[mbwilson111]

But I actually found the 598s competitive with the Meze 99s. The 598s have a lot more sound stage. The Meze, more bass. However, I don't find the 598s lacking in bass or the Meze 99s lacking in sound stage.

Exactly. One open one closed. Perfect to have both. If I really wanted to dig out of the rabbit hole I could see both of those making the cut. My Mezes are the black and silver 99 Neo. Could not resist when I found out they were already available in the UK about 3 weeks ago. Luckily I had already heard my husbands Classics. A headfi review posted on the home page got me going...some of these guys can write! My most comfortable headphones are the Nighthawks, 598s, and the Mezes followed closely by the Amiron Home and the Fostex th500rp.

Curious as to what else you have cleared out. I saw in your profile that you had a clear out but there is no Past or Gone section on your page. Me..I can be a packrat...hard to let things go...

 

[Levanter]

Having multiple phones for different genres is my worst nightmare I'm pracital person and ultimately I prefer stick to one product. Out of them which do you think is more universal all arounder?
One thing that really bothers me about HD650 ist the double sided cable, but I might get used to this.

I think the question is what genre do you usually listen to
But as you will be mainly using it straight out from your PC, i'd go with the 598 and save the cash unless you are planning to get a dac/amp down the road or go down the rabbit-phile hole..

They definitely have distinctive sound signatures, although they still sound related... But I too prefer the 598 over the 650 for certain genres, especially because the 598s have more sound stage, which creates a different listening experience.

I could overlook the soundstage, but as I do like to listen to classical/instrumental/acoustic types now and then, the 6XX can be quite underwhelming with the thick warm mids and rolled off highs

 

[GoodBoy]

I think the question is what genre do you usually listen to
But as you will be mainly using it straight out from your PC, i'd go with the 598 and save the cash unless you are planning to get a dac/amp down the road or go down the rabbit-phile hole..

Mostly I listen to pop, electronic/dance, ambient, soundtracks, and of course I would like my headphones to be well suited for movies and even YouTube
What I fear the most about HD598 is possible lack of bass, warmth and fun. I've got small sennheiser earphones MX980 they're super neutral too neutral for me so I really hope it won't be the case with 598. I'm not a basshead or anything like that, but also not a big fun of totally flat "studio monitor" singatures if that make sense

 

[mbwilson111]

Mostly I listen to pop, electronic/dance, ambient, soundtracks, and of course I would like my headphones to be well suited for movies and even YouTube
What I fear the most about HD598 is possible lack of bass, warmth and fun. I've got small sennheiser earphones MX980 they're super neutral too neutral for me so I really hope it won't be the case with 598. I'm not a basshead or anything like that, but also not a big fun of totally flat "studio monitor" singatures if that make sense

I honestly do not think you will be disappointed with the 598s. Are they arriving soon?

Just add some Mezes someday if you want a bit of change to complement them. Avoid the rabbit hole.. after you get them don't keep reading about others. This is a dangerous place. It can cause and encourage an expensive habit. I suspect I have crossed over the line of what is normal.

 

[GoodBoy]

Yes they should be dispatched today or tomorrow so I probably get them this friday or monday
I'm a bit confused since so many amazon reviewers saying 598 dont have bass, others say bass is close to nothing, generally some people are dissapointed for the lack of fun factor with these being "flat". That's why I'm tempted to order HD650 and compare them to stick the ones I like the most.
I listened to HD650 few years back, they were plugged to some fancy amp the sound was amazing it was detailed yet boomy but not muddy at all it was like listening to live big speakers in a club

 

[Surf Monkey]

Holly crap I just noticed massdrop HD650 for 199$! Now I just don't know what to do.... Should I cancel my HD598 order for 100$ and get HD650? Mind you I don't posses a set of amps and my primary use for open back headphones is PC and laptop.

I have both too. The 650 is an end game headphone IMO. A big upgrade from the 598.

 

[mbwilson111]

Yes they should be dispatched today or tomorrow so I probably get them this friday or monday
I'm a bit confused since so many amazon reviewers saying 598 dont have bass, others say bass is close to nothing, generally some people are dissapointed for the lack of fun factor with these being "flat". That's why I'm tempted to order HD650 and compare them to stick the ones I like the most.
I listened to HD650 few years back, they were plugged to some fancy amp the sound was amazing it was detailed yet boomy but not muddy at all it was like listening to live big speakers in a club

If the music has bass the 598 will play it. As for fun factor, is it not the responsibility of the music to provide that? Enjoy these now and someday if you want what you heard a few years ago there are so many choices now and will be even more later. This is not a now or never situation. Even if you evolve into more expensive gear in the future, there will still be a place in your heart for your trusty 598s.

