[sunchaser]

Hello people,
 
Untill very recently I used to own a pair of Sennheiser HD-580 Precision headphones.
But now, after almost a decade of amazing performance, they died (bless them).
Too expensive to repair and just plain worn out.
So I recently upgraded my gaming pc and simultaneously purchased a Sound Blaster Zx and a pair of Philips Fidelio X1s.
I really liked the X1s but in the end i prefer the soundstage and comfort of Sennheisers (hey, if it aint broke..).
So i am looking for a pair of cans with a similar soundstage to the 580s, preferably a Sennheiser brand, but i'm open to suggestions.
Other preferences :  full-sized circumaural, comfortable for long use, wired, oval shaped cups (easier to use while i'm laying down in bed watching movies).
I don't want to buy a separate amp, the SBZx has an onboard 600 Ohm headphone amp and this was plenty powerful to drive the X1s (volume in windows was set to max 25% and in games even less).

I am not saying my headphones can't sound even better with a dedicated amp, it's just not something i want to invest in extra.
 
I am certainly no audiophile per se but gaming and movie sound and music have always been very important to me and i do always strive to reach a good balance between budget and quality.
Primary use would be FPS-gaming like CSGO, BF, Quake etc but i also play a lot of sci-fi and fantasy games with great cinematic soundtracks like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Dead Space, WoW etc.
Secondary use would be movie-watching through the headphone out port of my Panasonic TX-P50ST50, also lots of fantasy and sci-fi there.
 
My budget would be around 250-300 USD max, but it doesn't have to reach that of course.
I am currently leaning towards the HD-598 which is 162 euro via amazon.de.
 
Thanks on any advice/tips/tricks/rants, 
appreciate all of them.
 
Joseph
 
 

 

[element23]

I am using my HD650 for all purpose right now
 
They are very good for gaming and movie as their nice bass.

 

[Headphile32]

I own the HD580's. I think you should just repair them. Sennheiser refurbishes them in the US for like $150 last I heard.I think the HD598's would be a step down in sound for you.

 

[kramer5150]

HD600 is the no brainer I think.  They are in the ~300 ball park.
 
No brainer #2 would be the HD650 which is a little more though... but IMHO its a nice step up over the HD600/580, so I think its $$ well spent.
 
Its not hard to repair the HD580, although depending on how extensive the damage, it might be $$ better spent buying a replacement.

 

[sunchaser]

Thanks for the replies.
 
I was sort of expecting the HD-598 not to match the HD-580 because of the price difference.
But I'm afraid both the HD-600/650 are over my budget (345/435 USD here in Belgium), the HD-598 are only 223 USD.
I should mention that i would like to stear clear from the latter headphones as i had several problems with the cabling on the HD-580 over the years and they both use that same system whereas the HD-598 doesn't.
Fyi, I did contact Sennheiser for a repair request and they said it would come down to 167 USD..
 
So i think i'll order the HD-598 on Amazon as i can try them out and send back within 30 days..

 

[sunchaser]

Received the 598s and tested them for a day.
 
First thing i noticed is the build quality; definitely a notch down from the HD-580s but still OK.
Soundwise, i love them.
The sound signature for games, movies and music for me personnally is very balanced and cinematic.
Bass very clear, no distortio.
Good positional audio in CS:GO
Army of Darkness OST sounds fantastic.
Sound level in Windows still only at 20%, the onboard SBZx 600 Ohm amp is a bit overpowered for low impedance cans (these are 50 Ohm).
 
For the money a very good buy imo.
 
Cheers,
Joseph

 

[Zojokkeli]

598's are very nice for gaming and movies, I kept them just for that purpose even after I upgraded to HD 650's. Enjoy!