[f00fighters]

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What OP was experiencing was what I went through too...

After a while with the M50, people tend to go "Man, this is a good headphone, but something's... lacking..." At this point, these people ditch the idea of getting all rounders and get 'specialists' for their favorite genres. Mine was the HFI-580s

 
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I second the Ultrasone route.  I went with the 580 as well and haven't looked back.  Demoed my buddies m50s for a while and there were missing something, Ultrasones, while not perfect (but damn close for the cost), were pretty damn close to my ideal sound.  Sometimes I wish for a more spacious sound, but for 90% of what I'm listening to, the 580's do what my ears want. 


 

My first pair of "semi-audiophile" headphones were Ultrasones HFI-700. Before I ever heard of head-fi, I head a read a glaring review from CNet. It felt congested, were seriously lacking in bass. I'm not bass head either, but there needs to be a substantial presence. The other thing I didn't like was that whole s-logic thing. While it gave a surround sound, it was very artificial sounding from what I recall. 
 
 
 
 


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I've never heard them, but you should be aware that I was strongly considering them as apparently they sound great and for me they look awesome and seem to look extremely comfortable but I read that they had the same headband cracks issues that the HD 595 had....that was enough for me to give them a wide berth and go for Beyerdynamic instead.

I haven't given up on beyer completely, I'm just worried about them, being overly bright, and the cost is a bit for the 600/250ohms. I read at one point it was 230, which I would've already snatched by now, but $300 to $320 is a bit steep for more. And then I have to add the cost of decent ampage. I'm in disarray. 
 

 

[Thommohawk]

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I haven't given up on beyer completely, I'm just worried about them, being overly bright, and the cost is a bit for the 600/250ohms. I read at one point it was 230, which I would've already snatched by now, but $300 to $320 is a bit steep for more. And then I have to add the cost of decent ampage. I'm in disarray. 

 
I totally understand your predicament, and that's why I'm championing the DT 990 Pro to you to be honest, they are much cheaper than the Premium 600 ohm model and seriously you don't have to amp these in my experience with them they'll perform extremely well even out of a laptop or tv out in truth. So you'll save on the amplifier as well as these really don't need it so I've found they'll still get your foot tapping from the most basic equipment. You'll get what you're after for sure and save a lot of money in doing so. I also read that the highs on the DT 990 Pro aren't as bright as the Premium version but that may or may not be saying much as I've yet to purchase/hear those. But there's only 1 way to find out.  
 
Amazon is your friend here and so am I lol

 

[rawrster]

The M50 is a good starter headphone. I got that in a trade before moving on to open headphones for my home rig. It's not quite the deal it used to be when it cost $100 but still a good set and not too difficult to drive but still needs a decent amp to sound it's best imo. However it's nothing compared to the amp requirements of my HD600.

 

[MohawkUS]

I hope I'm not threadjacking here, but how would the 990 be for metal? It sounds perfect for drone/doom metal, but I'm worried about the brightness for Black Metal, is it brighter than a SR-80?
OT: The 598 really needs and amp, I tried it unamped and it was a boring, grainy sound. I don't know how much of an amp it needs, but your iphone/ipad isn't going to cut it I'm afraid.

 

[f00fighters]

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I hope I'm not threadjacking here, but how would the 990 be for metal? It sounds perfect for drone/doom metal, but I'm worried about the brightness for Black Metal, is it brighter than a SR-80?
OT: The 598 really needs and amp, I tried it unamped and it was a boring, grainy sound. I don't know how much of an amp it needs, but your iphone/ipad isn't going to cut it I'm afraid.

If I order the 598, i'm going to order an amp as well. I see in your sig, that you got he AD900, and no longer own the 598. I was looking into the AD900 and AD700 awhile back, just to see if they were like the M50 in open back form. What did you not like about the 598, and how does it compare to the AD900
 
 
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I totally understand your predicament, and that's why I'm championing the DT 990 Pro to you to be honest, they are much cheaper than the Premium 600 ohm model and seriously you don't have to amp these in my experience with them they'll perform extremely well even out of a laptop or tv out in truth. So you'll save on the amplifier as well as these really don't need it so I've found they'll still get your foot tapping from the most basic equipment. You'll get what you're after for sure and save a lot of money in doing so. I also read that the highs on the DT 990 Pro aren't as bright as the Premium version but that may or may not be saying much as I've yet to purchase/hear those. But there's only 1 way to find out.  
 
Amazon is your friend here and so am I lol

Unfortunately I know myself too well. If I get the dt990 Pro, I will be dreaming of the premium, and what could have been. So I'd rather avoid that all together. If I decided on DT990, I'll go premium. 
 

