[LazyListener]

  I just received the 599s, have been trying them out for just under an hour and they're incredible compared to my 5 year old m50's. Haven't heard the 598's so can't compare with them. One of the cables, the 1/4 inch cable doesn't actually work properly - music only plays in the left. I will be returning them.
 
I like the sound more than that of the HD700s, these are warm and fuzzy and extremely comfortable. Incredibly clear, but also enough bass too. Emphasis on comfort - I like them a lot more than the HD700's. 
 
Waiting for my Fidelio X2's (hopefully within 2 days) to arrive so I can compare and either get a replacement cable/pair of HD599's from sennheiser or return them if I like the X2's more.
 
Also - soundstage is fantastic, seems to be a great versatile pair of headphones for movies, tv shows, music, and gaming.

Thanks for sharing your impressions of the 599.  Since you don't have the 598 to compare, how about letting us know how they compare to your m50?  Particularly interested in knowing about the bass.  You say there's enough bass.  Does that mean they are bass light, neutral, or emphasized?  Also, how is the sub-bass on them?  Is there adequate extension, or do they roll off quite a bit down low?  Does the bass interfere with the mids at all?

 

[QualitySound]

LazyListener

The first review is out for the sennheiser 599, and the link to that is below. But if you don't feel like reading it, from the sounds of the 3-4 places i have read, the 599 uses a similar but slightly refined driver in the new headphones. That means you still get the clean bass of the 598's, without being overpowering. The mid range is slightly better than the 598, and the highs are like the 598 in the sense that they are clear without being hard on your ears. You won't get any headaches listening to the 599 and the sound is very balanced. The construction looks just as rigid as the 598 with better style in my opinion. As soon as the price drops below retail I'll be buying a pair and if it turns out being awful, or so amazing I can't shut up about it, I'll be back here to post a review.

http://majorhifi.com/sennheiser-hd-599-review/

I am not an affiliate of sennheiser, I just really liked the 598's until girlfriend took them over and said she would give me money to buy another pair, good timing on sennheiser for me.

Happy listening

 

[kiwikozo]

 
Thanks for sharing your impressions of the 599.  Since you don't have the 598 to compare, how about letting us know how they compare to your m50?  Particularly interested in knowing about the bass.  You say there's enough bass.  Does that mean they are bass light, neutral, or emphasized?  Also, how is the sub-bass on them?  Is there adequate extension, or do they roll off quite a bit down low?  Does the bass interfere with the mids at all?

My M50's have shure 840 earpads. The soundstage is much improved, and the bass is toned down in a good way. 
 
The 599's bass is actually reasonably emphasised. I hope It doesn't go tune down like a previous review stated it did. Thankfully the sub bass is excellent, m50's are quite distorted in comparison even with the 840 earpads. 
 
Mids are really clear, even whilst bassy backing music is playing e.g. Bastille - Good Greif.
 
I'm waiting for more reviews to see how they compare to the 598's. Don't want to buy those too just to compare, think I'd prefer to keep these anyway vs buying 598's. Wouldn't go for the old design 598's unless it was in black, and that's only £40 less. And I'm really looking forward to my Philips Fidelio X2's.

 

[QualitySound]

Has anyone gotten a pair of HD599's yet?  Are they shipping yet?

Would love to hear how they compare to the HD598's.

Is there anyone here that has a pair of 598's and is planning on getting the 599's?

They are shipping now through Newegg and Amazon in Europe. Although American Amazon now has them listed, when I checked 2 days ago it said "Item unavailable" but I suspect they will be available through Amazon within the next few days. As soon as the price drops below full retail by more than $20 I am buying the 599's and I also have/had (girlfriend took over) the 598's. If the price drops within the next week I will buy them then and if there still isn't much info about them I will probably post a full review comparing the 2. However if it takes months for the price to go down and when I finally do get them there is hundreds of comparisons, I won't waste my time. Root for a price drop soon! I'm tired of waiting!

Happy listening

 

[LazyListener]

LazyListener

The first review is out for the sennheiser 599, and the link to that is below. But if you don't feel like reading it, from the sounds of the 3-4 places i have read, the 599 uses a similar but slightly refined driver in the new headphones. That means you still get the clean bass of the 598's, without being overpowering. The mid range is slightly better than the 598, and the highs are like the 598 in the sense that they are clear without being hard on your ears. You won't get any headaches listening to the 599 and the sound is very balanced. The construction looks just as rigid as the 598 with better style in my opinion. As soon as the price drops below retail I'll be buying a pair and if it turns out being awful, or so amazing I can't shut up about it, I'll be back here to post a review.

http://majorhifi.com/sennheiser-hd-599-review/

I am not an affiliate of sennheiser, I just really liked the 598's until girlfriend took them over and said she would give me money to buy another pair,

good timing on sennheiser for me.

