HD 599 Around-Ear Open Back Headphones - Ivory

First off, I wish to mentioned that collecting headphones was my hobby and this may give my review better validity. Unsurprisingly, this headphone will probably blow your mind if you are coming from earbuds or other cheap headphones but the HD599's predecessor HD598 was actually one of my least liked headphones and I'm happy to say that this isn't true with this current 500 line topping model. I have to make a disclaimer here that I no longer have any of my other headphones and I'm only going by memory here. Some of the headphones I had in my collection - Sennheiser HD595, HD598, HD600, HD650, Beyerdynamic DT150, AKG K702 and K240. So what changes I have noticed. In comparison to the HD598, this headphone has an overall more refined sound and gone seems to be the veil, which made the HD598 sound a bit murky and as if the sound was coming from a cave and you were listening outside. It was just a boring headphone and the lack of transparency made me get rid of it twice. Now, this headphone doesn't stray away from the HD598's sound signature much - the presentation still is laid-back and unfatiguing, meaning that the treble isn't piercing and you are not presented with a wall of sound but you are sitting a few rows back from the stage and are enveloped with music. I think what has helped to get rid of the veil is my observation that this headphone is just more detailed, especially in the treble and bass region. The bass in particular exhibits no signs of boominess and the subbass has been extended. Both the quality and quantity of the bass has been increased slightly but without it spilling into the midrange, making instruments and voices sound so sweet and lifelike. These aren't bass monsters by any means I should say. They aim to reproduce music in a neutral way, with an emphasis on the midrange where most instruments and voices reside but you do get nice bass that makes you tap your feet. The treble is very nice on these. It is somewhat recessed, not making this an analytical or sparkly headphone like AKG K702 or other headphones designed for studio work, but these have plenty of detail in the upper region if you simply turn up the volume. This characteristic also makes the HD599 very unfatiguing to listen to for extended periods of time. Compared to the HD600 or the HD650, these have an entirely different sound signature and I would consider them a lesser headphone but not by much. Perhaps not to the HD650 but to the HD600. However this may come down to your personal taste now that the clarity has improved on these and what difference remains is how music is presented to your ears. The HD600 have a smaller sound stage but they also have superior resolution and are more balanced across the frequency spectrum. I remember it as a very musical headphone that could present timbre of instruments so realistically that it gave me goosebumps. AKG K702 is a better headphone specs wise. The bass goes lower but it's still a very lean sounding headphone and there's more energy in the treble region. The resolution is higher as well. However, that's not to say that the HD599 will disappoint anyone looking for a transparent headphone. The K702 is just tuned differently and will therefore offer a different kind of sound, not necessarily a more likeable one. Ultimately it may be a case of which sound signature you prefer. One thing to note is that this headphone doesn't require a powerful amp to sound good but it has a potential to sound better if you use better equipment in your chain. It sounds good from my smartphone but the extra clarity and power provided by my Audioquest Dragonfly Red makes it go from good to magical. They are detailed enough that your average laptop or smartphone headphone output will just not take full advantage of their potential. Comfort. These haven't changed from the HD598 as far as I can see. They are light and there's not any excessive clamping force. The pads go around your ears. I don't like it when pads rest on my ears. They don't make my ears warm and sweaty. Design. I liked the HD598's design better. These look cheaper. The main colour yellow isn't beige or ivory like it used to be but 90's computer plastic yellow. Bonus points. It comes with a standard 3.5mm cable! The HD598's included a barrel adapter that was so unwieldy. You get a 6.3mm cable as well and another adapter. To sum up, this headphone scores well across the board and is kind of a jack of all trades. It offers a very pleasant audiophile-level sound but it may not be an exciting and analytical headphone like some higher end models. It's also great for films and gaming due its large soundstage and dialogs will sound absolutely delightful on these. It doesn't require that you spend a lot of money on other equipment to match its class, so stepping into the audiophile world without breaking the bank is possible. If you're not a gear head like I was, you will probably never need to try another headphone. This one does everything just right.

