[wind016]

Quote:

 

I'm loving the HD-650 and HD-598 right now with the ultra cheap Mogami cable. Strangely the 598 benefited the most from the recable.  I think I must have listened to my 598 until 3am last night. HD-650 definitely improved too. Sounded a lot more clear and detailed, but it's signature is basically the same. Maybe a tad more bass, but not as much as the Canare added. I don't want any extra bass. Sometimes I wish there was a cable that could reduce the bass of the HD-650. It's still not bass heavy to me of course and I don't like to EQ.
 
The HD-650's soundstage felt a bit larger with the Mogami cable, but not bigger than the 598, but I'd have to compare them side by side. The soundstage of the HD-650 often feels a tad closed in, but other times quite large. It also varies in size between my E9 and Micro Amp. I'm now a fanboy of those Mogami cables. I even am going to make one for my K702. Who would have thought a new cable could improve a soundstage?
 
This is just bizarre, every wire I've tried has sounded different...I need to find one that's completely neutral, but the Mogami is close enough. BTW you should hear the bass on the 598 with the Mogami

 
Only complaint about the HD-650 is that I wish it had a tad more treble.... I imagine the recabled wHD-598 will get more head time than the HD-650 soon.
 
 

Did you ever get a chance to recable the HD600s too? I'm thinking of whether or not to buy a warmer Sennheiser and give them a second chance. Maybe the Sennheiser sound is starting to grow on me =)
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

 
what other headphones has OP listened to?

Does anyone else find this hilarious given the kilo-bucks worth of rare and discontinued AT woodies compared in the link in wind's sig?  It not like you have to look very far...

 

[tdockweiler]

Nope, the only thing I did with the HD-600 was add the HD-650 cable to it. It improved the bass, treble and soundstage size. Many people are going to think I'm crazy, but I prefer the stock HD-600 cable in some ways. It had more forward (and clearer) mids. It maybe only gave me this impression because of the reduced treble/bass. There's another website that thought this as well and I heard some say the HD-600 has the higher quality cable.
 
I think if you give the HD-600 or 650 another chance, the HD-600 is the safer option. I do prefer female vocals and Jpop on the HD-650 by far. Acoustic music and classical I prefer on the HD-600.
 
HD-650 is kind of picky about amps too and more so than the HD-600. I'm not sure why this is.
 
I didn't like the mids on the 650 until I paired it with a specific amp (probably boosts the mids slightly perhaps?). I also hate it on amps that add too much bass.
 
Somedays I wish I stuck with the HD-600 due to how neutral it is, but HD-650 does a few things a LOT better.
 
I hate to say it, but often the 598 feels more detailed  than the HD-650

Even more so with the cable upgraded.
 
 
Quote:

Did you ever get a chance to recable the HD600s too? I'm thinking of whether or not to buy a warmer Sennheiser and give them a second chance. Maybe the Sennheiser sound is starting to grow on me =)
 

 

 

[sofastreamer]

i wish there would be a hp out there with the soundstage of the hd598 but with some subbass rumble. that really lacks when watching movies.

 

[punkplayer]

HD598 is a strange model no. Does it mean that it has a sound signature between those of HD600 and HD580? 

 

[tdockweiler]

Loving my HD-598 with it's new Mogami cable. Total difference here and you'd have to be deaf to not hear the improvements. Basically no major changes in it's basic sound signature, just improvements. There seems to be a tad more bass, but not a lot, which is what I want. More clarity and detail, that's the biggest difference. Now the soundstage feels so much larger.
 
You know how I complained the sound was not as clear as the K601? Well it's cleared up a LOT. There's also no way someone could say the sound is now "grainy". If people hear the 598 with a new (cheap Mogami) cable, they'd never end up buying the HD-600!
 
Once again I also listened to my HD-598 until 3am last night. I'll probably end up selling the HD-650, but we'll see. Right now the HD-598 feels far more clear. I wouldn't have been saying that before the recable. No way! The HD-598 also has much more treble than the HD-650, but not a huge difference.
 
Mogami is cheap and if more expensive wire sounds even better (I have my doubts) then it'll be worth it. Sometime I'd like to blow $60 on some Double Helix cable just to see if it'll be better than the Mogami. Probably not, but I'd like to find out with my own ears. The problem with the 598 is I don't think that it can take a rewiring too many times. The solder points are so tiny. If the DH is too thick then it might be a bad idea.
 
This week I'm going to recable my Sextett and HD-497 with Mogami and make some interconnects. Never too thrilled with my Sextett somehow and it's always sounded less clear than my $80 DJ100

Hope a recable will clear the sound up a tad.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[wind016]

 
Quote:

i wish there would be a hp out there with the soundstage of the hd598 but with some subbass rumble. that really lacks when watching movies.

