[wind016]

You two should NOT being getting bass bloat. If you are, you are underamping them. Nobody else with decent headphone amps heard any bloat. I heard bass bloat on my Iphone but not my Anedio D1.

 

[keanex]

E7 and Total Bithead are more than enough to power them. The bass is slow and bloated to my ears. The whole headphone struggles to keep up with alternative rock or DnB, especially DnB.

 

[NiTramZ]

The bass is definitely on the boomy side, it just doesnt seem punchy/tight enough.So i have to agree with BotByte's comment about the driver being too slow for the amount of bass these want to produce.

 

[TMRaven]

What other headphones are you guys comparing the 598 to when you say their bass is bloated?  Driven by an iDecco's headphone amp the 598's bass didn't seem too bloated or boomy when I tried it out at least.  I'm comparing it to headphones with a fair amount of bass though-- primarily DT990.

 

[wind016]

I mean it. You guys' complaints are EXACTLY what underpowering would cause. There's a impedance peak on the HD598's 100hz that reaches 300 ohms. You'll need an amp that can provide the voltage for that.
 
A little OT, but your complaints sound exactly like the people that underpower a Stax O2 and think they have flabby bass.

 

[Anaxilus]

Bloated bass huh?  I suggest you guys improve your source chain.  Perhaps look into getting a Phonitor.
 


 
 

 

[keanex]

We all know how little frequency charts matter to how the headphones present music and replicate frequencies. The bass has little impact and is slow. I couldn't stand these for electronic music, it couldn't keep up and the bass spilled too much into the mids for my liking.

 

[Anaxilus]

Nobody is arguing what you are hearing.  We are arguing why you are hearing it.  Most of us w/ some higher end cans and gear don't seem to be having your issues.  Go figure.  Plus if people don't know the output impedance of their sources they shouldn't even bother commenting.
 
Measurements don't mean everything but they certainly shouldn't be ignored.  Especially in relative terms.
 
FYI, Sennheiser had a table set up at the last meet w/ some Headroom amps.  People were quick to leave saying how much they disliked the HD800s.  Once they got the Eddie Current table w/ the BA you couldn't get them to leave after hearing the HD800.  In fact, we invited the reps to come after the meet and have a listen.  

 

[BotByte]

Ok, after the discussion I seem to miss with you guys about the bass - that I knew was going to have haters
 
I called up a few friends and I'm going to pick up some of their highest end equipment to test the HD598 on, with all my other cans just for fun

 
I'll update maybe, Saturday.
 
 
But I can't be clear enough, the bass is bloated for a Open headphones. Maybe it's because of my source, but I've worked out my system to handle any headphone I pair it to.

 

[keanex]

Quote:

Nobody is arguing what you are hearing.  We are arguing why you are hearing it.  Most of us w/ some higher end cans and gear don't seem to be having your issues.  Go figure.  Plus if people don't know the output impedance of their sources they shouldn't even bother commenting.
 
Measurements don't mean everything but they certainly shouldn't be ignored.  Especially in relative terms.
 
FYI, Sennheiser had a table set up at the last meet w/ some Headroom amps.  People were quick to leave saying how much they disliked the HD800s.  Once they got the Eddie Current table w/ the BA you couldn't get them to leave after hearing the HD800.  In fact, we invited the reps to come after the meet and have a listen.  

I said clearly that I ran them through a Total Bithead and a FiiO E7. The E7 might be slightly underpowered for these, but the Bithead isn't. I also tried them out on a Little Dot MKII, but that was a whole other mess.
 
Compared to my Ad900, whos bass I find very lean, fast, and having good impact, the HD598 is a huge change, one I don't like.
 

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

I said clearly that I ran them through a Total Bithead and a FiiO E7. The E7 might be slightly underpowered for these, but the Bithead isn't. I also tried them out on a Little Dot MKII, but that was a whole other mess.
 

 
That's the only problem with the sound is that Bass.
 
It's like a wild bull pulling everything else along. Just uncontrolled and bloated. BUT EQ CHANGES THAT.
 
If you just tweak the EQ to dull down the bass, the sound performs perfectly.
 
I think it's that power curve that pulls the bass into the mids. The driver is the problem, and it's oh so beautiful. The driver, not the problem.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I said clearly that I ran them through a Total Bithead and a FiiO E7. The E7 might be slightly underpowered for these, but the Bithead isn't. I also tried them out on a Little Dot MKII, but that was a whole other mess.
 
