Headphones

[DavidW]

I've only two warnings about them MI: The cord is 3 meters (9 and a bit feet) long making them impractical for mobile use and they don't provide much isolation so you'll hear what's going on in the environment around you (all open headphones are like this). You mentioned using an iPod so I'm worried that you were planning on using them out and about which these are really not well suited for.

They're also the fact that he would look like a dork traveling or exercising with those on!

[Mirror Image]

I've only two warnings about them MI: The cord is 3 meters (9 and a bit feet) long making them impractical for mobile use and they don't provide much isolation so you'll hear what's going on in the environment around you (all open headphones are like this). You mentioned using an iPod so I'm worried that you were planning on using them out and about which these are really not well suited for.

I'll be using them for home listening, so no problems with outside noise. The pair of Sennheisers I own now, the PX-100s, are open-ear. The problem I have with closed-ear headphones, besides sound pressure, is mainly of the ones I've heard don't have a wide soundstage even after burn-in. Since I mostly listen to classical music, I've read that these 598 have a great, natural sound for this music.

[nesf]

I'll be using them for home listening, so no problems with outside noise. The pair of Sennheisers I own now, the PX-100s, are open-ear. The problem I have with closed-ear headphones, besides sound pressure, is mainly of the ones I've heard don't have a wide soundstage even after burn-in. Since I mostly listen to classical music, I've read that these 598 have a great, natural sound for this music.

Yup, out of the box they sound wonderful for classical and choral and it only improves as your ears adjust to them. No need for equalisation or any of that. One thing, with an iPod they need amplification (a cheap Fiio E5/E6 does fine) to get to "live" volumes. At least to my ears anyway, though I suspect I'm slightly hard of hearing because most people find my comfortable listening volumes far too loud for them.

[DavidW]

I'll be using them for home listening, so no problems with outside noise. The pair of Sennheisers I own now, the PX-100s, are open-ear. The problem I have with closed-ear headphones, besides sound pressure, is mainly of the ones I've heard don't have a wide soundstage even after burn-in. Since I mostly listen to classical music, I've read that these 598 have a great, natural sound for this music.

The 598s are brighter than the px100s.  You might not have to use your equalizer anymore.

[Mirror Image]

Yup, out of the box they sound wonderful for classical and choral and it only improves as your ears adjust to them. No need for equalisation or any of that. One thing, with an iPod they need amplification (a cheap Fiio E5/E6 does fine) to get to "live" volumes. At least to my ears anyway, though I suspect I'm slightly hard of hearing because most people find my comfortable listening volumes far too loud for them.

Yes, I use a homemade Cmoy headphone amplifier for my iPod listening.

[71 dB]

I've read that these 598 have a great, natural sound for this music.

They have! My HD598 replaced my good old HD580 phones and after HD598, HD580's sound image seems almost primitive and non-existing. With HD580 the sound comes from left and right while HD598 renders loudspeaker-like sound so that centered sounds come ahead (rather than inside head). In some areas other headphones might be better than HD598 but these phones are good enough in everything to an extent that one just listens to the sound without even wanting to find faults. The sound simply works! I haven't found any weaknesses on HD598 and I listen to all kind of music from techno to classical. 

[Mirror Image]

The 598s are brighter than the px100s.  You might not have to use your equalizer anymore.

This is good to hear, but I've read these headphones have good bass response too.

[The new erato]

They're also the fact that he would look like a dork traveling or exercising with those on!

Dorkines isn't an issue for most people visiting this site.

[DavidW]

Dorkines isn't an issue for most people visiting this site.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

[Mirror Image]

They have! My HD598 replaced my good old HD580 phones and after HD598, HD580's sound image seems almost primitive and non-existing. With HD580 the sound comes from left and right while HD598 renders loudspeaker-like sound so that centered sounds come ahead (rather than inside head). In some areas other headphones might be better than HD598 but these phones are good enough in everything to an extent that one just listens to the sound without even wanting to find faults. The sound simply works! I haven't found any weaknesses on HD598 and I listen to all kind of music from techno to classical. 

I'm glad you enjoy them, 71 dB.

I would say 99.9% of my listening is classical music. It is my favorite musical form and I read that many people, who enjoy classical music, find these to be the best headphones for the money. Besides having a great sound, I read that they are really comfortable.

