i need some help tweaking my HD598's or figuring out if they're defective
Dec 7, 2014 at 1:53 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

xyyz

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alright, first of all, I don't have "golden ears."  so now that's out of the way, I need some helping figuring out what you do with my HD598's.

here's a little sound profile: for headphones, i own a set of ATH-AD700's, HD-280's.  i also have a set of Shure e3c's and  UE Triplefi 10's.  finally, a set of RocketFish MAB2's for when i'm doing activities where I find a cord hindering. i use a CmoyBB 2.03 to give all of these an extra nudge.  i listen to Spotify's "extreme quality" on an iPad, Xoom, or my Surface Pro.

i was looking at getting the ATH-M50's, which i really really liked when i sampled them, but I went for the HD598's instead.
 
i really don't care too much for the HD-280's.  I enjoy the AD700's.  i like my e3c's, and I really enjoyed my Triplefi 10's until I got a custom mold made, which is far too hard, doesn't make a complete seal, and make my ear canals really sore after about 20 minutes.

anyways, back to the HD598's.  when I got them, i started sampling some music without the CmoyBB.  the first sample was of classical music and i was floored; they sounded were amazing.  unfortunately, it went downhill from there.  i tried hiphop, and they were very unimpressive.  i'm not a bass-head by any means.  i like my bass tight instead of overwhelming.  then i went to electronica, again, unimpressive.  i tried vocal-heavy music, and the impression improved a bit.

so then i tried running all through the Cmoy, and the results were, well i'm not sure; sometimes it sounded the same, and sometimes it sounded worse!

i also listened to some CD rips that i did at an ultra high bitrate (1k+, don't ask, because i don't know why) and again, they were uninspiring, at times, i almost thought that they were muddled.

i've heard so much about how great these cans are, so i'm not sure exactly what i'm doing wrong.

could it just be that my ears are used to sub-par cans, or could these be defective?

 
 
Dec 10, 2014 at 2:56 AM Post #2 of 4
  alright, first of all, I don't have "golden ears."  so now that's out of the way, I need some helping figuring out what you do with my HD598's.

here's a little sound profile: for headphones, i own a set of ATH-AD700's, HD-280's.  i also have a set of Shure e3c's and  UE Triplefi 10's.  finally, a set of RocketFish MAB2's for when i'm doing activities where I find a cord hindering. i use a CmoyBB 2.03 to give all of these an extra nudge.  i listen to Spotify's "extreme quality" on an iPad, Xoom, or my Surface Pro.

i was looking at getting the ATH-M50's, which i really really liked when i sampled them, but I went for the HD598's instead.
 
i really don't care too much for the HD-280's.  I enjoy the AD700's.  i like my e3c's, and I really enjoyed my Triplefi 10's until I got a custom mold made, which is far too hard, doesn't make a complete seal, and make my ear canals really sore after about 20 minutes.

anyways, back to the HD598's.  when I got them, i started sampling some music without the CmoyBB.  the first sample was of classical music and i was floored; they sounded were amazing.  unfortunately, it went downhill from there.  i tried hiphop, and they were very unimpressive.  i'm not a bass-head by any means.  i like my bass tight instead of overwhelming.  then i went to electronica, again, unimpressive.  i tried vocal-heavy music, and the impression improved a bit.

so then i tried running all through the Cmoy, and the results were, well i'm not sure; sometimes it sounded the same, and sometimes it sounded worse!

i also listened to some CD rips that i did at an ultra high bitrate (1k+, don't ask, because i don't know why) and again, they were uninspiring, at times, i almost thought that they were muddled.

i've heard so much about how great these cans are, so i'm not sure exactly what i'm doing wrong.

could it just be that my ears are used to sub-par cans, or could these be defective?

 

What is Your audio setup (aside from the mentioned CMoy)?
 
I ran my 598s out of a mobile phone and it sounded okay-ish but only after I plugged into the amp I could hear the difference.
 
As for the bass, good equalizer should do the trick.
 
Dec 10, 2014 at 8:07 AM Post #3 of 4
I wouldn't pick 598s for hip-hop or electronic. even though you said you are not a basshead, the bass in the 598 will not go deep enough for these genres. Try equalizing as Yethal mentioned and if does not work for you i'd suggest switching to ATH-M50 which is more fitting to your music taste.
 
Dec 10, 2014 at 8:29 AM Post #4 of 4
i think a closed can like the 50x is a better choice for music with more emphatic bass...
that punnnnnnch is what makes my head shake :)
 

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