[SirMarc]

Hey where did u purchase the HD650 i am looking to pick up a pair myself.

Amazon. Was a warehouse deal for just over 300. Hopefully just a scuffed up box. Should have them tomorrow, crossing my fingers...

 

[LazyListener]

  Hey everyone, I am very close buying the 598 and my only issue is that I read everywhere that its very natural and near low for the bass. Its not like I listen only to songs with bass but I have many pop and electro songs and having little bit extra bass is important. No I don't want super bass just little bit of a punch. 
 
Are there any similar ones to 598 in terms of price, quality, open, over the ear? I don't mind pushing the budget to even 200$.
 
Thanks.
 
P.S. I do not own an amp to push the 598 to the max and I am planing when I can to just get an amp nothing expensive but that will be next year.

The amount of bass will depend on your source.  I'm running mine through an iphone 6 and get decent bass, but EQ more in.  Through my Fiio E10K, there is even lass noticeable bass surprisingly than through the iphone so I EQ there as well.
 
Personally, I would not recommend the 598SE for pop, EDM, hip-hop, or any electronic music if you really want to hear or even feel the bass without EQing it in.  The bass on these is neutral to light with the sources I mentioned.  Again, it will depend on your source device.

 

[painted klown]

   
 
Personally, I would not recommend the 598SE for pop, EDM, hip-hop, or any electronic music if you really want to hear or even feel the bass without EQing it in.  The bass on these is neutral to light with the sources I mentioned.  Again, it will depend on your source device.

+1 to this. It is spot on, IMO.

 

[nbakid2000]

Any chance I could pull off wearing these off at my office with a person at cubicle next to me about 4 to 5 feet away.

For comparison on volume, with iPod earbuds on my 4th generation iPod, I have audiobooks at 50% volume (8/16) and music at either 25% or 31.25%  (4/16 or 5/16).

Easily. These leak less than the 600s and I use the 600s at open desk space at work all the time with no complaints. Also same applies to the 558s.

 

[ztreb185]

  Hey everyone, I am very close buying the 598 and my only issue is that I read everywhere that its very natural and near low for the bass. Its not like I listen only to songs with bass but I have many pop and electro songs and having little bit extra bass is important. No I don't want super bass just little bit of a punch. 
 
Are there any similar ones to 598 in terms of price, quality, open, over the ear? I don't mind pushing the budget to even 200$.
 
Thanks.
 
P.S. I do not own an amp to push the 598 to the max and I am planing when I can to just get an amp nothing expensive but that will be next year.

 
When I listen to edm/trance, i usually turn to my Fidelio X1.  It has the bass my hd 598s lack and complements it well.  I bought the X1s for <$200 last year but looks like its pushing $250 now.  Might as well get the newer X2 instead, but it's a lot pricier.

 

[Bansaku]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LazyListener /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I too had read of some complaints about weak bass, but I was pleasantly satisfied with the bass from day one.  Also, not once did I hear any harshness or sibilance in the treble.  Like you said, the headphones would just sing, never shout, never fatiguing, with tons of fine detail, texture, and resonance.
 
Fast forward to now, I had to return the beige 598 when I bought the black 598SE during black friday special.  By comparison, the 598SE sounded weak in the bass with slightly harsh and sibilant treble out of the box.  By comparison, they sounded thin and bright instead of warm and smooth like the beige 598.  After putting about 15 hours on them now, the bass seems to have improved a bit and the treble is noticeably smoother.  However, they still don't sound as good as what I recall the beige 598 sounding.  On the beige, everything sounded a little subdued with sounds still audible even when things got busy.  I could hear very deep into the music because nothing really shouted out.  With the 598SE I don't hear as much detail, depth, ambiance, and resonance.  At times they sound a bit shouty and I can feel my ears getting aggravated.  Also, with the beige I felt I could crank the volume and the music held together very well.  When I crank the volume on the 598SE, things start to fall apart and distort a bit and sound just plain noisy.
 
I'm beginning to think that in addition to subjective differences from listener to listener, that some of the reasons we read reviews with widely varying descriptions of the same headphone's sound is because the headphones themselves do sound different due to manufacturing variations or possibly even small design changes.  I believe it's hit or miss.  One HD 598 might have more bass than another, while another has slightly more treble.  I doubt they're all identical, and I believe that at least some listeners can tell the difference.
 
I will probably be ordering another beige 598 soon hoping that it'll sound as magnificent as the first beige ones I had.

 
This was posted in a review thread, but I thought I'd post and reply here for all to see.
 
In regards to " ...the headphones themselves do sound different due to manufacturing variations or possibly even small design changes... ", I would say the former is most certainly true. As someone who has worked in hi-tech manufacturing I can tell you from experience that a product most likely will vary from lot/batch to lot/batch, and even from worker to worker. Every product made has a reference and an aloud tolerance. Some runs may produce 100s or 1000s of units that will share virtually identical characteristics, only to have the next run produce a lot that are only X% identical but still falls within the reference tolerance. All it takes is one run's voice coils to be slightly off or the diaphragm's material being supplied by a different supplier and the sound is going to be skewed (for good or bad).
 
Then put China into the mix.... 

 

 

 

[Bansaku]

 
The amount of bass will depend on your source. 

 
I think it actually depends on one's reference and preference more-so than the source. The HD598 are in no way as source dependant in comparison to say, a T 1 or HD800.
 

 

[KopaneDePooj]

   
I think it actually depends on one's reference and preference more-so than the source. The HD598 are in no way as source dependant in comparison to say, a T 1 or HD800.
 

