I owned the HD 598 for two years. Then I got the HD 650, and the imaging was spectacular. But because of not-so-wide soundstage, music always sounded messy to me. Also, I missed the treble of HD 598. I got rid of everything, and then got M50x. While it performs well, I never seem to enjoy music as much as I did with HD 598. I have been reading up on HD 600, and the reviews suggest they have better treble than HD 650. Now for a person who enjoyed HD 598 a lot, but did not appreciate its mediocre imaging, would you recommend the HD 600? I mostly listen to classical music, movie soundtracks, 70s/ 80s rock. Thanks.
HD 598 vs HD 600?
PurpleAngel
Headphoneus Supremus
It might help to know what DAC & headphone amplifier or sources your plugging your headphones into?
Macbook Pro 2014. I had the HD 650 for three months, and thought that if I like it, I will get an amp.
PurpleAngel
Headphoneus Supremus
An external add-on headphone amplifier might improve the audio quality of the HD650 headphones.
(I'm guessing it should improve the audio quality of the 300-Ohm HD650).
Check out the Darkvoice 336SE OTL tube headphone amplifier, sold thru Massdrop and Amazon and eBay.
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/dark-voice-366se
Might read up and ask on this thread about driving the HD650
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/sennheiser-hd650-impressions-thread.197776/
I own HD600, HD650, and HD598. HD600 does have more of a treble emphasis than the HD650. It also has very good imaging, like the HD650. There is slightly less bass emphasis on the HD600 (than the HD650). All in all, it is an excellent can, esp for classical. Classic rock is also quite good on the 600. Stage is intimate. It is quite similar to the HD650, but there are these main differences.
I liked HD 650 quite a lot, except that it felt sound came to me from all directions. The soundstage being narrow, made the music messy. Also when I listen to shoegaze music like My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, the HD 650 lacking treble failed to bring out the texture of the guitar sounds. Do you think HD 600 will perform better than the HD 650 in that regard? Also, how are the HD 600s with sub-bass? Thanks.
Just listened to three cuts off 'Loveless.' I would say there is quite a lot of guitar texture for a Marshall-amped guitar. It won't sound like EMG's (like a lot of metal, that is) but it is not supposed to. I would say there is quite a bit of guitar texture overall on my HD600 on these tunes. It is different than the 650 in that there is a bit more attack and crunch and just presence in the guitars. Sub bass on the HD600 is less emphasized than on the HD650. It is there, but the 650 has more. These are all just my impressions so take them with a grain of salt. YMMV, of course, but I think the 600's sound good on MBV stuff.
HD598Cs/SR/SE................Any differences?
HD598CS is closed-back, so, totally different. HD598 SR vs. HD598SE main difference is that SR has inline remote with microphone for taking calls on one cable and SE does not have this. Both have two cables, 1.2 m and 3 m. SE has a cushier headband. That's about it, as far as I am aware.
Thank you very much.Seems HD598SR gets me
willowbrook
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If you have any open headphones, I'd highly recommend a dedicated dac and amp no matter how cheap. Listening to your cans directly out of a laptop is a no way to treat them T.T
LazyListener
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If you found that you don't enjoy music with HD 650 as much as you did with HD 598, I doubt the HD 600 is going to get you back to the same level of musical enjoyment as the 598. My guess is you'll be back to the 598 before long. The 598 has a unique sound profile that once you fall in love with it, even some more expensive and technically better cans don't quite give you the same pleasure.
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That's true^. Still , I'd give the 600 an extended run if possible. Cheers 
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