HD 599

Well after falling in all the hype about combining a capable enough dsp dac amp with an open back headphone a person is propelled into a world of blissful surround sounds i decided to try this hands down once and for all. After about half an hour of burning the headphones in with some 24bit Flac songs i went ahead to test it. Played multiple songs and movies via the Walkman , X3 amp , Note 9 phone. First impressions: Build : The build quality is excellent, it's all plastic that seems like it is made to last and keep it light for comfort. The mechanism also feels reliable. So 5/5 Comfort: Very good , not fatigued after 1 hour , No unwarranted peaks in any frequencies. Its winters here in the north so it also doubled up as a scarf insulating my ears from the peircing cold. Sound isolation: Well what would one expect from an open back , it's terrible. But it is what it is. You have to be alone and in a quite environment to listen to these. Sound will leak both ways. Package contents: Well the box that comes with it is unimpressive, it is a waste like soft cardboard box which is labeled as "frustration free" packaging, it's all nonsense. If it was a good quality box one would use it to keep the headphones after use safely,and won't throw it away. No i will have to purchase a headphone case adding more to the environmental damage. You get two cables one being a 6mm and one 3.5mm with a 6mm to3.5mm converter plug. Sennheiser took good care in that area. Sound : Well i come from using the following in order of magnitude Most vintage models of Sony tape walkman headphones and earphones Mdr xb 60ex Mdr xb500 Mdr xb 90ex Mdr xb 75ap ( Skull rattler ) Mdr ex220 Asus rog headset Xba H3 ( My personal favorite in all areas ) Shure se 846 ( Skull breaker , My almost perfect set but gets beaten in High frequency department) As you can see there is only two over the ear headphones. Now i have always been disappointed by the music of over the head headphones due to lack of proper Isolation and driver limitations. Being my first open back This HD559 is no different to closed back in music department. Music coming out of it is unimpressive , you get almost no proper bass rumbles in the tracks that have them but maybe it's my fault. (more on that later). The soundstage although quite good does not impress you enough to warrant the sacrifice in sound isolation and lower frequencies. Sometimes some songs get tinny and empty, sometimes they come out good but never great. Apart from that i maybe wrong with my eqs and settings i will update after a week of listening. Movies : WTF This has blown all my in ear headphones far away , nothing comes close to the immersive theater like experience while pairing it with the X3 amp and switching on the xfi. You are instantly placed in a premium position of a proper dts tuned theater seat. All the action is all around you and dialog of the actors are clear and crisp even during intense explosions and gunfire. Things are properly imaged bodies dropping to the ground , bullets whirring past you thunders in the sky everything is represented perfectly. Imaging is more vertical than horizontal. Now the bass : While the music had no bass on it , on movies while on xfi turned on the bass reaches skull rattling levels without getting distorted or overlapping any other frequencies. It is unreal and brings a huge smile on your face and the only reason i did not return these back. The explosions shake you bullets fired seem real , thunders are near to being real. For movies this is the ultimate solution for me the END GAME so to say. Haven't tested it yet on games but have heard quite a praise for them in that regard. Conclusion: These mysterious headphones struggle to pump up the proper bass notes on music but will pummel your head in movies. Maybe i am doing something wrong on my amp but i have tried to bring it on the music by various ways. The world shattering bass is there waiting to be unleashed but with mysterious ways. The mids are perfect for both Male and females all the frequencies are present and quite powerful. The highs are a bit laid back and roll off at the highest levels quite quickly , whenever you will need them desperately they will bail out on you. But overall they are fine. Is it worth the money ?. For movies absolutely. 100% For music Maybe For games , haven't tested yet but i am confident they will excel in that department. Very good product. Highly satisfied.

