[nerdbird3]

Hello, how's everything been going? I'm fairly new to this whole audio world as I know nothing more than driver units. I figure my knowledge to this area is non-existence compare with you folks. That's why I am here, hopefully you guys don't mind to share your insights. 
 
So I have been looking into this Sennheiser HD 598 headphone, and reading through reviews on the net seems like its a good entry-level headphone for newbie. (Correct me if I'm wrong, am not sure how they place HD598 against other headphones.)
 
Quite frankly, I wasn't sure what AMP means until I read it off wikipedia. What is the difference with/without the amplifier? Considering I'm just a casual user, what are the benefits to own an amplifier? Remember my budget is around $100~200.
 
I will be mainly use this headphone for music, movies, games, and whatnot. In fact, I just informed there loss less audio for ipod. What are the difference between loss less sounds to 320kpb ones? It seems like a hassle to me since iTunes doesn't convert flac files and I need to find a converter to convert this files. And I rarely buy CD for my music collections as they are all online now. Any comments are appreciated. Please enlighten me!! Thanks.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[HairPhones]

Hello! Fairly new in the audio world, too.
 
Not sure about the phones. You'll have to wait for someone else to answer your questions about it.
 
I don't know much about amps either, but I know that they improve the overall sound quality, making details more refined & noticeable. They drive the headphones by providing extra power with what your media source offers.
 
You'd also have to think about where you use your phones. Are you gonna be mobile a lot & listen to your mp3 everywhere? If so, you could buy a portable amp (or just live without one). If you mostly going to use it at home, such as play games (which you've mentioned) or listen to music, it'd behoove you to buy an amp just to get better SQ.
 
FLAC (free lossless audio codec), from what I understand, is the music file that comes straight from a source, say, a CD. It's pure, & during extraction no data was lost.
320kbps, though, are still good quality MP3s. It's just that there was a bit of data loss during the conversion process.
I don't know how much of a difference you could hear between the two. It's always best to have the FLAC, but it's not bad to have 320pkbs, too.
 
Sorry about what little knowledge I brought to the table. If other Head-Fiers find faults in what I've said, please feel free to correct it.

 

[Parall3l]

Well your budget is just right for an entry to the world of audiophilia IMO. To recommend the best headphone for you we really need more information. You should provide the following : 
 
Music preferences (genre) or sound preferences (A lot of bass, neutral/real etc)
Usage, where do you plan to use them ? 
Where are you getting the music online ? 
 
As for amps, most people believe that they can improve the sound and let headphone perform at their maximum potential but most low impedance (easy to drive) headphone perform at 90% and above without one
 
To convert FLAC or other forms of music files for iTunes you'll need a very simple and easy to use converter that doesn't really take a long time. You'll need to convert them into ALAC (apple lossless, looks like this :  music.m4a)
 
Lossless is normally indistinguishable from 320kbps mp3 unless you are spending a whole of money or use revealing gear. On the iPod, it depends on the model, I would not recommend lossless, especially the touch series, but if you are using the classic, then go for it.
 
Welcome to Head-fi 

 

 

[nerdbird3]

Thanks for the input, parall, hairphone. I will stick with earbuds when I am out. If I do get HD598, I will only use it at home. I wouldn't consider buying an amp unless there's huge difference. I want it simple, plug and play. I will update those tomorrow, slepy

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

FLAC (free lossless audio codec), from what I understand, is the music file that comes straight from a source, say, a CD. It's pure, & during extraction no data was lost.
 
 
Sorry about what little knowledge I brought to the table. If other Head-Fiers find faults in what I've said, please feel free to correct it.

HairPhones, don't worry about how much you know, your doing very good so far, you are 100% correct about lossless audio (I think). Lossless audio is indeed the same from what ever it came from like you said, but it was already compressed when it is copied on to say, a CD. Studios tend to use even bigger files compared to the already huge 16/44 lossles on CDs. Therefore there is already a very minimal lost in data no matter what you do. Unless you are actually there with the musicians. 
 
Sorry for being off topic but i thought I'd let you know that you are correct and add a little bit of stuff I've learnt 

 

[HairPhones]

Quote:

Lossless is normally indistinguishable from 320kbps mp3 unless you are spending a whole of money or use revealing gear. On the iPod, it depends on the model, I would not recommend lossless, especially the touch series, but if you are using the classic, then go for it.

So my mp3 player is an iPod touch, 2nd generation.
How does that affect the sound? Does it output at a low quality or something?
 

