HD 599 Open Back Headphone, Ivory

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.

I got these headphones as a upgrade to my Bose Soundtrues I got 3 plus years ago. I heard about Sennheiser open headphones being one of the audiophile standards when wanting great audio, and I read lots of reviews on different ones on RTings.com. So when I decided to venture into the so-called realm of audiophiles, I wanted to do so without breaking the bank. So I looked and looked until I came across these Sennheiser HD599s. These are an upgrade to the HD598, a very popular premium, entry level open back headphone. However, one of the complains about the 598s is that it lacks in bass, this upgrade is supposed to correct that. The design is very premium looking, and I like the color pattern. Many people claim they don't it and prefer the standard black look most headphones have, but I like the cream and silver look. It reminds me of luxury cars like an Audi or a Bentley. The pads are very comfortable and look like the kind of material used in car seats further giving that luxery look. The pads never get irritating after hours of use, nor does the ears get sweaty from the inside, which most plastic foam materials cause. the build is also very sturdy. You'd have to drop these from a decent height more than once to seriously damage them. So how do they sound? In one word, great. These headphones have a well balanced sound with just enough deep bass to standout without being overwhelming. The mid-range is nearly perfect, meaning vocals are not to high and intrusive and not too low where you can't hardly hear them over the music. The treble is excellent. Symbols and other high sounding instruments come through clear without sounding distorted and ear piercing. The sound stage, which open back headphones are best at, is very immersive adding body and fullness to the music. It's for this reason that these headphones are also great for watching movies and playing video games. So are there any cons? Yes, but only a few. One, the headphones do not come with a carrying case, like most headphones do once you start paying well over 100 dollars for them. Second, the headphones come with two cords, a small standard 3.5mm cord for cell phones and the like, and a long 10ft stereo cord. The stereo cord, however, is kind of flimsy and has a receiver style jack at the end. Luckily, there's an adapter included that can change it into another 3.5mm output. Final note: I didn't use any fancy headphone or stereo amps, because these headphones has an impedance of 50, so it doesn't take much to drive. My review is based on using this like any other average headphone in different applications like my PC and Television. Bottomline: These are great open headphones for the price, especially if you are just starting to get into this whole audiophile thing. I know I won't be going back after these babies. My next pair which likely won't be for a while, will be something ever more premium like a Sennheiser 600 series, or a HiFiman, Focal, etc. I checked in and I can't check out.

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.

Feels like the best package for open back headphones. Bought it for my podcast. Loved that is has adapters for all jacks and cables the can detach. Not wireless charging and not usb powered. And the wires are long enough