[KevinHNgu]

Hello all, thanks for looking at this. I have the Sennheiser HD 598 and I do know that open headphones tend to have more soundstage. I want more quality for music more than isolation, but if the quality is close enough, I'll get the ATH-A900x. From what I've read, the HD 598 has a wider range. The ATH-A900x isn't as perfect on the highs, but still great; but that is probably due to the bass of it. So, I think I can change that with my Asus Xonar DG. BTW, the HD 598 sounds great and I'm in love with the sound, but isolation would be a huge plus. I listen to music A LOT and I also game. I have other mobile headphones already.
 
I'm not an expert, but I am a perfectionist. So as long the headphones sound GREAT I should be fine. It doesn't have to be perfectly balanced. The bass and fit of the razer chimeras gave me a headache, and lets face it, to aupdiofiliacs they suck. I listen to mostly rock from avenged sevenfold, bullet for my valentine, chevelle to classical rock, of monsters and men, the head and the heart. I will start getting into rap and hip hop soon, and maybe electronic music.
 
Thank you very much for reading this post. (organization is bad :/...)

 

[Rhamnetin]

I don't recommend the A900X (or any headphone from this lineup) for rap, hip-hop, electronic, and they're not my first recommendation for rock.  Perhaps the ATH-M50X is better suited for you, though it has a much smaller sound stage than the A900X.  

 

[KevinHNgu]

I've read the comparisons between the HD 598 and the m50x, so I'd like to keep my hd 598 even though they are open headphones. The Sennheiser HD 598 although isn't defualted for bass, can easily do so with an amp or equalizer, which i have of both. Thanks for the thought. I don't even have a single rap or hip hop song though, but i'll get that genre after I'm done focusing on my rock. Sorry I didn't mention that. Inawys, I'd like to keep this between the HD 598 and the ATH-A900X.

 

[KevinHNgu]

I get headaches easily form too much bass though, though I do listen to bass heavy rock at times. How do the A900X sound with a soundcard?

 

[Rhamnetin]

I use the A900X with a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, which has no headphone amplifier.  The A900X don't have too much bass, you should be fine in that aspect.  Many people consider them relatively bass light, though I'm pretty sure they have more bass than the HD 598.  The A900X is very mid-centric, which is what this lineup of headphones is known for.  Forward, slightly colored mids and the A900X does particularly well with female vocals and acoustic instruments.  They're really not a good choice for electronic, they aren't what you want for rap or hip-hop, and you'd probably want more dark, hard-hitting headphones for rock.  

 

[0ffbeat]

I prefer the A900X over the M50s for rock music (both amped). Not sure about the M50X, as I have not heard them, but the original M50s have recessed mids and a noticeably lower resolution compared to the A900X. The A900X's have a bigger soundstage and are 'faster' headphones that can keep up with very busy rock tracks while the M50 will sound congested and even grainy/compressed (when directly compared to the A900X) on the same tracks. The A900X have greater clarity and better separation than the M50s, but the treble can be overly bright and artificial sounding at times and the mids can sound thin, lacking texture and depth. In regards to the low-end, the M50 has better bass in both quantity and quality (control). The A900X's bass sounds somewhat loose/sloppy but is clearer than that of the M50's.

 

[chocolatewol]

I too prefer the A900x over the M50 for all comparisons other than portability.

 

[TeskR]

To be honest I used my A900X for listening to A LOT of electronic music and really enjoyed them, I found the bass really punchy with my magni amp.
 
The Senn is probably going to be better for gaming though as open back HPs generally have much better positional audio for FPS games etc.
 
Haven't heard the Senn personally but I can say the A900X is a very solid all rounder.

 

[KevinHNgu]

I haven't gotten a direct comparison between the two yet but, I do enjoy the HD 598. At first I thought that the A900X was going at least have a better bass than the sennheiser, seeing that the A900 had a clear but light bass. If so, I was going to get the A900X even though it's highs weren't "mentioned" to be as great. Now there are a good number of people who say the bass muddies the audio a bit. I LOVE vocals, and songs with dynamic (Mama - MCR, The Most Vicious Crime - Sparta). I thought I've already looked through enough over-ear headphones, but apparently not. If you'd like to suggest another pair that'd be great, but I'd like to to keep this between the sennheiser hd 598 and audio technica ath-a900x for others like me. My budget is around the $200 mark, and I'd like a closed headphone that sound almost as good as the HD 598 and has a good enough soundstage for gaming. Hopefully there's one out there :/. Thanks for the recommendations too.

 

[KevinHNgu]

Also, I love these headphones enough to keep em, and put maybe sound proof padding like on my fractal design r4. Hopefully that'l improve bass just right or some other substance on the open part. So, yeah lol, that option is available too.

 

[KevinHNgu]

I'm really sorry to put so many post out with not connected, but I also have the GR07 mkII. So if I do need to be quiet, I can put those on. But I still would like the soundstage and stereo option whenever I'm on  PC. So what I'm trying say is should I work with the HD 598 or get another pair; if so, what pair?

 

[Rhamnetin]

I'd probably keep the HD 598, since getting other sub $200 headphones like the A900X isn't an upgrade really (more of a sideways movement).  Perhaps you should save up for something that will really amaze you.  

 

[0ffbeat]

I also have the AKG K272 and I prefer them over my set of A900X. They are a much finer set of headphones and have more depth and texture and are also better balanced IMO. They also have more bass. I modded mine because they have a kind of stuffy, overly warm sound with the stock foam disk. I modded mine by replacing the foam disk with the larger ones from beyerdynamic. It increased the soundstage and cleared up the mids some. The foam from the k240s also work, but are a bit thicker.
 
So consider the K272 and also the K271 which are supposedly the same with detachable cables and pleather/velour pads. The K272s only come with velours, but I prefer the velours anyways. But if I had a choice I would have gotten the K271 because of the extra pads and more imprtantly, the detachable cables. The K271 are also selling for less than the K272 on Amazon (as of today).
 
NOTE: the K271/272 do need to be amped to sound best. I can drive them sufficiently on my X-Fi XtremeMusic w/o amp, but it almost maxes out the volume in order to do so.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I'm really sorry to put so many post out with not connected, but I also have the GR07 mkII. So if I do need to be quiet, I can put those on. But I still would like the sound stage and stereo option whenever I'm on  PC. So what I'm trying say is should I work with the HD 598 or get another pair; if so, what pair?

 
The A900X will offer a little more "life" to the audio, compared to the more "reserved" HD598.
i added the hifiman HE Velour ear pads to my A900Xs.
 
Here are some ATH-A900Xs for $150.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audio-Technica-ATH-A900X-Professional-Audiophile-Grade-Closed-Back-Headphones-/321398976228?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item4ad4df2ee4

 

[KevinHNgu]

I've already looked at the AKG K271/K272 and ruled them out. So, I'm still looking at the A900X and the HD 598. I currently have the HD 598 and love the sound as is now, but a bit more bass won't hurt. However, I've heard the burn-in opens the bass and it can easily up its bass with an amp and/or equalizer. Inaways, the A900X supposedly sounds about as balanced as the HD 598, but it's leaner towards the lower end of the range(more bass, less highs, maybe tiny tiny bit muddier). I trust that the soundstage of the A900X is good enough, and the fact that they are closed is ALMOST what makes it better for me. I'm still spectacle because I have heard a review of both yet. Also earlier, I meant I'm willing to try putting a material(whatever works best) over the open end of the HD 598 if it doesn't ruin the sound(of coarse i'll take it off whenever). Again, I'm sensitive to heavy bass, but am willing to have more bass if that is what the material will do. I'm burning in my headphones from regular use.