HD 598 Queries

[ashish18]

Hello everyone.
I can't tell difference between my $150 closed back headphone and HD 598. I find 598 to be only very slightly better soundstage wise. Otherwise they just feel like my older closed back headphone with lesser noise cancellation. No vast spatial feeling to them. No better gaming directional cues.

I just bought a Sennhieser HD 598 SE headphone because I wanted to experience open back design.
I don't use any amp/dac/sound card to drive them. I either use them with my phone or my distortion-less onboard audio. Onboard sound is not considered good by audiophiles but mine has been working for me for years. I currently don't have budget for amps and stuff.

If anyone of you have HD 598 can you share with me about your experience with them?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Have a pair I've owned for about 2 years on now. I paired them with an Asus Xonar Essence XTS and I love the combo. Technically they don't need an amp to drive them but it makes a huge difference.

Should also say they sound amazing when connected to my home receiver a Yamaha R S700BL.

 

[ashish18]

Have a pair I've owned for about 2 years on now. I paired them with an Asus Xonar Essence XTS and I love the combo. Technically they don't need an amp to drive them but it makes a huge difference.

Should also say they sound amazing when connected to my home receiver a Yamaha R S700BL.

How about soundstage experience? You use them with phones?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Soundstage is amazing with both my soundcard and receiver but I've never even tried them with a phone or iPod. I've got Klipsch earbuds for the portable stuff.

I have the original 598s not the SE. I think the only differences are cable length and color though.

I should also say I use these as much as several hours a day with both music and gaming. They're so comfortable I forget they're on.

The quality of the recording matters as much if not more than the playback device.

 

[ashish18]

Soundstage is amazing with both my soundcard and receiver but I've never even tried them with a phone or iPod. I've got Klipsch earbuds for the portable stuff.

I have the original 598s not the SE. I think the only differences are cable length and color though.

I should also say I use these as much as several hours a day with both music and gaming. They're so comfortable I forget they're on.

The quality of the recording matters as much if not more than the playback device.

Its nice to know you enjoy your 598 a lot. I like them too. It has been only a day for me though.
Yes, SE only offers extra wire and black colour.
In my condition, I use them with inferior onboard sound. You use STX which must be atleast 10 times better with its 116 SNR and quality built in amp. I will upgrade one day.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Let's see if anyone else uses it like I do. Chances seem slim.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

You know you can get a portable headphone amp for, I'm not an expert on them but I'm thinking $20-$30 will get you a fairly good one. It would make a world of difference.

 

[ashish18]

You know you can get a portable headphone amp for, I'm not an expert on them but I'm thinking $20-$30 will get you a fairly good one. It would make a world of difference.

Yes, they may work. But when I buy stuff I try to future proof myself. Your Xonar STX is one such example. I thought of buying them once but I bought those $150 closed back headphones of mine. With a lack of budget I ended up making a mistake of buying Xonar U3 which is external sound card that cost 1/4th of STX. U3 gave me poorer performace compared to my onboard sound and lesser volume too. I bought them for Dolby features thinking they must be only atleast little better than my onboard sound. I neither benefited from its dolby features which i didn't like nor it's downgraded sound quality.

I like 598 just fine at the moment but when I go for amp I would like to keep a proper budget for it in mind too.
Thanks for your sincere suggestion anyway!

 

[ssddx]

some people seem to honestly not be able to hear the difference between $20 headphones and $200 headphones while some people can tell the difference between audio file qualities. i've always been able to tell the differences in soundstaging, quality and files myself but everyones ear is different.

it may help to mention which closed back headphones you have so we can compare.

some closed cans have horrible soundstaging (like the m50) while some arent half bad (like the dt770, a700x, etc). in terms of soundstaging the hd598 is middle of the road. not expansive but still good. do mention if you are using virtual surround or not as well.

no, they do not need an amplifier but the 598 responds well to that or a good soundcard.

u3/u7 are more aimed at speaker or home theater users. soundblaster z would have been better.

$20-30 is normally not enough for a "good" amplifier. sure you could buy a cmoy or e6 for around that budget and they arent bad little amplifiers but you could certainly do better and they arent perfect nor would i expect products in that price range to be. in the $60-100 range you start to see some better products like the magni, a3, bravo ocean and similar. dac+amp sets like the e10k may work as well depending on your needs. likewise, in the $60-100 range there are good soundcards to pick from which may work well for you.

 

[ashish18]

some people seem to honestly not be able to hear the difference between $20 headphones and $200 headphones while some people can tell the difference between audio file qualities. i've always been able to tell the differences in soundstaging, quality and files myself but everyones ear is different.

it may help to mention which closed back headphones you have so we can compare.

some closed cans have horrible soundstaging (like the m50) while some arent half bad (like the dt770, a700x, etc). in terms of soundstaging the hd598 is middle of the road. not expansive but still good. do mention if you are using virtual surround or not as well.

no, they do not need an amplifier but the 598 responds well to that or a good soundcard.

u3/u7 are more aimed at speaker or home theater users. soundblaster z would have been better.

$20-30 is normally not enough for a "good" amplifier. sure you could buy a cmoy or e6 for around that budget and they arent bad little amplifiers but you could certainly do better and they arent perfect nor would i expect products in that price range to be. in the $60-100 range you start to see some better products like the magni, a3, bravo ocean and similar. dac+amp sets like the e10k may work as well depending on your needs. likewise, in the $60-100 range there are good soundcards to pick from which may work well for you.

I will buy a Fiio amplifer or something later. Currently i am not using virtual surround feature because I didn't like it at all. I just expected a difference in soundstage between 598 vs my closed back headphone. There seemed like very little difference despite 598's very open back design.
My closed back headphone is Sony MDR 950BT. They have pretty good soundstage for a closed back set of cans.
(You might remember me from another thread before.)