[MRK1]

I've been using these for a while and they're ok, but lately they just kill my eardrums really fast. Not sure what is up with this bs, maybe I have somehow damaged my hearing and now everything that isn't my trusty old VE Monk (at low volume) is too much for me to handle. I've read in this thread that some people say these have a good volume unamped from a phone at 70% or more volume, but if I do that I would probably start bleeding from my ears very quickly (obviously I'm exaggerating but you get the idea). On both my phone and tablet, 50% is already loud for me using these (I have a OnePlus3 and a Huawei Mediapad M3 tablet). I find myself having to turn down the volume to <50% after a hour or so of listening, I really don't know what's wrong, maybe I'm too sensitive to the mid spike these have...

 

[LazyListener]

I know that I'm too sensitive to the boosted mids on these. I'm actually shocked Tyll put these on his wall of fame.

 

[LightDarkSonic]

Sounds a lot different from my open-back HD 598, it does have a forward mids, but it's just a little bit and the treble is smooth so all in all it's fine

 

[Tuneslover]

I've been using these for a while and they're ok, but lately they just kill my eardrums really fast. Not sure what is up with this bs, maybe I have somehow damaged my hearing and now everything that isn't my trusty old VE Monk (at low volume) is too much for me to handle. I've read in this thread that some people say these have a good volume unamped from a phone at 70% or more volume, but if I do that I would probably start bleeding from my ears very quickly (obviously I'm exaggerating but you get the idea). On both my phone and tablet, 50% is already loud for me using these (I have a OnePlus3 and a Huawei Mediapad M3 tablet). I find myself having to turn down the volume to <50% after a hour or so of listening, I really don't know what's wrong, maybe I'm too sensitive to the mid spike these have...

Yeah I don't use these headphones from music listening. I use them for TV and usually fairly low in volume. For that purpose they sound pretty good and don't disturb my wife.

Listening to music at home I listen exclusively through my HD650's or HE500's, amped of course.

 

[Nidhal]

I've experimented with EQ and made some light touches to the signature, if anyone's interested, here's the link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B555sFMLSNAKVS1YQ3lhdk05ZkU

It's good enough at least for the music I listen to.

 

[LazyListener]

^^^ Nice! I'm sure that compensation for the boosted mids will help some a lot.

 

[Nidhal]

@LazyListener Thanks! I used the graphs from rtings.com and adjusted accordingly.

EQing aside, has anyone tried any (physical) mods with the 598CS? acoustic foam or something like that?
There's some space behind the driver cover on each cup, also a small hole (with a grill cover) in the middle (not sure for what purpose)

 

[Michial]

As a newbie to all this I just picked up the pxc550 and while I like them I’ve since learned I can get a lot more for my money sound quality wise if I go wired. For the $249 I got the 550’s I could get both the closed and open version of the 598. Both could come in handy. One for home, one for work. I’d even save a little money, no more charging, and hopefully better sound.
Can anyone confirm if the 598cs or 598sr would sound as good as these 550’s?
Thank you.

 

[bcaulf17]

Now that some more time has passed I'm wondering if any other head-fi'ers have listened to these, and compared them to other closed headphones in the same price range, notably the DT 770 Pro 32 Ohm for me.

I just recently bought the 770's to replace my M50's because I could no longer tolerate their discomfort. I had a hard time deciding between the 770's and 598CS, but with the 770's being more popular, and hearing some negative things about the 598CS, I went with the 770, 32 Ohm so I can play them off my phone and my laptop. Easily, the 770's are better than the M50's, the 598CS probably are too. They are exceptional in detail and clarity, good soundstage, awesome bass extension that is tight, good mids, and clean and detailed treble. This and the spaciousness adds some nice air. I'm still getting used to them though, with the M50's being so dark. The treble can be very piercing and sibilant on songs that have a bright mastering. Otherwise, it's fine, meaning these can be quite revealing.

Anyway, me being very indecisive I am wondering if I made the right choice. While I do like the 770's, I can't help but wonder how the 598Cs sound after reading more about them? I might like their warmer tone over the 770's, but I would also miss the extreme detail and bass extension of the 770's. I also don't know how I would like forward mids and rolled off treble. While the treble can be bright on the 770's, I like that it is present. I like having everything audible.

Anyway, just asking out of curiosity, what some think of these against other closed headphones. Most comparisons of these are with the 598 SE

 

[Tuneslover]

Now that some more time has passed I'm wondering if any other head-fi'ers have listened to these, and compared them to other closed headphones in the same price range, notably the DT 770 Pro 32 Ohm for me.

I just recently bought the 770's to replace my M50's because I could no longer tolerate their discomfort. I had a hard time deciding between the 770's and 598CS, but with the 770's being more popular, and hearing some negative things about the 598CS, I went with the 770, 32 Ohm so I can play them off my phone and my laptop. Easily, the 770's are better than the M50's, the 598CS probably are too. They are exceptional in detail and clarity, good soundstage, awesome bass extension that is tight, good mids, and clean and detailed treble. This and the spaciousness adds some nice air. I'm still getting used to them though, with the M50's being so dark. The treble can be very piercing and sibilant on songs that have a bright mastering. Otherwise, it's fine, meaning these can be quite revealing.

