[Mike96]

Quote:

I'm sure there's a few things better about the HD-650, but to me it's just a different type of sound. I compared all 3 of them and the HD-598 is the most fun to listen to and the most engaging. It's like comparing the K501 to the K702. The K702 is "technically" better, but just not as fun to listen to as the K501/k601. I guess they call it less musical?
 
If you get the HD-650, expect less treble, less forward mids and less detail. Yes, I said it. HD-650 is quite forgiving of bad recordings with it's stock cable, but does improve with a better amp/dac of course.
 
Basically with the 598, 600 and 650 it all comes down to preferences. Everyone is going to say the one they like is the best

 
 
I will say that the HD-650 does have more bass than the HD-598/600.
 

So if i got a different cable for the HD650 instead of using the stock cable, it would improve it a good amount?
 

 

[juantendo8]

Quote:

So if i got a different cable for the HD650 instead of using the stock cable, it would improve it a good amount?
 

No, I highly doubt you would hear a difference in a blind test where placebo effect can't exist. Just moving the position of the cups on your ears will have a much more dramatic effect. (i.e. save your money)
 

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

So if i got a different cable for the HD650 instead of using the stock cable, it would improve it a good amount?
 

Yes.  Be sure to get one that has been soaked in pixie dust for at least 300 hours.  Don't trust the brands that will sell you the 200 hour pixie treatment, they're just going cheap and everyone knows it's a measurable fact that pixie dust can't fully coat the internal conductors in a mere 200 hours.

 
 
Sarcasm aside, I'm just pulling tdockweiler's chain a bit.  He's a very vocal advocate of cables making a difference, and I like pointing that out from time to time

 
The noise about cables depends on who you ask.  Some are convinced that cable changes make a huge difference.  Others are not convinced of such things.   Most will agree that in lengths of over 30ft, cables become more important, but in headphones we're not going over 30ft.  My personal opinion is that while a cable can have potential effects on sounds at these lengths, assuming the same conductor material (copper vs copper) the difference from the cable will be very insignificant compared to other changes (DAC, amp, headphones, even lossless data.)  Now if we're talking about different conductor materials (copper vs. silver etc.) it's entirely possible that different frequencies conduct differently over that material.  However at the prices silver cable runs, you can invest in top-tier headphones, top-tier DAC, amp, etc once you enter that price realm.  If you've already invested in top tier gear and have nowhere to upgrade, sure, cables may give that final tweak to the sound.
 
I've owned a $200+ Cardas HD650 cable.  I can detect no difference between it and the current stock cable.  It was a well built cable, and I needed it for it's physical (durability and length) properties, but there was no sound difference to me.
 
Also, tdockweiler's strong advocacy on this cabling question was directed at HD600 I believe which did ship with a pretty flimsy cable which I suspect was negatively impacting sound.  I believe he's talking about buying the "official Sennheiser replacement" cable for HD600 at the low cost of $20-30, which is really the HD650 stock cable which is definitely a superior cable in build, microphonics, and presumably sound (insufficient gauge on that old stock 600 cable.)
 
So the cable he's talking about buying is the cable you already have, not the crazy multi-hundred dollar stuff

 
Edit: I may have confused tdockwiler's HD600 cable comments in a different thread with the quote you included.

 

[Magick Man]

No, I highly doubt you would hear a difference in a blind test where placebo effect can't exist. Just moving the position of the cups on your ears will have a much more dramatic effect. (i.e. save your money)

This. Don't buy cables thinking they'll change sound.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

So if i got a different cable for the HD650 instead of using the stock cable, it would improve it a good amount?
 

It depends. Without a good DAC/Amp I wouldn't bother unless it's a cheap DIY version.
The differences are much harder to spot. If I didn't have a PC DAC I wouldn't buy an expensive cable.
Based on my experience, cables can either:
 
A) Make a headphone sound worse (example is Canare on the HD-650, Belden 1192A on the HD-598)
b) Make it sound exactly the same mostly
c) Improve it (maybe it's that magical dust, but it's stupid easy to spot the improvements with some wire)
 
I've noticed that with the cheaper stuff found at places like Radioshack, Wal-Mart and Uncle Ernies, the sound is often fairly neutral.
I actually am a fan of the crappy RCA brand interconnects because they don't seem to make anything sound different/better. Monoprice is good about this too, but they're slightly warm.
 
It's it's a mistake to buy a fancy cable expect a major signature change. Not going to happen. The DHC is the biggest improvement i've heard with any recable.
With CA-0363 the signature will be basically identical I think to stock. That's why I use it with my HD-598. It just improves sound clarity/detail.
 
Felt the DHC cable is worth around $150, but I don't think Q701 recables are that big of an improvement to be worth that. Only when going directly to the drivers.
 
I always felt most cables made a 3-5% improvement in sound. I still can't tell the difference between speaker cables! With interconnects it's fairly hard.
 