Compared to my Ad900, whos bass I find very lean, fast, and having good impact, the HD598 is a huge change, one I don't like.
 

You clearly didn't understand my post.  
 
If you folks want to keep ignoring important facts like output impedance and square wave response feel free to keep throwing gear at the problem when you don't understand how your setups interact.  There's nothing constructive to be gained until you understand what's happening in your chain.  Till then it's all random conjecture in your opinion.  So just return them or sell them and stop trying to convince us your E7 and Total Bithead is the standard by which audio accuracy is measured.  
 
As for the AD900 It could also be your compressed tracks pair better w/ the bass light AD900.  Measurements also show the 598 to be quicker than the AD900 in midbass too btw.  
 
I happen to know someone who keeps raving about the bass light IEMs he loves for their 'accuracy'.  When I asked what he uses as music for his reference I went and bought the CD.  Turned out it was over-processed and compressed.  So no wonder his bass light phones sound more accurate.  There's about twenty different reasons the HD598 might sound worse to you that actually have nothing to do with the actual headphone.  The fact that there are a good many who do disagree w/ the HD598 being a fart cannon suggest either our sources are the cause or there is wide product variation or a change made to their voicing.  It's really not all that complicated or mysterious.
 
There's always different ears and tastes too so no worries.  I'm just offering some food for thought as someone who's done quite a bit of AB and feels pretty confident in the system I've refined for it.  Things can change a lot as your music collection and gear evolve.  The people arguing against the 598 being represented as bass bloated and slow are not a few random outliers.  

 

[wind016]

 
Quote:

You clearly didn't understand my post.  
 
If you folks want to keep ignoring important facts like output impedance and square wave response feel free to keep throwing gear at the problem when you don't understand how your setups interact.  There's nothing constructive to be gained until you understand what's happening in your chain.  Till then it's all random conjecture in your opinion.  So just return them or sell them and stop trying to convince us your E7 and Total Bithead is the standard by which audio accuracy is measured.  
 
As for the AD900 It could also be your compressed tracks pair better w/ the bass light AD900.  Measurements also show the 598 to be quicker than the AD900 in midbass too btw.  
 
I happen to know someone who keeps raving about the bass light IEMs he loves for their 'accuracy'.  When I asked what he uses as music for his reference I went and bought the CD.  Turned out it was over-processed and compressed.  So no wonder his bass light phones sound more accurate.  There's about twenty different reasons the HD598 might sound worse to you that actually have nothing to do with the actual headphone.  The fact that there are a good many who do disagree w/ the HD598 being a fart cannon suggest either our sources are the cause or there is wide product variation or a change made to their voicing.  It's really not all that complicated or mysterious.
 
There's always different ears and tastes too so no worries.  I'm just offering some food for thought as someone who's done quite a bit of AB and feels pretty confident in the system I've refined for it.  Things can change a lot as your music collection and gear evolve.  The people arguing against the 598 being represented as bass bloated and slow are not a few random outliers.  

Well, yea! Duh.

 


Quote:

Ok, after the discussion I seem to miss with you guys about the bass - that I knew was going to have haters
 
I called up a few friends and I'm going to pick up some of their highest end equipment to test the HD598 on, with all my other cans just for fun

 
I'll update maybe, Saturday.
 
 
But I can't be clear enough, the bass is bloated for a Open headphones. Maybe it's because of my source, but I've worked out my system to handle any headphone I pair it to.

Great!
 
We're not hating. Your review just seems to be an example of amping issues and looking at measurements for just a brief glimpse makes it clear. The HD598 is certainly not a slow driver, at least in its price range. Its speed should be similar with an AKG K701, but most certainly faster than an AD900.
 

 

[MegaMushroom]

Guess my EF2A works better than I expected... I don't find the bass bloated, granted that is just me.  Great review botbyte! 

 

[LEGendARY]

Thanks for the review 
 
I got mine about a month ago .. 
 
I love the looks, the comfort, the detachable cable. 
 
Sound quality for me is detailed, with great soundstage .. Bass is never bloated on my Xonar STX, but rather tight and controlled, but it was bloated from my labtop.
 
Sometimes I find the vocals to be annoying and in front of my face .. maybe because I am used to the m50 somehow recessed (or more to the back) vocals.
 
 
I am thinking seriously about recabling my HD 598 as soon as I get the chance to order from amazon or ebay .. 
tdockweiler stated that a cheap  (Belden 1192A) cable is a definite step up from the stock cable.