[Mirror Image]

Dorkines isn't an issue for most people visiting this site.

You got that right! Ha! I'm a big dork and I'm not ashamed to admit it either.

[Mirror Image]

Another thing I admire about the Sennheiser HD 598s is the fact that the sound pressure level is 112 dB. This is very important to me, because I just don't want to be pounded in the head over and over again.

My Dad, who is an audio expert, is couching me on headphones 101 and said for the money the Sennheiser HD 598s seem like the best deal in their price range. I have to thank my Dad anyway for turning me onto Sennheiser headphones almost 12 years ago.

Just to give you guys some idea of my Dad's credentials, he ran one of the most successful audio/video production companies in the entire Southeast United States for 25 years. Everything he learned was from textbooks and years and years of research. How he learned all of this stuff is beyond me and all by himself. The older I get, the more I'm amazed at how much he knows about, not only about electronics, but how businesses work in general. My Dad retired at the right though, because this was before the big HD boom, which drove many video production companies out-of-business.

[DavidW]

Another thing I admire about the Sennheiser HD 598s is the fact that the sound pressure level is 112 dB. This is very important to me, because I just don't want to be pounded in the head over and over again.

Yeah that sensitivity is high enough to be usable with portable devices, but not so high that it will pick up on the noise floor of the device.

My Dad retired at the right though, because this was before the big HD boom, which drove many video production companies out-of-business.

Do you know why?

[Mirror Image]

Do you know why?

Do I know why my Dad retired or why the HD boom drove many production companies out-of-business or yes to both questions?

[DavidW]

Do I know why my Dad retired or why the HD boom drove many production companies out-of-business or yes to both questions?

the latter.

[Mirror Image]

the latter.

My Dad retired because, while he did run his own business for many years, he just got to point of being burnt out, couldn't really compete any more, but he was able to, financially speaking, retire early. He's been retired for 13-14 years now. About many companies going out-of-business, well it costs A LOT of $$$ to upgrade all of your equipment to HD standards, especially when all US video cameras were NTSC up until that point in time. Also, many companies who relied on the services of a video production company, have found ways to bypass this by hiring someone through their own company who is knowledgeable about the many facets of audio productions, in other words, companies don't have to hire a "professional" and sign a contract, they can use one of their own employees because the video editing isn't as complex as it used to be and there are so many software editing programs that somebody who is just a little tech savvy can run them. Did any of that make any sense? Anyway, so back to my main point, there aren't really any video production companies left in the Southeast, but my Dad does know a man who is still running his company in Atlanta, but his production company had always done well plus they had the money to upgrade their equipment which my Dad simply did not, plus he found it to be a bad business decision anyway because, I imagine, he couldn't forsee himself doing it another 25 years. He, like I said, was simply burned out and couldn't compete any longer.

[DavidW]

That makes sense.  Thanks.

[Mirror Image]

That makes sense.  Thanks.

You're welcome, Dave!

[71 dB]

Dorkines isn't an issue for most people visiting this site.

You mean Dittersdorfines? 

[nesf]

My Dad retired because, while he did run his own business for many years, he just got to point of being burnt out, couldn't really compete any more, but he was able to, financially speaking, retire early. He's been retired for 13-14 years now. About many companies going out-of-business, well it costs A LOT of $$$ to upgrade all of your equipment to HD standards, especially when all US video cameras were NTSC up until that point in time. Also, many companies who relied on the services of a video production company, have found ways to bypass this by hiring someone through their own company who is knowledgeable about the many facets of audio productions, in other words, companies don't have to hire a "professional" and sign a contract, they can use one of their own employees because the video editing isn't as complex as it used to be and there are so many software editing programs that somebody who is just a little tech savvy can run them. Did any of that make any sense? Anyway, so back to my main point, there aren't really any video production companies left in the Southeast, but my Dad does know a man who is still running his company in Atlanta, but his production company had always done well plus they had the money to upgrade their equipment which my Dad simply did not, plus he found it to be a bad business decision anyway because, I imagine, he couldn't forsee himself doing it another 25 years. He, like I said, was simply burned out and couldn't compete any longer.

Interesting, thanks!