HD558 - Upgrade the sound

[Rocki]

I have HD558 and I think that the sound is not clear too much.. 

How can I make it more clear and better?

[TacticalCuda]

Looks like you need a DAC. They give it more power and make it sound much nicer.

 

(Digital To Analogue converter) 

 

Some can be plugged into USB or PCIe so it can work with anything!

[Rocki]

Looks like you need a DAC. They give it more power and make it sound much nicer.

 

(Digital To Analogue converter) 

 

Some can be plugged into USB or PCIe so it can work with anything!

 

I dont need more powerful volume... I need to do this more clear..

[TacticalCuda]

No a DAC can add more power to supply the headphones with more power to make sound

[jbgoedebeste]

No a DAC can add more power to supply the headphones with more power to make sound

Can you remommend one under $100 (considering the 558's are $150)

[Jacona]

I think it's time to get better headphones.

[Guest]

Post on Head-Fi, they will know better than any of us here.

[iShad]

No a DAC can add more power to supply the headphones with more power to make sound

That's an amp...

 

Post on Head-Fi, they will know better than any of us here.

Hah, no.

 

I have HD558 and I think that the sound is not clear too much.. 

How can I make it more clear and better?

Not clear as in noise? What are you plugging them into right now?

[SSL]

Looks like you need a DAC. They give it more power and make it sound much nicer.

 

(Digital To Analogue converter) 

 

Some can be plugged into USB or PCIe so it can work with anything!

This is false. A DAC does not provide power to a load in any way whatsoever.

 

Post on Head-Fi, they will know better than any of us here.

I beg to differ.

 

I think it's time to get better headphones.

 

Most likely. Probably Beyerdynamic DT990/DT770 Pro.

[Guest]

@SSL @iShad

a forum made just for head phones and audiophiles is not as good at judging sound as a bunch of tech nerds?
Sure some of here are good with sound, but OP will get much more quality content if he posted there. So far only one guy posted a headphone and that is SSL, one of the latest posts over an hour after OP.

 

[SSL]

@SSL @iShad

a forum made just for head phones and audiophiles is not as good at judging sound as a bunch of tech nerds?

Sure some of here are good with sound, but OP will get much more quality content if he posted there. So far only one guy posted a headphone and that is SSL, one of the latest posts over an hour after OP.

 

head-fi is filled probably 95% with people who know as much or less as the reglulars in this sub. There is a vast amount of noise, hype, shilling, and anti-science on head-fi that makes it a minefield for anyone trying to get into audio.

 

In any case, recommending that other people leave this forum is counterproductive to the point of having one in the first place. It's ignorant and unhelpful. Given that have you never or rarely post in the audio sub here, I don't know why you think you're qualified to judge it.

[Rocki]

Buy new headphones? my HD558 is new.

[Guest]

head-fi is filled probably 95% with people who know as much or less as the reglulars in this sub. There is a vast amount of noise, hype, shilling, and anti-science on head-fi that makes it a minefield for anyone trying to get into audio.

 

In any case, recommending that other people leave this forum is counterproductive to the point of having one in the first place. It's ignorant and unhelpful. Given that have you never or rarely post in the audio sub here, I don't know why you think you're qualified to judge it.

Valid point I guess.

But every forum is just parroting the top dog, (80C for CPUs, AMD for budget, AMD sucks, EVGA for power supplies).

But if I was OP, I would much rather goto Head-Fi.

But i can see your point, most of the people are a) under 50posts noobs or b) arse hole that recommend $1000 cans.

[sobe]

I have HD558 and I think that the sound is not clear too much.. 

How can I make it more clear and better?

 

If you were willing to try it, you could do the foam mod, it's pretty simple and opens them up a tad. Outside of that, a new set of headphones are your only choice. Beyerdynamic DT990 and 770 as mentioned by SSL would be a good upgrade from my experience.

 

 

Valid point I guess.

But every forum is just parroting the top dog, (80C for CPUs, AMD for budget, AMD sucks, EVGA for power supplies).

But if I was OP, I would much rather goto Head-Fi.

But i can see your point, most of the people are a) under 50posts noobs or B) arse hole that recommend $1000 cans.

 

Since you don't visit here often, there are those of us who,  like members of Head-Fi (but to a lesser extent to some of them...) have spent more on headphone testing than most do on computer upgrades or even cars for that matter.

[SSL]

Valid point I guess.

But every forum is just parroting the top dog, (80C for CPUs, AMD for budget, AMD sucks, EVGA for power supplies).

But if I was OP, I would much rather goto Head-Fi.

But i can see your point, most of the people are a) under 50posts noobs or B) arse hole that recommend $1000 cans.

 

Parroting/echo chamber behavior is discouraged in this sub and will usually be called out.