I bought these at around 200 pounds, and think them a good buy at that price. The HD599 SE can be bought for less than half of that, usually as an Amazon exclusive. There is no functional difference. The only difference is the colour. Quality is good, which is generally pretty standard for this brand. The main body is plastic but it still feels sturdy. Comfort is among the best out there. The soft, plush ear cups can be worn for hours without feeling restrictive. They're more comfortable than the Sennheiser Momentum 4s that I also own, and those are very comfortable. These are open backed headphones. That means there is no noise cancelling at all. In fact, there's very little noise blocking either, because your ear isn't sealed in. That's how they're supposed to be. Sound is pretty neutral. Probably suffers a bit in the mid range sounds, but these are expensive yet not hyper expensive headphones. They suffer slightly in the mid range because they're a mid range product; however, they don't tend to misrepresent sounds in the same way that the hugely bassy Beats Pro Over ear wired headphones did [the really chunky metal ones from 10-15 years ago around £400]. You're getting a neutral listening experience for an entry level audiophile headphones. These are wired headphones with no battery life and no option to. You probably could with some sort of Bluetooth dongle, but why would you want to? These are for sitting in a comfortable chair and listening to your vinyl records. These come with a 1.2 m cable with 3.5mm jack and 3m cable 6.5mm jack. The former is for your portable device, probably a phone. It'll need to be pretty quiet wherever your using these because, as I said, they're open backed. If you live in London and you're on the Jubilee line, even with the volume at maximum, the only thing you'll likely be able to hear is the Jubilee line. I think the 1.2m cable is an afterthought to increase the options. Nice to have but i'll never use it. Make no mistake, these are sitting down indoors headphones. The main cable will plug straight into your amp. 3m should be plenty of length for that purpose, depending on room setup. I suppose you could use a 6.5mm to 3.5mm adapter to plug it into most televisions that feature headphone jacks [nearly always 3.5mm], but 3m seems pretty close to the TV to me. You could use an additional adapter to join the two cables together to create a 4.2 metre cable, if you wanted to be further from the plugged in source. You'd need a female to female 3.5mm adapter to do that. Assuming any adapters used were well made and the connection good, the sound should not be affected [physics doesn't work that way]. 1.2m = 3'11" 3m = 9'11" I own quite a few sets of quality headphones and earbuds. Different things for different occasions. These are a worthy addition. They've more than earned their place. If you like black, the under £100 SE version is a no brainer. I've seen those for as little as 70 quid brand new. That's a lot of quality for not much money.