 

[DomieMic65]

Well FLAC is NOT "the music file that comes straight from a source, say, a CD."
It is a way to compress the output of the cource without loosing information. Losslesly in order to have smaller files!! In the contrary the mp3 codec cuts something out, the lower the bit rate the more! 320kbps is quite good though but in a well constructed system, not nesecerily expensive, you can hear the difference! The 598s you are thinking of buying can of course show these differences!!

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

Quote:

So my mp3 player is an iPod touch, 2nd generation.
How does that affect the sound? Does it output at a low quality or something?
 

 
I haven't tried lossless with my 2nd gen before I kind of sat on it with a pair of earphones on the screen and therefore focusing the force of my body weight to 1 point and crushing the screen 

 but on the 4th gen, it plays lossless file and performance wise it played games without lag during music play back. The touch itself is a beautiful media device but using lossless takes a lot of space, and IMO that space is better used on for apps or videos since a good compression on the ipod is indistinguishable from lossless (your not using a $99999 DAC and amp set up so its expected) 

 

[nerdbird3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parall3l /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Music preferences (genre) or sound preferences (A lot of bass, neutral/real etc)
Usage, where do you plan to use them ? 
Where are you getting the music online ? 

     I don't have a specific music preferences, I listen to all kinds of music. But most of my music are pop/rock, some are really mellow like those in Naruto.
     I will only use this headphone at home. Honestly, I would rather shell out $180 on a headphone for a long-term use than buying a premium earbuds which will eventually wear out. (I have tried Sony MDR-EX600 recently. They are so hard to put on, very comfortable but inconvenient to adjust the cord every time I put them on. So I returned it yesterday. The sound quality from EX600 is better than my MDR-EX57LP, not by much.)
       As to where I get my music. I have a license from my home country where they make folks pay $10/month to download any songs around the world. Pretty much like iTunes but cheaper.  
 

 

[nerdbird3]

So do I necessary need an amplifier for Sennheiser HD598? What is the difference without using amp? The thing is I don't have enough money to spare after spending it on this headphone, but I will save some if using an amp can improve the overall sound quality. Thanks.

 

[Parall3l]

Amps are for cans that are hard to drive, generally with a impedance of more than 100ohms or with low sensitivity , given the same voltage and everything else, more power is needed for higher impedance cans. However, some headphones improve greatly with amps even though they are extremely efficient. Its best to go for something that does not require an amp.  I'm not familiar with the HD598 so I can not comment. With 50ohms impedance the HD598 SHOULD improve greatly with an amp. (I've never heard them before so you should really ask someone else) You should also consider other headphones in that price range. The HD598 may not have the signature you would want. A signature, BTW, is how the headphones sound. There is different kinds of signatures, such as bassy, neutral and bright. For Pop music, I find that most of them are badly recorded in the studio and the bass is recessed in them. So a slightly bassy to very bassy pair of headphones should be something you'd want. The HD598 is open back BTW, which means its not going isolate noise much, and everyone around you can hear the headphones as loud as you do. 
 
Good luck 

 

[JayB18]

You  can also look into the Beyerdynamic DT440. They aren't talked about much here unfortunately but they easily keep up with more expensive phones and some even say they sound superior to the HD598. Also you can generally find them for quite a bit cheaper.

 

[Croozer]

Amps are for cans that are hard to drive

Amplifiers are not just for "hard to drive" (high impedance) cans, they work great on low impedance cans also (adjustable gain).

All my cans are low impedance and I would not listen to them without my amp, it makes a world of difference.

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

However, some headphones improve greatly with amps even though they are extremely efficient. 
 
 

Didn't notice that line ? 

 
Bad amplification can mess with your preciousssssss cans 
 

 

[HairPhones]

So what do you consider as "good" amplification?
What makes an amp good or bad?
 
Quote:

Didn't notice that line ? 

 
Bad amplification can mess with your preciousssssss cans 
 

You don't necessarily need an amp for the HD598. They should be fine on their own (check with someone who has them, though), given the impedance & sensitivity.
But there's also cheap headphone amps that you could get (though apparently you get what you paid for). Look at the FiiO E5 or something?
 
And if you can find a store that lets you audition the cans that people here are recommending, go for it!
If you want to find the right phones for you, you should try them out & see which you now enjoy.
 

Quote:

So do I necessary need an amplifier for Sennheiser HD598? What is the difference without using amp? The thing is I don't have enough money to spare after spending it on this headphone, but I will save some if using an amp can improve the overall sound quality. Thanks.