[streetdragon]

i find these pair of headphones to be very sensitive to placement on your head in terms of affecting soundstage, too high up and everything seems to be crammed above you, too low and everything looses its realistic timbre, too far front and everything is like in a echo room, too far back and your soundstage collapses into your face. anyone noticed this as well?

 

[mbohupa]

Hello guys!!! I'm enjoying my new HD598 almost daily since 2 weeks ago!! Totally satisfied with this headphone. 
 
My source/amp is the Aune T1 (Tube DAC + SS Amp). Killer combo!!!

 

[walden]

Quote:

i find these pair of headphones to be very sensitive to placement on your head in terms of affecting soundstage, too high up and everything seems to be crammed above you, too low and everything looses its realistic timbre, too far front and everything is like in a echo room, too far back and your soundstage collapses into your face. anyone noticed this as well?

To me this is a bit of an exaggeration, but I definitely experience the same things. Ears in the front creates a smaller soundstage, while ears in the back create a larger one. Ears at the bottom of the cups creates really high stage while the opposite makes the sound fall apart.

 

[chimmycham]

Quote:

i find these pair of headphones to be very sensitive to placement on your head in terms of affecting soundstage, too high up and everything seems to be crammed above you, too low and everything looses its realistic timbre, too far front and everything is like in a echo room, too far back and your soundstage collapses into your face. anyone noticed this as well?

I've noticed this. I'm glad you mentioned it. I thought I was just thinking about it too much.

 

[NZheadcase]

It's the same with most good headphones. But I'm sure you'll get good at finding that sweet spot. I have that problem with all my cans as I have a smallish head. They tend to slip at sudden movements.

Soon enough it becomes muscle memory.

 

[tonyc2468]

I Have not experienced the placement effect described above to any significant extent. In fact this is one of the main reasons this is my favourite set of cans - they just sound great no matter what genre of music and they sound great around the house just plugged direct to a cowon i9/S9/J3/X7 or through my little dot MKIV amp and what ever position I end up standing or sitting in which effects the placement.
I currently rotate between my BT880 , ultrasone pro 2500 and AKG Q701 and these HD598's - All of the others and in particular the ultrasone are far more sensitive to headphone placement for getting the sweet spot and all need good amping and are sensitive to changes in genre and quality of recording. The HD598 are the only one's i use direct to a cowon player except my HD 25-1's and hense the ones I tend to to use the most.
I have to say these are the best all rounders I have tried and kept.

 

[chimmycham]

I began putting my headphones further down on my head, and they sound like 10x better

 

[streetdragon]

I began putting my headphones further down on my head, and they sound like 10x better

I know the feel bro XD

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Quote:

I have to agree. I am very late to this party but I got mine yesterday and I can't quit listening to them. I have had some much more expensive headphones from Beyer, Ultrasone and AKG. These just absolutely are the most involving headphones I have had. I told my son they just make you want to listen to all of your music and buy more. That's such a difference from anything else I have had where as soon as I got the headphones I was finding flaws and looking for that next upgrade to fix them. These just hit a sweet spot I've not had before and I didn't spend an arm and leg to get them. That's one of the best parts.
 
I am driving them with an E17/E09K combo and it is wonderful. Add +2 on the bass and they give just enough extra weight to the low end. The sound is the most spacious I have heard. Comfort is nearly perfect. What else is there to add.

Yes it is more "musical" than the hd 600 and the hd 650 

 

[KewreL]

Quote:

That being said, I would not mind and would purchase a Sennheiser 598-sounding high-end headphone without any hesitation. If they made a Senn 798 with the detail and speed of the Senn 800 but the sound signature of the 598, that'd be a first day purchase for me.

I would so do that as well. I have kind of high hopes though, since the kind of sound signature the 598 have seem to be the thing for Sennheiser's newest open backs. I have listened to the 558 as well and I felt the signature of those was quite similar to the 598. I imagine the 518 would be similar to the 558 in the same way.
 
I've never heard the 700 nor the 800, but I assume those two would lie closer to the most recent 5xx series cans than the 650 in terms of overall signature and soundstage? Since the 650 is somewhat of a dinosaur in comparison

 

[kotk]

Got the headphones a month ago and i'm enjoying every moment with them. At first i was a bit  disappointed but after burnin, man they are good.

