[Maxis]

 
 
Frankly ... they sound like ass .. 

 
 
Ok heres the background.. Ive been using IEM's for a couple of years ... and my daily IEM are UE Triple Fi 10 Pros .. which are arguably the most well rounded non custom  IEM around. The source is my Zune HD and they drive the IEMS ok. A few days ago i posted on the full headphones forums explaining that i wanted to get a decent entry level set of headphones for an early birthday present and the most compelling suggestion was the Sennheiser 558. Great !! checked the for sale section and here i am on tuesday night wondering if i really should have gone this route.
 
Here are my issues .. after putting this headphone through its paces
 
Bass is smooshed over from all the distortion and all over the place. (Its so bad i wonder how is this possible).
 
soundstage is present but its not omg soundstage !!
 
Its quite mid centric    
 
Now there are a few variables in my set up that i know i have to address.. previously i was going to plug these headphones into my reciever in my bedroom ... Well that is out of the question because the music sounds alot worse going that route.
 
On the P.C the Senns sound decent enough with a Creative Lab Exreme Music Card but the bass still sounds bloated and uncontrolled
 
On the Zune HD i think its a bit worse.
 
 
Are these headphones not being given enough juice to play properly ?? Will an E7 fix it ?(I have one on the way)
 
Or are all these issues attributed to not being burned in as yet? And if its a burn in issue how many hours are going to be needed to get more controlled bass?
 
The original owner took out the foam padding as an upgrade of the bass.. and he included them in the package. The problem is that im too scared to even attempt to put them back in ... or is that not really the problem ?
 
BTW all the source material that i use to test are 320kbit material downloaded directly from the zune marketplace so im kinda not thinking its the music file themselves.
 
 
On some aspects i can tell the headphone has potential but maybe coming from a 400 Msrp IEM to a 170 msrp headphone is not a good one ?
 
Hoping the experts can help me with this one please ..
 
 
Thanks
 
Maxis

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Perhaps you enjoy the sound of iems more then the sound of full size cans. I kind of felt the same about my Shure srh840. I had to let myself get used to them. Give it a few weeks and perhaps you will love them, But like you said you went from $400 iems to $170 full size cans. It doesn't matter how good the full size cans are they will most likely not compare to a pair of $400 iems as i find iems to be better value imo.

 

[Aizura]

I think the 558 is a downgrade from your Triple Fi 10. I've compared the IEMs to my HD555's and the Triple Fi 10 is a different league. I think you need something like the HD6x0 with a nice amp to get a real upgrade in sound.

 

[wind016]

The HD598s are better and only cost $175 from J&R

 

[Ra97oR]

As stated already, that is a downgrade. Not surprised that you didn't find them any better.

 

[tattare]

Quote:

The HD598s are better and only cost $175 from J&R

I got all excited when I saw this. I see them listed at $249.95.  Is there a $75 off coupon im missing out on?
 
the hd558's listed at $180

 

[129207]

Well, you asked for an "entry level headphone" and that is exactely what you got. If you asked for a clear upgrade over your TF10's you probably had to spend a lot more than $150. If I had wanted an entry level can, coming from the TF10's I'd go looking for something that would compliment it. Let's say, something with a huge soundstage, since the TF10 doesn't have a real soundstage. Something like the ATH-AD700 or, if you're looking for a natural soundstage instead of a ultra wide one, the HD580. Can be had for the same amount of your HD558 but will offer a significant difference over your TF10's. Not a significant upgrade though. Although I absolutely LOVE my amped HD580. 

 

[wind016]

 
Quote:

I got all excited when I saw this. I see them listed at $249.95.  Is there a $75 off coupon im missing out on?
 
the hd558's listed at $180

You have to call. Say a friend got it for that price and you want it matched.
 

 

[Maxis]

I think the 558 is a downgrade from your Triple Fi 10. I've compared the IEMs to my HD555's and the Triple Fi 10 is a different league. I think you need something like the HD6x0 with a nice amp to get a real upgrade in sound.

 

 

[Maxis]

Ok my quoted reply in the post above is missing so ill retype it.
 
 
I guess ill hold on to them for a few weeks and re evaluate them when the E7 arrives. Worse case scenario ill use them for Gaming.  Considering that i may have to go to the 600/650 series to get the commensurate performance that im looking for i know that from doing research im going to need a heavy duty amp that can provide lots of current in order to drive them. Any recommendations for a person on a budget where i can get the most bang for the buck that can drive them (HD650) without issue ? Im not looking for anything fancy .. i just want to make sure im not disappointed due to lack of juice when i eventually get a 600 or 650.
 
so the plan is to get the amp first then the headphones ..
 
Constructive suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
 
Cheers
 

 

[LugBug1]

It also take time for ears to adjust to the different soundstage headphones give you. IEM's as a rule can seem more detailed for a start, and then there's the punchy sound that only IEM's can give you. But once you get used to the bigger soundstage of full size cans and then go back to IEM's I'm sure you'll change your mind.
 
But as has been said above, you really should try a higher end model to at least match the detail and resolution levels you are used to with the UE's.

 

[shake]

Hey Maxis, I did tell you that coming from IEMs, you'd probably feel like the bass was lacking.  The strongsuit of the 558's were, IMO, the mids.  I was also running them out of a VALAB NOS dac and an amp with an opa2111.  After this, I had to EQ them in foobar quite a bit.  UnEQ'd, they still sounded fine.  Just give yourself time to get used to them.  They had begun growing on me when you purchased them.  Before I got them, I had been using the ultrasone hfi-780 since august and wanted something to complement them.
 
They have around 40hrs of playtime on them.
 
As for putting the foam back in, it's very easy.  Just pull on the earpads until they pop out, then you'll see 3 screws holding the driver frame to the cup.  Just pop those out, stick the foam back in place (across the center, you can see the pattern imprint in the adhesive), screw the faceplate back on.  To get the pads back on, just push them in until they snap in place.

 

[TobaccoRoad]

I own TF10 and HD595 and consider HD595 higher quality. Considering HD595 is said to be inferior to HD558, I don't understand how HD558 is a clear-cut downgrade from the Triplefi's.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

On the P.C the Senns sound decent enough with a Creative Lab Exreme Music Card but the bass still sounds bloated and uncontrolled
 
On the Zune HD i think its a bit worse.

It's the source.

 

[zmd]

Try them with an amp before making up your mind. On my Xonar DS line-out they sound awful, just the way you described them, with a huge, bloaty bass bump. Through the HP out (LM4562 opamp) they're terrific. Oh, and leave the foam out, I'd say.