True to the studio quality. Tight bass Sparkling treble Clear vocal Works with any device as 50 ohm impedance No noise cancellation Sound stage is so spacious Value for money U can listen hours without any strain Use with hi fidelity sources like Apple Music lossless or downloaded hi res file Hear in quiet place , where minimal noise Warm bass and everything balanced Instrument separation is very good Sennheiser signature sound For example listen laal ishq and experience the sound clarity and spaciousness Feels like ur headphones can breathe Free moving diaphragm so doesn’t feel like beating inside ur head

A decently good sounding headphone. Not hifi audiophile quality but pretty good for the 8k. People using 4-5k rupees in ear and over ear can expect a big sound quality improvement and believe me these were the first near audiophile sounding headphones for a lot of people but not me coz I tried the hd 650 much before this and that is a audiophile standard reference so nothing comes close to that. But for a asking price it's good headphone but decent build quality, light weight design and two years of Sennheiser warranty which is a peace of mind incase anything wrong happens. My only issue that the earcups are not that deep so your ears may touch the inside which may make you feel uncomfortable slightly, it's not a big issue though. Coming to the sound the treble is smooth and not fatiguing, mid range has good presence and slightly forward. The bass seems to be bumped up and is really punchy and thick. It has a strong mud bass. Soundstage is also pretty wide so the music feels really good.

I bought these in Aug ( about 5 months back), so a long term review ig? tldr: I Have absolutely loved them since the day I received them and highly recommend for the open back option! PS: the open back hype is real guys, there is a huge difference Prior to buying them I had tried the: 1. Sony XM300 - great comfort and noise cancellation - hated the sound, found it too bassy 2. AKG MX50 - didn't find anything great about the sound, the build quality was amazing, the earcups didnt go over my ears, sorta stayed on top of them 3. Some IEMs - great for the price but very unreliable, usually not comfy So going into this my priority was straight - No compromise on sound, neutral sound (tho, if needed prefer bass over sparkle), good build quality, well known brand that has good warranty, price/performance ratio Note: I didn't care about the sound cancellation as I live in a fairly quite place For what I wanted, these are perfect in every sense. The sound signature is close enough to the HD6XX series while being almost half the price (in India atleast), the comfort is top notch even with specs, not too bassy while still being enjoyable in songs that need bass (a bit warm, great for long sessions), the tremble has never pierced my ears. Only downside I see is, i wish they were more portable.

I'd one of the best headphones out there in terms of sound stage and comfort to ears for long listening. Not heavy on base so avoid if that's your thing but amazing clarity. P.S. if the pads go bad after couple of years, just order a pair online and headphones are again good as new!

Comfortable to wear. Music quality is good for the price. Good for music listening, movie/video watching. not for calls.

1 Month Review - They sound really good whether in video games or music/movies, however the comfort is not there if you have a large head, due to plastic headband the headphones go back to their original shape even if you stretch them with a box for 15 hours, I can only wear them for 20 minutes straight before they start putting pressure on my jaw, for comparison Hyperx Cloud 3 will loosen up over time but these won't. Avoid if you have a large head but then again there aren't many alternatives and on papers Beyerdynamic are supposed to have 2x higher clamping force. These are called as the lightest headphones but I guess those who reviewed them aren't sensitive to high clamping force or have a small head. Verdict - Sound - 7/10 Comfort (clamping force) - 5/10 Comfort (earpad material) - 6/10 doesn't sweat but got compressed in few months Video games - 6/10 (elevated bass reduces the shrill sound of gun fire which is a plus point) Overall the clamping force makes long listening sessions unbearable ------------------------------- Novemeber 2025 - Clamping force is still the same, and they are extremely uncomfortable for long duration, I would rather get something with metal handband that can be stretched and tuned easily for long term.

Great sound for the given price point and was a huge upgrade over my in ear boat headphones If you’re listening from iPhone then you will need a DAC converter which suppresses the sound a bit but when I plug it in my laptop’s 3.5 mm port then the sound is on another level

Bon casque obtenu à bon prix. Qualité sonore au rendez !