I’m still relatively new to collecting headphones, but I do have a small collection for reference. I have used the Samson SR850s, SR860s with after market earpads, Moondrop Chu’s, Moondrop Chu II’s, Tanchjim Zeros, and both iterations of the AirPod Pros. These in short the HD599s are good enough that I can easily tell the difference in quality from listening to an MP3 on a iPod verses the same MP3 on my phone. So if you want these for listening to your old iPod you are overspending. I can also tell the difference in quality in certain FLAC files verses their MP3 counterparts, though I will admit the difference is slight to my untrained ears. I bough these on sale for ~$120 which I feel is more than a fair price for the product I received. Now for the compare and contrasting… In terms of audio quality the HD599s and the Chu II are my favorite sounding headphones. (If you want less bass and a more sparkly sound get the original Chus or the Zeros. Lofi, classical instruments, and female vocals in particular sounds amazing with them) They are both fairly balanced with a warmer bass. They both have a very different quality of sound thanks to these being an open back headphone and the Chu II’s having more of a passive noise cancelation. I can’t put it into words. Some say open backs sound fuller thanks to their open nature, but that word doesn't hit the spot for me. Needless to say, I find myself switching between both frequently to scratch the itch each of the qualities provide depending on my mood. The HD599s are naturally a harder to run so I have to crank the volume on my phone more, but they are still perfectly drivable without a dedicated DAC/AMP. The Chu II’s start at $20, but if you are cursed with small waxy ear canals, like myself, then you will have to replace the filters fairly frequently (every ~5 days) which would cost me around $4 a month with my average use case. That is a bit of a hassle and a hidden cost that is rarely mentioned. The HD599’s always sound good since they are not subject to the same moist conditions. Can you get competing sound for cheaper if you go the IEM (in ear monitor) route? Yes, but sometimes you just want over the ear headphones for the sake of comfort, lack of hassle, and sharability. If your not interested in IEMs like the Chu II’s then here is a comparison to the SR850s (the SR860s are basically identical, but have another color way and are usually more expensive). In terms of comfort the HD599’s are far more comfortable out of the box. The pads of the SR850’s touch my ears which felt fine until I experienced better, now I don't care for them and wouldn’t wear them for long periods of time. The HD599’s actually sit around my ears with the inner pads being deep enough that they don’t touch my ears. The ear cups also swivel to conform to my head which also improves the experience. Where things get interesting is if you splurge for after market velour pads for the SR850s which cost an additional ~$20 (I got mine from TRANSTEK). These increase the total cost to around $60 but feel equally comfortable (if not slightly more so) than the HD599s. I haven't seen any aftermarket pads that look as thick and soft for the HD599s yet, but if I do, I will definitely give them a try and update this review. The sound quality is a matter of preference between the two, I like the warmer and slightly fuller sound of the HD599s and I think the top end sounds slightly more crisp/accurate. In terms of sound leakage the HD599s are definitely worse. You don't want to use these if you don't want people to listen in to your content. With the SR850s you can tend to avoid people listening in if you’re at a moderate volume. If you are in a noisy house with children then both of these may not be right for you. You would want to look into closed back or IEMs. I personally like open backs because you can still hear the world around you when you’re working. You are not in your personal bubble. The removable cable is the greatest quality of life feature of the HD599s. It comes with two cables out of the box: a long boi with a chonky 6.3mm jack with a step down adapter to 3.5, and a reasonably sized 3.5mm cable. The SR850s in contrast have a non removable long 3.5mm cable with a step-up 6.3mm adapter. As a result the SR850’s don’t leave my desk and the cables stay cable managed underneath it. The HD599s offer way more flexibility. I use my short cable for around the house listening on my phone, handheld game consoles, and occasionally on my AMP/DAC on my PC while reserving the long cable for watching TV on my sofa or bed. If you’re looking for solid stationary desk headphones for work and general use with a flat sound get the SR850s with the aftermarket earpads are fantastic for the money and will beat pretty much any “gaming” headphone on the market in terms of sound quality. They also dont have much audio leakage so they may work well in an office setting as you can still hear what is going on around you. If you want convenience buds for daily use that you keep on you 24/7 get the AirPod Pros (the first gen had better connectivity and range but the second gen sound slightly better). If you want great affordable sound (with some maintenance) go the IEM route and snag the Chu’s or Zeros for a flat accurate sound or the Chu II’s for a warmer sound that maintains the accuracy on the top end. If you want excellent open backs that can be driven without an external DAC/AMP that are slightly warm then the HD599s are great. I don't think I would buy the HD599s at the retail cost of $250 considering the HD600s (the de facto benchmark for over 20 years) often drop down to $300 on sale or $250 in used like-new condition, but at $120 I think they are a fair price for what they offer as a package. They are versatile, comfortable, and accurate enough that you can hear the differences between good and bad mp3 playback and (depending on the file or the quality/accuracy of your hearing) the difference between a FLAC and MP3. Welcome to audiophile country, open your wallets and enjoy the process of nitpicking sound quality to justify your purchases. I hope you enjoy your descent.

pierwsze wrażenie - świetne wyważone granie bez fajerwerków. Jest bas i jest czysta góra ale dość łagodna dla ucha, nie to co np philips Fidelio czy Audio Technica, które dają po uszach aż leci krew :) Słuchawki bardzo solidne i masywne, wcale nie są filigranowe ani tanio-plastikowe jak piszą inni recenzenci. Brzmienie ma taką estetykę Sennhisera, nie jest ocieplone, nie jest faworyzujące i nie stosuje tanich sztuczek ery XBass i ANC. Zdecydowanie nabierają klasy podpięte do wzmacniacza słuchawkowego ( u mnie ifi hip dac 2). Podobno wygrzane grają jeszcze lepiej, więc odniosę się do tego za kilkanaście dni. Póki co jest bardzo dobrze, a słuchawki nie dość że śliczne to grają zacnie.

