[Dukedudez]

Do you guys think that a Cowon J3 will drive these well?

 

[wind016]

Quote:

Do you guys think that a Cowon J3 will drive these well?

Simple answer to your question: yes. I've been using the HD598s with the Cowon J3 to nap.
 

 

[Headstar]

I use mine on a tiny mp3 player when i need to move around the house. Works like a charm, volume more than pleasant at only about 40%. Cowon its another brand that makes powerful players, should work ok.

 

[Dukedudez]

Sweet.  Thanks for the quick answers guys
 

 

[jrkong]

Quote:

After letting my HD598 burn in for a countless number of hours.. my opinion about them has only elevated.  The bass, which was muted and quite subdued out-of-the box, has livened up considerably and now has fantastic body, impact, and extension.  How it sounded out-of-the-box is a far cry from how it sounds now.  The treble smoothed out considerably but remains crisp, airy, detailed, and extended.  The midrange, an area of this phone that has always sounded awesome and was the main draw, has a more complete timbre since the bass response has matured.  The 598s sounded fairly lean across the spectrum when I bought them, reminding me a lot of the DBA (before I got the comply tips for them).. now they have excellent weight across the spectrum while the instrument separation is in particular quite good.  Rock guitars leaned to the brighter side initially, but after burning in, have great weight & crunch through the midrange and sound much more accurate and engaging.
 
These are amongst my favorite cans and rank right up there with my beloved FA-003.. 
 
Even unamped from my laptop, these sound astonishingly good.. I listen to them on a daily basis and haven't found myself reaching for the Arrow or MX-1 in quite some time.  The only thing that really frustrates me is having to use the 1/4"-1/8" adapter.. since these are used primarily with my iPhone & laptop, the adapter is a fixture on the cord and its size makes it cumbersome to deal with.  I'll be investing in the Grado 1/4"-1/8" extension pronto, I love the fact it's got a right angle plug too... are there any other recommendations for quality 1/4=1/8" cable adapters terminating to a right-angle plug?

Similar experience here with the 558
 

 

[evanstapler]

Would these be a good choice for various EDM (unamped)? House, trance, electro, etc.

 

[FlySweep]

Currently listening to some smooth, Balearic mixes and they sound sublime with the HD598.. the sexy, elegant midrange really shows off.. I'm continually impressed with the tonal balance from end to end with these phones (especially after they've burned in well)..
 
The mix I'm particularly referencing is this one, it's a burner.. check that first track (Sir John's "White Elephant").. wow!  The entire mix seems custom made for the 598.. lol.

 

[salazr]

hey folks, currently playing some beautiful records (Burial/Four Tet/Thom Yorke kinda stuff -including their recent 12" ) on my turntable (AT-LP240 which i recently got, along with the AT440MLa cartridge).
 
Sound is going through the phono pre amp on my table, to my pa2v2 to my hd-598s.
 
i very recently got into this whole hi-fi thing, and i'll never look back... specially the turntable and hi-fi cartridge.. i'm telling you, nothing i played back through my computer before (including flac) ever made my HD-598s perform as good as this.
 
i cannot believe how incredibly amazing this stuff i'm listening to sounds..  i mean, it is so clean and perfect... i feel like i'm high off it.
 
This is audio bliss for me. certainly will never hear anything through better headphones, because i'm so GOOD with these
 

 

[bbophead]

I like posts like yours, enthusiasm about music through headphones.  Thanks for the reminder.

 

[MetroBBOY]

About to plonk some coin with these babies.
 
So tell me, how much "burn-in" should I expect for the phones to flourish? I know I will just listen to them as I go, but curious to see. Some of you have complained the bass was anaemic, but then after burnin, they seem to have more impact.
 
I will be listening unamped for the time being.

 

[FlySweep]

About to plonk some coin with these babies.
 
So tell me, how much "burn-in" should I expect for the phones to flourish? I know I will just listen to them as I go, but curious to see. Some of you have complained the bass was anaemic, but then after burnin, they seem to have more impact.
 
I will be listening unamped for the time being.

