[K-jack]

Hey everyone, I saw the SRH 840's and the HD 598's at the same price in a nearby store yesterday and I'm wondering which one would be better suited for my music style. I listen to a lot of rock and pop, a bit of metal, and sometimes electronic genres like house and dubstep/drum & bass (The Prodigy, for example).

 

Currently I own the HD 558's, and most of the time I'm satisfied with them (especially the highs sound incredible), but for some of my music, this model somehow seems a bit off. Yes, I know the SRH 840 is a closed model and the HD 598 is open, but I'm buying them mostly for home use anyway, So sound leakage doesn't matter too much.

 

So, how much of a difference in soundstage there is between the HD 558 and the SRH 840, and what would I get in return? And if I went from the HD 558 to the 598 instead, how much better is it? Or should I just pick a different model alltogether?
Lastly, I'm not going to use an amp with any of those, but if it makes a lot of difference for a reasonable price, I'm willing to consider it.

 

[Han Bao Quan]

I had both, I prefer the HD598 over the SRH840. And I'm pretty sure they are not the same price.
The Shure is $150 whereas the HD598 is $250.
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH840-Professional-Monitoring-Earphones/dp/B002DP8IEK

So either the store is ripping people off on the Shure or they're selling the HD598 super cheap at $150, in which case that's a no brainer.

With your genres of music I would not recommend either. Look into these:

- Grado 225i
- Beyerdynamic DT-880
- Beyerdynamic DT-770

 

[K-jack]

There's a discount for all sennheiser brands at my store, so they're temporarily the same price. And I looked into Grado, but their brand is not available in any nearby stores. Beyerdynamic doesn't sell the DT770 in my country anymore (which is a shame), and the DT880, for some reason, is not available for any less than € 250 (roughly $ 360), which is way above my budget. I can only afford to spend around $250.

 

[Han Bao Quan]

As I said, in that case, it's a no brainer for the HD-598
However if there's a discount, then check out the HD-600.

 

[K-jack]

All right, I'll go for the HD 598. Thanks for the info!
Unfortunately the HD 600 is not available here either. Belgium is not a good place for headphones.

 

[MattTCG]

razordogdeals.com has:
 
hd598 $190 shipped
 
hd600 $299 shipped

 

[K-jack]

I've been looking up more options available in my country, and I came across a website that sells the Beyerdynamic DT990 (250 ohm) for less than $200. In fact, it's so cheap i'm kind of suspicious about the price, since the same website sells the DT 770 (32 ohm) for a slightly higher price. Is there anything about the DT990 that would warrant this? And if I decide to buy it, I'm probably going to require an amp, so any suggestions for one?

 

[landervdb]

Quote:

All right, I'll go for the HD 598. Thanks for the info!
Unfortunately the HD 600 is not available here either. Belgium is not a good place for headphones.

Hi K-jack,
 
I live in Belgium, too! I was wondering what store you were referring to, since I'm also looking to buy either a SRH840 or an HD598, and well, discounts are good

 

[K-jack]

Quote:

Hi K-jack,
 
I live in Belgium, too! I was wondering what store you were referring to, since I'm also looking to buy either a SRH840 or an HD598, and well, discounts are good

Hey Lander,
 
The first store I was referring to was http://www.hoofdtelefoonstore.be (which can also be visited in Antwerp). They have the HD 598 as well as the SRH840 for sale there for €189.  
But then I found this site: http://www.bax-shop.nl, where they sell both for less. The site is apparently very thrustworthy (haven't actually ordered anything yet), but their store is located in the Netherlands, just in case this would be a problem.
If you can't order online for any reason, I'd go with the first site.

 

[landervdb]

Quote:

Hey Lander,
 
The first store I was referring to was http://www.hoofdtelefoonstore.be (which can also be visited in Antwerp). They have the HD 598 as well as the SRH840 for sale there for €189.  
But then I found this site: http://www.bax-shop.nl, where they sell both for less. The site is apparently very thrustworthy (haven't actually ordered anything yet), but their store is located in the Netherlands, just in case this would be a problem.
If you can't order online for any reason, I'd go with the first site.

Thanks! Just so you know, Key Music (http://www.keymusic.com, stores in Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Liège, Mechelen, Herentals, Roeselare and Sint-Niklaas) has the SRH840 for €155!
 
EDIT: They now ask €195 for it. Quite odd, I am almost certain it was 155 the other day, so that's quite a steep raise...

 

[K-jack]

Quote:

Thanks! Just so you know, Key Music (http://www.keymusic.com, stores in Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Liège, Mechelen, Herentals, Roeselare and Sint-Niklaas) has the SRH840 for €155!
 
