[neo5468]

Hello. I am thinking about buying a new headsets/phones. Currently I have Razer Barracuda HP-1 for almost 4 years already. At first, I was using them for games a lot but now, I dont play much games anymore so I would like something better for music and movies.
 
When I was reading amazon reviews on "barracuda" headsets, I was blown away by how much hate it got. All I could see was flame and hate and 1 stars all over the board. They say that everything is awfull. Build quality, sound quality, bass, ... I though that barracuda headsets were good and sounded nice. So if they received so much hate for their sound quality, how much better must Sennheiser's HD 598 really be?
 
Also, barracuda headsets have 5.1 surround sound so they are pretty nice for movies (so I think). When I watch movie, I can see that 5.1 channel is turned on and everything sounds nice. But Sennheiser HD 598 is stereo and only has 1 green jack. How can movie sound better in stereo (no 5.1 channel) ? Or do I set in software from stereo to 5.1 and I have so-called virtual surround sound on them? I dont get this. But everyone says that HD 598 are just fantastic for movies. Can anyone relate?
 
Oh, and I am using "Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium" sound card so I dont think I will "bottleneck" 598's right? Or do I also need to get some sort of amplifier aswell?
 
So, are HD 598 really so much better than barracuda headsets? Is "barracuda" even in the same league? Based on the hate I dont think so but maybe anyone used barracuda headsets before and than replaced them with HD 598 or some similar headphones so they can give me some feedback of what I could expected ? Because I paid arround 100€ for barracuda headsets, and HD 598 are pretty expensive. I just dont want to buy them and see that they dont improve sound and experiance by a big factor. So I would essentially just throw away 170€ for like a 10% or 20% better sound quality. 
 
 
Please if anyone have any feedback, feel free to share it.
 
Thank you

 

[EuphonicArin]

Save yourself some money and buy a pair of hd 439 if you like modifying/customizing things or get the hd 558 for a more balanced sound versus the hd 598 and can even be modded to be more like the 598's/hd600

 

[wafflezz]

Oh boy here we go.

Yes, there's a reason why the hd598 are so highly regarded for music and games. I've never even heard of the baracuda hp-1 until now. But my guess is that ya, sound gets much better.

I'm assuming you've never really experienced true hi-fi before. I was the same way and didn't think sound mattered/all speakers were more or less the same. I'm 99% sure the 598 is a SUBSTANTIAL improvement over anything razer.

 

[neo5468]

No I dont want to mod anything since I still want a warranty. Also anything can go wrong and I can break them.

 

[jackwess]

Take a look at what Mad Lust envy says about the HD598:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-updated-5-23-2013-mrspeakers-mad-dog-v-3-2-reviewed
 
The HD558's are a good start. 

 

[teb1013]

No I dont want to mod anything since I still want a warranty. Also anything can go wrong and I can break them.

The HD558 mod is really easy. Even a klutz like myself had no problem with it. Even without the mod the 558 is a great headphone and a good deal less expensive than the 598.