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How to make hd598's sound better?

tehgray

Don't get me wrong, im happy with my purchase, but some songs need a little more oomph in them. I could buy another headphone, but if a sound card or something will do the trick, then thats fine.

And ive tried using the onboard EQ, and it distorts before getting anywhere...

These are all purpose headphones, with a lot of imagine dragons style music. Some songs just seem distant and bass lacks.

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The 598s are not particularly bass heavy headphones  just bear that in mind

 

I would suggest picking up a cheap amp/dac in order to drive them better and provide better sound quality

 

Something like the Syba

 

http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Stereo-Headphone-Amplifier-SD-DAC63057/dp/B009WN7QT4/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1414166034&sr=8-11&keywords=amp+dac

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I find my 558's to have enough bass for me. It's probably just preference tbough. Try a dac/amp. Or a software eq to just bump up the bass and not change the rest of the sound profile.

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Equalizer gives best sound when the nobs are moved below 0 instead over it,

that should fix some of the distortion.

 

Almost the only way to get meaty bass on open headphones under 600€ is to get orthodynamic headphones.

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598 mostly accentuate mid frequencies, so it's not well known for bass/lows. Best you can do is EQ it, but don't use built-in EQ on onboard audio's driver, those are crap. Use your media player's EQ. Foobar got nice EQ plugins.

 

Also when EQ-ing, the right way to do it is to add the frequency bands you want to bring up, but always lower the overall gain (default should be at 0dB), otherwise you'd get distortions and crackling everywhere like a speaker box after hit by a truck....

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You bought the wrong headphones if you want bass. Should of went with a closed designed headphone instead of open.

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You need to learn how to use EQ. First rule of EQ is don't pull the sliders up, only down from starting position. To raise bass, decrease all frequencies that are not bass. Your music is gunna clip hardcore if you just crank stuff up as you feel fit.

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You bought the wrong headphones if you want bass. Should of went with a closed designed headphone instead of open.

The thing about closed headphones, as I've only used closed headphones in the past, they get really uncomfortable after awhile. Ears get hot and bothered and whatnot. With these, I forget I have them on.

 

And I'm also an avid CSGO player, and soundstage/imaging is a big deal to me.

 

I might just buy a closed headphone to pair with these and swap out as the need arises.

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The thing about closed headphones, as I've only used closed headphones in the past, they get really uncomfortable after awhile. Ears get hot and bothered and whatnot. With these, I forget I have them on.

 

And I'm also an avid CSGO player, and soundstage/imaging is a big deal to me.

 

I might just buy a closed headphone to pair with these and swap out as the need arises.

 

There are open headphones that got nice basses/lows, namely the DT990, HE400, etc.

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There are open headphones that got nice basses/lows, namely the DT990, HE400, etc.

 Nice for open headphones or actual nice bass that provides the immersion/oomph I'm looking for.

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Unfortunately that is just how the HD598s sound, they are somewhat treble emphasized and they are not built to push out very much bass. I too thought the same thing about the 598s, I love the sound signature and the openness of them but they lacked bass (and on mine the bass buzzed when playing a tone from the 60-120hz range).I know its a big price jump, but I went from the HD598s to the HD650's and I am finally done upgrading headphones now. I recommend the HD650 because they sound similar to the HD598, but have more clarity and detail, a really rich sound, and much much better bass. Music has never sounded this good, srsly. I'll probably never need another pair of headphones, until these finally break (which they're built to last).

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Unfortunately that is just how the HD598s sound, they are somewhat treble emphasized and they are not built to push out very much bass. I too thought the same thing about the 598s, I love the sound signature and the openness of them but they lacked bass (and on mine the bass buzzed when playing a tone from the 60-120hz range).I know its a big price jump, but I went from the HD598s to the HD650's and I am finally done upgrading headphones now. I recommend the HD650 because they sound similar to the HD598, but have more clarity and detail, a really rich sound, and much much better bass. Music has never sounded this good, srsly. I'll probably never need another pair of headphones, until these finally break (which they're built to last).

Ha, I was already coming to the conclusion of pushing for a hd650. I have questions if you don't mind answering.

 

1) I currently push my 598's out of my onboard, which says it can do 600ohms and is a pretty sound dedicated motherboard. Do you think I should add something to it such as a soundcard or something to properly get the 650's going?I don't really know much about the equipment and what they all do.

 

2) Are they the same comfort level as the 598's? Cause hey, these things are the best when it comes to comfort. Barely notice them after a whole day's use.

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q

 

 

The Syba dac would be fine for the 650's, and yes they should be pretty equal in comfort, at first they may be a tiny bit tight on your head, but after a few weeks of use they'll get broken in and be fine. (may not even take that long)

 

Link to syba dac:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Stereo-Headphone-Amplifier-SD-DAC63057/dp/B009WN7QT4

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Ha, I was already coming to the conclusion of pushing for a hd650. I have questions if you don't mind answering.