+1
I use Clip+ & Fiio E06. The bass is perfect for me with every genre. So yes it all comes to preference.
I like both the amount and especially the quality of bass in my new HD 598SE.

 

[bolmeteus]

My pair will probably;y arrive on the 20th, excited. This will be my first open cans. I only have a HD280 pro in my headphone inventory. Judging from the impressions, should be able to drive them from my cell-phone. 

 

[stitch19]

   
When I listen to edm/trance, i usually turn to my Fidelio X1.  It has the bass my hd 598s lack and complements it well.  I bought the X1s for <$200 last year but looks like its pushing $250 now.  Might as well get the newer X2 instead, but it's a lot pricier.

I would love to get the new X2 but they are little bit out of my budget. The 2nd best thing with good-ish bass that I found are the AKG 545, I have excluded many models due to non removable cables.. I know they aren't open and the soundstage will be different but the bass from reviews seems good.

 

[Arunabha Lahiri]

My pair will probably;y arrive on the 20th, excited. This will be my first open cans. I only have a HD280 pro in my headphone inventory. Judging from the impressions, should be able to drive them from my cell-phone. 

I drive these with my ipod nano. And the experience is really good..

 

[Tuneslover]

  Quote:

Originally Posted by LazyListener /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I too had read of some complaints about weak bass, but I was pleasantly satisfied with the bass from day one.  Also, not once did I hear any harshness or sibilance in the treble.  Like you said, the headphones would just sing, never shout, never fatiguing, with tons of fine detail, texture, and resonance.
 
Fast forward to now, I had to return the beige 598 when I bought the black 598SE during black friday special.  By comparison, the 598SE sounded weak in the bass with slightly harsh and sibilant treble out of the box.  By comparison, they sounded thin and bright instead of warm and smooth like the beige 598.  After putting about 15 hours on them now, the bass seems to have improved a bit and the treble is noticeably smoother.  However, they still don't sound as good as what I recall the beige 598 sounding.  On the beige, everything sounded a little subdued with sounds still audible even when things got busy.  I could hear very deep into the music because nothing really shouted out.  With the 598SE I don't hear as much detail, depth, ambiance, and resonance.  At times they sound a bit shouty and I can feel my ears getting aggravated.  Also, with the beige I felt I could crank the volume and the music held together very well.  When I crank the volume on the 598SE, things start to fall apart and distort a bit and sound just plain noisy.
 
I'm beginning to think that in addition to subjective differences from listener to listener, that some of the reasons we read reviews with widely varying descriptions of the same headphone's sound is because the headphones themselves do sound different due to manufacturing variations or possibly even small design changes.  I believe it's hit or miss.  One HD 598 might have more bass than another, while another has slightly more treble.  I doubt they're all identical, and I believe that at least some listeners can tell the difference.
 
I will probably be ordering another beige 598 soon hoping that it'll sound as magnificent as the first beige ones I had.

 
This was posted in a review thread, but I thought I'd post and reply here for all to see.
 
In regards to " ...the headphones themselves do sound different due to manufacturing variations or possibly even small design changes... ", I would say the former is most certainly true. As someone who has worked in hi-tech manufacturing I can tell you from experience that a product most likely will vary from lot/batch to lot/batch, and even from worker to worker. Every product made has a reference and an aloud tolerance. Some runs may produce 100s or 1000s of units that will share virtually identical characteristics, only to have the next run produce a lot that are only X% identical but still falls within the reference tolerance. All it takes is one run's voice coils to be slightly off or the diaphragm's material being supplied by a different supplier and the sound is going to be skewed (for good or bad).
 
Then put China into the mix.... 

 

 

Just out of curiosity, I contacted Sennheiser Germany and asked them this question:
 
"I recently purchased a pair of HD598SE's and really enjoy them.  Could you please explain the difference between the beige HD598 and HD598SE drivers.  Are there any noteworthy differences between these 2 models of the HD598 series besides the colour and cable?"
 
They in turn forwarded my question to Sennheiser (Canada) Inc. and a representative responded to me as follows:
 
"Good Afternoon,
  Besides the colour and cable, absolutely nothing.
  Best regards
  (I left out the person's name)
  Coordinator, Service Department, Sennheiser (Canada) Inc."
 
Interesting to know.

 

[blse59]

  Just out of curiosity, I contacted Sennheiser Germany and asked them this question:
 
"I recently purchased a pair of HD598SE's and really enjoy them.  Could you please explain the difference between the beige HD598 and HD598SE drivers.  Are there any noteworthy differences between these 2 models of the HD598 series besides the colour and cable?"
 
They in turn forwarded my question to Sennheiser (Canada) Inc. and a representative responded to me as follows:
 
"Good Afternoon,
  Besides the colour and cable, absolutely nothing.
  Best regards
  (I left out the person's name)
  Coordinator, Service Department, Sennheiser (Canada) Inc."
 
Interesting to know.

It's been known that the HD598 and the HD598 SE are the exact same since the announcement of the HD598 SE way back when. It was the first question that was asked.

 

[Tuneslover]

 
It's been known that the HD598 and the HD598 SE are the exact same since the announcement of the HD598 SE way back when. It was the first question that was asked.

Agreed...just putting to rest perceived differences that people may believe exist between them.

 

[Jefafa77]

I am looking at getting the 598's but reading a lot about the easy foam mod on the 558's is interesting.

I was wondering if anyone has compared the two (598 against 558 with foam mod) and what are their differences and similarities?