.
This is my first quality buy of any headset besides gaming gear. 
I'm interested in getting as much quality these headphones can produce as possible through additional gear - since I'm aware the source determines the quality of sound more than anything. I read somewhere on here that with a dac/amp I can bypass my computers programs/sound card and stream audio through the DAC? I am not sure how much of what I am saying is true, but if I can for instance play uncompressed audio and bypass my average sound card then that would be ideal.

I'll be searching the forums but I figured someone here already knows the links/places I need to go to understand what sort of steps I need to take to get my headphones at their best.

One last question, does an AMP or DAC help with producing more bass? I was aware the 598s are not as strong with their bass when I bought them but if I could bring that up a tad then that would be awesome. 

I listen to electronic music, a lot of Aphex Twin, the rap I listen to is stuff like Andre Nickatina, and I do enjoy some dubstep here and there and I enjoy my Classical music as well.

It's a cool community here and i'm glad I found this place
 

DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), the better the DAC, the more the audio quality will sound like it was intended to.
In other words some audio engineer(s) sent hours and days in a studio tweaking some song to get it just right,
so the better the DAC, the more the song (audio) is going to sound like the audio engineers wanted it to.
HD598s are not bassy headphones, a better amplifier will not really increase the bass, but it might give you a more "quality" bass.
The Fiio E10 and E17 headphone amplifier (both with built in DACs) would be something to look into.
The Fiio E10/E17 can not use their DAC feature with the iPod, just the laptop.
The cheapest add-on DAC that will work with apple portable devices is the HRT iStreamer.
 
You could get the Fiio E11 headphone amplifier (no built in DAC) and buy a separate external DAC to use with the laptop.

 

[jondsolo]

Cool, thanks you guys. I am satisfied with their sound for now, I am just used to an authoritative bass from a sound system - but where these lack in bass they make up in other areas and i'm very satisfied. Aphex Twin's music is what I swoon over and not much of his material is bass-heavy and I have picked out a lot more details to the music that I couldn't get before these headphones. It's like there was something hiding all along until I got the headphones. I will keep these and refine my research/knowledge before buying again. I'll look at these as my first time standing up in the audiophile world.

 

[onesome]

Each time I put 598 on my head  I'm experiencing extreme satisfaction.  My source is PC-FiiO- E10-LD Mk III /With Mullard/Voskhod tubes/. For portability I've ordered E17 and now I'm eagerly waiting. You don't need an amp to hear their amazing sound but you need one to take out best  of them.  E10 gave them so much needed additional clarity while LD brought the low mid power. I'm expecting E17 will be able to do the same cause I haven't had time to sit on my desk lately. Actually  I've been  considering both HD 598 and Alessandro MS -1i for my best phone purchases.