[KopaneDePooj]

Agree for the most part, except that I didn't find the mids recessed (maybe the low mids). I found the mids, possibly low treble, boosted relative to bass and high treble, making them sound too hot and fatiguing on many songs.

This is exactly how my Cs sounds too, maybe differences in production again...
I would like weight in male vocals as @Hammy describes but I don't get chesty full vocals, but very thin and nasal in my unit. My Cs is for sale, I also sold the Bose ST II.
Next BF I will get the PM-3 hopefully for 400ish $ they're almost 590$ at regular price in Europe.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

@Hammy
I've had CS now got SR (basically same as SE). CS's earpads are more luxurious and better quality, but they're actually worse in comfort. Why? Becasue they have memory foam, which is super squishy not stiff enough to resist clamping. This made my ears slightly touch inner cup. Also they made my ears hot after 1hrs+ and it was winter time. I literally had to take them off once in a while to cool my ears. HD598SE/SR pads are totally different story. They're cheaper, made from simple material, but it is a stiff one. My ears have plenty of space never touch cup's insides. Big bonus is that they're super breathable I don't need to take off headphones even now summer time. If you can I highly advice to get SE/SR pads and put them on CS. You will notice a big difference in comfort. I'm thinking of getting CS again on future amazon sale just to listen to them in SE earpads.

The Cs needs that kind of pads, because they need to seal for proper bass and isolation. I think putting the open 598 velour pads on the closed Cs would kill the bass and isolation.
I find the original Cs pads excellent in comfort, not touching anything inside the cup and the clamp is perfect for closed back, a bit more that open 598 but not too much. But that is personal experience, I'm sorry if they are not comfortable for you.

 

[GoodBoy]

Clamp varies from unit to unit (I've had two SR's one being strong other not so much). The SR design is same as CS...
CS's earpads are great, they're just not stiff enough they can't resist clamping so they get squeezed very easily... That was my biggest gripe about them. I even wouldn't worry about ears getting hot if they were more stiffier and thicker. Overal very pleasant materials quality, but in comfort open's win hands down at least for me. I guess maybe sennheiser made CS that way because they thought people wouldn't really use them at home, but rather as an outdoor quick sessions. The problem is many people want to use them at home or work for many hours and this is where CS's earpads start to show their weakness. I've already seen a couple amazon reviews complaining about people's ear touching the cup so it's not just me and like I said in my CS's review I have small flat ears... Other than that pretty comparable cans.

 

[Hammy]

Agree for the most part, except that I didn't find the mids recessed (maybe the low mids). I found the mids, possibly low treble, boosted relative to bass and high treble, making them sound too hot and fatiguing on many songs.

I don't find them recessed within the soundscape of the headphone, rather in comparison to the orignals which I've always found to have quite forward mids. I think "hot" is a good way of describing how they can occasionally sound based on my short time with them.

The Cs needs that kind of pads, because they need to seal for proper bass and isolation. I think putting the open 598 velour pads on the closed Cs would kill the bass and isolation.
I find the original Cs pads excellent in comfort, not touching anything inside the cup and the clamp is perfect for closed back, a bit more that open 598 but not too much. But that is personal experience, I'm sorry if they are not comfortable for you.

Same thoughts. The clamp should be slightly tigher either because they're brand new or by design for isolation. In my opinion, pretty perfect in the comfort department.

 

[Tuneslover]

The Cs needs that kind of pads, because they need to seal for proper bass and isolation. I think putting the open 598 velour pads on the closed Cs would kill the bass and isolation.
I find the original Cs pads excellent in comfort, not touching anything inside the cup and the clamp is perfect for closed back, a bit more that open 598 but not too much. But that is personal experience, I'm sorry if they are not comfortable for you.

I own both the SE and CS and I completely agree with @KopaneDePooj's comment.

 

[GoodBoy]

After more testing I'm glad I preordered HD6xx. Also gonna buy (again) HD598Cs as a closed back companion. Initially opted for momentum2, but acoroding to reviews they're basically same SQ for twice the price. Not sure what gonna do with SR, probably keep them for those earpads and for gaming, youtube.

I would describe the sound of regular 598's as big, spacious and clear, but unengaging, which is especially annoying in rock, soundtracks and even some faster pop music. I thought these would have much better separation and detail than Cs, but no. Unfortunetly they're on the same level. I guess that's a thing with most midrange cans...

Compared to 598Cs
+ bigger more airy sound
+ wider soundstage, but not by much
+ possibly better treble, but don't have CS right now to make A-B test in that regard
+ better for movies and gaming
+ more comfortable velour earpads, much more breathable and less fatiquing

- despite being just 50ohms, don't present full potential with smartphones
- less immersion
- harder to hear details because of open design
- bigger but boomy bass, which in CS is textured and has some actual sub-bass
- necessity to increase volume not because of impedance, but because of sound signature

Overal, despite what some say, these are very comparable cans. One isn't higher quality than the other. They're absolutely on the same level so don't believe in fairytales CS is different (worse) league. What matters is what one prefers and differences are minute. Darker, more intimate and more immersive tonality of CS is better for my taste. For open back I look for higher-end than what HD598SR has to offer, but they absolutely fine for 100$ especially for movies and gaming - much better for that than my PX100-II. For casual listening I prefer CS and surpsingly even PX100-II...! For high-end open-back experience I chose higher-end model.

