[logicalform]

Concerning the graininess I've been hearing, I've found it improves significantly when fed straight from my S9. I think the udac2 coming from my computer has a slight midrange-ish warmth and forwardness that isn't a great combo with the already forward mids of the 598s. This makes sense to me as I mostly noticed the grain/distortion in the midbass area (such as loud drums on accentuated downbeats). Also, turning a bit of BBE on seems to cool things down more and improve detail (as much as most people here snear at sound enhancements, BBE really is great when used judiciously).
 
So, is the problem with the udac's DAC section or it's amplification? That is, will a cooler (and better quality) amp improve the SQ that I can get from the udac2/598s or is the DAC doing the damage?  

 

[john57]

What you saying makes sense that the graininess was coming from the electronics not the headphones but certain headphones can make the graininess easier to hear. The distortion with loud drums could be that there is some clipping happening which can make the sound harsher or grainy. My old SS Creek head amp did made music sound more grainy. There also could be other factors as well. What is your S9? Does this happens with all music types? 

 

[logicalform]

Quote:

What you saying makes sense that the graininess was coming from the electronics not the headphones but certain headphones can make the graininess easier to hear. The distortion with loud drums could be that there is some clipping happening which can make the sound harsher or grainy. My old SS Creek head amp did made music sound more grainy. There also could be other factors as well. What is your S9? Does this happens with all music types? 

S9 = Cowon S9, my portable DAP. I have heard it with a lot of genres, but to varying degrees. Classical and Jazz seem to be OK for the most part, but there have been times when I've noticed it in softer vocal tracks on accented syllables and/or background drums. My music is all either flac, 320 mp3, or q9-10 ogg (~350 - 500 kbps), which is why I didn't suspect my tracks at first. It is definitely worse on newer/poppier types of music (hip-hop, for example) but the fact that it shows up on some well recorded flac files leads me to believe it's a hardware problem of some kind (or synergy problem, as stated above). Maybe it really is digital artifacts that I've never noticed before, but I'm hoping better amplification (or DAC) will help, because I REALLY don't want to find out that all my music actually sounds like crap (although I think this unlikely). 
 

 

[hans030390]

Just got my headphones back from jschristian44, who did a fine job doing a dual-entry recable for me! I'm sure he'd be interested in recabling anyone's HD5xx headphones for a fair price (or almost any headphone, really).
 
I used Mogami 2534 cable for mine with a Switchcraft gold 3.5mm plug. They sure do sound great! They sound more refined overall, if I had to describe it simply. Imaging and soundstage are fantastic. Sound is very natural sounding. Nice, tight bass presence when the song calls for it. Smooth, detailed treble. And, as always, wonderful midrange. They sound effortless, really.
 
This is just going off my memory. It's been a week since I've listened to them (and they were running stock cable then), so I can't say exactly how big the difference is.
 
While I still doubt many people will have the guts to do the soundstage mod like I did, I do at least recommend recabling them! It only improved them, that's for sure. But if you have the guts, I personally found the soundstage mod to be very favorable with these headphones, so I give that my recommendation as well!
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Good to know there is someone else out there willing to do this to improve the sound quality. At first I thought there was no way it'd be worth the trouble, but I'd do it again anytime on a new pair if this one died. Totally worth it.
 
I also used the Mogami and like that the most out of what I've tried. So far I've just tried Canare and Belden. I'm happy enough with the Canare I have currently attached and don't want to risk it, so I may leave that on. Some days I'm temped to add the Mogami again, but this time heat shrink the wires.
 
I wonder what a Double Helix cable would do for these and if it's worth the extra money. Some say that wire is quite neutral, so it should retain the stock HD-598 signature. I don't really want to pay $60-$80 for the strands of wire though to find out.
 
BTW the Belden is strange on the HD-598. On every headphone I've tried it with it offered the most detail and seemed to effect the soundstage and actually improve it?! The Belden "Brilliance" Starquad makes them very fatiguing though and it's a really thick cable. I use it for interconnects and like it for that. Seemed to offer the best sound clarity. Not quite sure why.
 
Quote:

Just got my headphones back from jschristian44, who did a fine job doing a dual-entry recable for me! I'm sure he'd be interested in recabling anyone's HD5xx headphones for a fair price (or almost any headphone, really).
 
I used Mogami 2534 cable for mine with a Switchcraft gold 3.5mm plug. They sure do sound great! They sound more refined overall, if I had to describe it simply. Imaging and soundstage are fantastic. Sound is very natural sounding. Nice, tight bass presence when the song calls for it. Smooth, detailed treble. And, as always, wonderful midrange. They sound effortless, really.
 
This is just going off my memory. It's been a week since I've listened to them (and they were running stock cable then), so I can't say exactly how big the difference is.
 
While I still doubt many people will have the guts to do the soundstage mod like I did, I do at least recommend recabling them! It only improved them, that's for sure. But if you have the guts, I personally found the soundstage mod to be very favorable with these headphones, so I give that my recommendation as well!
 

 

 

[Guest5]

Can I ask a question please. I remember to have tried HD 595 and I did not like them simply because they lack the body that HD 650, HD 25-1 and PX100s have. They sounded thin and lean like they took AKG and Sennheiser had a baby with "her" and they called it Sennheiser HD 595, it was kind of bright as well, fatiguing even, the bass was there, but it was more of a AKG style bass then again. How is HD 598 compared to HD 595? Are they as lean sounding because I'm considering them again to try?   