I wonder why a nice DAC makes it easier to hear the improvements between wires? I've found this very strange.
 
I actually couldn't tell the difference between interconnects or Q701 cables until I upgraded my DAC.
 
Never know why wires sound different for me. Copper is copper right? Could be to the quality of copper, thickness of the wire or capacitance.
 
BTW I do feel that 75% of the time, cables make very little difference. Sometimes you get lucky.
 
Sometimes the stock wires on some headphones are just plain bad. AKG has good cables, but I absolutely hate the stock Sennheiser cables. I haven't compared the DHC to the stock HD-650 cable ON the HD-650 yet though. Even the DHC was an upgrade from the HD-650 cable on the HD-600.
 

 

[AlanHell]

I have HD800 and ED8, both of them are very very bad to the pop and rock recordings. Especially when they are saved as itune for mp3 formats.  Thus, I needed a phone for crappy musics. I am looking into HD650, HD598, DT880 and HE500 now. Of course money is one of the concerns here cause I do not want to throw away money for music that is not in high quality in the first place(most of the pop and rock in the shop, even in CD format sounds like crap cause ppl us monster beat for remaster music T.T). I do want a good bass response and detailed clean mid. High must be very forgiving for bad sources.
 
recommendation?

 

[Maxvla]

598 or HE500. Both worth their cost, both at very different price points.

 

[AlanHell]

well, just saw an $950 brand new T1 going on sale on Amazon.com, so, I got the T1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It seems working pretty good with most of the mp3s~~~~~
More bass impact and more compact sound stage compare to HD800, not sure how is T1 compare to HE500 or HD598~~~ If those 2 phones sounds better on mp3, I may consider sell the phone and get either one of them,
 

 

[Eisenhower]

Quote:

HD650 has a much deeper bass and harmony, you would find everything integrated together so well. The listening fatigue is also much less than the HD598.

 
You find that the HD650 has deeper harmony? Could you please explain what this means.

 

[Lord Voldemort]

Honestly I found the HD598 to have a superior soundstage (depth). Like many others, I actually did prefer the less meaty bass of the HD598 over the HD650, though it could have extended and impacted better like the HD600. The treble presence makes the HD598 far more engaging to listen to than  the 6xx series. Of course, comfort is also superior on the HD598. 
 
Regarding 'detail', I can't really say which one is the best. The HD598 do have more treble, that sometimes render the illusion of greater detail. But this does not necessarily mean it is more detailed. Wish I could compare them again with more tracks. 
 
Well whatever the case, even if one did prefer the HD6xx series over the HD598, it certainly doesn't justify the price gap. But I suppose most cans are very overpriced...  I feel that even the HD598's cheap construction would render it around $150. Why do we have to spend so much to achieve fidelity to the source? 

 

[Kevin Denkers]

 
 

 

[Kevin Denkers]

  I'll throw in my 2c...I owned the 598 and sold it after a month because it was too bass light for me. The mid and treble were very good but I do like "some" low end represented even when I listen to bass light material. Now others will disagree with me and in fairness I'm somewhat of a basshead as I enjoy d2k very much. 
 
The comfort of the 598 was great but they just didn't do much for me and I found that I didn't pick them up to listen to them very often. It is nice that they work well without an amp or high end amp though...

Thanks. I just got the 598 and I agree with what you're saying. They are very comfortable, work without an amp and sound great, except for lacking deep bass (IMO). If they had better bass, I would be 100% sold. What did you end up getting, or what would you recommend? I also have a Fiio E07k. Thanks

 

[447563]

if that's the way you like it then you just enjoy a bit more highs in your headphones. The 598s have the most shimmer, the 600s, are the most neutral, the 650s re the smoothest but also the darkest, so the trend makes sense tbh

 

[ganroxex]

The 598s I own seem to really struggle with some of my more bassy songs, will its performance improve (somewhat) with time? I am also planning to obtain a Massdrop K7xx, and wondering if it's a general improvement over the 598s.

 

[447563]

The 598s I own seem to really struggle with some of my more bassy songs, will its performance improve (somewhat) with time? I am also planning to obtain a Massdrop K7xx, and wondering if it's a general improvement over the 598s.

I wouldn't hold my breath. Had mine for a year, I love them but no they're not bass heavy. They're very light in the low end but I like that. I don't know if it's my pair only or not but I've felt a huge difference in bass depending on the source. off my phone or laptop the bass doesn't exist basically. I usually use my dragonfly black and that makes it a bit deeper but you can tell it's still not strong. On my panasonic or Sony home theater receiver however the bass is much much stronger, while still being controlled. That said, again, these are not bass heavy headphones so no.
As for the K7XX I've never used them but from what I've heard and seen they're slightly boosted in the bass and have a much fuller low end. They're more analytical though, more accuracy over everything, like all AKG, but with bass. while the 598 sounds like usual senns but with (a bit) more highs.