Sennheiser hd 598se or Sony MDR-R1?

[Bruu Betyr]

I listen to alot of different genres, one day its rnb, one day soul, one day dubstep,classical ecs...

Im gonna be using these alot of the time and i will be using a modmic 4.0 with 'em.

I do game, but i dont want these headphones to be based upon gaming, rather music.

Thanks

[UnlimitedTMD]

depends on your needs, if you don`t want your mic not picking up any sounds, get the Sony one.

If music goes first, I would get the 598se for it`s wide soundstage

[CharlieR1]

If you're considering the 598se, you could save a lot of money going with the 558 and doing an easy mod to them if you're interested in that kind of stuff.

 

EDIT: Note the closed vs open difference of the Sony and Sennheiser headphones. That could make the difference with your decision.

[Bruu Betyr]

depends on your needs, if you don`t want your mic not picking up any sounds, get the Sony one.

If music goes first, I would get the 598se for it`s wide soundstage

Ive heard that the MDR-R1 has a more relaxing, emersive soundstage, But the 598 has a wider

[WereCat]

HD558 are better for games than HD598 in my opinion as they have a slightly more robust bass .. the HD598 have somewhat more clear sound for vocal/classical music. I have HD558 and I really like them for everything I listen to and I listen a lot of different types of music.

[UnlimitedTMD]

Ive heard that the MDR-R1 has a more relaxing, emersive soundstage, But the 598 has a wider

MDR-R1 are more of a home/on the go headphone, if you only want them for home-use, I would get Senn

[Sors]

For music, I enjoy more the MDR-1R.

 

For games, the 598 have a better sound stage, makes easier to identify where sounds are coming from.

 

If you plan to use them on the go, the MDR have much better isolation than the 598,  But they also have an issue in windy days, because of the open port the headphones have on the top, wind noise leaks in.

[Bruu Betyr]

For music, I enjoy more the MDR-1R.

For games, the 598 have a better sound stage, makes easier to identify where sounds are coming from.

If you plan to use them on the go, the MDR have much better isolation than the 598, But they also have an issue in windy days, because of the open port the headphones have on the top, wind noise leaks in.

What about the Sony MDR-1A? what's different about them compared to the mdr-1r. Wich are better? The mdr-1a are a lot more available than the r1

[Sors]

What about the Sony MDR-1A? what's different about them compared to the mdr-1r. Wich are better? The mdr-1a are a lot more available than the r1

 

I couldn't say, I own the R1, I never tried the 1A.

[Majestic]

Ive heard that the MDR-R1 has a more relaxing, emersive soundstage, But the 598 has a wider

 

What does that even mean...

 

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SonyMDR1R.pdf

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf

 

598 has a more neutral sound (though as usual, it has the "sennheiser-veil" drop-off after 10K), MDR-1R is... all over the place really. It takes a 30dB/dec dive from 2khz with only a resonance spike at 9K. I guess some people might find that more enjoyable because those "s-sounds" are less prevalent and it's a more laid-back/muted sounding can. But it also means a lot of attenuation of the vocals.

 

Very colored, it wouldn't be my pick at all. I guess OK for listening to pop music with crappy compression and annoying synths, these would not be as analytical and not pick up crappy audio quality so harshly and not be as grating when listening to EDM/Dance with prevalent synths.

[Bruu Betyr]

What does that even mean...

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SonyMDR1R.pdf

http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf

598 has a more neutral sound (though as usual, it has the "sennheiser-veil" drop-off after 10K), MDR-1R is... all over the place really. It takes a 30dB/dec dive from 2khz with only a resonance spike at 9K. I guess some people might find that more enjoyable because those "s-sounds" are less prevalent and it's a more laid-back/muted sounding can. But it also means a lot of attenuation of the vocals.

Very colored, it wouldn't be my pick at all. I guess OK for listening to pop music with crappy compression and annoying synths, these would not be as analytical and not pick up crappy audio quality so harshly and not be as grating when listening to EDM/Dance with prevalent synths.

ok because I don't listen to pop, ever. At least not often that is. Someone told me that the MDR 1a had a sloppy base. But that wouldn't be a problem for me since I very rarely listen to bassy music. Mostly quite old tracks, and a lot of female singers. I dont care for them being portable, I just want the best I can get for my money. Its between the Mdr-1a and the sennheiser hd598. I'm leaning towards the senn? Is that the way to go?

[Majestic]

ok because I don't listen to pop, ever. At least not often that is. Someone told me that the MDR 1a had a sloppy base. But that wouldn't be a problem for me since I very rarely listen to bassy music. Mostly quite old tracks, and a lot of female singers. I dont care for them being portable, I just want the best I can get for my money. Its between the Mdr-1a and the sennheiser hd598. I'm leaning towards the senn? Is that the way to go?

 

Female vocals the MDR definitely falls short, it has a very lackluster midrange and high-end, as you can see from the graph. -30db/dec roll-off already setting in at 1500-2000hz with only a resonance at 9K-ish. I think these sound very "boombastic".

 

But as @SSL will tell you, HD558 are nearly the same cans for less money. Go for those.