[NZheadcase]

  I would appreciate those who talk to the man up stair to remember me have a very bad day leukemia is kicking my butt. 

 
We're rooting for ya to kick butt back buddy. Sending prayers your way wherever you are.

 

[amigomatt]

  I would appreciate those who talk to the man up stair to remember me have a very bad day leukemia is kicking my butt. 

Sending you my best vibes, friend.  Kick its f%^&* ass.

 

[serman005]

Have had my 598 for a while now and am very happy but was wondering if anyone has experienced crash cymbals as sort of artificial sounding? Not sure how else to put it, but the crash cymbals to me sound sort of fake or artificial--lacking in subtleties and detail-- much of the time. Anyone else experienced something similar? Thanks for replying.

 

[amigomatt]

  Have had my 598 for a while now and am very happy but was wondering if anyone has experienced crash cymbals as sort of artificial sounding? Not sure how else to put it, but the crash cymbals to me sound sort of fake or artificial--lacking in subtleties and detail-- much of the time. Anyone else experienced something similar? Thanks for replying.

Is it not just the recording or is it on all recordings?  I'm a big orchestral music listener and haven't particularly noticed that.  when I first got them, I was bothered by the slightly 'boxy' sounding string tone, but I realised that was coming from Grados and I eventually got used to the tonality of them.  They do have a slight warmth and politeness and even slowness to their presentation that may round things off a bit and make dynamics and transients seem like they have less impact, which I suppose in turn could rob things like cymbal crashes of their vividness and transient textures.  Have you directly compared the same passages on the same recording with other headphones and if so, which ones.  Also, tell me which recordings and I'll give them a listen on my collection of phones if you want. 

 

[Bansaku]

  Have had my 598 for a while now and am very happy but was wondering if anyone has experienced crash cymbals as sort of artificial sounding? Not sure how else to put it, but the crash cymbals to me sound sort of fake or artificial--lacking in subtleties and detail-- much of the time. Anyone else experienced something similar? Thanks for replying.

What's your source (DAC/amp and music)? Just listened to a few tracks with heavy percussion and the cymbals sound pretty sweet. The only time cymbals sound artificial is on heavily compressed tracks, but so did everything else.
 

 

[serman005]

 
What's your source (DAC/amp and music)? Just listened to a few tracks with heavy percussion and the cymbals sound pretty sweet. The only time cymbals sound artificial is on heavily compressed tracks, but so did everything else.
 

Thanks. I mostly listen through my iphone 5 direct plus an ipod. I have an E11K on the way, though. I think I might just need to give them time. I had the same complaint about snares before and now, snares sound awesome. Thanks again for taking the time to reply--I appreciate it very much.
 
amigomatt, thanks for the reply. It seems to happen most on classic rock cuts--Queen, VH, Stones, etc. Jazz and classical don't seem to display this thing, whatever it is. Maybe this thing is me!! Will give them time and see what happens. They seem to be sounding less artificial today, for what it's worth. Tincture of time is sometimes a good solution, it seems. Thanks again for the help.

 

[amigomatt]

 


What's your source (DAC/amp and music)? Just listened to a few tracks with heavy percussion and the cymbals sound pretty sweet. The only time cymbals sound artificial is on heavily compressed tracks, but so did everything else.

Thanks. I mostly listen through my iphone 5 direct plus an ipod. I have an E11K on the way, though. I think I might just need to give them time. I had the same complaint about snares before and now, snares sound awesome. Thanks again for taking the time to reply--I appreciate it very much.

amigomatt, thanks for the reply. It seems to happen most on classic rock cuts--Queen, VH, Stones, etc. Jazz and classical don't seem to display this thing, whatever it is. Maybe this thing is me!! Will give them time and see what happens. They seem to be sounding less artificial today, for what it's worth. Tincture of time is sometimes a good solution, it seems. Thanks again for the help.

Well, if it's any consolation, the HD598s took some getting used to for me but call it burn in or brain burn in, I know I'll never part with them now and they hold a special place in my collection!