I know what you mean but I don't think a design like the HD598 would allow it. My W11R does it but it's a closed headphone and it's not as spacious. I can't see a headphone with this soundstage with the subbass rumble of a subwoofer, but a bit more sub bass would be nice.
 


Quote:

HD598 is a strange model no. Does it mean that it has a sound signature between those of HD600 and HD580? 

I never heard the HD580. I think it has the signature between speakers and headphones

 


Quote:

Loving my HD-598 with it's new Mogami cable. Total difference here and you'd have to be deaf to not hear the improvements. Basically no major changes in it's basic sound signature, just improvements. There seems to be a tad more bass, but not a lot, which is what I want. More clarity and detail, that's the biggest difference. Now the soundstage feels so much larger.
 
You know how I complained the sound was not as clear as the K601? Well it's cleared up a LOT. There's also no way someone could say the sound is now "grainy". If people hear the 598 with a new (cheap Mogami) cable, they'd never end up buying the HD-600!
 
Once again I also listened to my HD-598 until 3am last night. I'll probably end up selling the HD-650, but we'll see. Right now the HD-598 feels far more clear. I wouldn't have been saying that before the recable. No way! The HD-598 also has much more treble than the HD-650, but not a huge difference.
 
Mogami is cheap and if more expensive wire sounds even better (I have my doubts) then it'll be worth it. Sometime I'd like to blow $60 on some Double Helix cable just to see if it'll be better than the Mogami. Probably not, but I'd like to find out with my own ears. The problem with the 598 is I don't think that it can take a rewiring too many times. The solder points are so tiny. If the DH is too thick then it might be a bad idea.
 
This week I'm going to recable my Sextett and HD-497 with Mogami and make some interconnects. Never too thrilled with my Sextett somehow and it's always sounded less clear than my $80 DJ100

Hope a recable will clear the sound up a tad.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wow, that's interesting. Would you ever consider doing a recable for me? =)
 

 

[tdockweiler]

 
Quote:

Wow, that's interesting. Would you ever consider doing a recable for me? =)
 

 
Haha, I'd probably end up breaking something, so it's a bad idea! I'm surprised my recable went so well and it worked perfect on the first try. I just scuffed the plastic a bit because I wasn't pressing down hard enough on the plastic. I might order some more heat shrink tubing and cover all those exposed wires, but they're not that much of an annoyance.
 
The only scary thing is that it looks like there is two exposed tiny wires near the solder points going into the driver. If I had accidentally gotten solder in there my HD-598 might be dead! Luckily I've only killed one headphone so far. When I was modding my DJ100 6 months ago I cut the wire and if that wasn't bad enough the driver was blown in the process somehow. I ended up having to buy another pair for $80!
 
I might recable my K601 too, but that'll be even worse I think. Should be similar to how the Sextett is wired.
 
I didn't even know how to solder 3 months ago, but  now it's quite a fun skill to learn. Kind of addicting!

 

[wind016]

 
Quote:

Does anyone else find this hilarious given the kilo-bucks worth of rare and discontinued AT woodies compared in the link in wind's sig?  It not like you have to look very far...

I couldn't figure out if he was joking, but in the end I guess he was really serious 

 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

I couldn't figure out if he was joking, but in the end I guess he was really serious 

 

 
I wasn't sure either, but I figured I'd throw that in because either way it contributes to the inanity.
 
 
Oh noes! he prefers an inexpensive headphone to many more expensive ones!!1  Its the end of the world!!!!1one
 
My modded Fostex T50RPs and my Sony XB700 both do that too but for different reasons.  It must be the end of the whole universe now!
 
 
Back in reality, I really need to try out some of those AT woodies sometime.  I've heard the W1000X twice at meets but was never able to come to a firm conclusion about it.  Its sufficiently odd that I think I'd have to own it for a while to see how I like it.  There were plenty of good things that were quite obvious and left me rather impressed but something I can't quite put my finger on seemed a little off.  I still remain intrigued though.

 

[bananax]

random Q, I have a set, and <3 em, however what does re-cabling do for the headphones? is the stock cable cheap or crappy? and if so, how much does it cost and where do i get it!

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

random Q, I have a set, and <3 em, however what does re-cabling do for the headphones? is the stock cable cheap or crappy? and if so, how much does it cost and where do i get it!