 

[MohawkUS]

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If I order the 598, i'm going to order an amp as well. I see in your sig, that you got he AD900, and no longer own the 598. I was looking into the AD900 and AD700 awhile back, just to see if they were like the M50 in open back form. What did you not like about the 598, and how does it compare to the AD900

 
I'm really not going to be able to give a good comparision, the 598 is a wreck unamped, while the ad900 is just fine. What I can tell you though is that the 598 has better bass, the AD900 I have EQed up about 5db and I can still barely hear it. The 598 is a little slower than the AD900, but I only noticed in my fastest metal (Bathory - Death and Ressurection of a Northern Son), even without an amp the soundstage of the 598 impressed me, the AD900 is bigger, but the 598 was clearer, with better seperation, it was great for folk metal. If you are interested in the AD900 I have one for sale, but in all honesty unless your preferance is Classical or Accoustic your going to be missing the bass. It has even less than my old SR-80 and that can had too little.
EDIT: Figure I should mention this, my AD900 is currently amped on my Xonar, unamped it was less refined with less even less bass and less treble.
EDIT2: I just checked your first post, you will hate the AD900, it is the opposite of what you want, this can is a tad fuller sounding than Grado, but again the bass will drive you crazy.

 

[f00fighters]

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I'm really not going to be able to give a good comparision, the 598 is a wreck unamped, while the ad900 is just fine. What I can tell you though is that the 598 has better bass, the AD900 I have EQed up about 5db and I can still barely hear it. The 598 is a little slower than the AD900, but I only noticed in my fastest metal (Bathory - Death and Ressurection of a Northern Son), even without an amp the soundstage of the 598 impressed me, the AD900 is bigger, but the 598 was clearer, with better seperation, it was great for folk metal. If you are interested in the AD900 I have one for sale, but in all honesty unless your preferance is Classical or Accoustic your going to be missing the bass. It has even less than my old SR-80 and that can had too little.
EDIT: Figure I should mention this, my AD900 is currently amped on my Xonar, unamped it was less refined with less even less bass and less treble.
EDIT2: I just checked your first post, you will hate the AD900, it is the opposite of what you want, this can is a tad fuller sounding than Grado, but again the bass will drive you crazy.

based on my first post, do you think the 598 may fit the bill? You said the bass was better than the AD900. How do you feel about the bass in general on the 598. It's really neck in neck, b/w the DT990, and the HD598. The 990 seems like it maybe a headache with over sparkle, which is why the 598 seemed somewhat appealing. I prefer my iPhone EQ off, because I just want the headphones to sound like they're supposed to, without much coloring by EQ or amp. I would get a portable amp that would just power them more to bring out the details, but not color the sound.  
 

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm not sure a portable amp would be enough for either of them, I havn't heard the 990(although I may be getting one soon) but the 598 was amazing with Infected Mushroom(trance). A lot of rap and R&B is in the vocals if I'm not mistaken which would make me have to say that you would want the 598 or maybe even the 558 over the 990.

 

[Thommohawk]

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Unfortunately I know myself too well. If I get the dt990 Pro, I will be dreaming of the premium, and what could have been. So I'd rather avoid that all together. If I decided on DT990, I'll go premium. 
 

 
Yeah I know what you mean, I'm doing the same thing but in reverse....got the 990 Pro but now I want those aluminium backed 990 premiums lol! 
 
 

 

[f00fighters]

I'm not sure a portable amp would be enough for either of them, I havn't heard the 990(although I may be getting one soon) but the 598 was amazing with Infected Mushroom(trance). A lot of rap and R&B is in the vocals if I'm not mistaken which would make me have to say that you would want the 598 or maybe even the 558 over the 990.

My music primarily consists of rock/alternative/classic rock. How was 598 with rock? Did you find the music, engaging with the 598?

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm sad to say i didn't try any Classic Rock, but the fact that it pulled of Electonica so well without an amp amazes me. I was running it right off the integrated sound on my dad's computer, I was going to keep it until I got my computer with the essence running again, but issues  with ASUS's RMA service prevented that from happenening.

 

[f00fighters]

Thank God, a miracle happened. Well not so much a miracle, but the M50's have opened much more since my last complaint. They are making me smile again. The closed feeling is gone for the most part. The sound stage has widened a bit, and instrument separation has improved, and detail is more apparent. I'm so relieved. It's back to being an excellent all rounder. Burn-in is definitely no myth with these headphones, that's for sure. I should've known better. At this point, the sound has only been improving. I'm very happy with these headphones... again  
 
Additionally, I went ahead and ordered the Sennheiser HD598 to compare. I haven't decided on an amp, yet. I got it brand new, for $170. I couldn't pass up the offer The M50 is most likely going to be a keeper.

 

[crinacle]

Don't worry, the M50 is like that. Its burn in is really weird; somewhere around the 10-50 hour mark there is a significant improvement both in soundstage and in bass refinement. The first time I listened to them, I thought I was lied to

 

[shane55]

 
Glad to hear that news... I'll be interested in your comparison review.

 

[f00fighters]

 
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Glad to hear that news... I'll be interested in your comparison review.

Absolutely! I'll try very hard to refrain from giving my initial impressions of the HD598, until at least 40+ hours of burn-in. The 598 is scheduled to arrive this Thursday. I still haven't bought an amp yet for the 598's. There's not that many amp recommendations for it, except Fiio amps, for the most part.