 

[john57]

 
Quote:

BTW the Belden is strange on the HD-598. On every headphone I've tried it with it offered the most detail and seemed to effect the soundstage and actually improve it?! The Belden "Brilliance" Starquad makes them very fatiguing though and it's a really thick cable. I use it for interconnects and like it for that. Seemed to offer the best sound clarity. Not quite sure why.


 

In my years of experience when it comes to audio cables the thicker the cable the more capacitance the cable has and the more impact it could have on the higher frequencies
 

 

[matthewh133]

I just purchased one. There's someone on ebay with buy it now or best offer, set at $250 US. I offered $180 US and got it. Just a tip Now just going to have to wait a couple of weeks for mine to arrive!

 

[hans030390]

Just wanted to throw up a couple pics of my recabled, soundstage modded headphones.
 

 

 

[MusicHolic]

I thought normally we cant see the driver... Did you do something like removing the senn logo, damping cloth and spider-like construction between them? It makes them more open right?
 
Aside from the sonic differences after you recabling which you mentioned before, can you also compare sonic differences between before and after you did "opening mod"?

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I thought normally we cant see the driver... Did you do something like removing the senn logo, damping cloth and spider-like construction between them? It makes them more open right?
 
Aside from the sonic differences after you recabling which you mentioned before, can you also compare sonic differences between before and after you did "opening mod"?

Right, I did the "soundstage" mod that some people did on their HD555/595. I have an earlier post here describing the process and detailing the differences. For me, it was more of a cosmetic mod. I didn't notice a huge difference in the sound. It sounded more open (obviously), smoother, more natural. I do think they sounded slightly darker and more laid-back afterwards, and the volume levels are softer (not a problem). I like it better, though I can't say everyone will. Even if it did make it worse, the changes would be minor enough that cosmetically it would still be worth it for me.

 

[tdockweiler]

Today I re-attached my old Mogami cable to my HD-598 instead of keeping the Canare. Man, why on earth did I put up with the Canare for so long. I hate Canare!
I can confirm that with the Canare the mids aren't as forward as stock and there's a little added bass and a little extra warmth to the sound, which is NOT what the HD-598 needs.
I think due to the extra bass, this is why the mids aren't quite as forward. The Canare seems to tame the treble too much. It even did this on my old HD-650.
 
Switched to the Mogami and there's a huge increase in sound clarity and the mids are just how they should be. Yes, with the Mogami I could even say the HD-598 is nearly crystal clear. I couldn't quite say that with it's stock cable. The Mogami seems to offer the best soundstage too. So, can't say it enough, if you want the same signature of the HD-598, but improve it by a ton, use Mogami.
 
For people who aren't believers of cable upgrades, try a stock HD-598 and one with a cheap Mogami cable. All my other headphone cable upgrades made just minor differences. I'm a believer of the fact that 75% of stock cables are junk.
 
Stupid me accidentally soldered the cables on wrong. First time I did this. Oops. I also made a Belden cable for my Sextett LP. My Sextett still sounds like muffled crap (bad pair maybe). I could only listen to it for 10 minutes before wanting to switch to the HD-598. I swear my DJ100 sounds like the Sextett LP's signature in some ways. Just better and a lot more clear. I just bought my third DJ100 today. Maybe I'll stop trying to mod them this time.
 
Tempted to get some Double Helix (expensive) wire and see if it'll improve anything over the Mogami with the HD-598. I highly doubt it. Someone should do this and report back. Come on, I know you want to

 

[DarkAndroid]

Just got my new Sennheiser HD 598 from Amazon.com! Im using them now and they sound great! Even from my tiny iPod shuffle! This is my first set of high-end headphones and theres definitely an improvement from the stock iPod earbuds I'm used to especially in the treble and bass departments. The only thing is that the headphones sound a little flat audio-wise, although I guess thats because they havent burned in yet.....hopefully with time the sound quality will improve even more than what it is now. All in all though, a good purchase. Now I have to look for an amp.....the Fiio E7 perhaps?

 

[Haeleus]

I recently got my hands on a pair (though I probably won't keep them, going with the PC360 simply due to gaming/microphone use), and I must say I love the comfort and sound quality based on several hours of use. HOWEVER, I am concerned with the build quality of them. The left side adjustment strap doesn't click properly as the right side does (instead it just moves smoothly, not that big of a deal but I don't like the asymmetry), and the right side metal rim on the outside of the can is a little loose to the touch.

 

[redwarrior191]

Quote:

I recently got my hands on a pair (though I probably won't keep them, going with the PC360 simply due to gaming/microphone use), and I must say I love the comfort and sound quality based on several hours of use. HOWEVER, I am concerned with the build quality of them. The left side adjustment strap doesn't click properly as the right side does (instead it just moves smoothly, not that big of a deal but I don't like the asymmetry), and the right side metal rim on the outside of the can is a little loose to the touch.

mine are also exactly like that.. the left side adjustment does not click, it's smooth but not loose, so i'm still fine with that.. and in my cans, the loose metal rim is on the left side as well.. hmm, i wonder how many people actually have this problem..