Based on my experience it REALLY clears up the sound and adds more detail. Bass is improved by far but it still retains the sound signature of the HD-598, but just improves it. For me the difference was huge and even larger than upgrading my stock HD-650 cable. I've now upgraded 4 headphone cables (all cheap and DIY) and this has shown the biggest improvement.
 
For the HD-598 I used Mogami Mini Starquad cable which is 80 cents per foot. It's hard to say if other wire will give the same results. I hated Canare. You need to drill holes into the HD-598's shell and perform minor brain surgery so it's not suggested unless you're willing to take a risk in killing your headphones. You also void the warranty. There's no detachable cable on the HD-598. For those that are good at soldering, it should be a quick and painless upgrade if you're careful. The plastic is super easy to drill through. The soldering points are tiny. It also requires that you go from single sided entry to using both sides, but no big deal.
 
To make matters worse you need to remove all the internal wires and PCB. If you wire the new cable to the old thin wires it's a waste of time and not worth it. This means there's no going back to stock. For those that have a lot of experience recabling headphones (I don't) this is definitely suggested! My opinion is if that anyone heard the HD-598 with an upgraded cable, the wouldn't be buying the HD-600! It's that good to me! I had always missed the sound of the HD-598 was a tad more clear, but this sure fixed that.
 
Total cost was under $10. IMO the stock cable is really holding back the sound, but still quite decent! Another problem is that if you change the cable and don't like the sound, you won't be able to reverse it easily unless you strip the stock wire and make it dual entry.
 
A nice bonus is that I now have a 3.55mm plug too and is much more convenient to use it with my portable players if needed. I suggest not using techflex sleeving and instead just heatshrink the wires up past the Y-split.

 

[bananax]

Quote:

Based on my experience it REALLY clears up the sound and adds more detail. Bass is improved by far but it still retains the sound signature of the HD-598, but just improves it. For me the difference was huge and even larger than upgrading my stock HD-650 cable. I've now upgraded 4 headphone cables (all cheap and DIY) and this has shown the biggest improvement.
 
For the HD-598 I used Mogami Mini Starquad cable which is 80 cents per foot. It's hard to say if other wire will give the same results. I hated Canare. You need to drill holes into the HD-598's shell and perform minor brain surgery so it's not suggested unless you're willing to take a risk in killing your headphones. You also void the warranty. There's no detachable cable on the HD-598. For those that are good at soldering, it should be a quick and painless upgrade if you're careful. The plastic is super easy to drill through. The soldering points are tiny. It also requires that you go from single sided entry to using both sides, but no big deal.
 
To make matters worse you need to remove all the internal wires and PCB. If you wire the new cable to the old thin wires it's a waste of time and not worth it. This means there's no going back to stock. For those that have a lot of experience recabling headphones (I don't) this is definitely suggested! My opinion is if that anyone heard the HD-598 with an upgraded cable, the wouldn't be buying the HD-600! It's that good to me! I had always missed the sound of the HD-598 was a tad more clear, but this sure fixed that.
 
Total cost was under $10. IMO the stock cable is really holding back the sound, but still quite decent! Another problem is that if you change the cable and don't like the sound, you won't be able to reverse it easily unless you strip the stock wire and make it dual entry.
 
A nice bonus is that I now have a 3.55mm plug too and is much more convenient to use it with my portable players if needed. I suggest not using techflex sleeving and instead just heatshrink the wires up past the Y-split.

Thanks for the info, but then I guess I also need decent quality plugs to go with it? which would you suggest?
 
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Thanks for the info, but then I guess I also need decent quality plugs to go with it? which would you suggest?
 
 

 
I just used a cheap Rean 3.55mm plug. It cost me under $2 I believe. The Canare plugs are my favorite, but they're a lot more expensive. I think around $6 and are larger.
They're also easier to solder. A soldering iron with a smaller tip is a good idea.
 
I hope you're good with a soldering iron

I guess if I can do it, anyone else can. I did have a little practice beforehand.
 
If you're perfectly satisfied with your HD-598 and don't want to possibly kill them, I'd suggest not doing it!
 
Also, you don't need to drill a large hole for the wire, it's very thin.
 
I heard you could directly solder wire to the HD-650's drivers. I'll have to try that, but if I killed my HD-650 I'd probably cry

 
 

 

[wind016]

So um... The basshead in me got curious. What would a 24db difference in subbass and bass from treble sound like? It actually doesn't sound too bad as long as I didn't boost the subbass instead of lowering the rest of the frequencies. Boosting frequencies caused phasing problems everywhere, but lowering it was not as much of a problem with the PSP Neon HR.
 

 

  Plenty of bass rumble! 

  And yes it still sounds very spacious strangely enough