 

1) I currently push my 598's out of my onboard, which says it can do 600ohms and is a pretty sound dedicated motherboard. Do you think I should add something to it such as a soundcard or something to properly get the 650's going?I don't really know much about the equipment and what they all do.

 

2) Are they the same comfort level as the 598's? Cause hey, these things are the best when it comes to comfort. Barely notice them after a whole day's use.

 

If it is rated for 600ohms, it should be completely fine for the HD650 then since it's only 300ohm impedance. I, personally however, am not a big fan of sound cards, and I like to go the external DAC and AMP route, but I am a bit of an audiophile snob.

The comfort level is about the same, but the HD650 is more secure. When I put on the Hd598 they really felt like nothing was there to me, I really liked the look and comfort of those headphones (I've heard the opposite from others however). The HD650 will loosen up over time, but it is kinda giving your head a little bit more of a hug, but not strong at all, just in comparison to the 598s which fit quite loose imo. Good thing is though you can headbang more easily with the 650's! But they're seriously about the same level of comfort, sennheiser knows what's up. I wear my HD650's all day when I'm at my desk, I have them on my head right now even though I'm not listening to anything, they really feel like nothing is there once you get use to it.

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Ha, I was already coming to the conclusion of pushing for a hd650. I have questions if you don't mind answering.

 

1) I currently push my 598's out of my onboard, which says it can do 600ohms and is a pretty sound dedicated motherboard. Do you think I should add something to it such as a soundcard or something to properly get the 650's going?I don't really know much about the equipment and what they all do.

 

2) Are they the same comfort level as the 598's? Cause hey, these things are the best when it comes to comfort. Barely notice them after a whole day's use.

 

1. The HD650 ran just fine straight out of my Ipad 3, so unless your onboard's worse than the Ipad's (which is unlikely :) )....

2. I'd even say more comfortable, but the holes for the earlobes are somewhat small. It's a snug fit for my earlobes, but I'm Asian, so I got small-medium earlobes size. 

 

Keep in mind though, the HD650 got a bit of recessed highs, tilted towards lows and mid-lows

 

 

If it is rated for 600ohms, it should be completely fine for the HD650 then since it's only 300ohm impedance. 

 

The HD650 300 ohms ran just fine straight out of my Ipad 3, but my HE400 35 ohms can only get to 70-80% of the expected volume, out of the same Ipad. Can you tell me why?

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The HD650 300 ohms ran just fine straight out of my Ipad 3, but my HE400 35 ohms can only get to 70-80% of the expected volume, out of the same Ipad. Can you tell me why?

 

No clue. I don't have an adapter so I can't really test my HD650 out of anything besides different amps that have a standard plug. But, I have heard the 650's are hard to drive out of things like phones, not sure about Ipads. Of course you will get sound out of either source, but it probably won't be maximum of what the headphones can deliver. I can say that the 650's are a little bit harder to drive than the HD598s, but I guess it really depends on how loud you like to listen to music. When I had the 598's I would never put the volume knob on my amp past 1/2 way, while on the 650's 1/2 way is a normal listening level really. I do think that the HD650s need a little bit of power behind them to really "sing" and get the most out of the headphones.

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I don't understand how HD650s not being 100% on a phone is a problem at all. You bring an open headphone outside with your cell phone to listen to a few tracks, cool beans you might clip here and there in the worst, but who cares? Background noise is going to outweigh the amp or the poor noise floor.

 

No clue. I don't have an adapter so I can't really test my HD650 out of anything besides different amps that have a standard plug. But, I have heard the 650's are hard to drive out of things like phones, not sure about Ipads. Of course you will get sound out of either source, but it probably won't be maximum of what the headphones can deliver. I can say that the 650's are a little bit harder to drive than the HD598s, but I guess it really depends on how loud you like to listen to music. When I had the 598's I would never put the volume knob on my amp past 1/2 way, while on the 650's 1/2 way is a normal listening level really. I do think that the HD650s need a little bit of power behind them to really "sing" and get the most out of the headphones.

 

BTW, the answer to Creatip's question is sensitivity. If you don't even know how powering a headphone works, you're more likely to succumb to placebo.

In Placebo We Trust - Resident Obnoxious Objective Fangirl (R.O.O.F) - Your Eyes Cannot Hear
Haswell Overclocking Guide | Skylake Overclocking GuideCan my amp power my headphones?

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The Syba dac would be fine for the 650's, and yes they should be pretty equal in comfort, at first they may be a tiny bit tight on your head, but after a few weeks of use they'll get broken in and be fine. (may not even take that long)

 

Link to syba dac:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Syba-Stereo-Headphone-Amplifier-SD-DAC63057/dp/B009WN7QT4

How does the dac help? All I can read up is it gets rid of interference/noise, but my onboard is silent when nothing is playing. My laptop on the other hand...that was terrible...

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How does the dac help? All I can read up is it gets rid of interference/noise, but my onboard is silent when nothing is playing. My laptop on the other hand...that was terrible...

It's an amp and DAC. It will not power the 650s just fine.

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Anyone have any experience with the HE400 and can compare them for me?

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