EDIT: They now ask €195 for it. Quite odd, I am almost certain it was 155 the other day, so that's quite a steep raise...

 
Oh yes, I noticed the price raise. I visited the store today though, and they're still selling them for € 155, at least in Ghent. Odd.
But then I asked the store DJ for advice, and he said the Beyerdynamics wouldn't be right for me, and instead recommended either the AKG K240 MKII.
Would these sound good with, say the Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton or Deep Purple? And how would they sound with pop and electro, or the bits of jazz in my collection?
 
EDIT: He also said the SRH 840 were still on the table.

 

[landervdb]

Funny, I was in that same store yesterday Indeed, the price in the store itself is still 155. I listened to the Shure SRH840, AKG K 271 MkII and the KRK KNS 8400, all of which are around the 150 pricepoint, all closed and all (fairly) neutral. I decided to go with closed ones, that way I can use them for live sound as well (I do some sound enigneer work in my free time). In the end I had a hard time deciding between the AKG's and the Shure's. I went with the AKG's, because they come with both pleather and velour pads, and two different cables, and according to the guy the warranty on them was better, Shure won't do repairs if there is a possibility you broke it on purpose. Sound-wise I found them quite comparable. I tested them unamped, straight from my iPod. The AKG's do have a slightly higher impedance (55 ohms vs 44 ohms), and for me the difference in volume was noticable. The AKG's do reach an acceptable volume straight from my iPod, for me at least. I found both very comfortable, but the SRH840 felt somewhat heavier and comes only with pleather pads by default, so that might be an issue for long listening sessions.
 
Either one would be a great choice imho.
 
I can't comment on the sound of the K240, but since I bought the K271 yesterday (which are a step up from the K240, but I would go for these if you can swing the extra cash), I can share some experiences with those. Mind you, they are not fully burnt in yet, so things might improve still. I mainly bought them for post-rock, ambient stuff, but I find them quite versatile. They definitely do not sound bad with rock, but for Foo Fighters you might want a bit more bass. Again it's certainly not bad, and with a bit of EQ it would be quite good I think. A decent burn-in would help as well. Also, according to the impedance chart on headphone.com, the impedance peaks at around 100 ohm around 100 Hz, so it would probably improve with decent amping. I listened to an acoustic song by them as well, which sounded excellent. (Listened to Bridge Burning, Everlong, Friend of a Friend and Hey, Johnny Park!, Bri;ge Burning  320 mp3, the others were old rips, in lesser quality, I don't listen to Foo Fighters all that much so I never bothered to replace them). If this genre is the main music you listen to, there are probably better cans at this price.
 
I can't comment on pop, since I have none whatsoever in my collection. As for electro, I don't really have that either, only some obscure stuff Jazz sounds supreme though!

 

[K-jack]

Well, if the AKG's are a viable option, I have to point out that I found the k550 on http://www.musicstore.com/nl_NL/NLG/AKG-K-550-Kopfhoerer-geschlossen/art-REC0009759-000  for €185 shipped ($240 or £150). Since this is apparently a huge discount, and still in my budget, should I consider these?

 

[mbritt]

Hi K-jack,
 
The AKG 550's are really good for rock and pop and most stuff I throw at them.  They sound great even un-amped listening to Apple Lossless from an iPad but they really shine with a good dac/amp.  The true bass heads seem to think these cans lack bass but I would disagree.  I think it all depends on your head shape and if you get a good seal.  The bass extension is nice and it's not muddy at all.  I was looking for something to improve the impact and bass on my K701's when I found the 550's.  They have the clarity and musical separation of the K701's with better bass and a lot more impact.  They also are more forgiving of treble spiking than the 701's.
 
I also like the 598's and I bought them for a friend of mine who is a sound guy - he loves them.  I recently bought my wife the 840's which she too loves.  Both sound really good in the mid range sweet spot for guitar/singer songwriter stuff and rock like Tom Petty. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these cans for those types of music but I think the 550's are the most bang for the buck sonically and looks/build quality.  They are a step up from the other two.   
 
I enjoy listening to NIN on the 550's but don't have a frame of reference for dub-step.  It's really difficult to find a pair of headphones that will be all things to all people so I would think about adding something known for deep and accurate bass for some of your musical tastes.  That being said, you might find the AKG 550's to be a good all a rounder and not need to solve a problem that doesn't exist.

 

[Canuck99]

mbritt, how difficult are the k550s to get a seal? Do you constantly have to adjust them? I measured my head and it 23 inches (59cm). According to a US study the average head size for an adult male is 57cm - so I am hoping they should fit, though I usually use my headphones on their smallest adjustment setting so I am not sure.