HD 598 SR for use with iPAD Pro 10.5

[Perene]

Hello all,
I only used the Earpods and Airpods in my devices, I have no knowledge or experience with headphones such as Sennheiser's, yet I remember having tried similar products and they offered no comfort.

I sold my Airpods recently and will buy a new headphone that is wired. With only 3 requirements:

1) That the volume levels are NOT lower than both the Earpods and Airpods. Meaning I won't buy another item to boost the volume of this new headphone. It needs to have the same levels or higher (if higher it will be a lot better).

I use an app (nPlayer) for iOS that offers me the option to boost the volume, up to 400%. In some videos this is needed, for example in a movie from the 1960's I had to configure 400%. I don't listen to any music very loud, it's just that I get very annoyed when a headphone is incapable of offering me that, forcing me to raise the volume to almost 100%, or 100% + this boost I explained.

I have no idea how the Sennheiser 598 SR (open back), 600, 700 or other similar products will perform.

2) The most comfortable. I read many reviews praising the 598 SR, for example there's a list from here
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/design/comfort

That ranks them in the top 5 (note: HD 600 is way below)...which brings me to:

3) The best audio quality. The same website ranks the 598 in the 34th position, while the HD 600 is in 21st...

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/sound-quality

So what headphone would be ideal for me? 598 SR (open back) or...?

I would use in this iPAD, mostly for movies and the usual videos. I don't listen to a lot of music, except for movie soundtracks (John Williams and others).

I appreciate some input, especially in regards to the volume question. I was told the 598 will not be a good choice and it would have a lower volume.

 

[serman005]

One other headphone that I think you might consider is an HE-400S. It will play much louder than really anyone can listen to without wincing from a variety of sources. For example, I just plugged them into an ipod shuffle 2G and cranked it. There is no way that a human without significant hearing loss bilaterally could listen to this without wincing and taking the headphone off immediately. I did the same thing with my HD598 and got the same result. Volume should not be an issue with either headphone, unless the goal is to listen at dangerous levels, in which case you should not be doing that (hearing protection). Oh, and the HE400S is extremely comfortable, like the HD598 but maybe more so, for me.

I may have missed it but, is there a budget?

The HD 600 and HD700 would both require dedicated amps, just fyi. The HE-400S would not (nor would the HD598SR).

 

[Perene]

There is no budget. But why do people insist they aren't good for these Apple devices? Some users seem to indicate that unless you use an amp the volume levels will be lower than what we achieve with the Earpods/Airpods.

Many contents will require me to adjust the volume up to almost 100% while using the Earpods/Airpods, and add that "boost" from the iOS player internal settings:

https://i.imgur.com/bulm6pN.jpg

For example: I have a movie from the 1960's that can only be listened properly with these settngs:

- Earpods: at least 80% (boost 100% = default)

If we raise the volume up to 100% the whole thing will appear to have ideal levels, but still will be low, and light-years from being LOUD (and believe me when I say that I totally hate noise). That's why I adjusted the boost up to 400%. And the reason why I configured the default boost for ALL contents to 200 % (when they start playing the boost is already at this level).

Now if I listen to a random Youtube video I might have to reduce these to 50% and 100% boost. Or perhaps a song in FLAC. It all depends on the source and the way it was recorded, obviously.

That's what I was afraid: that the 598 would be worse than both in this regard (for the device where I intend to use it: the iPAD Pro 10.5).

 

[serman005]

We need an ipad expert for you and I am not that person, unfortunately. I do know that the earpod and airpod sensitivity and impedance indicate that both earphones should be very easy to drive. This is why I am confused. Perhaps it is an output impedance issue (it shouldn't be, but...). Let's wait and hope an ipad guru finds this thread. Sorry I cannot be of more assistance.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

All I know is that I have a mint condition 598 SR that I’d sell you for $100 out the door. All fees and shipping on me. They’re very easy to drive.

 

[Perene]

We need an ipad expert for you and I am not that person, unfortunately. I do know that the earpod and airpod sensitivity and impedance indicate that both earphones should be very easy to drive. This is why I am confused. Perhaps it is an output impedance issue (it shouldn't be, but...). Let's wait and hope an ipad expert finds this thread. Sorry I cannot be of more assistance.

I found a few sources saying it's OK:



Beginning at 12:10, ending at 13 minutes.

Then we have dubious responses here:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/266307-can-my-phone-drive-hd-598/

And in here
https://www.headfonia.com/hd600-and-hd598-comparison/

Someone says

For gaming headsets, you might want to check out the “proper” gaming headsets that come with a mic and other schizzle that would be good for games (your usual suspects of Razer, Logitech, Creative, Roccat, Saitek, etc.).

As Mike has mentioned, music/audiophile headphones are meant for mainly music listening (haven’t tried them for movies yet). So the emphasis on certain areas in the audible frequencies are different.

I can say for sure that the 598 will definitely be insufficient if you’re not using it with a proper source and amplification if your area of usage is in games or movies. It is not that they don’t work when plugged directly into a laptop/computer’s headphone socket. But the sound is very thin, lean and wispy to say the least. Certainly not the sonic signature you’re after (even with aggressive EQ).

