[streetdragon]

Quote:

I am really worried about removing the valour pads, do they clip on? how are they attatched? Also when you put them back on did they look exactly as they did before you took them off? Do I just take them off, remove the 3 screws then carefully remove the foam strip? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8i_ZGHHhuQ
this video is really good, as you can see in the video, just support the under part of the pad and pull outwards, the part where you should be most careful is unscrewing the driver, there is a hole in the center where the screw might fall in or you might poke the driver with the screw driver. putting the pad back on is really easy, just push it at the inner part of the pad rim firmly till a few clicks sounds are observed, and done!

 

[VeXun]

Why did Sennheiser put the foam there in the first place?
Thank you all very much!

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Why did Sennheiser put the foam there in the first place?
Thank you all very much!

For one reason, it cheaper to manufacture one good driver (for both the HD558 & HD598), then two separate drivers for each headphone.
The foam should give the HD558 headphone a more bassy sound, which the young ones like, with their Rock & Roll music.
The foam could also keep the HD558 from sounding more like the HD598.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
I experimented with a friend HD558 recently. I didn't just do the foam mod, but replaced the foam with thin adhesive felt. The result is still a warm and bassy signature, but also has a lot more air and space to it. Detail also picked up a bit.
 
I think the HD558 is a good investment. It not too expensive and has a good sonic presentation. Warm, detailed, and involving. Not good for metal as transients are a bit lacking, but good for almost anything else.

 

[VeXun]

Quote:

For one reason, it cheaper to manufacture one good driver (for both the HD558 & HD598), then two separate drivers for each headphone.
The foam should give the HD558 headphone a more bassy sound, which the young ones like, with their Rock & Roll music.
The foam could also keep the HD558 from sounding more like the HD598.

I find that the 558's lack bass, I am not a basshead but when I listen to electronica I notice that the lows aren't that great unless I crank the volume up. However the lows sound amazing with certain genres.
 
I thought removing the foam would enhance the bass?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I find that the 558's lack bass, I am not a basshead but when I listen to electronica I notice that the lows aren't that great unless I crank the volume up. However the lows sound amazing with certain genres.
 
I thought removing the foam would enhance the bass?

Personally I fine the HD558 bass just fine,
I'm guessing with the foam removed, the bass is the same, but the mids and high stand out more (my guess).

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

Personally I fine the HD558 bass just fine,
I'm guessing with the foam removed, the bass is the same, but the mids and high stand out more (my guess).

I felt the bass was more loose and maybe a little more bloated with the foam removed, the high's were more prominent and less biting too, for the mids im not sure though. i just use the eq to improve on whatever i can to suit my electronic music genre (eq cannot decrease the biting of the treble, so for me the mod was very good)

 

[VeXun]

I just did the mod and I notice the treble sounding more crisp so far, I think I can notice the sound stage change a little bit, I am listening to Earth Wind & Fire - Fantasy and there is a certain tempo at the beginning that I never noticed it stick out so much before, I'm not sure if this is different then it was before but I think I can tell a difference, my auditory memory is not great though.. 
 
II am trying to think of the best way to store the foam pads just in case I ever need to send the headphones to Sennheiser in the future.. What would be the best way to store them.
 
 
I just put on some bass heavy music and notice the bass being more punchy? Does that sound right?

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

I just did the mod and I notice the treble sounding more crisp so far, I think I can notice the sound stage change a little bit, I am listening to Earth Wind & Fire - Fantasy and there is a certain tempo at the beginning that I never noticed it stick out so much before, I'm not sure if this is different then it was before but I think I can tell a difference, my auditory memory is not great though.. 
 
II am trying to think of the best way to store the foam pads just in case I ever need to send the headphones to Sennheiser in the future.. What would be the best way to store them.
 
 
I just put on some bass heavy music and notice the bass being more punchy? Does that sound right?

well... just stick it on a dust free surface where it isn't disturbed much (like in an airtight container or something? ....or a 16 digit high security safe with titanium casing and motion sensors with inbuilt .50 mag- nvm this is ridiculous anyway) 
well imo the bass has gone up in volume, slightly less tight than the unmodded version. in short, louder and lower bass

 

[VeXun]

After listening to some accoustic guitar I can hear the deeper notes soo much better and the bass goes really deep, its very subtle but sounds AMAZING, I have had these headphones for about a week now and have kept them on overnight for about 6-7 hours burning in and listened to them for a few hours each day, do I still have some more burn in time before they sound their best?
 
With the foam strips I put them inside a brand new clean cd case and closed it and put it away. I figure that's a decent way to store them..
 
And lol if I had a safe like that I would put lots of cool stuff in it and probably own things that I shouldn't.. jk
 
Anyway thanks for your help!

 

[WhiteCrow]

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No, the 558 DOES have foam in them (I owned them). But your implication is right, removing the foam wouldn't make them 598s like removing the foam made 555's into 595's. There are still some differences (I own 598s now).

HAHAHAHA OH wow, sorry thought he was talking about the 555/595 series for some reason and in my mind 558=595 in his post.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

After listening to some accoustic guitar I can hear the deeper notes soo much better and the bass goes really deep, its very subtle but sounds AMAZING, I have had these headphones for about a week now and have kept them on overnight for about 6-7 hours burning in and listened to them for a few hours each day, do I still have some more burn in time before they sound their best?
 
With the foam strips I put them inside a brand new clean cd case and closed it and put it away. I figure that's a decent way to store them..
 
And lol if I had a safe like that I would put lots of cool stuff in it and probably own things that I shouldn't.. jk
 
Anyway thanks for your help!

well i would say that they're are about the halfway mark of burning in based on the kind of burn in time people mention here (like 200 hours or so). cant say for sure though, i just got them yesterday and probably only got about 10 hours into them so far. i do hope to find improvements as time goes on

well that should keep the foam well, if cd's can stay in such good condition in them surely foam tapes would too

yeah... things that you shouldn't own... like the Solo's you mean? 

and welcome^^

 

[VeXun]

Quote:

well i would say that they're are about the halfway mark of burning in based on the kind of burn in time people mention here (like 200 hours or so). cant say for sure though, i just got them yesterday and probably only got about 10 hours into them so far. i do hope to find improvements as time goes on

well that should keep the foam well, if cd's can stay in such good condition in them surely foam tapes would too

yeah... things that you shouldn't own... like the Solo's you mean? 

and welcome^^

Haha thanks man

 

[VeXun]

I was just reading the specs on my HD 558's and read something about how they have "Surround reflector for extended spatial sound field" Is that the foam strip that you remove in the mod? I removed it and noticed that lower frequencies sounded better but if I can have better quality I want to put the foam strips back in, if they are used to reflect sound for extended spatial sound field...
 
Does anyone know if these have anything to do with quality or if they are used to dumb them down so they don't sound as good as their older brother the 598's..

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I was just reading the specs on my HD 558's and read something about how they have "Surround reflector for extended spatial sound field" Is that the foam strip that you remove in the mod? I removed it and noticed that lower frequencies sounded better but if I can have better quality I want to put the foam strips back in, if they are used to reflect sound for extended spatial sound field...
 
Does anyone know if these have anything to do with quality or if they are used to dumb them down so they don't sound as good as their older brother the 598's..

As the HD558 and HD598 use the same driver and the HD598 without the BRT (black rubber tape) sound better then the HD558s, make one think why the tape was added.
I'm guessing the BRT was added to give the HD558s a more bassy sound that "interferes" with the mids and highs.
Them young one like bassy stuff anyway.
 
But removing the BRT will not make the HD558s match the HD598, (but I'm guessing close).