[Lumos]

Pay a little more and get Q701 if you want: tighter bass, more clarity, more resolution in the treble region, cons: spike around 2-3 K makes some vocal recordings little shouty nothing that eq cannot fix. comfort my be another issue, bumps make them hard to wear longer period of time. I personally have no problem, you can add some foam later if so.  Overall Q701 is one step up over HD558 in Hi-fi resolution. However non of them are bass heavy.
 
cheers
 
 
edit: I read you listen classical great bro!!!, especially it will perform much better then lets say HD600 HD650 (I have all of them

) Beyerdinamic DT880 is another option, but it is more expensive. plus you can add K712 memory foam pads and make them probably even better headphone close to K712
 
Hence for your money and if you listen classical Q701 is best choice.

 

[MUSICCURE]

My hd558 sounds decent on the dx50 ho. I prefer the high gain to get proper volume. Rockbox helps with increased volume and eq options.

With the E17/E09k, low gain drives the hd558 just fine while providing a warm intimate signature with smooth vocals.

 

[Lazyboy420x]

Pay a little more and get Q701 if you want: tighter bass, more clarity, more resolution in the treble region, cons: spike around 2-3 K makes some vocal recordings little shouty nothing that eq cannot fix. comfort my be another issue, bumps make them hard to wear longer period of time. I personally have no problem, you can add some foam later if so.  Overall Q701 is one step up over HD558 in Hi-fi resolution. However non of them are bass heavy.

cheers


edit: I read you listen classical great bro!!!, especially it will perform much better then lets say HD600 HD650 (I have all of them ) Beyerdinamic DT880 is another option, but it is more expensive. plus you can add K712 memory foam pads and make them probably even better headphone close to K712

Hence for your money and if you listen classical Q701 is best choice.

Well we are talking almost a $100 difference between the 558's and Q701's. I'm still not sure how I feel about them being made in China now,since it's said they're made with much lower quality now (They were made in Austria before)

 

[Lazyboy420x]

It looks like the main difference is
Build quality is a bit better from Austria and the soundstage and mids aren't as good on the China pair. But the China pair is more comfortable. (Different materials and softer headband)

 

[Lumos]

And now since we're talking the $200 price range I'd like to throw in the HD598 against the Q701's.

owning now all of them HD598, HD650 and Q701...HD558 modded is 99.99% identical to HD598
 
Q701 is the best money can buy for classical music in this price range. if you can tolerate 2K spike (or eq it down) and bumps on headband, otherwise clearest and fastest phone I have heard with tight bass.    
 
Sennheiser HD558 is made in china also... 

 

[Lazyboy420x]

Where is your Q701 made?

 

[Lazyboy420x]

And how are they if I dab a bit into Heavy Metal? Ex. Metallica,Megadeath
Edit: Also gaming,but not so much
I have weird musical tastes,I know

 

[Lumos]

Where is your Q701 made?

 

And how are they if I dab a bit into Heavy Metal? Ex. Metallica,Megadeath
Edit: Also gaming,but not so much
I have weird musical tastes,I know

mine is made in Austria. Are you sure that they sound different? that is so disappointing... 
 
I cannot comment on heavy metal, depends what aspect of sound you enjoying most

 

[Blackened7]

I just got my 558's today. They seem nice! I wonder how the 650's/700's and momentum's compare. Hmm.

 

[Lazyboy420x]

mine is made in Austria. Are you sure that they sound different? that is so disappointing... 

I cannot comment on heavy metal, depends what aspect of sound you enjoying most

Would you say they're more laid back or aggressive overall?

 

[Lumos]

More aggressive side? I am not sure of this term... they are more fast, hence treble and overall decay is faster, more instrument separation, music is more articulate, dynamic and punchy, lets say it is more Hi-fi listening experience. HD558 is more relaxed and slow and I found all Sennheisers besides HD700 to share this characteristics of slow sound. 

 

[Lazyboy420x]

That sounds great
Also I see that the E11 is in your amp inventory,how does it pair with the Q701's??

 

[Lumos]

That sounds great

Also I see that the E11 is in your amp inventory,how does it pair with the Q701's??

 
I prefer O2 but honestly difference is not huge

 

[Lazyboy420x]

So it wouldn't be worth it to spend some extra $100 on the O2? Since I've already got the E11

 

[djmuzi]

Now I own the HD558....
Amazing!
Relaxing sound signature. Comfortable on the head. Good built quality despite the plastic.
It's not yet burned in, the rubbers are still inside and it beats my Teufel Aureol Real hands down.
The Teufel has more aggressive sound with kinda slightly V shaped frequency response.
Soundstage is far better than the open Teufel as well.
So I have the Topping NX1 which makes my iPhone 6 sound a bit louder. My Moto G alone sounds terrible in comparison with connection to the Topping NX1

The long cable is actually good for home use I don't have to worry that my iPhone will drop on the floor when moving out of the chair.

So it can only get better with time when they burn in (I believe in this since my Logitech UE6000 they got much better with time) and when I take out this rubber from inside the HD558.

But the ultimate sound tuning can be done with the Golden Ears app Accudio Pro.
On HIFI Flat setting the HD558 sound really amazing with far more bass extension and pressure and the highs get much better to!
You can simulate the HD600 and 650. The 650 has more bass and highs than the 558.
The 600 is very similar. But with EQ on HIFI Flat the 558 has better signature.