[Meetite]

I think overall the HD 598s will be the best for me, thanks everyone!

 

[goodyfresh]

I think overall the HD 598s will be the best for me, thanks everyone!

I'm glad we were able to help you sort things out!

I'm sure you won't regret your choice.  As I said, when I listened to the 558, I thought they sounded VERY good, and everyone says the 598 sound similar but even better, so you should be golden   The soundstage and dynamics you'll be getting should be near top-notch, buddy.  Honestly, when I listened to the HD558, I almost felt like I was listening to speakers rather than a pair of headphones   The only thing that stops me, personally, from getting them, is that I do like a bit of enhanced bass (not excessive, though) and I need isolation

Good luck, enjoy your purchase, and keep an eye on your wallet if ya know what I mean ^_^

 

[goodyfresh]

Are the behringer UCA-202/222 any good?

I mean how big of an improvement is it? Because it might not be worth getting a DAC for below $50 at all and would be better to just run the headphones off my computer's built in sound card, save the money to buy games.

You're talking about Behringer's USB Audio-Interface, right?  I've heard that they are supposed to be quite a good solution as a low-budget DAC, actually, so that could work for ya   If they're good enough for some people to use for recording and mixing, I see no reason why they wouldn't produce good enoguh sound for someone just casually listening to music or gaming.

 

[Meetite]

I'm glad we were able to help you sort things out!


I'm sure you won't regret your choice.  As I said, when I listened to the 558, I thought they sounded VERY good, and everyone says the 598 sound similar but even better, so you should be golden   The soundstage and dynamics you'll be getting should be near top-notch, buddy.  Honestly, when I listened to the HD558, I almost felt like I was listening to speakers rather than a pair of headphones   The only thing that stops me, personally, from getting them, is that I do like a bit of enhanced bass (not excessive, though) and I need isolation


Good luck, enjoy your purchase, and keep an eye on your wallet if ya know what I mean ^_^

Yeah, lol
Thanks for all the help!

 

[Meetite]

You're talking about Behringer's USB Audio-Interface, right?  I've heard that they are supposed to be quite a good solution as a low-budget DAC, actually, so that could work for ya   If they're good enough for some people to use for recording and mixing, I see no reason why they wouldn't produce good enoguh sound for someone just casually listening to music or gaming.

I think that is what I'm gonna do, thanks!

 

[goodyfresh]

I think that is what I'm gonna do, thanks!

Just one more bit of input from me.  I was actually just talking to some folks elsewhere about budget DAC's, and several people seem to think that in the under-50 range, the ones from HiFiMeDIY (specifically, the 29.99 "Tiny Sabre DAC" and the 49.99 Sabre DAC, both available on Amazon) give FAR better sound than any other DAC's in that price-range.

Apparently, the Sabre chips used in them are normally found in much, much more expensive makes and models of DAC, and HiFiMeDIY is known for making DAC's with Sabre chipsets actually affordable for everyday folks.  So honestly, if I were you, what I'd do WOULDN'T be to get the Behringer, based on what everyone is telling me.  I'd get the Sabre DAC for 49.99.  It has a little bit of an amp section, so most likely no matter what headphones you ever get it will drive them adequately, and unlike the Behringer it will play all files at sample-rates up to 96khz in their native sample-rate.

And remember, don't forget to look into the whole WASAPI and/or ASIO business, specifically using the Foobar2000 player!  If you do, you won't regret it, it will just make your computer sound soooo much better

In case you were wondering, I myself have decided, finally, what DAC I am going to get as a desktop unit at home, I'll be getting the HiFiMeDIY UAE23+ Asynchronous, Isolated Sabre DAC, for 89.99.

Keep in mind that if you don't want to get the 49.99 HiFiMeDIY one, you can just get the 29.99 "Tiny" model they make which will be way more portable and convenient, AND STILL SOUND BETTER most likely, than the Behringer, for the same price.

 

[Meetite]

Just one more bit of input from me.  I was actually just talking to some folks elsewhere about budget DAC's, and several people seem to think that in the under-50 range, the ones from HiFiMeDIY (specifically, the 29.99 "Tiny Sabre DAC" and the 49.99 Sabre DAC, both available on Amazon) give FAR better sound than any other DAC's in that price-range.