Anyway, me being very indecisive I am wondering if I made the right choice. While I do like the 770's, I can't help but wonder how the 598Cs sound after reading more about them? I might like their warmer tone over the 770's, but I would also miss the extreme detail and bass extension of the 770's. I also don't know how I would like forward mids and rolled off treble. While the treble can be bright on the 770's, I like that it is present. I like having everything audible.

Anyway, just asking out of curiosity, what some think of these against other closed headphones. Most comparisons of these are with the 598 SE

I bought a pair of 598CS's a few Black Friday's ago. The following year I was hoping for a similar Amazon B.F. sale on the DT770's (32 ohm) however they didn't have a screaming deal but they were on sale briefly so I ordered a pair. I was curious to hear how the DT770's sounded and was planning on keeping them or the CS's. I had heard that the DT770's were rather bright sounding but had to hear them first hand for myself.

Well I concluded very quickly that they most definitely were bright. In fact painful bright. Good bass and much more comfortable than the CS's but I just couldn't handle those high frequencies. I guess I'm just more of a fan of Sennheiser's comfortable high end. I ended up returning the 770's.

 

[bcaulf17]

I bought a pair of 598CS's a few Black Friday's ago. The following year I was hoping for a similar Amazon B.F. sale on the DT770's (32 ohm) however they didn't have a screaming deal but they were on sale briefly so I ordered a pair. I was curious to hear how the DT770's sounded and was planning on keeping them or the CS's. I had heard that the DT770's were rather bright sounding but had to hear them first hand for myself.

Well I concluded very quickly that they most definitely were bright. In fact painful bright. Good bass and much more comfortable than the CS's but I just couldn't handle those high frequencies. I guess I'm just more of a fan of Sennheiser's comfortable high end. I ended up returning the 770's.

Interesting. Thanks for your input. It took me by surprise for sure, both coming from the bassy M50x and favoring the lower side of the spectrum, but I'm hoping I just adjust to it with this being my first neutral to bright sounding headphone, or burn in smoothens it up, even if just ever so slightly. A lot of people seem to like these and I guess it's just a matter of being able to tolerate peaky treble. I don't find it fatiguing really but it can be a bit irritating at times. Also, these seem to clamp pretty hard on my head, I'm wondering if they loosen up it won't be as in my face.

There aren't that many audio-specific retailers near me, but through some research I found out they have the 569's at Micro Center which is not too far from me, apparently, so I might go and check them out in a couple weeks. If you remember, would you be able to compare the two in terms of separation, detail, width/sounstage etc. Are the mids too forward? Also, how is the bass on these? I know it probably doesn't go down as deep but is it still plentiful?

 

[LazyListener]

Now that some more time has passed I'm wondering if any other head-fi'ers have listened to these, and compared them to other closed headphones in the same price range, notably the DT 770 Pro 32 Ohm for me.

I just recently bought the 770's to replace my M50's because I could no longer tolerate their discomfort. I had a hard time deciding between the 770's and 598CS, but with the 770's being more popular, and hearing some negative things about the 598CS, I went with the 770, 32 Ohm so I can play them off my phone and my laptop. Easily, the 770's are better than the M50's, the 598CS probably are too. They are exceptional in detail and clarity, good soundstage, awesome bass extension that is tight, good mids, and clean and detailed treble. This and the spaciousness adds some nice air. I'm still getting used to them though, with the M50's being so dark. The treble can be very piercing and sibilant on songs that have a bright mastering. Otherwise, it's fine, meaning these can be quite revealing.

Anyway, me being very indecisive I am wondering if I made the right choice. While I do like the 770's, I can't help but wonder how the 598Cs sound after reading more about them? I might like their warmer tone over the 770's, but I would also miss the extreme detail and bass extension of the 770's. I also don't know how I would like forward mids and rolled off treble. While the treble can be bright on the 770's, I like that it is present. I like having everything audible.

Anyway, just asking out of curiosity, what some think of these against other closed headphones. Most comparisons of these are with the 598 SE

I've owned 598 Cs and M50x, and have had some brief time with the DT 770 (80 Ohm). IMO, I would rank them DT 770, then M50x, then 598 Cs, in terms of sound preference. Comfort-wise, I'd say 598 Cs and DT 770 are very close; M50x a distant third.

DT 770 80 Ohm - tight, fairly accurate bass and great extension; fairly neutral mids; a somewhat bright treble but not harsh or fatiguing; best sense of air and space of the 3

M50x - most v-shaped of the bunch. potent bass but not as tight/accurate as DT 770; recessed mids; a certain sharpness to the treble; poor soundstage/space/air; not that comfortable for extended periods

598 Cs - mid forward; can sound nasal or shouty with some songs; good bass extension but not much punch and a bit vague; rolled off treble; decent soundstage depth but lacks air/space

I personally couldn't stand the forward mids of the 598 Cs; vocals could be annoyingly shouty with some songs.

