[Vague]

Holy crap, didn't know the STX was four years old. Is there any newer high-end soundcards?

 

[Glasofruix]

Soundblaster Zx and ZxR.

 

[Vague]

  Soundblaster Zx and ZxR.

 
I'll check them out.

 

[joshwalnut]

I never thought the sound imaging of the 558's were all that good. The soundstage is big, but the imaging is a little strange. probably because of the angled drivers. I had a pair of $60 turtle beaches for gaming on my xbox for fps, and i could pin point an enemy a lot easier with them then i could with my 558's. The sound quality in them was horrible though. horrible... great bass though, if you like the subwoofer kind 
 
I personally would get an external dac and amp combo. That way you won't risk any kind of interference with buzzing from your tower onto your soundcard... a relatively cheap external dac is really all you need... plus an amp of your choice.

 

[streetdragon]

  I never thought the sound imaging of the 558's were all that good. The soundstage is big, but the imaging is a little strange. probably because of the angled drivers. I had a pair of $60 turtle beaches for gaming on my xbox for fps, and i could pin point an enemy a lot easier with them then i could with my 558's. The sound quality in them was horrible though. horrible... great bass though, if you like the subwoofer kind 
 
I personally would get an external dac and amp combo. That way you won't risk any kind of interference with buzzing from your tower onto your soundcard... a relatively cheap external dac is really all you need... plus an amp of your choice.

 
From what I experienced they actually have a more accurate image in their stock configuration.
Also angled drivers are good for soundstage, which is why a lot of high end headphones have angled drivers. (it should be for gaming too)
On the the hand the HDD598's is accurate from the get go with all the clarity and spaciousness from the modded HD558.

 

[audioKyle]

I can pick these up for $160 used like new from a craigslist ad. Are they worth it. I was planning on getting the mad dogs but $315 shipped is too expensive for a pair of headphones for me (Junior in high school).

 

[palmfish]

Ive tried, but I never did like the Mad Dogs. Too flat and dull sounding to my ears. You cant go wrong with the Sennheiser 5XX series.

 

[RochRx7]

I can pick these up for $160 used like new from a craigslist ad. Are they worth it. I was planning on getting the mad dogs but $315 shipped is too expensive for a pair of headphones for me (Junior in high school).

 
Absolutely. 
 
Make sure it's good cosmetically (cracking on the side of the bands)
And get a good listen before you do.
 
Don't demo it AFTER you buy it.

 

[audioKyle]

Ive tried, but I never did like the Mad Dogs. Too flat and dull sounding to my ears. You cant go wrong with the Sennheiser 5XX series.

Do you mean the hd598 are brighter. Im in the search of a headphone that sounds somewhat like vinyl playing through a good pair of speakers with a wood floor.

 

[palmfish]

The 598 is brighter than the Mad Dog. You want your headphones to sound like vinyl? Just stuff cotton in your ears... Lol

 

[audioKyle]

The 598 is brighter than the Mad Dog. You want your headphones to sound like vinyl? Just stuff cotton in your ears... Lol

Thanks for the suggestion!

I'll probably go ahead with the deal to try these out. If i don't like them I guess i could sell them and suck it up and save for dem' mad dogs.

 

[palmfish]

Take the advice above though. Early production 598's had a defect - Look for cracks in the plastic where the metal bands enter the headband. The cracks might be very small and hard to see.

 

[G_T_J]

Anyone got this cable? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261263776326?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
 
Seems of reasonable quality and looks good too.

 

[joshwalnut]

  Anyone got this cable? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261263776326?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
 
Seems of reasonable quality and looks good too.

 
I don't have it but yeah, that's the real deal. 
 
There's no way i would pay $20 for it.... i actually just bought a 3.5mm plug for $5 and i'm going to do it myself... time to dust off the ol' solder gun. The current adapter has been losing connection from time to time... my only pet peeve about these headphones.. that cot damn adapter. 

 

[G_T_J]

Thanks for the input.
 
It does really seem quite good. 20$ are not that much if it does its job and taken into consideration that there are silly prices out there when it comes to ''upgrade'' headphone cables.
 
They even claim it to be an upgrade over the stock cable..