Apparently, the Sabre chips used in them are normally found in much, much more expensive makes and models of DAC, and HiFiMeDIY is known for making DAC's with Sabre chipsets actually affordable for everyday folks.  So honestly, if I were you, what I'd do WOULDN'T be to get the Behringer, based on what everyone is telling me.  I'd get the Sabre DAC for 49.99.  It has a little bit of an amp section, so most likely no matter what headphones you ever get it will drive them adequately, and unlike the Behringer it will play all files at sample-rates up to 96khz in their native sample-rate.


And remember, don't forget to look into the whole WASAPI and/or ASIO business, specifically using the Foobar2000 player!  If you do, you won't regret it, it will just make your computer sound soooo much better


In case you were wondering, I myself have decided, finally, what DAC I am going to get as a desktop unit at home, I'll be getting the HiFiMeDIY UAE23+ Asynchronous, Isolated Sabre DAC, for 89.99.


Keep in mind that if you don't want to get the 49.99 HiFiMeDIY one, you can just get the 29.99 "Tiny" model they make which will be way more portable and convenient, AND STILL SOUND BETTER most likely, than the Behringer, for the same price.

Oh, ok, thank you so much

 

[goodyfresh]

Oh, ok, thank you so much

You're welcome!  But there's no need to really thank me, since I'd have to be a huge jerk to find out what your plans are, realize that you won't be getting the best sound for your money, and then NOT give you advice as to a better plan   Ya dig?  I think that if you're gonna be spending a few hundred dollars, it is of course very important that you get the best sound for your money

One final note:  Since you AREN'T getting a chance to actually, you know, AUDITION any of these headphones before buying them, I'd make sure to get them from somewhere with a good return-policy, like Amazon, just in case you turn out to not like the sound adn would like to get a refund in order to get and try something else, ya know?

Regardless though I suspect you will like the sound of the 598's much more than the Momentums.  Not to mention the difference in fit and comfort will be like night and day.  I seriously don't know WHAT Sennheiser was thinking when they designed the ear-cups on the Momentums. . .you think they mistook our world for Middle Earth and thought they were making headphones for Hobbits, or something? Hahaha

 

[Meetite]

You're welcome!  But there's no need to really thank me, since I'd have to be a huge jerk to find out what your plans are, realize that you won't be getting the best sound for your money, and then NOT give you advice as to a better plan   Ya dig?  I think that if you're gonna be spending a few hundred dollars, it is of course very important that you get the best sound for your money


One final note:  Since you AREN'T getting a chance to actually, you know, AUDITION any of these headphones before buying them, I'd make sure to get them from somewhere with a good return-policy, like Amazon, just in case you turn out to not like the sound adn would like to get a refund in order to get and try something else, ya know?


Regardless though I suspect you will like the sound of the 598's much more than the Momentums.  Not to mention the difference in fit and comfort will be like night and day.  I seriously don't know WHAT Sennheiser was thinking when they designed the ear-cups on the Momentums. . .you think they mistook our world for Middle Earth and thought they were making headphones for Hobbits, or something? Hahaha

Lol, thank you anyway.
I am buying them from B&H which is based in NY (I live only about an hour or two away from their main store and they have a pretty good return policy so the return policy isn't an issue.
And to respond to your third paragraph; I imagine they would be night and day, since they pretty much are in looks and in material, and considering that the 598s are supposed to be more leaned towards treble while the momentums are leaned more towards bass they will sound like polar opposites as well, however that is a good thing.

 

[Dirtyworks]

I kind of wish I'd have seen this thread 12 hours ago. I've owned, or had very intimate relationships with the headphones you're considering, and you ruled out the best one of the can's you mentioned: The AKG K550's. I've found the sound stage on them to be as good as the Senny 598's, but the rest of the spectrum is a lot nicer. The 598's seemed a bit tinny for my ears. The K550's do feel a bit closed, but it's negligible, especially that they feel much nicer to wear. They're also built significantly better.

Also, why were Sennheiser HD25-1 II's never mentioned? IMO these are right in the OP's criteria. They definitely feel more closed in than a lot of the other headphones mentioned, but I'm perfectly fine giving that up for the stunning performance they give in all the other categories. They are my favourite closed-back headphone, and I even like them more than a lot of open headphones. Sure, they aren't reference class, but that's because they weren't designed for that - they were designed for music. I mean, Sennheiser must have been onto something to keep running with a 30-40 year old design, amirite?