I bet that amp you heard a few years ago cost thousands. Some do. There are other things in life to spend money on. At least for most people.

 

[Lost Cosmonaut]

Exactly. One open one closed. Perfect to have both. If I really wanted to dig out of the rabbit hole I could see both of those making the cut. My Mezes are the black and silver 99 Neo. Could not resist when I found out they were already available in the UK about 3 weeks ago. Luckily I had already heard my husbands Classics. A headfi review posted on the home page got me going...some of these guys can write! My most comfortable headphones are the Nighthawks, 598s, and the Mezes followed closely by the Amiron Home and the Fostex th500rp.

Curious as to what else you have cleared out. I saw in your profile that you had a clear out but there is no Past or Gone section on your page. Me..I can be a packrat...hard to let things go...

I really do regret selling the Meze 99s but there are qualities about them that are trivial or a nonissue to most people but become bothersome to me, sometimes.

I just hardly used any of my equipment, so it seemed logical to sell them. The most noteworthy were: the ATH-R70x (regret selling this, a little), ATH-AD1000x, ATH-ESW9, ATH-ES700, the Denon AH-MM400 (Mezes bested these)... As you can see, I was a bit of an audio-technica fangirl.

And I sold my desktop amps, too--Magni 2 Uber, Nuforce HA200 and the JDS Element. I just can't sit down to listen to music--I need to move.

I think the question is what genre do you usually listen to
But as you will be mainly using it straight out from your PC, i'd go with the 598 and save the cash unless you are planning to get a dac/amp down the road or go down the rabbit-phile hole..



I could overlook the soundstage, but as I do like to listen to classical/instrumental/acoustic types now and then, the 6XX can be quite underwhelming with the thick warm mids and rolled off highs

I appreciate the warm lushness of the HD650s.... but sometimes I crave the neutrality of the HD598s... and the soundstage is enrapturing... I realized this when listening to Radiohead's catalog....And Radiohead sounds REALLY good on the 598s, if that's your bag.

 

[Levanter]

Yes they should be dispatched today or tomorrow so I probably get them this friday or monday
I'm a bit confused since so many amazon reviewers saying 598 dont have bass, others say bass is close to nothing, generally some people are dissapointed for the lack of fun factor with these being "flat". That's why I'm tempted to order HD650 and compare them to stick the ones I like the most.
I listened to HD650 few years back, they were plugged to some fancy amp the sound was amazing it was detailed yet boomy but not muddy at all it was like listening to live big speakers in a club

The 598 definitely has bass, maybe not much sub bass though. But it definitely has less bass than the 6XX. But I can understand some might find them bass light.

 

[GoodBoy]

Thank you all for helpful comments. After reading all your opinions and post on other threads I've decided it's not really worth spending 2x more on HD650 without decent (meaning expensive) amp. Plus I'm still not happy with double sided cable idea. I just wish sennheiser revamp HD650 to a more modern style like they did with 598 incarnations. Having said that still might change my decision when 598SR arrive at the end of this weak. When I'll be disapointed - too flat analytical signature and dramatically worse bass than let's say HD598CS, I'll propably get HD650 for 199$ if they'll be still available, and they should since I noticed "only" about 100 people buying them daily on massdrop

 

[LazyListener]

@GoodBoy
Didn't you buy a 598 SE and returned it because it was not engaging enough? You preferred the closed back 598 Cs, which do sound different. The 598 SR are supposed to sound identical to 598 SE and Ivory.

I had the HD 650 and found out for myself that I'd need to spend at least a few hundred dollars more for a good amp for them to sound their best (or close to it). The HD 650 really do need a decent amp to sound great, whereas 598 do not. Despite what some have said here, my experiences have been different. 650 is closer to a neutral/flat FR than the 598. The 598 has slightly elevated mid-high bass, low mids and treble. The 650 has a bit more low bass than the 598, but less mid-high bass. 650s mids are closer to flat. Treble is slightly lower than 598. 650 have more texture, nuance, and detail. 598 has the wider soundstage.

I ultimately returned my 650 because they were not enough of an upgrade over my 598 given my existing cheap amplification, and I wasn't ready and willing to spend more on that. I also preferred the sound signature of my 598 overall. I like the slightly more v-shaped sound of the 598, and soundstage is a priority for me. Plus, the 650, at times, would sound fatiguing in the mids, whereas the 598 never has for me.

