So, it's been about 7-8 years since I went and bought myself a new desktop headphone (stuck to using the AKG K271s for years, though also used the Alessandro MS1s until they broke), and I decided to get these headphones. My experience was kind of like:
- ...I'm not impressed
- (puts on AKGs) ...wait a minute...
- (puts on 598 again) ...okay, no, these are better
- (2 hours later) ...yeah, I kinda like these more, but still not impressed.
Perhaps more listening is important, yet I'm not sure I'm really happy with the 598. I will say that they are noticeably much more comfortable than my AKGs for both sitting on my head, and listening. My AKGs felt bright/harsh at times, but I could probably listen to anything for hours with the 598.
Quote:
Received mine today. First impressions compared to the HD600's are that they're very muffled. Bloated with bass overlapping into the midrange causing nausea over time. I've never had this problem with the HD558's neither, which has only been 2-3 weeks since I last heard those that broke. HD598's have a bit too high of a treble for my taste. Midrange seems muffled somehow. Also, the leather headband just slips and slides back down my hair which gets annoying. HD558's were more comfortable out of all three. I played a bit of Battlefield with the HD598's but the muffled sound blocked out footsteps even with a wider soundstage. It's a trade off at that point. Either have wider soundstage with muffled mids, or bit of a narrower soundstage with the HD600's but with a clear and precise midrange. I'll add some more thought as the weeks goes on.
I definitely agree about the muffled sound. But for me, since my other headphones are for studios (designed for clarity/detail), maybe I'm not used to a perceived step down?
I'm thinking I should return these headphones and aim for higher tier headphones, maybe the HD 600 or other headphones in the $300 price range. Wasn't planning on spending more, but it's probably the only way I'd get a "wow" factor of some sort.