 

[LazyListener]

@GoodBoy
Mostly disagree. We'll leave it at that.

 

[MixMasterMan]

HD598cs = My Arch Enemy

 

[Hammy]

Got a replacement headband today.

Album showing before, during, after: http://imgur.com/a/hb7j7

Spoiler: Thumbnails only

 

[MixMasterMan]

Btw, I gave my ivory 598's to my Dad; who absolutely loves them. Even compared to my other open backs. He thought the DT-880's were better, but likes the 598's more.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Also gonna buy (again) HD598Cs as a closed back companion. Initially opted for momentum2, but acoroding to reviews they're basically same SQ for twice the price.

I also tested Momentum 2 and it has a completely different sound signature than 598 Cs. Much bigger bass (in a good way), fuller mids, proper vocals tonality, smooth highs. To me they sound much better than Cs, and I would exchange my 598 Cs for M2 any day. But the PM-3s I like even more.

 

[GoodBoy]

@KopaneDePooj
I've heard about the bass, but I also heard they're pretty similar other than that. The cheapest I've seen them was 199 euro, probably never gonna be cheaper, so anyways I'm not paying 110E more for the looks and possibly slightly better sound. Would consider if these were closer to 150E, but they're not and rarely on sale.

@GoodBoy
Mostly disagree. We'll leave it at that.

None taken. After all it was you who claimed ivory is superior to black edition so in fact you should be agreeing with me right now... But to me it's really irrelevant since I've done my testing and am confident about what I said. You should understand my sound preference has nothing to do and never will with your disagreement.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

They're not "pretty similar" they're VERY dissimilar, it's not just about the bass, as I said completely different sound signature. Not paying more is understandable. The sound is not "better" is just different. Better for me yes, but not generally speaking.
To sum it up, to my ears, without EQ, HD 598 Cs sounds thin and fatiguing in vocals. Momentum 2 sound fuller, with more body, meatier, more fun, dynamic and rewarding. It is a colored sound, but one that I like. Some might not.

 

[GoodBoy]

Both 598 open's and Cs can sound "thin" depending what you listen to. I've had Cs and complained some tracks were off on them. Thought oh well maybe when I get the open's it would be better. It wasn't.
Finally came to realisation both of these have very mediocore separation. This is what's causing 'thin" sound on some recordings, especially rock, and soundtracks, but it can be anything really depending on mastering.

Cs's vocals were never fatiquing to me. On the contrary what's fatiguing in open's is boomynies of the bass. I have to increase the volume to begin enjoying lows and those harder to notice details. When I do the volume's so high almost painful. After 30 minutes I need to take a break because I'm worried about my ears... On average volume (again nothing to do with impedance) they're worthless to me, because everything's so mixed together. It's like listening to speakers in the cinema - you need them to be very loud to enjoy the sound, but it gets super fatiquing very quickly.

Whenever I listen to 598 open's makes me wanna go back to Cs for that darker more sounded tonality and better defined bass as well as much easier to hear details. I know Cs's not perfect, but so is the case with open's.

Regarding momentum's, are they 150$ better to you than Cs? Honestly if I had to spend 260$ on momentums I'd much rather shell 140$ more and get something like fostex on massdrop for 399$ as my end-game closed back and be done with it

 

[MixMasterMan]

Both 598 open's and Cs can sound "thin" depending what you listen to. I've had Cs and complained some tracks were off on them. Thought oh well maybe when I get the open's it would be better. It wasn't.
Finally came to realisation both of these have very mediocore separation. This is what's causing 'thin" sound on some recordings, especially rock, and soundtracks, but it can be anything really depending on mastering.

Cs's vocals were never fatiquing to me. On the contrary what's fatiguing in open's is boomynies of the bass. I have to increase the volume to begin enjoying lows and those harder to notice details. When I do the volume's so high almost painful. After 30 minutes I need to take a break because I'm worried about my ears... On average volume (again nothing to do with impedance) they're worthless to me, because everything's so mixed together. It's like listening to speakers in the cinema - you need them to be very loud to enjoy the sound, but it gets super fatiquing very quickly.

Whenever I listen to 598 open's makes me wanna go back to Cs for that darker more sounded tonality and better defined bass as well as much easier to hear details. I know Cs's not perfect, but so is the case with open's.

Regarding momentum's, are they 150$ better to you than Cs? Honestly if I had to spend 260$ on momentums I'd much rather shell 140$ more and get something like fostex on massdrop for 399$ as my end-game closed back and be done with it

Instead of 598cs, you can settle on B&O H6 v2. After those, I am pretty much done looking at closed back portable style cans. The only one pair in that class that I want to try, are the Mese 99's.