 
In my experience.. 50 hours and it settled... and they improved dramatically (again to my ears) vs out of the box.  They don't evolve into bass canons or anything.. just a much more full, well rounded, and better textured low end.  Out of the box, the midrange and treble sounded tinny, thin, overly crisp and at times sibilant.. the bass sounded very suppressed and weak (similar to the bass response from IEMs without a good seal).. Let them burn in and as the bass blooms the midrange gains weight and improves timbre.. so you get excellent balance in the mid- frequency range.  The treble's sharpness smooths out, refines, and as a result you get a nice balance between a velvety smooth & crisp texture.  The resulting sound is slightly thinner than thicker overall so it has good speed and detail.  Balanced is the name of the game with these when they "mature".. the midrange being the foundation of the sound (not to be confused with them being mid-forward phones, which they are not).
 
As I've said before, they're not the most technically capable Senn phone.. but they sound like the most musical and most engaging to my ears.. they're an excellent compliment to my slightly thicker sounding, more neutral (closed) Fischer Audio 003.  The 598 is my favorite Senn phone (excluding the 800, which I have not heard)... it doesn't posses the fabled Senn "veil" and it's the most engaging of the lot.  Out of the box they sound harsh unamped.. once burned in, I can listen to them from my iPhone without any major qualms.. but amp them to get the most out of them.  Amped, they get a little more dynamic & the sound cleans up a bit.. bass doesn't hit any harder per se, but it's definitely more textured and present.

 

[MetroBBOY]

[size=x-small][size=x-small]Sounds good FlySweep. Thanks for your detailed analysis. From the consensus that I got here based on the feedback, I think the 598 should suffice for my budget. [/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Strictly for home use only, I've got my Monster Coppers as my portable. The 598's look awesome! Took me a while to like the colourway, but looks spiffy I must say.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]50 hours is quite adequate. Not too fussed about that. The shop where I plan to purchase has a 21 day return policy, so should be plenty of time to burn in. I'm usually sceptic of burn in placebo effects, but I think you guys have experienced much better results, so I'm happy to trial it.[/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small]It sucks that you can't do a cable mod for this. Was looking at Moon Audio, but no mods (Damn you proprietary cable) [/size][/size]

 

[MetroBBOY]

Sounds good FlySweep. Thanks for your detailed analysis. From the consensus that I got here based on the feedback, I think the 598 should suffice for my budget.
 
Strictly for home use only, I've got my Monster Coppers as my portable. The 598's look awesome! Took me a while to like the colourway, but looks spiffy I must say.
 
50 hours is quite adequate. Not too fussed about that. The shop where I plan to purchase has a 21 day return policy, so should be plenty of time to burn in. I'm usually sceptic of burn in placebo effects, but I think you guys have experienced much better results, so I'm happy to trial it.
It sucks that you can't do a cable mod for this. Was looking at Moon Audio, but no mods (Damn you proprietary cable)

 

[FlySweep]

[size=x-small][size=x-small]Sounds good FlySweep. Thanks for your detailed analysis. From the consensus that I got here based on the feedback, I think the 598 should suffice for my budget. [/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Strictly for home use only, I've got my Monster Coppers as my portable. The 598's look awesome! Took me a while to like the colourway, but looks spiffy I must say.[/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small]50 hours is quite adequate. Not too fussed about that. The shop where I plan to purchase has a 21 day return policy, so should be plenty of time to burn in. I'm usually sceptic of burn in placebo effects, but I think you guys have experienced much better results, so I'm happy to trial it.[/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small]It sucks that you can't do a cable mod for this. Was looking at Moon Audio, but no mods (Damn you proprietary cable) [/size][/size]

I've heard a number of phones above the HD598's "weight".. and while they were better in many technical areas.. few, if any, engaged me on a purely musical level like the 598 did for the genres of music I listen to.  That's what I have the 598's for.. not to nerd out on the technicalities (a department where they're no slouch in, for the record), but simply to kick back and get immersed in. I enjoy a clean, balanced, detailed sound that can walk the line between analytical & musical.. the 598's deliver that with ease..
 
I think you'll be quite satisfied with them.. happy listening.

 

[MetroBBOY]

I'll do my usual comparisons prior to purchasing tomorrow. Initially I was interested in the AD900's, K702 and Beyer DT880. The 598's like you described sound like the choice.
 
I'm realistically trying to source some cans that are easy to drive whilst I try and fund a decent $200-$400 Amp DAC. Which amp in your sig are you running?