Sennheiser HD 598 Special Edition Over-Ear Headphones - Black (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

This is a well known and reputable headphone from a well known and reputable manufacturer, so not much to say that hasnt already been said. This is basically the same as the original 598 except its black. I like the color, even though some might think black is overrated, but still remains to be elegant and simple. They are very comfortable, right amount of resistance when adjusting the ear cups, so they stay put how you set them. Replaceable cables and replaceable ear pads for longevity. Im sure people in the distant past have replaced headphones because of an annoying short in the cable had developed with time, or that the ear pads eventually got worn/dirty. Cable and ear pad replacement isnt too expensive and easy to find - much better than spending another $160.00 - $200.00+ on a new set by far and having to re-burn them. I got them on sale for a ridiculous price for what they are actually worth ($158.00 + $11.00 tax) and its worth every single penny. The sound is quite good, as many places on the internet will tell you. Some will say that this headphone model is a little bass lacky, not really bass shy, but close. I suppose thats why they came out with the Cs version, because not only is it easily driven for the masses given its low impedance (32ohms) and the different suede padding contains the bass better. Regardless the Cs version will never be as good as the original HD598, or the HD598 SE, not only in terms of sound production, but comfort as well (I find the velour pads superior to the suede variant). Anyways, I will tell you that the bass on these is really good, not at all as bad as some people will tell you, especially if you do a little EQing, the bass is magnificent, or even better with a DAC/Amp. I think overall why people say these are bass lacking, or that they perceive the bass not quite up to their liking, is because of the clarity and the excellent soundstage these headphones provide, which doesnt allow the bass to dominate the other frequencies. Clarity is what these headphones are, they have depth and detail. It does favor high-mids to high frequencies because of its soundstage, but overall it doesnt really favor any one frequency too much, which is why some would say the bass is lacking. Perhaps they expect the bass to just overwhelm all the other frequencies and be very dominate as some people like. If you do like a lot of bass, have no fear, a little EQing and bass boost will have these headphones thumping for sure, even more so with an amp. But in its natural state the sound is very neutral, which I find to be good since this allows me to set my EQ and tone to my liking without any fuss of the overall sound signature these headphones are designed to have. These headphones are also good for anything gaming, not only do they have excellent soundstage, but excellent directional sound as well. They will destroy Turtle Beaches and even the better gaming headsets Astro, which frankly are just a gimmick. Sennheiser obviously has better audio engineers. As for genre in music, I would say these headphones perform admirably with any genre you throw at them, but I will say it performs better with certain genres than others. Rock, classical and jazz I would say it performs the best at. Anything with a guitar, piano, violin and other live instruments will sound quite amazing. It performs well on vocals as well, so if you like to sing with your songs, you wont be disappointed. Next in line, I would say any kind of electronic, trance, dance, or house music it does pretty well, given its soundstage, it will add complexity to anything synth - I love to listen to Mark Dwane on these. Hip-hop and pop I would say is its least performing genre, but these headphones are so good, that I doubt youll notice anything that would deter you from continue listening to whatever you throw at these headphones. A crappy mp3 player is probably the only thing I can think of that would even remotely degrade the sound of these headphones, or a poorly made DAC/Amp, or a bad choice in a DAC/Amp that would make these headphones too bright (too loud in the high frequency range). If you do use a portable device on these, it will drive them since these headphones dont have a high impedance (50ohms), but depending on what device you hook these headphones to, they might not play as loud as youd like. So an amp may, or may not be required. In my experience, most devices play these headphones pretty solid, but wont play the headphones to its full potential (unless the device has a built-in amp). So if you want the most out of these headphones, an amp IS a MUST. Preferably a good DAC/Amp combo or separate (an amp alone wont do if you want full potential). The SE version comes with two cables, which is very nice. But I must tell you that the side of the cable that hooks into the headphones themselves has a twist-lock mechanism securing it, so it doesnt come loose or slip out accidentally. If you do want to swap or replace the cable, you must first twist the base of the cable on the headphones to disengage the lock (righty tighty, lefty loosey) and then pull, otherwise youre going to break your expensive headphones. The 3.5mm cable is perfect length (portable), not 6 foot like the bigger 6.3mm (1/4 inch jack) cable, which is fine since I know that particular cable is to be used for walking about (Studio, DJing etc). Plus you get an 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor with it, so you basically get two 3.5mm cables, one long and one short. Bonus. As for DAC/Amps, I heard good things from FiiO E10K, FiiO E17K and Schiit Fulla. FiiO Q1 in particular for portability, just to name a few. For those who dont know what a DAC or Amp is - DAC is just an abbreviation for Digital-to-Analog Converter, which a lot can be read about it, but basically it enhances or alters the characteristics of sound itself. It can either enhance the reproduction of music to how the musician intended it, or it can alter it for a different experience entirely. Different DAC models can give different characteristics and color - Warm, dark, neutral etc. While the Amp(Amplifier) just simply amplifies these different characteristics, or whatever signal that is currently being fed to it. Some research is required, but just do your own research and what kind of sound you like and all will go well. You can also check out my profile and read my FiiO E10K DAC/Amp review. Hope this helps. Overall if you do buy these, Im sure youd be happy with em. I know I was.

