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

Very good headphones, I purchased mine for around $115 when they went on sale last. TLDR: I like them, but Id buy the Beyerdynamic DT 990s at the $150 price point instead. Ive owned tons of headphones, from Grados, Sony, Audio Technica, AKG and everything in between. Pros: Theyre extremely comfortable. The sound quality is very good, especially considering the other options in this price range. The removeable cable is quite nice. The 598 Special edition does come with a shorter 3.5mm cable and a long 1/4 cable Low impedance of 50 ohms makes them relatively easy to drive. Theyre extremely lightweight. It hardly feels like youre wearing headphones. ( Pro for most people, personally I like a bit heavier headphones ) Cons: Theyre made in china. The quality control seems to be alright though, several friends have them as well and theyre holding up just fine even after years of use. There are better options IMO at this price range, especially if you want to feel like you have a pair of headphones on, or you find these to be too bass heavy ( as I do ) Other things to note: Like others have mentioned this can either be a pro or a con, depending on what your use case is. Theyre open back, allowing sound to travel freely in and out of the headphones. Think of putting speakers on your ears, The difference here is that your music will be loud to you and somewhat faint to the others in the room. Personally I would not spend $150 on these headphones when I can get DT 990s, which have a higher clamping force, a bit more weight to them and are just as comfortable with less bass. That being said, Id say theyre nearly equal, and is mostly personal preference. If youre looking for a closed back alternative, and having used ATH-M50s in the past and not being impressed the only thing that Ive found to even come close are the Sony MDR-7506. And at roughly $85-90 with velour ear pads theyre an extremely good value. That being said the ear cups on those are smaller and if you have a large head you might want to look into the Sennheiser HD380s or the Beyerdynamic DT 770s if youve had trouble with pressure on your ears with other headphones.

Im a very price conscious consumer and frankly when I was buying these headphones I found them to be a pretty expensive purchase. The last 6 months however has vindicated my decision to buy them. I am extremely happy with the sound quality and clarity they provide. I had read that due to their open back nature the sound level or volume might seem a bit low however I havent faced any issues with regards to this. Owning to the flexibility of the build material my headphones have still not broken (a rare feat considering my rough handling of them). Overall it has been an excellent purchase and I would highly recommend them to anyone searching to buy a new pair of headphone

I reviewed the original HD 598s previously, quite positively. These Special Edition black beauties are every bit as fine, and they are particularly special in that they correct the only fault I found with the originals: they ship with a second, shorter cable that ends with a 3.5mm plug for direct use with virtually any portable device. These, then, dont require attaching the relatively large, awkward-for-many-users adapter plug, nor the corresponding need to purchase an alternative cable. Great move, Sennheiser! Thank you. For low-impedance models, the 3.5mm-plug cable makes more sense; and, for fine and relatively expensive headphones that sound great with portable devices, as well as the best receivers, pre- and integrated amps, this 2-cable shipment decision/choice makes the best sense. Sennheiser listens and produces.

I returned these for a refund...

These cans are a perfect bridge in the gap between lesser headphones and higher-priced, harder to drive, high end headphones. I had not owned a good pair of headphones in decades and at first I was put off by the total plastic construction (I said DECADES, didnt I?), but soon realized the proof is in the listening and the HD598 SEs wouldnt be so comfortable if they were heavier or made of stiffer stuff. After a while they just sort of disappear on your head if you sit back and relax. As for all the thin bass stories... Says who? I find the world in general lives with a 150Hz-250Hz hump that needs to be corrected for. Radio stations are the worst. Car stereos are bass-boosted from the get-go to make up for road noise. I LOVE bass, truly I do, but when its overpowering everything else the entire spectrum suffers. These headphones play every bass note quite clearly but never EMPHASIZE it. And because every ear plug by BeatCandy does have that emphasis everyone seems to think that is the way things are supposed to be. Not so. A side note for all those looking to go down the rabbit hole of Amp/DAC/Tube/Whatever-I-Can-Get-For-These - Their 50 Ohm impedance is pretty lightweight and some phones/tablets will not need a portable amp to boost their volume. I know. I purchased a FiiO E18 to go with these and I can honestly say that my HTC One (ironically known for good audio output) provides 90% of what the E18 can do, so if you have $$$ to burn go ahead, but its not necessary. I would not expect many of the portable headphone amps out there to provide a co$t-worthy contribution to your mobile devices output since they usually put out less than the E18s 300mW at around 32 Ohms. I would think only a desktop headphone amp cranking out 900mW to 1-Volt of output would make a startling difference to these headphones. But in the end Im so glad I bought these and that they are so easy to drive. Im sure they will sound even better when I get my old Carver C-11 Preamp back back from refurbishing and plug these in.

I browsed all the reviews, ended up buying the headphones. Sound great with games, if you use a sound card/ dac and amp. These arent the greatest for music though. Sorry, I am a get straight to the point type of person... Will not go in to detail.

Amazing price on black friday, friend really likes it!

Comfortable fit.

Most comfortable headphones ever.

Best headset ive ever owned, I can wear it for hours at a time since it fits so nicley on my head upgraded to this headset from a Senheiser Hd 201 and I couldnt be happier with how it sounds 10/10 would reccomend to people buying their first quality headset.