The 558 might be a closer bet for you (if you really don’t want to use a “proper” gaming headset). But if it were up to me, I really would rather be getting a gaming headset. The “music” one stays “untainted”. LOL

Low volume thread from Tom's Hardware (PC):

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2261319/low-volume-sennheiser-598.html

Good results in a Galaxy S4?
http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-2812238/sennheiser-598-require-sound-card.html

Another opinion:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...-an-overkill-for-an-ipod-touch-iphone.529265/

The HD598 can be easily driven by an Iphone / Ipod, I can't turn the volume to max. on my Iphone with the HD598 on my head.
Due to the modest DAC used in the Iphone/Ipod, you will not get the best possible sound out of your headphones though.
Doing an a/b test on my Ipad with headphone out vs. with Udac 2 in between (using USB camera adapter / powered hub), on the Ipad's headphone out treble and bass are more dominant vs. the midrange, with bass being less defined i.e. more 'boomy' compared to the udac 2.
For casual listening it's perfectly OK though, it's not as if the difference is huge.

A question from the Amazon page:

Do you need an amp to enjoy the headphones. for use with an ipad?

Answer:

Even headphones that are "mobile-friendly" I believe STILL benefit from a good amp or amp/DAC device. Most phones don't offer the voltage needed to really let you hear the music, so in most cases, I would say an amp is needed. Only exceptions would be like if you have the LG V10, new V20, or else the HTC 10. These phones have DEDICATED amps on them and therefore are known to get louder.

*******
They are designed to be more efficiently powered which is perfect for phones and tablets (almost twice as efficient than open-backs in Impedance terms) so no you won't need an amp to enjoy them.

*******
You do not need an Amp, yet I run mine with a Fiio A-3 and all the beauty is accentuated! The bass smooths out, the Vocals are well pronounced; and the mid and highs are ballanced as they should be.

*******
Nope. Being 23-ohm impedance they can be driven with a phone or a tablet. That being said, if used with an amp the SQ will improve.

I am going to side with these opinions... I hope I don't regret this purchase.

 

[serman005]

Argh. Do us a favor and let us know how it all shakes out for you.

 

[onevstheworld]

I'm not trying to cause offense, but have you had your ears checked?

My experience with Apple earbuds were that even though the sound quality wasn't great; on a portable device, they should still get loud enough to be painful. This is assuming the device's HP output wasn't defective.

 

[Perene]

I'm not trying to cause offense, but have you had your ears checked?

My experience with Apple earbuds were that even though the sound quality wasn't great; on a portable device, they should still get loud enough to be painful. This is assuming the device's HP output wasn't defective.

Tried again minutes ago and the Earpods can't be loud if your goal is to only watch movies and random videos. I had to increase the volume up to 80% (boost 100%) while a FLAC achieved more than that at 50-60%. And I mean really loud to a point I can't go further. Does this make sense now?

Unfortunately I can't check any Sennheiser (where I live) without buying, that's why I wanted to be sure.

 

[onevstheworld]

Tried again minutes ago and the Earpods can't be loud if your goal is to only watch movies and random videos. I had to increase the volume up to 80% (boost 100%) while a FLAC achieved more than that at 50-60%. And I mean really loud to a point I can't go further. Does this make sense now?

Unfortunately I can't check any Sennheiser (where I live) without buying, that's why I wanted to be sure.

Ah. I see what you mean now.

 

[Perene]

There's one more thing that is important to mention - here's an explanation from @firecore, developer from the Infuse app. I use both Infuse and nPlayer for iOS, and used in tvOS (Apple TV) Infuse:

Volume boost isn't really designed to act as a volume adjustment. In essence, the audio quality is degraded as the boost is increased. This doesn't matter as much in cases where there is a lot of background noise (airplane, train, factory, etc...) as hearing something is better than hearing nothing, but for quiet home listening it's not an ideal option.

So that means if the source (the audio/video file) wasn't recorded properly or the inherent nature of that audio track prevents devices such as iPhones and iPads from delivering the best results (meaning movies require advanced equipment) by increasing boost we are not solving the issue of low volume, instead we are artificially adding more volume.

Since I rarely listen to music I always had to use boost and increase the iPAD volume almost to 100% for certain movies. That explains why I don't need to go further than 60-70% for FLACs while using the Earpods/Airpods.

My question was how much lower would the volume be while using the Sennheiser 598 SR, or if I would gain more volume in both movies and music.

Some users indicated it would be worse, that the Earpods would perform better than them if the device used is an iPAD.

And the idea of using an amp will spoil the experience since I would have to carry another equipment, even if I only use the iPAD in my bedroom. So this isn't going to be an alternative, if needed to correct this deficiency, if there's one, of course.

I am asking all these questions because unfortunately when it comes to headphones most of the time the opinions are subjective, and I am very critical of anything, always trying to find something negative to complain. I don't trust anyone, yet at the same time I always listen to as much people as possible before making a commitment, reaching a decision.

 

[pewfish]

Hi OP, I have both the HD598 and HD700 and have used both with my iPad Pro 10.5. I usually have them plugged into my SoundBlaster X7 but they actually work really well with my iPad too. I have no issues with the volume whatsoever. If you'd like me to do any testing on your behalf, I have some of the apps you mentioned and I'm more than happy to help.