I think I read somewhere that the 32 Ohm version of DT 770 sounds thinner/brighter than higher Ohm versions and for sure I read some claims that there are sonic differences between the different Ohm versions of the DT 770. You may want to try at least the 80 Ohm version (should still work fairly well with mobile devices and weaker amps) before giving up on the DT 770.

 

[Tuneslover]

Interesting. Thanks for your input. It took me by surprise for sure, both coming from the bassy M50x and favoring the lower side of the spectrum, but I'm hoping I just adjust to it with this being my first neutral to bright sounding headphone, or burn in smoothens it up, even if just ever so slightly. A lot of people seem to like these and I guess it's just a matter of being able to tolerate peaky treble. I don't find it fatiguing really but it can be a bit irritating at times. Also, these seem to clamp pretty hard on my head, I'm wondering if they loosen up it won't be as in my face.

There aren't that many audio-specific retailers near me, but through some research I found out they have the 569's at Micro Center which is not too far from me, apparently, so I might go and check them out in a couple weeks. If you remember, would you be able to compare the two in terms of separation, detail, width/sounstage etc. Are the mids too forward? Also, how is the bass on these? I know it probably doesn't go down as deep but is it still plentiful?

I have the DT1350's (portable use) and really like how they sound so I had been curious to hear a full sized Beyerdynamic so I tried the DT770. I actually preferred the 770's separation, detail and width/soundstage over the 598CS. Both headphones had very satisfactory bass but the glaring difference was in the high frequencies in that the 770's were just too irritating to me. Like I indicated in my earlier post, my hearing is much more attuned to Sennheiser's more mid centric and more comfortable treble.

 

[samvafaei]

Now that some more time has passed I'm wondering if any other head-fi'ers have listened to these, and compared them to other closed headphones in the same price range, notably the DT 770 Pro 32 Ohm for me.

I just recently bought the 770's to replace my M50's because I could no longer tolerate their discomfort. I had a hard time deciding between the 770's and 598CS, but with the 770's being more popular, and hearing some negative things about the 598CS, I went with the 770, 32 Ohm so I can play them off my phone and my laptop. Easily, the 770's are better than the M50's, the 598CS probably are too. They are exceptional in detail and clarity, good soundstage, awesome bass extension that is tight, good mids, and clean and detailed treble. This and the spaciousness adds some nice air. I'm still getting used to them though, with the M50's being so dark. The treble can be very piercing and sibilant on songs that have a bright mastering. Otherwise, it's fine, meaning these can be quite revealing.

Anyway, me being very indecisive I am wondering if I made the right choice. While I do like the 770's, I can't help but wonder how the 598Cs sound after reading more about them? I might like their warmer tone over the 770's, but I would also miss the extreme detail and bass extension of the 770's. I also don't know how I would like forward mids and rolled off treble. While the treble can be bright on the 770's, I like that it is present. I like having everything audible.

Anyway, just asking out of curiosity, what some think of these against other closed headphones. Most comparisons of these are with the 598 SE

I just listened to the M50, DT770 and 598Cs, and in terms of sound quality would rank them in that order. So I would say the M50x has best sound of the three. The DT770 is bit too sizzly in the treble, but it's the most comfortable and can be fixed by cutting the 7KHz-10KHz region just by a few dB. The 598Cs is bit too mid-rangy compared to the other two.

 

[bcaulf17]

I've owned 598 Cs and M50x, and have had some brief time with the DT 770 (80 Ohm). IMO, I would rank them DT 770, then M50x, then 598 Cs, in terms of sound preference. Comfort-wise, I'd say 598 Cs and DT 770 are very close; M50x a distant third.

DT 770 80 Ohm - tight, fairly accurate bass and great extension; fairly neutral mids; a somewhat bright treble but not harsh or fatiguing; best sense of air and space of the 3

M50x - most v-shaped of the bunch. potent bass but not as tight/accurate as DT 770; recessed mids; a certain sharpness to the treble; poor soundstage/space/air; not that comfortable for extended periods

598 Cs - mid forward; can sound nasal or shouty with some songs; good bass extension but not much punch and a bit vague; rolled off treble; decent soundstage depth but lacks air/space

I personally couldn't stand the forward mids of the 598 Cs; vocals could be annoyingly shouty with some songs.

I think I read somewhere that the 32 Ohm version of DT 770 sounds thinner/brighter than higher Ohm versions and for sure I read some claims that there are sonic differences between the different Ohm versions of the DT 770. You may want to try at least the 80 Ohm version (should still work fairly well with mobile devices and weaker amps) before giving up on the DT 770.

Appreciate your input. The 80 ohm version supposedly has a little more bass (I think the 32 ohm has enough as it is) and a little less treble. The 32 ohm and 250 ohm are very similar.

Anyway, I’ve gotten the impression that the 598 cs is not very popular, but I may still give it a try if I have a chance. Not to say that it’s bad or anything, I just don’t know how I’ll feel about it until I try it. If I don’t like it I’ll try stick with the 770’s. Aside from what sounds like an overdone treble, they check all the boxes for me and provide great quality for a phone that cost less than $200.

For the record, I got the 32 ohm to be on the safe side as I heard from some they wouldn’t drive well on an iPhone, and I also needed the shorter cable for better portability.