[KopaneDePooj]

  I received my Black Friday specials (aka...598CS) today.  Plugged them into my Bimby/Jotunheim setup and snuck a quick listen then set the phones aside.  After about 4 hours I decided to sneak a listen.
 
Just to bring everyone up to speed I also bought the 598SE's during last year's Amazon Black Friday sale so I am "familiar" with this headphone's character, however I have resisted any comparisons this early into my CS's indoctrination.  I have read early impressions posted so far and I admit that my initial impressions are probably somewhat premature but they are what they are (grain of salt).
 
First off, I must stress the importance of correctly positioning these headphones on your noggin so that you can honestly assess these cans (equally important to the SE and the original tan/beige beasties).  It became very evident to me installing the CE's on my head, that you need to pull them forward so that the outer edges of your ears nest comfortably into the back of the ear cups.  In my opinion this sets the headphone correctly into position, not to mention maximizes the comfort level to 10/10.
 
Right off the bat the sound of the CS relative to the SE is definitely more bass and a mild roll off of the higher frequencies and perhaps a little less mid presence.  My assessment...initial gut reaction...I like how they sound.  Actually they sound as I expected them to sound based on what others have said.
 
Alright I must confess, I grabbed my SE's and did a brief comparative listen.  After volume adjusting (the SE's require a slight increase in volume to match the CS's) the CS's sound is a bit more forward and don't have the expansive soundstage that the SE's have.  The CS's are a bit more intimate sounding like you're sitting a few rows from the stage while the SE's have you sitting more towards the centre of the venue which gives you more of the ambient sound of the hall itself.
 
The other thing I did was walk the CS's around to my other setups and I noticed that different amplification has a pretty audible difference in how the these cans sound.  I left my Bimby/Jot setup and plugged them into my NAD integrated amp and I went "hello" that sounds pretty friggin nice.  On a roll I moved to my 2 channel speaker system amped by Arcam FMJ gear and again went "nice to meet you again" blimey awesome.  Then I decide to head to my computer system (Bifrost 4490/Vali 2/EH6922) and went "oh yeah baby" that's nice (I'm such a spoiled person to write these varying impressions).
 
I must admit I'm a half glass full type of guy, meaning that I am pretty optimistic/open-minded when it comes to headphones.  I mean let's face it, reputable headphone manufacturers are producing product that to them sound pretty damn good.  They hope we, they're customers agree and I must say that Sennheiser hasn't disappointed me over the years (dating back to my HD414's I bought in Germany in the late '60's).  The CS's sound darn good but these puppies are closed-back and they definitely sound different than the SE's, not to mention my HD650's.  I must admit I do like the "crunching" bass these cans produce on some tracks (disclaimer:  I'm not a basshead) but I believe my brain has been nurtured on the open-backed sound which sounds like "home" to me.
 
I also ordered (from Amazon) the Beyerdynamic DT770 250 ohm (closed-back's) and they should arrive next week.  I'm really looking forward to hear how they compare to the CS's, which is a more relevant comparison than against the SE's.  I realize (and should know better) that I need to give the CS's a couple more days of settling in before I declare a "winner" in my abused ears and mind.  I'll give you more of my ramblings...later.

 
I like the style of this post
 
I'm still waiting for the cans to arrive (next week), but I also want to give credit to Sennheiser and I am optimistic about how they will sound to me. I had a lot of headphones, and now many of them are sold and I'm left with mostly Sennheisers, so I guess this makes me a fan of their sound.
 
What I put in bold letters in your post above is exactly how I want them to sound. I hope they will sound the same to me If not, I'll make some EQ adjustments and give them more time... That's what I did with most of my headphones, and after enough time they sounded better, combined with - I adjusted to their sound, and didn't need the EQ anymore.
 
Good tip about positioning. It may be a reason why opinions are so contradictory and maybe that's why some people don't get any bass and others are perfectly fine with it in the SE and also CS. The cups are larger than most other headphones and a smaller ear combined with an offset positioning may change the perception of sound. I have large ears and need this size. That's why I don't have any Momentums, M50x or MDR-1A anymore.
 
