[mbwilson111]

I want to dream bigger, HD 660 S for $200 on Black Friday

I expect that would be a good choice.

 

[LazyListener]

I want to dream bigger, HD 660 S for $200 on Black Friday

That goes way beyond the land of dreams, my friend!

 

[MixMasterMan]

Hey All, I just wanted to say that I have a renewed appreciation and preference for the HD598. I made some comments saying that there are better options for music listening. During recent work on music of my own, I was working on a particular mix balance, and was having trouble with a certain spot. When I was checking on some of my headphones, I wasn't able to relate the balance with my room speakers. I switched to the 598's, and was able to relate to the speakers. I then started using the 598's as a main headphone, and got adjusted. Now, going to other headphones (including my H600's, DT880's, and M40x's), I find that I now prefer the 598's for checking frequency and stereo balance. There is a certain relaxed but open quality, that lets things sit in comfortable but accurate place in the stereo spectrum. While the bass is still a tad light, I am able to tell exactly how much there should be.

PS: I didn't mention it, but I was able to acquire a pair of mint condition HD595's off Ebay. The 598's & 595's are actually 90% alike. The difference, is that the 598's have 1-2 db more bass, and very slightly less forward mids & treble. There is still a slight treble peak on the 598's that isn't in the 595's, but I think it makes for a more balanced and open sound. - I realized why I loved the 595's in the first place, but the 598's are the better headphone, as they are slightly more balanced with the added bass.

 

[mbwilson111]

I have many great headphones but the HD598s are here to stay. Time to give them another listen soon. Been getting too much new stuff that I probably did not need.

 

[Abramz]

I htink HD598 has really good tonal balance for the price, they are some kind of slow though. I never use EQ with them, but some minor (around 4 kHz) tweaking can be made, i think. The only HPs I have with that good balance is HD25-1, but they are much faster, even if not nearly that comfortable. So, good job, Sennheiser... This two could be the only HPs you need for differently paced music and different using scenario (home and portable), if you like that flat presentation.
Somehow I managed to get them for 90$, but this happened because of some market fluctuation in my country. I doubt I could buy it now, because now you have some options from chinese brand (with maybe some EQing) for much lesser price. But still, comfort is almost unbeatable, if it is concern.

 

[Mad Max]

... they are some kind of slow though...

That's pretty much the majority of Sennheiser headphones. HD25 is an outlier in giving a "faster" sound.

 

[mbwilson111]

they are some kind of slow though

I never understand what this means when people say that. Its not like the music can play more slowly.... like slowing down an LP.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

I never understand what this means when people say that. Its not like the music can play more slowly.... like slowing down an LP.

I think it's about transient response.
"Transient response is how fast the driver reacts to changes in the input signal and how quickly it cuts off those frequencies as they’re cut out of the source, which is particularly important for bass notes."
Or the ability to go from a very quiet to a very loud sound and vice-versa in a short time.
Translation: The HD25-1 has the ability to short-circuit your brains with trance while the HD 598 cannot do this because it is made for music not trance.
Practically I found that some aggressive and acid headphones like the M50x are praised for their "fast" quality.

 

[Mad Max]

I never understand what this means when people say that. Its not like the music can play more slowly.... like slowing down an LP.

I think that it is a confusing way to describe the decay of sound (where is your quote from, KopaneDePooj?). Grados and HD25 have faster decay than most headphones, hence you may see people calling them "fast". Most Sennheisers tend to have rather slow decay, which is also part of what makes them sound thick and syrupy.
The "fastest" that I've heard so far are MDR-SA3000 and ATH-A2000X.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

I think that it is a confusing way to describe the decay of sound (where is your quote from, KopaneDePooj?). Grados and HD25 have faster decay than most headphones, hence you may see people calling them "fast". Most Sennheisers tend to have rather slow decay, which is also part of what makes them sound thick and syrupy.
The "fastest" that I've heard so far are MDR-SA3000 and ATH-A2000X.

