SENNHEISER HD 599 Open Back Headphone, Ivory

Fantastic sound for the price. Extremely comparable to my original Sennheiser HD 555s that I've been using since 2006. I think the 555s sound a little bit more natural and the plastic was nicer feeling back then, but the sound quality is nearly identical. The plastic shell on these feels slightly cheaper than the 555s but they are still quite nice and possibly more durable, they just feel cheaper to the touch. The 3.5mm adapter that they come with is terrible and provides poor sound quality compared to a gold-plated corded one I purchased years ago. It was quite a difference comparing the adapters, so I would definitely recommend buying a better one. They fit fairly tight on my big head but are incredibly comfortable for long sessions. I will always purchase Sennheiser as my main headphones for music and gaming.

Edit:In spite of wonderful sound and very comfortable ear cups, I returned these to Amazon.I am an engineer and therefore really picky about design and I hope this saves somebody a bit of research.I just couldn't live with the head band of these. It almost defies understanding that a company as fantastic as Senheisser would release a headband design like this. I will say again, that the sound and ear cup comfort of the 599 is fantastic. But they create a hot spot on top of the head where the head band with modest foam point loads the top of the head. No reason for it. Seinnheiser even understands this dynamic and sell both less expensive like the HD-559 and the more upscale HD 650 headphones with a much more padded and headband with a void at the top of the head which could cause irritation.If you guys and girls want to take the dive, look into the Seinheisser HD-6xx which is a knock off of the venerable HD-650 which is twice the price of the 599. These headphones are magic. Go out on youtube and watch some reviews. Best $200 headphone on the market. Just scored an open box purchase in new condition and these are even better in both sound and comfort to the 599. I had NO complaints about the sound quality of the 599 but I need complete comfort. Hope this helps and happy listening.I don't write a lot of reviews but I come from the world of tech and appreciate all genres of music. I recommend everybody interested in the HD 599 to go to youtube and watch some reviews which will be in more depth than mine.I am returning to earphone listening after many years. I built a new AMD CPU based computer which btw I love without a dedicated GPU but with Asrock on board sound which drives these headphones beautifully. Because of their low impedance, not essential to drive them through a dedicated amp.Comfort:Comfort for me for overall listening is ESSENTIAL. It is largely why I bought these. I have largish ears and where a large hat...not a small guy but not a huge guy either. I struggle with the comfort of many headphones. Not these. They are the best. Sennheiser gets it. Other companies not so much.Ear pocket are very large to completely cover my largish ears and my ears though not tea cups stick out a bit...not excessive but require deep and large ear cup openings. These deliver.What isn't understood about earphone design many times is...its a balance of clamping force to the head that determines headband pressure. Higher the clamping force, the less the head band pressure because lateral force negates vertical fall of the headphones. Many headphones with drivers and fidelity this size are heavy. These weigh 250 grams and are light. Therefore they don't require big clamping...rated only at .71 lbs mean clamping...no doubt head width specific.. In summary, because of low weight they don't dig in up top of the head even with low clamping pressure. Genius design and I am a design guy so I appreciate it.Sound:Wonderful. I am not formally a senior...a very active senior and listen to classic rock to some even hip hop...very little, to opera and classical music. I like it all from Mo town to some jazz to mostly classic rock which I grew up...the best music of all time. :-) These headphones deliver. Listen to the reviews. They aren't flat...slightly embellished. An audiophile headphone with a bit of lowest and highs added. What the absolutely non purist wants in a headphone. Very very slight embellishment...almost not. I don't like too much bass but love to hear it. My aging ears don't hear the highs like they once did. I can hear the highs with these. If I EQ them, I can tune them precisely how I like them.They sound magnificient. Btw, they are open headphones and not meant to keep all the sound within. That is design intent and what better listening headphones are. On an airplane, pick a pair of Senn closed headphones.Looks:Looks matter. I am a design guy. Shape, texture and appearance affects perception of the product. 5 out of 5. Perfect. I couldn't design them better. Arguably a 'hint' of retro. Not as retro at the 598. If only the 598 existed, I would get those but these are aesthetically more modern and better IMO. The color is a bit unique. You maybe tired of everything black like me. These are a bit different and absolutely beautiful.I have owned other high end headphones from other companies. These are my favorite. I only have had them for a couple of days. Even in the time I have owned them they have burned in and will burn in much more in the next 200 hrs of listening.My advice. If you like, try everything but own these.Happy listening everybody. Surf youtube for your favorite music. Some brilliant young artists out there.

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.