Sennheiser HD 599 Around-Ear Open Back Headphones – Ivory

Like being there
Tested with ifi Zen DacThese are just amazing, they are very light and with little clamping force, it is easy to forget you have them on and you can wear them forever with no discomfort, the pads a re the first I have ever owned that do not touch my ears at all. They even look gorgeous in ivory and brown. There is no wireless option here, nor any noise cancelling, you just get amazing sound from them.At 50 Ohms, these are easy enough for a phone to drive but you may also want to consider a headphone amp to really give these phones the best signal to work with.Sound wise, the sound is very relaxed, I was concerned that after previous Sennheisers, these would have a very boomy bass, they don’t, they have sufficient bass though they probably wouldn’t be suited to bass heads. mids and highs are relaxed which I like for the evening when I am just listening. I have headphones and earphones which have far livlier highs but these I find to be tiring. One thing to note is they are not forgiving at all of poorly recorded or mastered tracks. You can stream the high bit rates from spotify or tidal and they will sound great but if there is source is poor and has too much dynamic compression these will let you know about it so things like China in Your Hands will sound like garbage even from vinyl or SACD.The sound stage is not the widest I have heard but things do exist outside your head whilst listening, I have sometimes found myself wondering and checking that my speakers were not also playing the music.As these are open backed, you will hear the world around you and they will hear your music, so they are best listened to alone.I listen to most types of music and have found that whilst most types do well on these, classical really shines out on them and you can picture the instruments around you. These are not heaphones for dancing with, or wearing for a workout. They are also not really suited for analytical work in the studio but they don’t try to be for any of those things, they are for relaxing in comfortable chair with a glass of good single malt whisky and for that purpose they are amazing.Update, can I make these 6 stars? They have an undocumented feature, in that they are internally wired as balanced, and if you can find a compatible balanced cable teh sound goes to the next level, it is incredibly clear and the sound stage is wider. Search around for a cable (warning some that claim to be compatible may need slight modification to make the groove in the 2.5mm plug deeper) and you get great sounding balanced headphones for a ridiculously low price.

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.

O fone é leve confortavel, som execelente , para quem gosta de uma boa musica e assitir um seriado.Tenho varios fone de ouvido, mas este vai ser aquele de cabeceira , uso para tudo. fantastico.

طبعا السماعة معروفة ما يحتاج ازيد شرح اكثر لكن عيبها الوحيد بالنسبة لي وممكن ما تكون مؤثرة عند بعض الاشخاص الي هو وسادات الاذن بيضاوية وتقريبا من الاسفل تكون مكشوفة اذا لبست السماعة، ممكن عشان انا وجهي نحيف لكن الي عنده خدود راح يناسبة وانصحه فيها جدا وطبعا الراحة مريحة جدا