Please do compare them with the DT770 when they arrive, I'm also curious.

 

[LazyListener]

  I missed that SLIGHTLY in your previous posts Now I can agree these have minimal boosted frequencies, but the truth is it's not very noticable, that's why in general they're still analitcal, neutral cans to the point of being boring and dull, at least to me, and I'm not basshead or anything like that. Not trying to say SE are garbage, but on it's own their just not engaging even when amped, which they absolutely require. Does have the potential to be enjoyable, though require colored dac with good soundcard for that. So in my opinion and from my experience it's very tricky and much harder to obtain that desired musicality and enjoyment from 598s. For this reason alone I prefer 6xx series, which is much better suited for that purpose.  When it comes to 598CS straight from the box they've got more character to them mostly in a good way, still not v-shaped, yet engaging and fun with some again SLIGHTLY recessed mids, but not by much and evident only in some songs. Because of this they definetly don't deserve  1-3 stars reviews some people give them on amazon
 
Like I said HD650 is a totally different beast. Doesn't matter what balance. These are much higher-end headphones, with better more expensive transducer providing much fuller sound experience than anything from 5xx series.

I guess this is where you and I have to agree to disagree.  I find the open 598 much more musical and engaging (not meaning forward) than the 650.  The 598 does have a slight veil and laid back sound to it.  To me, it doesn't make them dull.  The sounds being softer and somewhat more distant allows me to actually hear them better.  When cans are more forward, like the Cs are, I feel they are a bit overpowering.  I guess this is where people's different hearing abilities come in to play.  I would imagine people with more sensitive hearing prefer a more distant sounding can and people with less sensitive hearing prefer a more forward sounding can.

 

[shurealltheway]

So many people compare them to open 598SE for pure branding reasons. It's not like SE is the holy grail, which trumps CS edition. They're just different in some aspects. Where CS excels SE fails and vice versa. I've tried open ones, in fact owned ivory edition long time ago, but sold them due to dreaded cracking issue and I perfectly remember these were not by any means perfect, had it's own flaws as well. Some recessed sounds still bothers me in CS, but now less then before, and let's be honest it's not like they're recessed by a lot margin, it's just a little difference. Not sure if it's just mids, and what kind of mids, since there's so many tracks where mids are just fantastic. It all depends on music and the more I listen the more I'm convinced there's so much more music I enjoy listening in these cans, than I don't. Plus, the more I listen the more my ears adapt to it's sound signature. For 99$ these were a steal and totally worth the price. I'm beginning to assume if one wants much more premium sound than these, would have to reach to HD6xx territory rather then 598 open edition to really experience significant boost in sound quality.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[shurealltheway]

Ok here's what you all have been waiting for haha. So I've been doing a back and forth between my 598 CS,and my brand new 599's, and using my favorite closed backs of all time as my reference headphones, my trusty Shure 1540's.

So I like the 598 CS's. I consider them warm neutral to slightly V shaped. They're a fun signature that are well worth their $99 price tag. I've already reviewed them earlier so I'm not doing it again as nothing has changed. Now to the 599's.

My God! These cans are simply awesome! They're not a little better than the CS's. They're a huge step up. In fact, I will never reach for the 598's again. I gave them to my son after one day with the 599's. They aren't built as well as my 1540's but sound wise, it's very hard to discern much difference. I was lucky to nab them during Black Friday deals for $174 and I am just floored by them at that cost. Now that I've heard them, I would have gladly paid $300 for them without batting an eye. The soundstage is fantastic, the highs are clear with no sibilance or harshness, the mids are liquid gold, and the bass is perfect. Everything is balanced with no bleed and far less resonance or boominess compared to the CS's. And I don't know if they're different drivers or because they're partially open back, but the decay is noticeably superior to the CS's, so they seem to handle speed and pacing much better. And one area where the CS's clearly lacked was dynamics. When a track goes from quiet to crescendo, the CS's sound dull. But the 599's seem to be equal to my 1540's at excelling with dynamics. I mean, they leave the CS's face down in a pool of blood here.

Comfort wise, they're all very good. I find all three headphones to be extremely comfortable but my 1540's are the most comfortable headphone I've ever worn.

I don't know what else to say. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the CS's sounded for $99. I expected my 1540's to sound good for $500 or they would have been sent back in a New York minute. And I am floored by how good the 599's sound for $174. With the exception of build quality, I just couldn't ask for more for that price. If they are sonically inferior to my Shure's, it's going to take a lot more time to find out, because so far all I can hear is that they're a little different...

And they definitely do not need an amp to display this awesomeness. Right from my iPhone they're bread and butter.

I agree with everyone on here who said they're disappointed with the sound leakage of the CS's. So here's something funny. Even though the 599's are semi open, they don't really leak much more. You definitely, as the listener, hear more coming in, but sound out is almost a wash.

Oh by the way, owners of the CS's, DITCH THE CRAPPY CABLE IMMEDIATELY! The short cable that came with my 599's without the built-in controls makes the CS's sound a little better.

Did I say I love them yet? Okay. I love my 599's. Thank you Sennheiser. Well played.

 

[LazyListener]

Ok here's what you all have been waiting for haha. So I've been doing a back and forth between my 598 CS,and my brand new 599's, and using my favorite closed backs of all time as my reference headphones, my trusty Shure 1540's.

So I like the 598 CS's. I consider them warm neutral to slightly V shaped. They're a fun signature that are well worth their $99 price tag. I've already reviewed them earlier so I'm not doing it again as nothing has changed. Now to the 599's.

My God! These cans are simply awesome! They're not a little better than the CS's. They're a huge step up. In fact, I will never reach for the 598's again. I gave them to my son after one day with the 599's. They aren't built as well as my 1540's but sound wise, it's very hard to discern much difference. I was lucky to nab them during Black Friday deals for $174 and I am just floored by them at that cost. Now that I've heard them, I would have gladly paid $300 for them without batting an eye. The soundstage is fantastic, the highs are clear with no sibilance or harshness, the mids are liquid gold, and the bass is perfect. Everything is balanced with no bleed and far less resonance or boominess compared to the CS's. And I don't know if they're different drivers or because they're partially open back, but the decay is noticeably superior to the CS's, so they seem to handle speed and pacing much better. And one area where the CS's clearly lacked was dynamics. When a track goes from quiet to crescendo, the CS's sound dull. But the 599's seem to be equal to my 1540's at excelling with dynamics. I mean, they leave the CS's face down in a pool of blood here.

Comfort wise, they're all very good. I find all three headphones to be extremely comfortable but my 1540's are the most comfortable headphone I've ever worn.

I don't know what else to say. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the CS's sounded for $99. I expected my 1540's to sound good for $500 or they would have been sent back in a New York minute. And I am floored by how good the 599's sound for $174. With the exception of build quality, I just couldn't ask for more for that price. If they are sonically inferior to my Shure's, it's going to take a lot more time to find out, because so far all I can hear is that they're a little different...

And they definitely do not need an amp to display this awesomeness. Right from my iPhone they're bread and butter.

I agree with everyone on here who said they're disappointed with the sound leakage of the CS's. So here's something funny. Even though the 599's are semi open, they don't really leak much more. You definitely, as the listener, hear more coming in, but sound out is almost a wash.

Oh by the way, owners of the CS's, DITCH THE CRAPPY CABLE IMMEDIATELY! The short cable that came with my 599's without the built-in controls makes the CS's sound a little better.

Did I say I love them yet? Okay. I love my 599's. Thank you Sennheiser. Well played.

Nice.  Glad you love your new 599s.  You sound about as excited as I was when I first heard my open back 598s.  Have you ever had or heard the open 598s?  A lot of us are curious how they compare to the new 599s.

 

[MixMasterMan]

 
Nice.  Glad you love your new 599s.  You sound about as excited as I was when I first heard my open back 598s.  Have you ever had or heard the open 598s?  A lot of us are curious how they compare to the new 599s.

 
I too, am curious how the 599 compares to the open 598.

 

[shurealltheway]

Nice.  Glad you love your new 599s.  You sound about as excited as I was when I first heard my open back 598s.  Have you ever had or heard the open 598s?  A lot of us are curious how they compare to the new 599s.

Unfortunately I haven't heard any of the new 598 open backs like the SE black, for example. And I've only listened to the original 598 but I've never owned it to do extensive critical listening to it. So I can't really comment on them. From reviews that I've read it seems as if to most people, that the 599's are only a small improvement to their predecessors. I've heard them say they are a little more refined with slightly better clarity and better controlled bass. But that's all heresay because I've never been able to make that comparison myself. I will say this though, if the other iterations of the 598's are close to these, then I get why they're considered classics. They're simply great headphones with a signature that appeals to me. I don't know why I didn't get them sooner. I've heard people say the original 598's lacked bass but these 599 don't, not by a long shot. I'd say the bass quantity is nearly identical to the CS's but the quality is better on these. I'd definitely characterize these as warm. Just my opinion.

By the way, I really do believe in the power of diminishing returns. My $500 Shures aren't leaps better (except for build quality) and I'd take these 599's any day of the week and twice on Sunday over the ridiculously overpriced and overhyped Bowers and Wilkins P9's - $900 headphones that sound worse to me and have a much smaller soundstage to boot, and although they're built like a tank, they're also as heavy as a tank.

 

[GoodBoy]

Ok here's what you all have been waiting for haha. So I've been doing a back and forth between my 598 CS,and my brand new 599's, and using my favorite closed backs of all time as my reference headphones, my trusty Shure 1540's.

So I like the 598 CS's. I consider them warm neutral to slightly V shaped. They're a fun signature that are well worth their $99 price tag. I've already reviewed them earlier so I'm not doing it again as nothing has changed. Now to the 599's.

My God! These cans are simply awesome! They're not a little better than the CS's. They're a huge step up. In fact, I will never reach for the 598's again. I gave them to my son after one day with the 599's. They aren't built as well as my 1540's but sound wise, it's very hard to discern much difference. I was lucky to nab them during Black Friday deals for $174 and I am just floored by them at that cost. Now that I've heard them, I would have gladly paid $300 for them without batting an eye. The soundstage is fantastic, the highs are clear with no sibilance or harshness, the mids are liquid gold, and the bass is perfect. Everything is balanced with no bleed and far less resonance or boominess compared to the CS's. And I don't know if they're different drivers or because they're partially open back, but the decay is noticeably superior to the CS's, so they seem to handle speed and pacing much better. And one area where the CS's clearly lacked was dynamics. When a track goes from quiet to crescendo, the CS's sound dull. But the 599's seem to be equal to my 1540's at excelling with dynamics. I mean, they leave the CS's face down in a pool of blood here.

Comfort wise, they're all very good. I find all three headphones to be extremely comfortable but my 1540's are the most comfortable headphone I've ever worn.

I don't know what else to say. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the CS's sounded for $99. I expected my 1540's to sound good for $500 or they would have been sent back in a New York minute. And I am floored by how good the 599's sound for $174. With the exception of build quality, I just couldn't ask for more for that price. If they are sonically inferior to my Shure's, it's going to take a lot more time to find out, because so far all I can hear is that they're a little different...

And they definitely do not need an amp to display this awesomeness. Right from my iPhone they're bread and butter.

I agree with everyone on here who said they're disappointed with the sound leakage of the CS's. So here's something funny. Even though the 599's are semi open, they don't really leak much more. You definitely, as the listener, hear more coming in, but sound out is almost a wash.

Oh by the way, owners of the CS's, DITCH THE CRAPPY CABLE IMMEDIATELY! The short cable that came with my 599's without the built-in controls makes the CS's sound a little better.

Did I say I love them yet? Okay. I love my 599's. Thank you Sennheiser. Well played.

Based on your opinion seems like 599 may be the sweet spot between SE and CS editions, taking what's best from each of them I only wish 599 was cheaper and available in more color options, especially black. Who knows maybe I'll grab them for 99$ next black friday
 
update: I've just read an opinion that these have just slightly better trebles than 598SE, which were lacking. If that's true CS is still king of trebles among 5xx series
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/customer-reviews/RUC684Z75USCF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01L1IICR2

 

[shurealltheway]

Based on your opinion seems like 599 may be the sweet spot between SE and CS editions, taking what's best from each of them I only wish 599 was cheaper and available in more color options, especially black. Who knows maybe I'll grab them for 99$ next black friday

update: I've just read an opinion that these have just slightly better trebles than 598SE, which were lacking. If that's true CS is still king of trebles among 5xx series
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/customer-reviews/RUC684Z75USCF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01L1IICR2

You may be right. The CS's do seem to have just a tad more treble than the 599. But I can't tell if that's because of tuning or open vs closed back and so the 599's have less resonance and faster decay.

 

[vlatko]

Anyone know is it possible to get a 5m cable replacement? Any recommendations?

 

[KopaneDePooj]

  Anyone know is it possible to get a 5m cable replacement? Any recommendations?

Use an extension

 

[GoodBoy]

Quote:
 

 
I guess this is where you and I have to agree to disagree.  I find the open 598 much more musical and engaging (not meaning forward) than the 650.  The 598 does have a slight veil and laid back sound to it.  To me, it doesn't make them dull.  The sounds being softer and somewhat more distant allows me to actually hear them better.  When cans are more forward, like the Cs are, I feel they are a bit overpowering.  I guess this is where people's different hearing abilities come in to play.  I would imagine people with more sensitive hearing prefer a more distant sounding can and people with less sensitive hearing prefer a more forward sounding can.

I guess what you are reffering to is sennheiser's famous coloring, but they all have it. To me it doesn't equal v-shape nor engaging or anything like that, but rather smooth sound signature. Our different impressions come probably from different amps/dacs/sound cards. Like I said HD598 are very source dependent, but it doesn't change the fact they're beautiful entry level high-end cans, I just prefer a little bit more engaging and warmer cans than these. Additonally 598CS 23ohms is a huge benefit making them much more versatile.
 
This is another reviewer who has them all (newest 5xx lineup) well except 598CS. What's interesting his impressions of 569 are very similar to what I think about 598CS. Another fact I agree with him is that all 5xx newest models are very similar to one another, well except maybe the most basic 559. They employ similar transducers with minor difference in fine tuning. He said 599/579/569 differences are noticable only when compared side by side for hours and hours of listening. He preffers 579 over 599, probably for the same reason I prefer 598CS over 598 open edition. It's just all matter of prefference.
 
I already asked him to make a video review of 598CS + comparison to other 5xx. This is his review of 569 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeSDNN3B4h0, possibly same as 598CS, but I still think they must employ some difference since sennheiser wouldn't brand identical cans such different names
Here's the video where he compares them all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW13Vy7XaSw

 

[Decommo]

After watching some negative reviews on HD598CS on Youtube, I was skeptical and thought made wrong decision... It turned out decision was right one. I just got and started burn-in 30 minutes ago... Out of box, sound is pretty good... Bass is not as big as my other closed can, Sony MDR 100aap but mid is more forward and high is slightly more extended. Good allrounder and money well spent.  Continue burning in....

 

[MixMasterMan]

I've made the decision to return them. Even at the black friday price of $99, I think they are overpriced. I have a pair of $40 in-ears (at least that was how much I paid for them before they were discontinued) that blow them out of the water (Sony MDR-EX310LP). While the bass is nice, the treble is so muted and mids so forward and honky, that everything sounds like its covered by a blanket. I have to use extreme eq to get them to sound clear. Even then, the blanket effect prevails. It's a shame because they are really nice looking and feeling sennheiser closed back headphones. I wish they sounded something like my ATH-M40X's.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

OK, I'm gonna stop reading this thread for now
This headphone is so controversial, a few pages back the highs were bordering on "harsh" now they are "muted", the mids were "recessed", now they are "forward". I respect all your opinions, and I believe that's actually how everyone perceives them but I'll have to do my own listen and conclusion when they arrive.
 
Interesting post on reddit about positioning, and the effect it can have on sound:
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5g29m8/sennheiser_hd598cs_update/