Happy listening

Thanks, but I've already read that "review" and commented on it in this thread, as have others.

 

[LazyListener]

  My M50's have shure 840 earpads. The soundstage is much improved, and the bass is toned down in a good way. 
 
The 599's bass is actually reasonably emphasised. I hope It doesn't go tune down like a previous review stated it did. Thankfully the sub bass is excellent, m50's are quite distorted in comparison even with the 840 earpads. 
 
Mids are really clear, even whilst bassy backing music is playing e.g. Bastille - Good Greif.
 
I'm waiting for more reviews to see how they compare to the 598's. Don't want to buy those too just to compare, think I'd prefer to keep these anyway vs buying 598's. Wouldn't go for the old design 598's unless it was in black, and that's only £40 less. And I'm really looking forward to my Philips Fidelio X2's.

Thanks for posting more about the 599s.  Let us know if you experience a bass drop, or if the sound changes in any way.  The 598s biggest negative is that they're a bit light in the bass, but not as light as many other, popular open backs I've tried.
 
The X2's definitely have more bass, even to the point of overpowering the mids somewhat on some songs.  The biggest negative on those for me was that the treble could sound a bit sharp and edgy with certain songs, and the soundstage isn't as big as the 598.  I prefer the smooth, never harsh, relaxed, but clear and detailed treble of the 598.  Also, with the X2, the sound was very warm from my iphone 6.  They opened up quite a bit with my Fiio E10K, but then the sharp treble at times.  Never did get to try them with the smoother sounding Dragonfly v. 1.2.  So YMMV depending on the dac/amp you use.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

Question..... Wich hd5*8 or 5*9 as a similar sound to the hd600 or hd650?

Always wanted to try the 6*0s but not only are they expensive but i also like the idea of having something that performs well without amps. (I have a fiio e12/but i barely use it because i dont like to have extra stuff connected.... I am a practical guy....)

When i first tried the 5*8 line up i immedietly prefere the 518 and 558 due to the bass. Although i got the hd598 because i got them really cheap and they are different from all the other headphones i have (dt770 pro 80, hd25, momentum over ear 1.0 and 2.0). I would like the bass to be a bit bigger on them and becauae of that i use the other headphones more but i admit that the highs, mids and soundstage are very special on the 598s and thats the only reason why i havent sold them yet. Usually they re signature is not my cup of tea due to the lighter bass....

Do you guys think i would like the 600 or the 650 more?

I have a hd600 offer pending.... A guy wants my 770 and some cash for his hd600s.... I think it is tempting but at the same time i cant help thinking that the 650 is the best choice for me from what ive been reading....

 

[Saldi]

So besides i am really NOOB on the audiophile community i will tell you my personal opinion of what i have read acoording those headphones etc etc.
598 its a headphone with "NO" bass.thats why gamers tend to love em cause of its nice clear positioning sound.However if you normally use your headphones for music etc etc i wouldnt recommended(if you didnt already bought them).
So if you need an upgrade from your 598 to another HF generally for quality music audio 600-650 would be more than fine (hd-700 as well)
So comparing 600-650-700.
You cant compare the 700 with 650-600 their performance is on another scale thats why are also much more expensive)
Between 600-650 ...The winner about "performance" i think that HD-650 is the clear winner bised that i see that many people say that they prefer the hd 600 among 650.I can really express you that is something like that the 600 got more "soul touch" with its user than the 650.Some others say that they totally LOVE eme(650).
If i were you i think that i would go for 650(if i could afford em).

But ofc you MUST have an amp otherwise just dont spend the money for the investment.Its like you got a car with top speed 250 and you need something faster...you pay for a car with 350top speed but you put on it speed limit up to 270...So ofc you will get better sound-improve from 598 but you wont get the real power of the HF.
As for an amp-dac?
i have read that Magni 2(uber or not)is probably the best choice for an amp under 200$.If you go for a dac as well Modi is ur choice.

I hope that at least i helped you.
Cheers mate

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Question..... Wich hd5*8 or 5*9 as a similar sound to the hd600 or hd650?

Always wanted to try the 6*0s but not only are they expensive but i also like the idea of having something that performs well without amps. (I have a fiio e12/but i barely use it because i dont like to have extra stuff connected.... I am a practical guy....)

When i first tried the 5*8 line up i immedietly prefere the 518 and 558 due to the bass. Although i got the hd598 because i got them really cheap and they are different from all the other headphones i have (dt770 pro 80, hd25, momentum over ear 1.0 and 2.0). I would like the bass to be a bit bigger on them and becauae of that i use the other headphones more but i admit that the highs, mids and soundstage are very special on the 598s and thats the only reason why i havent sold them yet. Usually they re signature is not my cup of tea due to the lighter bass....