No sé a que vienen las críticas negativas por parte de algunos clientes y usuarios de YouTube. Si lo que esperaban es el sonido de unos de gama alta, pues entonces no es para ellos. Tienen un sonido claro para no ser neutrales del todo no son para a los que les gustan unos fuertes graves o agudos a los que están acostumbrados de otras marcas que los exageran. Con este tipo de auriculares podrás escuchar matices que no habrás oído nunca, los cuáles están enmascarados. Yo poseo unos AKG K-240 MKII estudio también de sonido neutral (Sé que su precio es bastante inferior) Y aunque también reproducen muy bien el sonido tienen el problema de que por su impedancia 55 Ohms necesita un apoyo para que suenen con gran potencia, cosa que no ocurre con estos SENNHEISER HD 599SE con sus 50 ya se escuchan bastante fuertes. El AKG trabaja en unas frecuencias entre 15-25000 Hz y los SENNHEISER 12- 38500 Hz. Por la comodidad pues los dos son lo bastante cómodos ya que están construidos en materiales de plástico de calidad por lo que pesan poco AKG 240grs. SENNHEISER 250grm. El diseño de los SENNHEISER ayudan a que el sonido se envuelva y vaya más directo a los oídos. Los dos vienen con dos cables desmontables con diferentes tipos de jack aunque el AKG le conexión al mismo es con entrada mini XLR por lo que si en un futuro tienes algún problema es más difícil de encontrar. El SENNHEISER solo trae las almohadillas que vienen montadas en material aterciopelado muy buenas al tacto también te cubren las orejas en su totalidad tambiénayuda su diseño (Existe recambio). Los AKG traen dos tipos unos en piel sintética que ayudan a producir sudor y otras aterciopelada estas no cubren en totalidad las orejas por su diseño circular distintos a los SENNHEISER que son avaladas. Debemos de tener muy en cuenta que los dos son auriculares no cerrados por lo que sale sonido al exterior y también entra sonido también del exterior (Aconsejo utilizarlos en el interior) Por lo que ayudan a reducir la fatiga y se pueda estar más tiempo utilizándolos. Si puedes esperar a que Amazon tenga en oferta los SENNHEISER te saldrán algo más económicos que los AKG y en verdad os digo que merece la pena. Yo los he comprado a 79,99 € cuando su precio oscila en cualquier tienda a 170. Los AKG por su parte tienen un precio de 77 € Espero que mi reseña os ayuden.

Good value and quality. Love them.

I bought these headphones on sale after reading a lot of incredible reviews for them and I couldn't be happier. The HD599 are an upgraded and overall better version of HD598. The version they sell here on Amazon is HD599SE which means they come in a more modest packaging compared to the original one and with 1 extra shorter 3.5mm cable perfect for mobile use. The headphones themselves have a 2.5mm jack which has Sennheiser's proprietary locking mechanism which might make some 2.5mm cables not compatible with the headphones. The main cable is pretty long and comes with 6.3mm jack, they also include a 6.3 to 3.5mm adapter but the whole contraption becomes bulky and slightly inconvenient for me because I plugged it in my desktop PC which is close to a wall. The sound is astonishing, I think these are some headphones that anyone can enjoy. The thing I like the most about them is the soundstage. You can hear every little detail and determine the position in space of every instrument in live music. The whole experience is incredibly immersive, watching movies, listening to music and playing games has never been more enjoyable for me. Speaking of games the headphones offer a real advantage is first person shooters or any games that relies on hearing sounds like footsteps. I play a lot of Rainbow Six Siege and I noticed a great improvement of my spacial awareness since I started using these headphones, especially in vertical play, previously I struggled to determine if a sound was coming from above or below, now it's a breeze. Alongside this the headphones are incredibly comfortable. The clamping force is very subtle and doesn't provoke any discomfort and is just enough so the headphones don't wiggle on your head. As a person who wears glasses I tend to adjust the headphones to the looser side, I leave the headband so that it barely presses on my head and the cups cover my entire ear so the ear rests inside. By doing this I experience zero discomfort even with glasses on. These are open back headphones which means that you get fuller, wider and more natural sound, alongside more comfort because the headphones allow your ears to breathe, however they leak a bit of sound because of this. It's barely audible in a quiet room so I would't worry about it too much but they also don't provide any sound isolation due to their open back design. For the this is a pro, because I can easily hear what's happening around me while listening to something but if you plan to use them in a noisy environment you might want to look at something else. They will deafen the sound if you turn them loud enough but please save your ears and get some closed back headphones or ANCs. This is the reason I won't recommend these headphones for travelling, I was on some flights with them and I can say that I would've really liked some noise isolation, they are also a bit bulky to wear on the neck especially if also wear a jacket. Overall I am very satisfied with the headphones and I really recommend them. I still think they are a bit overpriced like every other Hifi product but compared to the rest of headphones at this price point I think this is the best choice for most people. Get them if you want gaming headphones, they will be better than any gaming headset you can buy at this price, if you really need a microphone there are modmics that you can use and there are plenty of tutorials on how to install budget mics like the V-Moda one on this pair of headphones.

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.