Was referring to the HD 598 - the old bad boy. Talking about Hifiman and build quality… the cable of HD 598 is indestructible, was under a chair (leg) with full force on it - nothing
was caught under another chair (the ones with wheels) - nothing, just a little scuff.
Overall, cable doesn’t tangle, and just lovely headphone.
And the other headphone I was referring to was the collab with Drop - the HD 6XX - the cable is horrible, and the whole headphone feels flimsy. The HD 598 is still one of the best built headphones with the highest quality plastic I have seen… and it’s in the budget price-range… which is kind of crazy.
Yes, big difference. Built well, I guess… for today’s standards - yes. Just looking at the cheap and yuck plastic… meh.
Where is the old build qualityyy. Seriously, HD 598, that thing is superb value.
Btw, the pic you sent was of the HD 598 SE (special edition) - the black one. I own the “vintage” one - the love it or hate it colorway. All made sturdy and of high quality plastic
We are going a little bit… just a little bit off-topic. But oh lord do I hate the colorway of Noctua’s. Performance-wise, yes. But mannn, what do I do with this beige and brown thing in my disco RGB PC
Got it thanks for clarifying. I’ve yet to listen to the HD598. That’s impressive about the indestructibility. I’ll have to look into that model further.
Idk if the 6XX and 600 (or other HD-6 series) have the same cable. All I know is that the quality (and design choices too) of the HD6XX are. Horrible.
Now, I know that the collabs with Drop are always more budget oriented and tend to have worse build quality… but the HD 598 is superior in terms of build quality. And mind you, the HD598 was around the same price as the 6XX is now.
Funnily enough, the first google result from “HD6XX price” seems to be a link to reddit - the guy had the HD598 and wasn’t quite impressed with the HD6XX.
I myself cannot imagine being satisfied with purchasing the HD6XX after the HD598, the quality sucks in comparison. Luckily for me, it was my father who purchased the HD6XX… I was actually to buy one for myself, and luckily I didnt.
I hear you on this. The one saving grace for the Sennheiser 6XX, 650, and 600 (and maybe the 58x?) is the availability of replacement parts for the entire headphone, all apparently easy to swap out and priced reasonably (I half-wondered one time if it might be cheaper to buy the individual parts and assemble them myself!)
My HD 6XX cable is pretty durable: it survived a kitten mauling. It’s scarred, to be sure, but it now has a rugged, handsome appearance (it sounds fine - I’m not gonna get audio nervosa about a more “open” soundstage from the teeth marks!)
My only complaint with the HD-6XX that I have is clamping force. My old HD-580 is much lighter - even with the YAXI pads replacing the original 25 year old pads. I’m not crazy about the foam under the headband, but it’s not any kind of show stopper.
After purchasing the HD-6XX I listened more to my HD-580. And the 6xx is very slightly more to my taste, although the new pads on the 580 improve soundstage. Fortunately I don’t have to choose, and I spend a fair amount of time not at home, but in the house my wife inherited some 2 hours away. So each headphone has its own home.
Gentle bending and flexing does help. You can also store them on a yoga block (a la Zeos Pantera) to maybe help them relax, but the pads will get prematurely smushed.
Not to mention the pads break in differently. The HD58X and HD6XX sit different in my ears. OK, different foams, manufacturing dates, etc… I have been rotating them in similar fashion than car tires. First 180deg along axis, then swap left/right, so on so forth… Every other week. It does relieve the OCD pain of seeing an asymmetric shape.
Brand new pads are so good. Too bad they only last 2-3 weeks using on a daily basis. Probably one reason why I use the 600/660s only in the weekends. I have a Dekoni pad for the confort, but then there’s sound change (too boomy). I keep choosing the callus route while leaving the stock pads.
I’m curious to order the YAXI pads for the 6XX/650. Have you tried it yourself? My searches return a unanimous wording about the stock pads w.r.t. sound quality though. That itself kept me away from ordering more Dekoni pads, for instance.
No problem. The sparse description on the YAXI site doesn’t help. And I’ve not tried much pad rolling ever. After 25 or so years, I just thought the pads on my HD-580s looked a bit thin.
For some unknown reason, I had much more trouble placing the pad on the HD-6xx. I frustrate easily, so I went back to my plan A real quick, which was the 580s.
I have an old pair of Audio Technicas ATH-2 that have pads flatter than Kansas, but I can’t seem to separate them from the headphones, and they are odd round donuts that have no modern replacement.
And more than a few of us old farts wouldn’t mind being noobs again, provided we could re-think not buying Netflix stock 11 years ago.
I tried this morning the Dekoni pad I have here. This time on the HD660S instead. Reverted after 10 minutes or so. Then, rolled to the HD600, the brightest of the other siblings.
To make a paragraph in favor of the thread, the choice leather Dekoni pad will make your HD58X very slick, but EQ’ing is a must. Maybe a high shelf of 2-3dB after 500Hz may save the day. This is what I’m using with the HD600 now – in order to get the mids back:
