cel4145
Headphoneus Supremus
Great! Nothing like new headphone day 
Headphones and setup advice
- Thread starter Rust In Peace
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Rust In Peace
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Yep
Really great, pretty impressed. A good step up from my HD449s for sure. They don't sound too different tonally actually, but obviously because they're both Sennheiser. There a number of differences, most notably a hell of a lot more bass and just a much more 'full' sound across all frequencies. I think it has more of a V shaped sound actually, compared to the HD449 which is brighter and has more mids. The soundstage is really good as well, being open back of course, but it really does sound a lot more immersive rather than the kind of closed in sound on the sides of your head. I really love the way acoustic guitars hard panned sound on these headphones, gives a lot of 'width'.
To be honest, they weren't quite as great as I was expecting, but I think that's because I'm spoilt by my bookshelf speakers which are a fair bit more expensive... regardless they're still very nice. I think I can actually consider them more of an actual alternative to my bookshelfs now rather than just something I use when I can't turn them up much. They offer something different and aren't a great deal 'worse', or certainly are much closer in sound quality than the HD449s.
They are a lot louder though (is that higher/sensitivity?) and have the same volume on my amp on about 1 as the HD449s have on about 3. I also EQ them quite differently, on 598s I actually roll back the volume to less than 0 on my amp and boost the treble to about 2/3rds. Compared to the HD449s which needed maybe just a slight bass boost and a lot more volume to get them working.
Really great, pretty impressed. A good step up from my HD449s for sure. They don't sound too different tonally actually, but obviously because they're both Sennheiser. There a number of differences, most notably a hell of a lot more bass and just a much more 'full' sound across all frequencies. I think it has more of a V shaped sound actually, compared to the HD449 which is brighter and has more mids. The soundstage is really good as well, being open back of course, but it really does sound a lot more immersive rather than the kind of closed in sound on the sides of your head. I really love the way acoustic guitars hard panned sound on these headphones, gives a lot of 'width'.
To be honest, they weren't quite as great as I was expecting, but I think that's because I'm spoilt by my bookshelf speakers which are a fair bit more expensive... regardless they're still very nice. I think I can actually consider them more of an actual alternative to my bookshelfs now rather than just something I use when I can't turn them up much. They offer something different and aren't a great deal 'worse', or certainly are much closer in sound quality than the HD449s.
They are a lot louder though (is that higher/sensitivity?) and have the same volume on my amp on about 1 as the HD449s have on about 3. I also EQ them quite differently, on 598s I actually roll back the volume to less than 0 on my amp and boost the treble to about 2/3rds. Compared to the HD449s which needed maybe just a slight bass boost and a lot more volume to get them working.
cel4145
Headphoneus Supremus
Yes. Sounds like the sensitivity is higher. Or your amp doesn't perform as well at lower impedance.
That's surprising that they seem to have more bass to you than the HD449, based on the different measured frequency response (I have not heard the 449):
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD449.pdf
If you weren't get a great seal with the HD449, that would explain it. And of the the HD598 don't have to have a good seal for the bass to perform well since they are open.
That's surprising that they seem to have more bass to you than the HD449, based on the different measured frequency response (I have not heard the 449):
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD449.pdf
If you weren't get a great seal with the HD449, that would explain it. And of the the HD598 don't have to have a good seal for the bass to perform well since they are open.
Rust In Peace
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My ears are somewhat small so they probably had a good seal
From what I'm hearing, the 449 doesn't even come close the bass on the 598s. I guess it could be to do with the sensitivity though, since the 598s just seem so much more 'full' sounding overall.
From what I'm hearing, the 449 doesn't even come close the bass on the 598s. I guess it could be to do with the sensitivity though, since the 598s just seem so much more 'full' sounding overall.
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