 

[Meetite]

I kind of wish I'd have seen this thread 12 hours ago. I've owned, or had very intimate relationships with the headphones you're considering, and you ruled out the best one of the can's you mentioned: The AKG K550's. I've found the sound stage on them to be as good as the Senny 598's, but the rest of the spectrum is a lot nicer. The 598's seemed a bit tinny for my ears. The K550's do feel a bit closed, but it's negligible, especially that they feel much nicer to wear. They're also built significantly better.

Also, why were Sennheiser HD25-1 II's never mentioned? IMO these are right in the OP's criteria. They definitely feel more closed in than a lot of the other headphones mentioned, but I'm perfectly fine giving that up for the stunning performance they give in all the other categories. They are my favourite closed-back headphone, and I even like them more than a lot of open headphones. Sure, they aren't reference class, but that's because they weren't designed for that - they were designed for music. I mean, Sennheiser must have been onto something to keep running with a 30-40 year old design, amirite?

The AKG K550's being ruled out was a matter of I never had a good relationship with AKG hedaphones, every pair i ever owned or tried were either too tight on my head or has some painful high-pitch noise going on in the background 100% of the time as long as they had power.  I mean the AKG K550s do look like really good headphones, I just don't trust the brand yet, I need to hear more from them before i trust them.  That is why I like sennheiser, I have had a very intimate relationship with every sennheiser i have ever owned (I had an old PXC 300 which I used bring into school every day to listen to music until the earcups broke since they were really old headphones at the time. Then I had a pair of PXC 350 which i used to use at the computer for music and gaming except once i got my own computer two years ago there were issues over what computer the headphones stayed at so they ended up being used by me and my family and all that use added up and destroyed the earcups and the hinge connecting the ear of the headphone to the band ended up breaking [The headphones still work, except i constantly had to adjust the ear since it would fall down the side of my head {this was also after many years of use}].  After that i decided to get a new pair of headphones to be my own and only mine so they wouldnt fall apart and did a bunch of research and went in-store to hear a bunch of headphones, [all the AKG ones that they had there either didn't work or had that hiss and felt uncomfortable] in the end i stupidly got a Koss QZPRO since i thought it had the best sound out of all of the headphones i heard in my price range at that time.  The Koss QZPRO is by far the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE PAIR OF HEADPHONES I HAVE EVER TRIED, they also had this stupid noise cancelling that didnt actually do anything, like it very clearly tried but it just didn't work, and occasionally the volume would get SUPER loud at random times and it scared the crap out of me, and it had that painful hiss in the background as long as it was plugged in, so in the end i returned it and got a pair of Sennheiser HD 429 headphones, which served really well to me. The senheiser HD 429s had pretty good sound for that price range and were really comfortable, however their cable was WAY TOO LONG AND WAY TOO THING, in the end one of the earcups stopped working because i stupidly tugged on the cable while it was plugged in at an angle, breaking one of the connections. during this period i had to go back to my PXC 350s, then the "what's your momentum" contest started and I did that and one a pair of momentums (which took over two months to arrive because for some reason the guy in charge of the contest was away for those two months and there was nobody to actually send out the emails to all the winners and send the headphones, however eventually they did and now i have a pair of momentums, which sound pretty good, tight bass if the song is mixed right [the bass is good on some songs, not others], except they are too small and something about the way they are built hurts my head after a while, so after a year with these headphones i have decided to get a new pair with a higher budget and that is what this thread was, figuring that out.)
 
lol, I have heard that the HD25-1s IIs are a really good pair of headphone, the issue is that they are on-ear instead of around, and i very much prefer around ear headphones.
And I am going to be using my headphones like 40% of the time for music so i would be using them to their potential, yes?

 

[Dirtyworks]

If you're talking about gaming, then they excel in that respect as well. Definitely better than any proper headset I've ever used, closed or not.

 

[Meetite]

If you're talking about gaming, then they excel in that respect as well. Definitely better than any proper headset I've ever used, closed or not.

what? the momentums, the hd598s or the AKG k550s?

 

[cel4145]

what? the momentums, the hd598s or the AKG k550s?

I don't know for certain which he was talking about, but the AKG K550 has one of the largest soundstages for a closed headphone. So yeah. For the money, it works extremely well for gaming.

 

[Dirtyworks]

Proper headset = a bunch of those gaming headsets. The K550's work better (than the HD25s) for gaming though. Not so much for music.