650 is a great headphone, and I get why it's so popular, but it really does need a good, quality amp that's a good match for it, in order to get the most out of it. 598 sounds great with just about anything.

 

[Lost Cosmonaut]

My experience with the the 650 is similar, except I find nothing about the sound fatiguing... And the portable amps I use amplify it just fine, and this is comparing it to the desktops I used to have.

Also, I find the 598 very far from V-shape, given its mid-centric emphasis.

 

[LazyListener]

My experience with the the 650 is similar, except I find nothing about the sound fatiguing... And the portable amps I use amplify it just fine, and this is comparing it to the desktops I used to have.

Also, I find the 598 very far from V-shape, given its mid-centric emphasis.

The 650 are not fatiguing most of the time, but with my amp and certain songs, some vocals/mids were too bright for me. I found it annoying. Maybe a different amp would yield different results. I've had many, many more hours listening with 598 and not even once did I find the sound fatiguing.

As far as the 2 headphones' frequency responses go, check out the links below and you will see how the 598 is slightly v-shaped and the 650 is closer to flat.

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-598

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-650

 

[GoodBoy]

@GoodBoy
Didn't you buy a 598 SE and returned it because it was not engaging enough? You preferred the closed back 598 Cs, which do sound different. The 598 SR are supposed to sound identical to 598 SE and Ivory.

I had the HD 650 and found out for myself that I'd need to spend at least a few hundred dollars more for a good amp for them to sound their best (or close to it). The HD 650 really do need a decent amp to sound great, whereas 598 do not. Despite what some have said here, my experiences have been different. 650 is closer to a neutral/flat FR than the 598. The 598 has slightly elevated mid-high bass, low mids and treble. The 650 has a bit more low bass than the 598, but less mid-high bass. 650s mids are closer to flat. Treble is slightly lower than 598. 650 have more texture, nuance, and detail. 598 has the wider soundstage.

I ultimately returned my 650 because they were not enough of an upgrade over my 598 given my existing cheap amplification, and I wasn't ready and willing to spend more on that. I also preferred the sound signature of my 598 overall. I like the slightly more v-shaped sound of the 598, and soundstage is a priority for me. Plus, the 650, at times, would sound fatiguing in the mids, whereas the 598 never has for me.

650 is a great headphone, and I get why it's so popular, but it really does need a good, quality amp that's a good match for it, in order to get the most out of it. 598 sounds great with just about anything.

Interesting, because I've just watched some comparison review and he says 598SE are rather A-shaped than V-shaped....



I did buy SE after I send my 598CS back, but my time with 598SE was so brief I really couldn't evaluate them properly. I was pissed for the headband and totally different signature than CS, which after time spent with closed back appeared to me as inferior, not to mention different than from what I remember about 598 ivory few years back (then againg distant memory can be misleading...). Figured out why not try the newest incarnation under the name 598SR. The 89 euros offer was too good to skip We'll see this time I will definetly give them more than a few hours

If you ask many will say 598 need a decent amp too. When it comes to HD650 I spent the whole night thinking and reading every possible forum, reviews, YT. Literally everyone is saying different contradictory things. Some say they need expensive amp, other say it's totally fine plugged straight to a decent motherboard or dedicated sound card. Some respectable reviewers like linus tech tips even say they sound miles better with just iphone than any HD under 300$. So ultimately I wouldn't know anything for sure if I don't check out for myself. It really doesn't hurt to have them at 199$ and from here in time of course I can get an amp, meanwhile don't expect them to sound like pure crap with my PC. That's why few hours ago I joined the dropp I think even if I stick to both of them it's gonna be totally worth it looking at the numbers they both cost me 300$, which is a fantastic deal. Basically I'm buying HD650 at a very reasonable price (even lower than amazon) with "free" HD598SR
And let's be honest I've read your posts and I know you'll be getting back to HD650 sooner or later You set the goal that you need some more serious amp for them and that's fine. Maybe I come to similar conclusion, but even then I probably still be keeping them considering how cheapo they are on massdrop. Plus I really love navy blue color scheme super stylish for me.

 

[Lost Cosmonaut]

The 650 are not fatiguing most of the time, but with my amp and certain songs, some vocals/mids were too bright for me. I found it annoying. Maybe a different amp would yield different results. I've had many, many more hours listening with 598 and not even once did I find the sound fatiguing.

As far as the 2 headphones' frequency responses go, check out the links below and you will see how the 598 is slightly v-shaped and the 650 is closer to flat.

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-598

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-650

It's Mid-centric according to this: https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf

But I could be reading it wrong.