I recently got this headset, and wow is it good. My only issue is when certain people talk on discord, I can hear a really high pitched ringing. I fiddled with a bunch of settings, computer audio and discord, and nothing seems to solve the issue. It is primarily if not all in my right ear only. Is there something wrong with my headset, or was that ringing always there I can just hear it cause the headset is THAT good? I haven't had any issues with any other application, though I have yet to test if I can hear the ringing on a different version of discord, say on my xbox instead of my pc. Only other issue I've had is occasional static, but I can't tell if it's from the headset or the show/game/etc.
Apr 24, 2024
Putting it on one side means you have to somehow get the signal to the other side (through the headband). Depending on the headband type, you might actually have a couple of wires very loosely or very tightly stretched (when you extend or retract the headband). There's potential for these wires to snag and tug the terminals without realizing it. Some styles like the K7xx which have bands over the head always at a specific length so those won't have this issue. So.... in short it opens headband design possibilities and is a simple solution.
2ndly (from a consumer perspective), audio enthusiast won't like the non-symmetrical (not equal length) conductors/cables. The time the signal takes (at the speed of light) and impedance (which is very negligible) is different for the left ear and right ear. Simply put, not using the Y cable degrades audio quality and visually less pleasing.
Maybe more is going on but that's what I came up with a while back. Hopefully it's more of a visual preference than audio preference to desire connections on both side. For manufactures, it's a simpler solution that solves some other potential problems.
With that said, I prefer the 1 sided connections as long as it's working-the right ear seems to be the driver that fails on me first (the side the cable doesn't connect to). Far easier to move the cable off to the side and not bother me using only a 1 side connection while the Y cables constantly bother me.
Far as the bass goes, I do use an equalizer to bump it up a bit. However, you can't get lots more bass doing that method without sacrificing clarity. Because of this, I do prefer different headphones for Netflix/movies/gaming. The search for the perfect headphone continues.
I have a Senn 558 (which i think is very similar just the older version of 598 open back). 558 certainly had more punchy bass but everything sounded fuzzier. Without biasing my brother (I didn't tell him anything about the headphones who knows nothing about the headphone world), was very quickly able to hear that same fuzzy sound difference. What separates 6xx from other high end headphones (which also have superb clarity) is harder for me to hear. The $500 vs $200 price difference is mostly marketing and maximizing profits. The 650's don't cost $300 more to make...
Anyway, I think most headphone makes account successfully for one sided connections at least these days. As for a difference in sound quality, if there really is, it is undetectable by the human ear and human mind, golden or not. If it is really just "looks" as I believe it to be, that's fine, but they could have at least in the case of the HD6xx made the split larger so you don't feel like you are wearing a choker.
Yeah, I am not sure about what to do about the bass if it doesn't improve over time. The mids and highs on the HD6xx are fantastic and I don't want to sacrifice that at least not by more than a negligible amount.
Yes, my 518s have way too much bass to them and I think even if I hooked up an EQ and dialed the bass back on those it would make more of a mess than solve a problem. So I am starting to think EQ is not the answer necessarily. I'm wondering if the 598s are the sweet spot, but I won't know, because I am not going to buy another pair of headphones. I think one big problem in headphone world (and pretty much the whole audio world) is too much overpromise and under deliver.
Seeing how headphones are essentially speakers and mechanical, we will see how the 6xx pans out over time.