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.

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.

I primarily use these for gaming or watching videos, listening to music on YouTube. I'm not an audiophile but I really enjoy my "me time" on my PC so I want it to be a high quality experience. These deliver on every level. I don't really play many games that need a mic so I just bought an in-line mic add-on from a 3rd party made specifically for these headphones and attached it. It's a cheap boom mic but it picks up fine. The MOST important thing for me is comfort. I have fallen asleep with these on multiple times. It never leaves my ears or scalp sore. I used to have a pair of Astro A40s because of how comfortable they were, but these are superior in just about every way. These are absolutely worth the price if you can afford them. I've had mine for about 5 months. They're the best headphones I've ever used. I bought a nice little SoundBlaster DAC/soundcard to go with them to make sure I got the full range of the headphones and it made a big difference. These are phenomenal. I couldn't be more pleased with them. I plan on using these for as long as they will last, which judging by the high quality materials, I think they'll last many years just like my Astro A40s did. COMFORT: These fit OVER my ears. So many headphones are called "over-ear" yet lay on top of my ears. I have detached ear lobes so most headphones lay on my ear lobes slightly and after a few hours will make my ears sore. The clamp strength is also a huge factor. I have a big fat head (because I'm so smart) and most headphones start to feel too snug after awhile. These never do. I've fallen asleep for 6+ hours before at my PC and woke up, forgot I was wearing these, and never felt any discomfort. It's like they were made by a benevolent God just for my cranium. The top of the headphones never press down on the top of my scalp in an uncomfortable way either. The head cushion on my Astro A40s would get uncomfortable after extended sessions but I swear these NEVER do me wrong. These are a gift from heaven and I love them dearly. If you care about audio quality and comfort above all else, you will be pleased with these.

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.