[Rust In Peace]

I have had my HD598s for a little while now and I am thinking about an upgrade, or at least another pair to compliment them. I quite enjoy the relaxed sound of the HD598s, especially for extended periods of listening, however I feel that it they are sometimes lacking in clarity. I don't want a full on treble assault like Grados but certainly something with more clarity in the higher end but without being too fatiguing. I also feel that the instruments tend to blend together a bit too much in these cans so I would like more of an improvement in that regard too. So basically something without the senn. veil (for more clarity) and a faster response without being too fatiguing. Amp is a Rotel RA-10. Budget is probably $300-400 AUD. 
 
I am curious about the 600s but I am not sure if they are what I am looking for. Mostly listen to rock & metal. 

 

[Me x3]

  I have had my HD598s for a little while now and I am thinking about an upgrade, or at least another pair to compliment them. I quite enjoy the relaxed sound of the HD598s, especially for extended periods of listening, however I feel that it they are sometimes lacking in clarity. I don't want a full on treble assault like Grados but certainly something with more clarity in the higher end but without being too fatiguing. I also feel that the instruments tend to blend together a bit too much in these cans so I would like more of an improvement in that regard too. So basically something without the senn. veil (for more clarity) and a faster response without being too fatiguing. Amp is a Rotel RA-10. Budget is probably $300-400 AUD. 
 
I am curious about the 600s but I am not sure if they are what I am looking for. Mostly listen to rock & metal. 

Beyerdynamic DT880 (250 Ohm) should serve you well, as it's more detailed than HD598 and better match for headphone outputs on most speaker amplifiers which tend to have high output impedance.

 

[Rust In Peace]

 
Beyerdynamic DT880 (250 Ohm) should serve you well, as it's more detailed than HD598 and better match for headphone outputs on most speaker amplifiers which tend to have high output impedance.

I'll definitely take that into consideration but I've heard the Beyers can be quite fatiguing, not sure how true though. 

 

[Me x3]

  I'll definitely take that into consideration but I've heard the Beyers can be quite fatiguing, not sure how true though. 

It depends mostly on the quality of your recordings and the DAC/Amp used.
Driving headphones with a speaker amp is quite different from using most headphone amps.
On most speaker amps, except on relatively high end models, the headphone jack is derived from the speaker path, and thus it has really high output impedance compared with most solid state headphone amplifiers. The result is the amp tweaking the sound of the headphone in the shape of the headphone's impedance (vs frequency plot).
 
So, plugging HD598 (which has a big bump in the impedance centered at the mid bass) into a jack with high output impedance will boost the mid bass and sacrifice some clarity.
 
DT880 (250 Ohm) is less affected by this because:
1) It has a higher impedance and thus better damping factor
2) If has flatter impedance than HD598/HD600/HD650 so the EQing effect is more subtle.
 
Since DT880 still has a slight bump in the impedance (vs frequency plot) centered at the mid bass, you'll still get a slight boost in the mid bass but since DT880 is on the neutralish/bass light side, the slight boost might be a good adition and might help to make the overall sound more 'musical' and more all rounder.

 

[MisterMudd]

Philips Fidelio X2's all the way!

 

[Rust In Peace]

 
It depends mostly on the quality of your recordings and the DAC/Amp used.
Driving headphones with a speaker amp is quite different from using most headphone amps.
On most speaker amps, except on relatively high end models, the headphone jack is derived from the speaker path, and thus it has really high output impedance compared with most solid state headphone amplifiers. The result is the amp tweaking the sound of the headphone in the shape of the headphone's impedance (vs frequency plot).
 
So, plugging HD598 (which has a big bump in the impedance centered at the mid bass) into a jack with high output impedance will boost the mid bass and sacrifice some clarity.
 
DT880 (250 Ohm) is less affected by this because:
1) It has a higher impedance and thus better damping factor
2) If has flatter impedance than HD598/HD600/HD650 so the EQing effect is more subtle.
 
Since DT880 still has a slight bump in the impedance (vs frequency plot) centered at the mid bass, you'll still get a slight boost in the mid bass but since DT880 is on the neutralish/bass light side, the slight boost might be a good adition and might help to make the overall sound more 'musical' and more all rounder.

 
I guess that makes sense... lol
 
Do you have any other recommendations to go with DT880s as well?
 
 

Philips Fidelio X2's all the way!

 
Can you describe them a bit? possibly with reference to 598s if you've owned both

 

[Me x3]

   
I guess that makes sense... lol
 
Do you have any other recommendations to go with DT880s as well?
 