 

[hibitec]

I currently have the HD598 running out of the FiiO E17 and I love the sound - clean, spacious, clarity. My only complaint is the bass could use a little boosting and the treble seems a little harsh on some of my better recordings. My source is flac via jriver and wasapi out. I'm not an audiophile and this is my first rig into exploring higher end head-fi. I'm looking to take the next step and considering an upgrade to the new Schiit Asgard 2 and using the LO of my E17 as the DAC for a while until I can upgrade the DAC. I enjoy listening to mostly accoustic based genres with some rock.
 
My question is, do you think I will hear a nice difference in using the Asgard amp with my HD598 over the E17? I'm looking for something that I can immediately realize my investment and continue to use my HD598's and E17 DAC and also have a nice amp for future upgrading of my cans and DAC.
 
Any opinions? Any other sub-$300 amps I should be considering? Is my E17 driving my HD598 well enough that I won't gain much with the Asgard? 

 

[Dillont3]

I currently have the HD598 running out of the FiiO E17 and I love the sound - clean, spacious, clarity. My only complaint is the bass could use a little boosting and the treble seems a little harsh on some of my better recordings. My source is flac via jriver and wasapi out. I'm not an audiophile and this is my first rig into exploring higher end head-fi. I'm looking to take the next step and considering an upgrade to the new Schiit Asgard 2 and using the LO of my E17 as the DAC for a while until I can upgrade the DAC. I enjoy listening to mostly accoustic based genres with some rock.

My question is, do you think I will hear a nice difference in using the Asgard amp with my HD598 over the E17? I'm looking for something that I can immediately realize my investment and continue to use my HD598's and E17 DAC and also have a nice amp for future upgrading of my cans and DAC.

Any opinions? Any other sub-$300 amps I should be considering? Is my E17 driving my HD598 well enough that I won't gain much with the Asgard? 

Your E17 is driving them more than enough. Some people say that the 598 up scales well with better equipment. This very well could be, but there is no reason to spend $300 on a new amp when the 598 is so easily driven. The gain will not be enough to justify spending all that money. You would be better off saving your money for a headphone upgrade and then maybe upgrading your amp down the line when you have headphones that really will benefit from it.

I have never owned any expensive amps, just use fiio's, but I think too many people on here exaggerate the benefits of cable/expensive amp etc upgrades with efficient headphones such as 598 that don't even need an amp, but do benefit some from a little amplification. Spending twice is much as the headphones themselves cost on tube amps and expensive DAC's is a money hole that can be easy for newcomers to get sucked into because so many people on this site make a big deal out of cable, amp, DAC, magic fairy dust, etc upgrades for not that expensive headphones.

 

[streetdragon]

depending on what you are plugging it into, a DAC might also be important (like a laptop, where the soundcard is not interexchangable)

 

[NZheadcase]

I currently have the HD598 running out of the FiiO E17 and I love the sound - clean, spacious, clarity. My only complaint is the bass could use a little boosting and the treble seems a little harsh on some of my better recordings. My source is flac via jriver and wasapi out. I'm not an audiophile and this is my first rig into exploring higher end head-fi. I'm looking to take the next step and considering an upgrade to the new Schiit Asgard 2 and using the LO of my E17 as the DAC for a while until I can upgrade the DAC. I enjoy listening to mostly accoustic based genres with some rock.

My question is, do you think I will hear a nice difference in using the Asgard amp with my HD598 over the E17? I'm looking for something that I can immediately realize my investment and continue to use my HD598's and E17 DAC and also have a nice amp for future upgrading of my cans and DAC.

Any opinions? Any other sub-$300 amps I should be considering? Is my E17 driving my HD598 well enough that I won't gain much with the Asgard? 

Through personal experience i would say yes. The E17 does do a decent job driving the HD598. Will it scale up with better equipment? Yes! You will hear a noticeable improvement moving up to asgard, pan am and lyr. Lyr is quite ooverkill for the 598. The Asgard is more that enough, as the gains after that moving up will not feel like a justified investment.

Go for better cans first, then get something beefier to drive them. You might consider a schiit magni and modi combo or pair your e17 with the e09k, if the itch to upgrade is such that it needs scratching. either option wont be a huge stretch for the price.

For disclosyre, I have no personal experience of the last three gadgets mentioned, only the ones mention at the start of my reply.