 

Problems on head-fi go much father than just poor recommendations. It's just hard to find good information there in any given thread, and for someone who knows little it's next to impossible to separate the good from the bad. The long, meandering "official impressions" threads generally suppress any kind of widespread negative sentiments about a product, which tends to maximize hype and prevent constructive discussion.

 

Then you have to face the fact that most posters do not know how to critically listen and describe sound. For example, someone trying to describe the Beyerdynamic T1v2 versus the T1v1:

 

 

Midrange: different presentation. 2nd more diffused and distant but softer and richier, HD800 style. 1st closer, more neutral and intimate, STAX style.

 

This is filled with jargon to make it sound intelligent, but really what it is describing is extremely simple: recessed upper mids!

 

"Reviews" like this are congratulated:

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

There's real evidence of this in the industry, too. Consider the $3k HiFiMan HE-1000, the $4k Audeze LCD-4, the $55k Sennheiser HE1060, the $40k+ HiFiMan Shangri-La/Jade 2. These are halo products priced far beyond their value. Companies wouldn't be getting away with this kind of pricing without the excessive expectations and group-think fostered by sites like head-fi.

[Pomfinator]

Maybe OP is experiencing the infamous Sennheiser veil? Unclear sound seems to be a product of rolled off treble, something with more mid-high spikes might be a good idea? 

[spwath]

Parroting/echo chamber behavior is discouraged in this sub and will usually be called out.

 

Problems on head-fi go much father than just poor recommendations. It's just hard to find good information there in any given thread, and for someone who knows little it's next to impossible to separate the good from the bad. The long, meandering "official impressions" threads generally suppress any kind of widespread negative sentiments about a product, which tends to maximize hype and prevent constructive discussion.

 

Then you have to face the fact that most posters do not know how to critically listen and describe sound. For example, someone trying to describe the Beyerdynamic T1v2 versus the T1v1:

 

 

This is filled with jargon to make it sound intelligent, but really what it is describing is extremely simple: recessed upper mids!

 

"Reviews" like this are congratulated:

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

There's real evidence of this in the industry, too. Consider the $3k HiFiMan HE-1000, the $4k Audeze LCD-4, the $55k Sennheiser HE1060, the $40k+ HiFiMan Shangri-La/Jade 2. These are halo products priced far beyond their value. Companies wouldn't be getting away with this kind of pricing without the excessive expectations and group-think fostered by sites like head-fi.

That review....

first of all, what is that intro?

Second of all, where is the actualy information?

Third that abstractness with the BMW.... what??????

 

It was a very profesional review, must have taken time to make, but no real info.

[ShearMe]

 

[afyeung]

I have HD558 and I think that the sound is not clear too much.. 

How can I make it more clear and better?

This is what you're looking for

[SSL]

That review....

first of all, what is that intro?

Second of all, where is the actualy information?

Third that abstractness with the BMW.... what??????

It was a very profesional review, must have taken time to make, but no real info.

My thoughts exactly.

 

le snip

 

You think you want to barf from that, try posting some negative remarks in the T1 thread on head-fi. Oh wait, I did that.

 

Fortunately, Changstar/SuperBAF maintain some sanity.

[ShearMe]

You think you want to barf from that, try posting some negative remarks in the T1 thread on head-fi. Oh wait, I did that.

 

Fortunately, Changstar/SuperBAF maintain some sanity.

 

Yeah, I'll stick to my worn-out pre-owned Sennheisers

[sobe]

Yeah, I'll stick to my worn-out pre-owned Sennheisers

 

Before burning in a house fire, I had a pair of pre-owned Sennie 580's thanks to my mother that were fanfuckingtastic and lasted about 10 years.

[SSL]

Yeah, I'll stick to my worn-out pre-owned Sennheisers

 

Smart. I'd like to own the 650 some day. Obviously still competes with every headphone on the market, due to contemporary headphone "engineering" being

• release shit
• charge $600+

[Rocki]

But the foam mod dont recommended..

And some said it was not advisable and destroys the sound and some did not like it ..

[Lauen]

As people have already stated, that's probably just the usual Sennheiser "veil". They're lacking some in the high frequencies, as high frequencies really are where most of the detail come from, and it's where one (at least I do) would notice loss of detail first, like those unfortunate times when you want to listen to a song, but all you can find is a low quality one, and you hear tons of weird noises in the high frequencies. 

 

Get better headphones. Your current audio solution is not lacking as long as it gets loud enough, with no audible sound degradation, in form of hissing, crackling, popping, etc. If you were enjoying everything except for the lack of high frequencies, DT990's are a good open choice.  I've seen a lot of people enjoy the Philips SHP9500. the Fidelio line is also good, tried the X1's once, found them to sound better than my PC360's (essentially HD518's with mic) and better than my Pioneer SE-A1000 (which sound a LOT like HD600's according to some people but I have not had the chance to try them).