Can you describe them a bit? possibly with reference to 598s if you've owned both

Yes, HE-400i should work quite well. Not as open sounding or studio-like, but more forgiving and more punchy in the bass.
 
Fidelio X2 is different from HD598. Big bass and lively treble.
Quite similar in terms of technicalities. Build is more luxurious.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I have had my HD598s for a little while now and I am thinking about an upgrade, or at least another pair to compliment them. I quite enjoy the relaxed sound of the HD598s, especially for extended periods of listening, however I feel that it they are sometimes lacking in clarity. I don't want a full on treble assault like Grados but certainly something with more clarity in the higher end but without being too fatiguing. I also feel that the instruments tend to blend together a bit too much in these cans so I would like more of an improvement in that regard too. So basically something without the senn. veil (for more clarity) and a faster response without being too fatiguing. Amp is a Rotel RA-10. Budget is probably $300-400 AUD. 
 
I am curious about the 600s but I am not sure if they are what I am looking for. Mostly listen to rock & metal. 

Really never see people describing the HD598 as lacking in clarity, maybe veiled and somewhat boring.
 
The Rotel headphone jack might have a high impedance output, which might give the 50-Ohm HD598 headphones a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass, maybe an over all loss of detail.
If you plug the HD598 into something like a smart phone or digital audio player, do audio details come out better?
 
Something like a Bravo Ocean tube (hybrid) headphone amplifier, plugged into the Pre-outs on the back of the Rotel, might improve the HD598 more for your liking.
Worse happens is the HD598 do not improve enough, so you get the HD600 and still have a decent tube headphone amplifier to plug the 300-Ohm HD600 into.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I'll definitely take that into consideration but I've heard the Beyers can be quite fatiguing, not sure how true though. 

 
The Beyer DT880 are a little on the bright side.

 

[Rust In Peace]

  Yes, HE-400i should work quite well. Not as open sounding or studio-like, but more forgiving and more punchy in the bass.
 
Fidelio X2 is different from HD598. Big bass and lively treble.
Quite similar in terms of technicalities. Build is more luxurious.

 
HE-400i is out of my budget, though HE-400s is.
 

  Really never see people describing the HD598 as lacking in clarity, maybe veiled and somewhat boring.
 
The Rotel headphone jack might have a high impedance output, which might give the 50-Ohm HD598 headphones a bloated (louder, less detailed) bass, maybe an over all loss of detail.
If you plug the HD598 into something like a smart phone or digital audio player, do audio details come out better?
 
Something like a Bravo Ocean tube (hybrid) headphone amplifier, plugged into the Pre-outs on the back of the Rotel, might improve the HD598 more for your liking.
Worse happens is the HD598 do not improve enough, so you get the HD600 and still have a decent tube headphone amplifier to plug the 300-Ohm HD600 into.

 
Having compared the Rotel to my iPhone 4 (same audiorips), they do gain a fair amount of treble and clarity on the iPhone surprisingly. Pretty much about where I want it, though I'd say they lack a bit 'fun' or 'excitement' to where I'd like, they have warmth but are also a bit clinical. However they also lose a lot of 'oomph' in the bass and lower midrange and they sound quite thin in comparison to plugged into the Rotel. It may even be that the treble and clarity are there when plugged into the Rotel, but the the lower midrange is especially overpowering. 
 
I guess that gives a better frame for recommending another pair of headphones at least. 

 

[atarione]

Hello.... So I have owned the DT880's for going on 3yrs now.. and most of the time I don't find them to be tooo bright... bad recording can be pretty dreadful ..but on better quality recordings / mixes quite nice .. I have the 250 Ohms Premium version.  They do certainly have a fair bit of treble but not earsplitting (for me at least ... 96~% of the time).
 
another thing that is kinda nice is the DT880's seem to do quite well paired with vintage stereo receivers and amps... I have used mine with Sony TA-E77ESD (preamp) , Kenwood KR-V106R, Pioneer SX-780 and SX-3600 and have been pleased with the results.
 
 
comfort wise the DT880 Premiums are pretty good.. less clamping than my DT770's (which I like).

 

[1Tbps]

The old trio (HD600/K701/DT880) is always recommendable. Scales pretty well with amping and a good reference point as many people here have/had owned them. But I heard that the HE-400S are better, definitely have try those too.
From what I read, I think the HD650 is more suited for your taste than the HD600.

 

[JediMa70]

I had the same issue with the HD598 now I bought a DT990 PRO 250 and it's just another world, sounds so much better with any kind of music

 

[Rust In Peace]

  I had the same issue with the HD598 now I bought a DT990 PRO 250 and it's just another world, sounds so much better with any kind of music

 
Do you find them too bright or harsh at all?