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This has been talked about before but here's the specific point: the very reputable model Sennheiser HD 598 (brown and cream, open back design) has been around for 5 years or so. It holds its price at about $200. Reported to be fine, midrange hi-fi phones.

But they offer variations for half that price and less.

HD 558. (£60 plus pp) This model has the same drivers apparently and can be modified to match the HD 598 by removing a strip of foam from the driver surface. Views differ on the effectiveness of the mod.

HD 598 Closed Back. These have just appeared and are being sold through Amazon at a knock down price of 99 dollars plus taxes and pp.

Then I was also looking at Audio Technica ATX 50, too.

I have very old AKG 240 and Sennheiser HD 215, which are closed back DJ phones of fair quality.

Both pairs are dropping to pieces through heavy use. And I've got an itch There is a pair of almost new Sennheiser HD598 on offer near me in Porto, on the local version of eBay, which I'm very tempted by...I'd offer €130, he's asking for €160.

Anyone tried these, or a combination thereof?

closed back 598's word out there is meh
the mod of the 558 is nice and effective though not idential to 598 - to achieve that one would need to modify the framework behind the fabric covering to match that of the 598's but still it is an improvement by most accounts I've found out there

Used to have akg k141M then AKGk240 then a slew of others not really worth mentioning on retrospect and now the sennheiser HD558's and they please me well enough for the price paid ( 99 )

To me personally the only step up I would take is wait for another massdrop deal on HD650..

comfort wise you cant lose with sennheisers while they do clamp your head very well the pressure is not unpleasant and you pretty much forget you got em on after a while cant say the same for the audio technicas....

AKG's I tried under 200 were all a little too dry to please

If you are considoring picking up 558 598 and such take note they are old models being replaced at retailers now by the HD559 and HD599 so low prices and low stocklevels..

Oh yes, the massdrop thing! I found that story yesterday. Seems to have been a big online phenomenon. They advertised the things as premium audiophile phones for $200, launched a limited edition of a few thousand pairs and sold out in seconds. Frankly, I can't be bothered with the necessary screen watching and elevated stress levels

And if you look on eBay, you'll see second hand Massdrop Sennheisers being sold for more than ordinary HD650s! It's all too much to keep track of afaic.

Thanks for the info on the new models....But they're either too expensive or not yet available. But maybe it will be a useful bargaining counter to bring down the second hand price for the older models.

I picked up a pair of HD598(SE) headphones a couple of weeks ago on amazon(.fr) for 99 Euros (new), so 160 seems way too high. They were priced at 99 during black Friday as well, so it might be a regular thing.

I have experience with Shure SHR440 (closed) and AudioTechnica ATH-AD700 (which looks like aren't sold anymore). My impressions:

Accuracy: HD598 > AD700 > SHR440 (though my AD700's are pretty banged up at this point...)
Sound stage: AD700 > HD598 >> SHR440
Wear comfort: AD700 > HD598 >>> SHR440

I needed closed headphones, because my silent piano made too much noise... So far I'm pretty happy with my purchase. Hope it helps!

oh you lucky %^&*&^ XD 99 for 598's grrrr

It's a good thing these headphones for use use at home though I wonder whom at Sennheiser went hey I know let's make them beige and brown nobody else does that! And tremendous comedy value in doing it again for the 599's pffft lol

Yes definitely my advise for toddy watch for discounts on the old models - especially since I can't find much difference with the new ones.. and the new models will sell at the premium price for some time to come - the old are at a good bargain here and there

Yeah, I agree about the color scheme of the HD598's. It's like my old yellowed keyboard from 1980 XD. I don't think it would keep me from buying them (I have the black ones), but still...

The HD599's look a little better though imo. Still quite curious why they didn't at least release another with a black color scheme...

^^

Well I imagine unless they improved the drivers ( nobody says they did ) the new 599's might actually sound more like the 558's.. See those large sennheiser logo plastic plaques across the shells? About the same surface area reflecting sound back as those rubber tapes do in the 558's ..

HD 598 for €99?! There is NOTHING remotely like that at the moment except the offers on the 598 closed back at 99 dollars.....But even those would cost €148 once I'd paid tax and transport. So €160 is actually much cheaper than any other offer I've seen......But I think, given your advice, I'll wait and see if there are any January sales. I've pretty much decided on the classic HD598. I like the colour scheme. I'm fed up of steel, grey and black.

PS, your advice is appreciated, Goss and Xibus. I think I won't go far wrong with the HD 598 even if I don't manage to find a rock bottom price.

Only the black ones were discounted at 99 euros, so if you want the classic HD598 it may be not very useful to wait. I don't remember if the beige ones were cheaper than the 160 euros you mention.

The price of the HD 598 on amazon.co.uk fluctuates wildly, often without any obvious reason. All you need is a little patience. I bought my first pair for about £130 if I remember (they were usually priced between £150 and £199). Then last year they had the special edition black version for £75. I couldn't resist and bought another pair. You may also find bargains elsewhere if you look around now that the 598s have been replaced with the newer 599.

stocks have fallen to almost zero here since the black Friday and xmas sales - exactly one store in the Netherlands still have the HD598's best be quick ^^ expecially eying that large totally useless and probably counter productive logo stuck on the side now of the new model..

At the moment, hd598 are £199 at Amazon, plus postage, which would be about £20, probably. The hd599 are £20 more expensive. On eBay, there are some slightly better offers, but only by a small margin.

The best offer at the moment is the HD 558 from Amazon for £60. I was going to get those but you have to be a Prime member. Im slightly warey about joining that, although they say you can stop being a member at any time. But it's £79 a year, and once they have your credit card number, it could be very difficult if they decide to be awkward.

Unless you got a steady stream of expendable income and have lots of acquisitions planned no I would not join prime plan no..

Maybe you can get the 1 month trial period? Or does that not work for the requirements? I used the trial some time ago, and it's not that hard to make sure it isn't automatically extended.

Toddy, Why don't you go to a store, try out some open-backed headphones with "your" own recorded piano music and pick up the headphones you like best? You might find a headphone you like better for sound, comfort, lightness and price that isn't mentioned above...

trying out open backed headphones in stores is less than optimal though ^^ especially with a salesperson breathing down one's neck since most of them if theyre hooked up at all are hooked up to a hidden audio source and you cant reach it to plug into your portable device..

In this country the buying at a distance law is you can open the packaging, try it out and send it back for a full refund if you don't like it as long as you left it in the same condition as it came to you basically - so far for me that has proven the most reliable way to test things out

On the plus side of that, someone else gets to buy b stock items at a discount all the returned goods XD

Well, that's how I got the Sennheiser HD215. They were the clearest of all I tried at fnac some years ago. They are light on bass and fairly detailed, which is what I wanted for mixing.

However, I've been reading good reports from trusted sources, especially on this forum, about these HD598, so I'm willing to buy without the benefit of comparisons, which as Goss says, is done in less than ideal surroundings, if it's even possible.

LOL.....Quite so! You read my mind.

I love the beige and brown ones, and would gladly pay the few extra dollars to get them (over the black ones)!