Umm... from here. I know it's not the most sciencific source but it was one of the first when googled for "transient response in headphones".
For me "thick and syrupy" translates to "natural and musical" that's why I like Sennheisers.

 

[mbwilson111]

For me "thick and syrupy" translates to "natural and musical" that's why I like Sennheisers.

I am glad you clarified that. When I read thick and syrupy it sounds kind of disgusting... lol. Natural and musical sounds great

 

[KopaneDePooj]

I am glad you clarified that. When I read thick and syrupy it sounds kind of disgusting... lol. Natural and musical sounds great

Sound perception is very subjective. Different people like different signatures. Diversity is good
That's why I always said - no amount of opinions or reviews about a headphone will replace the act of going and testing for yourself. I learned this the hard way (returned / sold a lot of headphones).
Finally I decided to drive two times 250 Km (155 Miles) to the nearest showroom and had a listen to maybe 30 different headphones, and still I bought the Oppo PM-3 thinking that it is the winner. After one week I returned it because although the sound was great for home use, I found out that on-the-go I needed more oomph + it was too heavy. So I replaced it with the Momentum 2 that along with the HD 598 SE for home use are now my main headphones.
The Momentum 2 is often described as too dark, thick, closed-in etc. Well to me it sounds perfect! The first one that I don't have to EQ-tweak. If I would have followed the mentioned descriptions I would have never considered it. On the other hand the HD 598 CS (closed version) is often described as "very clear" and clean sounding. To me the vocals sounded nasal, thin and unnatural... nothing like the open HD 598. So I had to sell it.

 

[LazyListener]

I think that it is a confusing way to describe the decay of sound (where is your quote from, KopaneDePooj?). Grados and HD25 have faster decay than most headphones, hence you may see people calling them "fast". Most Sennheisers tend to have rather slow decay, which is also part of what makes them sound thick and syrupy.
The "fastest" that I've heard so far are MDR-SA3000 and ATH-A2000X.

Could this "slowness" or "slow decay" as it's being called, really be a matter of how much the headphone absorbs vs reflects sound within the earcup? I would think that headphones that tend to absorb sounds and are less reflective would sound "faster" while headphones that have more natural, but well controlled, reflection and reverb/resonance, would sound "slower." One thing I love about the 598s is the way they're able to convey the natural resonance of sounds, allowing one to hear the ambiance of the space in which the music was recorded. Of course, this is totally subjective, but that's the impression that I've always had with them.

 

[mbwilson111]

On the other hand the HD 598 CS (closed version) is often described as "very clear" and clean sounding. To me the vocals sounded nasal, thin and unnatural... nothing like the open HD 598. So I had to sell it.

My husband has the CS so I have heard it. Much prefer my open HD598SE.

 

[Abramz]

I think that slow decay not so much of a problem, for me at least. Attack, or signal's front, has more relevance to slowness. Especially in a bass region, I think. I read somewhere that the main difference between piano and violin sounds is front of a sound wave. We differ them by that, science says.
HD598 actually somewhat slow in all frequencies, even mids. But! It is not that bad, of course. And it improves with amping. So that it becomes understandable, why they are so well regarded in audiophiles circles. They are easy to fall in love with. Some of us says that they are speaker-like sounding cans. And this is high mark, of cource. I give them amped to my brother, who is not a audiophile of any kind. And he was amused, how this could be on earth.
But then again, right now I listening from some 10$ can, and I like their sound quite a bit more. It is Global T-88. Yes, they are cheap-looking, cheap-built etc. Yesterday I get really angry with them due to channel imbalance changing chaotically. I disassemble them and readjust wires in some way, and now I'm really happy with them. Before it was driver that detached from housing (some glue really helped), broken jack, that I really was careful with. So they really falls apart in my hands without any abuse. But for 10$ who cares? I use them in office only, because of they great sound and incredibly low price. They even can't sit properly until you swap L to R sides. But I reverse channels in Foobar and that's it. If they broke completely, I buy them again. Amazing sound!
So, one can see how headphones' world changed by now.
Sorry for bad English...