[chardy37]

Hello Head-Fi!
 
Hey guys, I'm new to head-fi and new to hi-fi equipment as well. I've been looking at the forums for a while now. It was because of these forums I bought my ATH-M50s and love them. However, I'm looking to buy a Christmas present for my girlfriend who has never owned any headphone better than Apple Earpods. I was wanting to usher her into the world of high fidelity with a pair of nice over the ear cans that will remain in one room for the most part. I was thinking about pulling the trigger on some HD 598's but I wanted to get some opinions from some people here who have some experience with some of these particular cans or similarly priced cans.
 
My budget is a maximum of 300 USD, and I will get an amp and DAC shortly, so source and power are not an issue. To touch base on all fields, she listens mostly to soft-ish rock like music and more laid back genres also some reggae and also some rock. Artists like John Mayer, Jack Johnson, SOJA, NEEDTOBREATHE, and even as hard as a band Alter Bridge.
 
I was looking at HD 598, HD 600, AKG K702, or maybe something else?
 
All input is greatly appreciated!

 

[fabio-fi]

The HD598's will do fine, but they will leak sound (part of the nature of open backed headphones) 
 
Consider the AKG K550 

 

[chardy37]

How is the sound signature on the k550's? I would imagine kind of similar to the M50's in theory since they're both closed back? I have heard the hd 558's and I liked the top end so I would imagine the hd 598's only improve everything on the 558's?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  How is the sound signature on the K550's? I would imagine kind of similar to the M50's in theory since they're both closed back? I have heard the HD 558's and I liked the top end so I would imagine the HD 598's only improve everything on the 558's?

The K550 are a touch distant (but not in a bad way) compared to the ATH-M50s, which are really about bass.
The K550s offer a more balanced audio (bass/mids/treble) compared to the ATH-M50s
The HD558 and HD598 use the same driver, better to save a few dollars and get the HD558s.
Also there is black rubber tape on the inside of the cups of the HD558, which cover about 40% of the holes.
So removing the black rubber tape should improve (at least a little) the mids, surround sound and treble of the HD558s.
The HD558s are amplifier optional, will work without a amplifier, but should improve with one.

 

[rubinstein]

you could also look at mad dogs

 

[fabio-fi]

Thanks for the clarification Purpleangel, i have to add that i enjoy the musical presentation of the K550 with rock songs and it have a good amount of bass, a bit more than the HD598. 
 
I mainly leave the Sennhs for classical, orchestra or some jazz. 

 

[chardy37]

So I pulled the trigger on a pair of HD 558's and am eagerly awaiting them from Amazon Prime.