for the price i paid for these on sale these are amazing. they are so comfortable you can wear them all day and forget you have them on. literally. definitely recommended if you can get a good price.

These are great headphones! Great detail, and soundscape for any acoustic or Indie rock song (s). I 100% recommend an amp, youll notice a big difference with one! Still sounds great without thou!! :)

Felt compelled to write review because of the nay-sayer arguments. (1) Sound quality - excellent out of the box. Soundstage and range brings smooth clarity to all ranges and feeling like you are listening to the band in a large room full of sound. (2) Bass - I have seen some criticism of bass, but they must have blown out their bass ears. I think this was the most impressive feature, clear, smooth bass. Unless you are the guy with a home subwoofer on the back seat of your car, this will be pleasing. (3) Build quality - nice look, light, padded well on top, velour on the ear. It is all plastic, so I dont know the long-term survival. (4) Features - this comes with adapter for big amplifier, computer, and portable device. I would say that most nay-sayers got caught up in obvious features, like the open back (reminder, this is not the headset to take on the plane, it is for your quiet moments).

La calidad de estos audífonos supera su precio, no puedo creer el ofertón que obtuve por estas bellezas. 100% recomendados.

Though Id leave a review for these after having them for near enough two years. I purchased these headphones for movies and studying for the last two years of university and all I can say is thanks Sennheiser. I handle them quite roughly and they have never broke, the sound is amazing, could wear them for hours, days, years. I use them for all types of music, from classical to hardstyle and while the only thing I feel would make them better is slightly more punchy bass, aside from that, the quality is tremendous. Not going to waste your time with an extensive overview on the sound technicalities, aside from just buy them, you wont regret it. Arguably one of the best headphones in the world for the price.

Heres the thing, no headphones are perfect. Each person has a different set of ears. But if you can look me in the eye and tell me these suck, you are obviously dumber than a sack of potatoes. First impressions left me feeling confident with a premium mostly plastic build. The headphones have a firm but squishy padding that make my ears slightly warm. The headband feels pretty good although with my eggshaped head no pair of over ears fit me well. I tested these for about a month and for the first week I hated them. I wasnt getting the volume I wanted. I picked up an Onkyo home theater receiver and man do the Sennheisers light up! Perfect balance with any genre of song. Im an instrumental listener and things like Carmina burana and anything loud song incredible! Lows mids highs vocals incredible. You can even hear echo of the reverberating tones bounce of the concert halls walls. My only gripe is the cable. Get a longer one or extension. I trip on it way too much. Also get a headphone stand. Buy this now! You wont be regretting this product except for not buying it soon enough

These are the first set of over the ears headphones that I had ever purchased, and Im glad that I chose this. The ear cups are super comfortable, but they can get dirty quickly, but they are also super easy to clean. The sound quality is very good, those in ear earbuds has nothing on these.

I have purchased a pair of these right after I listened to them at a friends house. It is a must to bundle it with the FiiO mini amp. There is not much I can say about them. Theyre amazing. The sound is incredible. Best headphones I have ever heard (so far). If you are looking for a bargain (under $500) audiophile pair of headphones, these are what you are looking for.

Well, I was also one of those lucky people to buy it as a lightning deal. Really very happy with the purchase. This was my first expensive headphones and believe me when I say that I cant go back to normal headphones. Its truly is magnificent experience listening in these cans. Wouldnt recommend this to bass-heads. Plug it with something like Fiio E07K to truly enjoy your high res audio (Flac).