 

[SK90]

Loving these headphones! I have em connected to my Yamaha HTR 5890 AV receiver and use a DSS2 from my old turtle beaches on my PC. Should I bother getting an amp/DAC? Still new to the audiophile world so any advice from the masters here that can help further improve these Senns would be appreciated!

 

[potterpastor]

The HD 598 will sound great right out of a receiver because it is a low impedance headphone of 50ohms.
A $250 Schiit Asgard 2 should make it sound better, or maybe a Schiit Valhalla 2. But it wouldn't be a huge improvement. Now if you had an HD 600 or 650, those amps be a huge improvement. Because those headphones are 300 ohm

But if you are using the HD 598 with an iPhone or an MP3 player, then the headphone amp becomes much more desirable. Because portable devices will not drive this phone to its peak performance.It will sound good, but not great.

 

[Bansaku]

Loving these headphones! I have em connected to my Yamaha HTR 5890 AV receiver and use a DSS2 from my old turtle beaches on my PC. Should I bother getting an amp/DAC? Still new to the audiophile world so any advice from the masters here that can help further improve these Senns would be appreciated!

 
 

The HD 598 will sound great right out of a receiver because it is a low impedance headphone of 50ohms.
A $250 Schiit Asgard 2 should make it sound better, or maybe a Schiit Valhalla 2. But it wouldn't be a huge improvement. Now if you had an HD 600 or 650, those amps be a huge improvement. Because those headphones are 300 ohm

But if you are using the HD 598 with an iPhone or an MP3 player, then the headphone amp becomes much more desirable. Because portable devices will not drive this phone to its peak performance.It will sound good, but not great.

Potterpastor is correct, mostly; The difference between an Asgard or Valhalla (or any DAC/Amp) vs your Yamaha in terms of power is so subtle. Your Yamaha can easily drive the HD 600 or beyerdynamic DT 770 250Ohm with power to spare. I personally use an outboard DAC/Amp because I mostly listen to music at my computer and my Yamaha is sitting 15' away, but in terms of overall transparency there is no discernible difference*, only convenience. I also suggest ditching the DS2S if that is your DAC and get an Audioengine D1/D3 or a Dragonfly ; Both are inexpensive and can also be used as an amp to drive the HD 598. I actually used my D1 as the DAC and fed it out to my Yamaha.
 
Let me ask you this: Are you happy with the sound out of your Yamaha? Is there any inconveniences in the listening environment? Unless you have money to spend and want to start down the never ending path of Head-fi, stick with what you have.
 
Tip: Your Yamaha has Direct and Straight modes. I suggest using Direct as it bypasses the tone control. 
 
* There is differences in sound signature, but that is due to the components used. In no way is there any degradation of sound quality, added distortion, or lack of transparency.
 

 

 

[DangerClose]

I see a lot of comments about the HD598 being smooth.  
 
Here you can listen to samples from different headphones: http://www.sonicsense.com/resourcecenter/app/audio  (click "more in this set")
 
I think the jazz sample is the best for this.  If you compare the HD598 to other popular headphones on there, such as the AKG 702 or DT990, those hit each note sharper, each note has a bit of separation, while the HD598 smooths that part over.  Would you say the horn section in the jazz sample is a fair representation of the HD598 in how it smooths the notes together compared to certain other headphones such as K702 or DT990?

 

[Bansaku]

  I see a lot of comments about the HD598 being smooth.  
 
Here you can listen to samples from different headphones: http://www.sonicsense.com/resourcecenter/app/audio  (click "more in this set")
 
I think the jazz sample is the best for this.  If you compare the HD598 to other popular headphones on there, such as the AKG 702 or DT990, those hit each note sharper, each note has a bit of separation, while the HD598 smooths that part over.  Would you say the horn section in the jazz sample is a fair representation of the HD598 in how it smooths the notes together compared to certain other headphones such as K702 or DT990?

