[zmd]

I couldn't seriously advise you either way. If you like the sound, you might want to take a chance and keep them. Maybe they'll be OK for years and years, who knows?
 
I'm sitting here with them on my head and looking at the HD25s, getting more and more annoyed by Sennheiser and their corner-cutting..

 

[Headstar]

I'm in trouble! How could i spend a fortune on them (HD 558 & HD 598) knowing what will eventually happen, sooner or later?

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

I'm in trouble! How could i spend a fortune on them (HD 558 & HD 598) knowing what will eventually happen, sooner or later?

they said the same about the HD448, IMO treat them like the wood of the cross, have no problems, I was pretty ruff with my HD448 and not a single scratch on them.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Normal use. Never dropped them, never babied them either. It's the same design with the same brittle plastic which is prone to cracking in that spot, I guess. I'm not too worried, though. People have had the HD555 for years with these small cracks. If they do get bigger, I think I'll smother them in epoxy.

Excellent idea. I did that with a pair of 595s and it worked a treat. Covered the whole phone in fact (not the back, of course) and it looked great.  

 

[Hayang]

epoxy glue? how do you do this, without putting an ugly glue blob on them?
 
BY THE WAY.
Anyone who has these cans and likes acoustic nylon guitar should devour this channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AndanteLargo

 

[WhiteCrow]

smoosh some epoxy onto the cracks making sure to get it nice and deep, let dry and VERY VERY carefully sand it down to match the can, then paint with a spray paint matching the color*tape off the rest of the can of coarse* or with a brush and buff it on.

 

[pp312]

By all means smoosh. Smooshing is good.

 

[deji]

Bleh, I'm trying to choose between the HD558 and DT990 Pro, I would go for the Senns if it wasn't for the cracking issue, it's so hard to buy something which you know will start breaking straight away, as I want my cans to last for a few years. Would the people who have the HD558 suggest I get the Beyers instead? Is there much difference in quality?

 

[aRRR]

I have my HD555 for over 5 years and theres only a small crack on the left side but I must honestly say I have not threated them with much respect so I think it is understandable.
 
My HD598 is a few months old and no cracks at all. IMO, if you take care of these phones; dont stretch them too far and hold the cups with TWO hands instead of one there wont be any problem. A lot of people hold their headphones with just one hand on one cup leaving the other cup dangling, thats not the way to handle headphones.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Bleh, I'm trying to choose between the HD558 and DT990 Pro, I would go for the Senns if it wasn't for the cracking issue, it's so hard to buy something which you know will start breaking straight away, as I want my cans to last for a few years. Would the people who have the HD558 suggest I get the Beyers instead? Is there much difference in quality?

Two comments: 1. You don't know that the headband will start cracking straightaway. Many people report having their 555/595 models for years with no cracking.
 
2. The Beyers and Senns are two different phones with different sound. If one suits you the other probably won't, in which case cracking is irrelevant. Choose on the basis of sound quality, treat the phones with respect and invoke the warranty if there's a problem.
 
Or just smoosh with epoxy, as above.

  

 

[neonwilderness]

I just got the HD 558's the other day, I'm no audiophile so I can't give any sort of detailed description about the sound but for the time I had them (away for a few days now had to leave them at home) I really loved the sound overall! Great sound stage, and just a really open and airy and natural sounding set of cans. Works a treat for anything acoustic or classical especially. And they handle electronica pretty well surprisingly- Daft Punks Discovery album sounded fantastic to me! The bass as you mentioned is surprisingly good, exactly the way I like it in fact-I was worried that because they're open phones they wouldn't have any punch in the bass but they have just the right amount for me so I was delighted with that. The only thing is though they don't seem to do rock music or anything heavy that well, a lot of that could be to do with the fact that I'm currently just running them off of my laptop with an external sound card though...I'm not sure. The guitars didn't sound great at all. Hopefully they won't crack or anything that's the one thing I'm worried about.

 

[LordZip]

I bought the Sennheiser HD555 a little under a year ago, I had also read about the issue of cracks appearing over time but I can tell you that my pair is still in perfect condition. I have been using them for gaming and music intensly, I even have them on my head while I'm typing this. If you take care of your pair I don't think anything bad can happen. I don't even have a headphone stand, I just lay them on my desk when I'm done listening to them.

 

[zmd]

@neonwilderness: try modding them, if you want even better sound. Go to youtube and look for the HD555 mod, it's done in exactly the same way.

 

[neonwilderness]

zmd: thanks I will take a look but for now I'd be afraid to try and mod them, god only knows I'd probably end up breaking them knowing my luck

 

[zmd]

It's a fairly simple mod, really. If you ever find the courage, do it slowly and carefully and you'll be pleasantly surprised. I just messed around with the foam pads today and I can't go back to the stock sound. The mod makes the so much better, IMO. More bass and better mids, to my ears. It sounds exactly like you'd expect: more open.