Maybe. My preference is mostly /r/symphonicmetal with female vocals.

I'm also a metal fan, and the reasons why you like the HD58X are the same reasons why I'm disappointed in the HD58X.

I keep mine in plastic storage boxes (like this) with a few silica gel packets to keep moisture away (you can usually find those in the original packaging that headphones and other electronics came with... that is if you didn't toss them right in the trash). Works fine for me.

$20 is a lot of money to some people.

That's assuming the internals didn't get damaged during washing. If they did, OP is most likely screwed.

Fair enough, and for the record I disagree with the Spotify recommendation, even without regard to audio quality. As a fan of a number of lesser-known musical artists, I consider Spotify's low payout to artists as a major reason to avoid it (at least Tidal and Apple Music pay better according to this account from last year). And while Spotify used to have other advantages over the competition (catalog size, interface, cross-platform compatibility, price), the competition has very much caught up to those by this point.

Maybe it wasn't intended that way, but I thought your comment was just rude. If CertainlySomeGuy says they can hear the difference between lossy and lossless, who are we to argue? Anyone who has spent some time in this sub knows about the deal with blind testing and the placebo effect, and you don't have to remind them every goddamned time.

At this point I find it hard to believe that Spotify Lossless is anything more than false promises to users who are dissatisfied with Spotify's audio quality and considering jumping ship. If you care about audio quality at all, Spotify is one of the worst options.

I agree that the difference between lossy and lossless does not exist/matter to most people.

I disagree with your pretentious pointing at a person and claiming that the person in question is full of BS because they don't agree with everything you said.

I wasn't aware that Spotify had some sort of "smart" normalization going on but my point still stands. Normalization can only reduce audio quality by reducing dynamic range, not enhance quality, so there's little reason to use it if you have a functioning volume control.

I could also go on a tangent about how using normalization at a low volume level (which is essentially the same as reducing the volume in the Spotify app) is worse than keeping Spotify volume at max and controlling the volume via the OS mixer or an analog knob, but that's beside the point.

I do both - purchase music that I want to keep (usually on Bandcamp or CD) and stream otherwise. It means I support the artists, I don't have to worry about network/regional/copyright availability when listening to my favourites, but I also don't miss out on high-quality audio in cases where storage is an issue, streaming exclusives, or long shipping delays when ordering albums on CD.

For streaming, I use Tidal, as it is the highest-paying option to artists available to me while also being lossless (or close enough in case of MQA). I tried a few others but found no real benefit to switching. I wish I had access to Qobuz though.

Volume normalization reduces dynamic range, which can only be a detriment to sound quality. I can't think of a reason to use normalization on any device which provides fine-grained volume control (although, Android is still lacking in this department). It's also not a Spotify-exclusive feature, AFAIK any streaming service I've tried had the option to turn on normalization (not that I've used it).

Spotify used to be king when it comes to catalog size and UI but at this point I find that the competition has very much caught up to them, and there's also the matter that they're one of the worst when it comes to artist payouts. Even if you don't care about audio quality, I find it hard to justify using Spotify in this day and age.

The lowest price I can find for them is €235.25 ($253.49).

Where can you get DT 900 Pro X for $200?

Everyone did, really.

Repost

Wouldn't mind that as I actually like the 560S sound better than any of the 6X0 series I've heard, although the 6X0 series has similar issues with third-party earpads (then again, some people like the ZMF pads for those).

Much as I hate how fragile these things are, the HD 560S still amazes me with sound quality for the price. Would love Dekoni/Yaxi/ZMF to make a high quality pad that doesn't affect the sound as badly as the existing options (the Dekoni leather and the HD569 microsuede are comfortable but sound terrible on my 560S).

If you get the misodiko pads, let me know how they work out for you; I haven't tried those, but I feel like I've already spent too much on unsuccessful pad rolling experiments.

Is there a plastic ring still attached to the headphone? I've had this issue with a pair of HD 569 microsuede earpads (same mounting system) where the smaller inner ring won't stay inside the outer ring so I had to pry it from the headphones with an exacto knife when taking off the earpads.

So yeah, the build quality on those earpads is not the greatest, but I haven't found any satisfying third-party replacement as far as sound and comfort go. The generic clones that are sold for $5 on AliExpress actually sound pretty close, but they're made of stiffer materials which caused me major discomfort, and leather or microsuede pads are more comfortable but also sound incredibly bassy on the 560S.

My collection consists mostly of /r/symphonicmetal and related music, female vocals, and lesser-known artists/bands at that. Here are some highlights:

• Cecile Monique is my second favourite artist of all time (the first does not have a Bandcamp page), and her album Genesis is my favourite album of all time for the beautiful vocals and orchestrations. The title track is the perfect introduction to her.
• Everdawn is a bit more power/speed metal with a dramatic soprano singer and also excellent production. Just listen to 'Infinity Divine'.
• Nachtmuse is similar to Everdawn, and the 2021 album with singer Maude Théberge is pretty good, but my favourite release is still the 2017 demo featuring Alina Gavrilenko, the lead singer of Everdawn, and Laura Sasiadek, my aforementioned favourite artist of all time. Laura's rendition of the final chorus of 'Sky Garden' is just something else (and it's been suggested that it won't be her last feature in Nachtmuse).
• Age of Athena's album is a more modern, heavier and very interesting take on the subgenre/style. My favourite track here is 'Burn Down the Sun'.
• Ignea is a Ukrainian band with more death metal influences, and a female vocalist who is great at both singing and growling. They have already released 2 full-length albums and 2 EPs, with the third full-length album coming out next month, and the first single from that album might legitimately be their best song to date.
• Eleine is another great band, with a darker and doomier twist. My favourite song is 'Ava of Death' from the album Dancing in Hell.

I'll give you a certain thing at a certain time in a certain song:

Listen to the 4:41 - 4:53 section of 'Abyss of Time' by Epica, maybe do it with some low quality gear first, and then do it with higher quality gear. Do you notice anything that you haven't noticed the first time?

I love Epica, I've listened to that song about 100 times but it took me about 50 times and possibly different gear to hear the vocal there. That's an example of a detail to me. It's difficult to notice, but it's definitely there and has nothing to do with placebo.

Any earpads other than OEM will change the sound, so if you like your headphones with the OEM pads, your best bet is to just get another pair of OEM pads.

FWIW, I've tried several non-OEM earpad varieties on the HD 560S and they all affected the sound in a way I didn't like.

If it's loud enough while still having headroom (at, say, 80% volume or lower), you won't benefit from an amp.

*in your opinion.

Hmm...