Do you guys think i would like the 600 or the 650 more?

I have a hd600 offer pending.... A guy wants my 770 and some cash for his hd600s.... I think it is tempting but at the same time i cant help thinking that the 650 is the best choice for me from what ive been reading....

The fact that HD 6xx is technically better doesn't mean you will automatically like them.
If you like bass i'd say stay with your Beyers, you won't like the HD 600 more. Maybe the 650 but you have to try them first for yourself, no opinion or review will make you like them if you don't.

 

[Argyris]

Yeah, the bass isn't a standout feature of the HD 600's presentation. It's also going to be completely different from a DT770's bass, which has the sort of visceral sub bass presence the HD 600 completely lacks. The HD 600's low end is more midbass-focused and integrates with the rest of the signature rather than standing out.
 
I would venture to say that if you find the HD 598's bass lacking, you'll feel similarly about the HD 600

 

[LazyListener]

Question..... Wich hd5*8 or 5*9 as a similar sound to the hd600 or hd650?

Always wanted to try the 6*0s but not only are they expensive but i also like the idea of having something that performs well without amps. (I have a fiio e12/but i barely use it because i dont like to have extra stuff connected.... I am a practical guy....)

When i first tried the 5*8 line up i immedietly prefere the 518 and 558 due to the bass. Although i got the hd598 because i got them really cheap and they are different from all the other headphones i have (dt770 pro 80, hd25, momentum over ear 1.0 and 2.0). I would like the bass to be a bit bigger on them and becauae of that i use the other headphones more but i admit that the highs, mids and soundstage are very special on the 598s and thats the only reason why i havent sold them yet. Usually they re signature is not my cup of tea due to the lighter bass....

Do you guys think i would like the 600 or the 650 more?

I have a hd600 offer pending.... A guy wants my 770 and some cash for his hd600s.... I think it is tempting but at the same time i cant help thinking that the 650 is the best choice for me from what ive been reading....

I have read, that of the 2 (600 vs 650), the 650 is closer to the sound of the 598 than the 600 is to the 598.  I've read 600 is more neutral, whereas the 650 has more enhanced bass.  I've also read that 650 has a slightly bigger soundstage than 600, but neither one's soundstage is as big as 598.
 
Also, Tyll over at Innerfidelity prefers the HE400S over the 600 and the 600 over the 650.  I compared HE400S to 598 side by side and I thought the 598 sounded better overall.  HE400S was too light in the bass for me (at least with the stock pads; didn't try others), but its midrange and low treble were more natural and realistic sounding than the 598.  HE400S upper treble could sound a little unrealistic and compressed at times, so I prefer 598's upper treble.

 

[Sp12er3]

Agree with the 2 comments above, if you're looking for the type of bass the 770 has, itd be hard to find similar ones in an open back. There're bassy open backs (Fidelio X1,X2, Sony MA 900, AT R70X) but they just wont give the same experience as a good closed headphone bass.

 

[Pedro Oliveira]

i dont think the dt770's bass is that big. it only comes out on really low bass and that usually only happens when listening to some rock or electronic.... on some genres the dt770 even seems light on the bass. the bass on the dt770 is quite funny. its like it hides and only shows itself on certain tracks....
I think people exagerate about the dt770 bass. I have the momentum 1.0, 2.0, hd25 and i had the m50x and i can clearly say that all of those have more present and more thumping bass. the nice thing on the dt770's and that makes many people choose them is that they are so big and roomy that its almost like having a open back sound inside a closed back with a nice amount of bass. But once again i say.... people exagerate on head fi, Yes the dt770's have bass but its a very picky one as i said. Also i think that the dt770 sound a bit hollow and sometimes even a tiny bit bright and steryle, wich maked me pick one of the senns for music listening most of the time.
 
To be honest i kind of liked the bass on the hd558 and 518. i can live with that amount of bass..... 

 

[Sp12er3]

Ah, that is what i meant with 770's bass.. As for open backs they rolled off below 50hz. If that is not what you're looking for though, i'd recommend you look into the ones i mentioned. The X1/X2 has the most in quantity, fun sounding while still has decent soundtsage, R70x is the best in technicality, wider extensions on both ends with great detail retrieval. It sacrifices on worse soundstage though. The MA is the one that has the biggest soundstage, with more forward mids.. The bass is kinda in the middle compared to the other two (X2 wins in quantity, R70X in quality) i've heard that it sounds quite similar from 650, only with bigger soundstage. Maybe my ramblings will give you some insight (as my sig suggest I love the Sony most btw )

 

[kiwikozo]

Thanks, I am really looking forward to the X2's arriving. Don't know why it takes amazon so long to dispatch. From what I've heard the 599's are quite different from the 598's. My 599's don't sound like what people review the 598's to be.