First off, thank you for providing the link! What an interesting and informative site. Short answer to your question is yes, to a degree. Using my M4U 1 as the reference I listened to the jazz sample for each of the headphones I own that were on the list (see my sig) and then listened to each headphone using the master sample. I must say I am impressed at how the app manages to capture quite accurately the sonic characteristics of each headphone. However, there there is a snag. What is 'your' reference listening source? In regards to the HD 598 the test sample played through my PSBs did sound accurate in regards to capturing the sonic characteristics, when I played the master sample with the HD 598 it sounded much better. It's kind of like looking at a picture of two different computer monitors displaying the same image on 'your' computer monitor as opposed to seeing the same two monitors in person.
 

 

 

[SK90]

The HD 598 will sound great right out of a receiver because it is a low impedance headphone of 50ohms.
A $250 Schiit Asgard 2 should make it sound better, or maybe a Schiit Valhalla 2. But it wouldn't be a huge improvement. Now if you had an HD 600 or 650, those amps be a huge improvement. Because those headphones are 300 ohm

But if you are using the HD 598 with an iPhone or an MP3 player, then the headphone amp becomes much more desirable. Because portable devices will not drive this phone to its peak performance.It will sound good, but not great.

Thanks for the info!
 

   
 

Potterpastor is correct, mostly; The difference between an Asgard or Valhalla (or any DAC/Amp) vs your Yamaha in terms of power is so subtle. Your Yamaha can easily drive the HD 600 or beyerdynamic DT 770 250Ohm with power to spare. I personally use an outboard DAC/Amp because I mostly listen to music at my computer and my Yamaha is sitting 15' away, but in terms of overall transparency there is no discernible difference*, only convenience. I also suggest ditching the DS2S if that is your DAC and get an Audioengine D1/D3 or a Dragonfly ; Both are inexpensive and can also be used as an amp to drive the HD 598. I actually used my D1 as the DAC and fed it out to my Yamaha.
 
Let me ask you this: Are you happy with the sound out of your Yamaha? Is there any inconveniences in the listening environment? Unless you have money to spend and want to start down the never ending path of Head-fi, stick with what you have.
 
Tip: Your Yamaha has Direct and Straight modes. I suggest using Direct as it bypasses the tone control. 
 
* There is differences in sound signature, but that is due to the components used. In no way is there any degradation of sound quality, added distortion, or lack of transparency.
 

 

Thanks for the response. I have been using Direct through Silent Cinema and it sounds amazing, it's all in my man cave as well so the listening environment is ideal. I will be throwing my DSS2 out soon, although it's great for gaming, but not so much for movies/music (could also be due to the ****ty onboard sound card I have in my PC, I believe it's the Realtek ALC898). I've been hearing a lot of good things about FiiO E10k, it right up my price range ($100 CAD) as I do not want to spend too much haha. I was also looking into the ASUS Xonar U7 as well unless getting an internal sound card would be better. Would that be sufficient?

 

[Bansaku]

   I've been hearing a lot of good things about FiiO E10k, it right up my price range ($100 CAD) as I do not want to spend too much haha. I was also looking into the ASUS Xonar U7 as well unless getting an internal sound card would be better. Would that be sufficient?

 
The U7 has got some decent reviews, and the E10K is well received here. Both are great and would definitely sound better than the onboard DAC on your motherboard (I have the 898 as well) and Yamaha. The U7 is carried in a lot of local stores while the E10K is harder to find outside of online retailers. Your choice really.
 

 

[Thymen Frederik]

Hello everyone,
 
I joined these forums today after reading some posts and threads about the Sennheiser HD 598 and I'm still very new to the concept of being an audiphile or audio-lover.
I currently own a Shure srh440 and even though I really like them, I am looking for an upgrade. After reading so many great things about the hd 598 I am considering to buy a pair.
But I have some questions and I thought some of you might be able to answer them.
 
Can my ipod classic drive these without an amp? 
Is the issue with the headband cracking resolved?
I really like to listen to Jazz (mainly Harmen Fraanje), Classical (mostly cello, violin and piano), but I also like to listen to some metal from time to time (Korpiklaani, Opeth and Finntroll)
Are these cans fit for those genres?
If I decide to get an amp for my pc, which amp goes well with the hd598?
 
I apologize if I made any grammar or spelling errors and hope to get a response soon
 
Have a nice day