La verdad es que tengo mucho tiempo queriendo adentrarme al rollo del Hi-fi y la verdad es que siento que estos Seinnheiser son una buena iniciación, son cómodos, baratos, tienen sus distintos cables para usarlos en varios dispositivos como celulares, computadoras o mezcladoras y pues la verdad, se escuchan bien. Obvio, intenten conseguir la música en HD o Ultra HD para sacarle todo el jugo. ¿Qué si hay mejores? Sí, pero pues estos hacen un muy buen paro.

Super comfy can wear all day. I mean all week! Open back means I can listen all day. No worries about the ears. I also found the open back fine outside on quietish walks, did not need to switch to my ANC earbuds. Sound quality is excellent. You will need a good EQ, most important is amp settings to really bring out the over ear sound fullness. With HD source music, and a 32 bit usb-c adaptor I could hear great detail, I was pleasantly surprised. Lovely richness from bass into the mids after adjusting levels. ( Not a Bass heavy set, would of bought Bose if I wanted that) As a reference I have Marshall, Harmon Kardon, Boss, etc... Happy man here...

Tras romperse mis antiguos cascos decidí romper la hucha y optar a algo de más calidad en la gama de los 140-200. Un poco perdido en el tema navegue y tire de web de audiofilos, aficionados, músicos y de ahí saque mis propias conclusiones y opciones. Por ello, compré varios cascos que ahora procederé a comparar y resumir mis valoraciones hasta decantarme por fin con estos Sennheiser HD599: -Beyerdynamic dt 770 pro: unos cascos cerrados con bastante renombre y recomendables dentro de la gama de los 100 y poco euros. Los encontré demasiado plasticosos y con un sonido demasiado frio y plano. Su unico punto positivo es que son muy cerrados y te aislan de un ambiente muy ruidoso, pero no era lo que estaba buscando ni tampoco mis necesidades. -Soundmagic HP200: Mejores sensaciones que con los Beyer, ya que se trata de unos auriculares abiertos y por ende el espacio sonoro es mucho mas grande, pero tampoco disfruté con lo que escuchaba. Un sonido metálico, demasiado frio y hasta desagradable. Mejor construcción y calidad que los Beyer pero tambien acabaron de vuelta. -Phillips Fidelio X2HR. Ahora si, palabras mayores. Sin duda, los cascos con MEJOR SONIDO que he escuchado. Impresionante. Sonido sobrecogedor. El espacio sonoro es el mayor que he escuchado y aún lo sigo añorando. Graves presentes y potentes (quizas hasta demasiado para ser unos cascos abiertos, pueden llegar a agobiar). La calidad de construcción y acabados es de lujo. El cable, la diadema, las esponjas...parecen más unos cascos de 1500 que de 150. Su pega: su incomodidad. Ya que son unos auriculares enormes y pesados. Al rato se me hacian incomodos y notaba una presión incomoda por la zona inferior del oido y la mandibula. Si para ti los encuentras comodos pues no busques otros cascos, pero en mi caso los tuve que devolver con todo el dolor de mi corazón. -AKG k712 pro. El gama mas alta de todos los anteriormente mencionados. Un lujo ya solo en la presentación, materiales, distintos cables, accesorios... No son baratos pero hay que reconocer que estos austriacos saben hacer muy bien lo suyo. El espacio sonoro es tambien muy bueno, similar al de los Filedio, pero no impresiona tanto su sonido. Este es mas plano, mas natural (analítico lo llaman los expertos). No son unos cascos para disfrutar del sonido sino para profesionales que necesitan escuchar la mezcla sin aditivos ni eq. En mi caso, que no trabajo de la música ni tengo un estudio los devolví ya que no necesito una escucha plana. -Senneiser hd599. Bien, por fin el que nos concierne. Al final me decanté por estos cascos por una sencilla razón de peso, tenian un sonido cálido, orgánico y son increiblemente comodos. Quizás no tienen el soundstage o espacio sonoro de los Fidelio, ni el lujo de acabados de los AKG pero son un promedio positivo en todo. Tienen buenos graves, tienen buena separación de planos y escenario sonoro, son agradables, comodisimos, no pesan....y como dicho, invitan a ponerselos y disfrutar de la música. Su unico punto negativo quizas sea los cables que trae, que tienen un tacto a goma rigida algo fea, pero lo importante, la calidad sonora, es que me gustan mucho.