Hey everyone, I made a post about this but I figured I'd ask in here as well. How good of a deal is the Sennheiser HD 599 for 115 Euros (~$140)? As of now, I own a DT 770 32 Ohm with a Fiio BTR3 for portable and plug in use. I love the DT 770s, and I know they are some of the top cans in the price range. I was hoping to add another set to my collection to complement the signature the 770s offer. My budget is tight, but I saw the 599 on sale. I was wondering if they would be able to offer a more balanced presentation compared to my 770s. I'd like a similar amount of detail but wouldn't mind some bass recession if there was an increase in mid presence and clarity. I love the Sennheiser treble as well and I wouldn't want too big of a drop-off from them. Also, they'd strictly be for use at home. I know it's unreasonable to expect a full step upgrade from the 770s given the pricepoint of the 599s but I'm hoping they'll be a sidegrade at least that can give me a completely different musical signature without sacrificing the great imaging, clarity, or detail provided by the Beyers.
Sennheiser HD599 - first impressions.
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wolfwalker78
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$140 usd sounds high for the 599's at this point in their life, I think I paid a hundred bucks for the black amazon version last year.
But that kinda thing varies quite a bit.
I haven't heard the 770's but from all the reviews I've read I think the 599 is likely a good alternate/different pair for some variety, they don't really excell at anything,
but they are pleasant and don't really do anything super wrong either, and they EQ well (within reason). I use mine and a pair of later AKG K550's more than anything with a wire attached, I'd hate to have to pick between the two.
To add some perspective, where I'm at the HD 560S go for 260 USD, the Meze 99 Classics go for 400 USD, the DT880 go for 250 USD etc. Headphones are at a premium for me thanks to crazy import prices.
Elvis Costello
New Head-Fier
I acquired a HD599SE on sale for £99 a few months ago.
They have become a "go-to" set just for plugging something into my phone to listen to music at home.
They have become a "go-to" set just for plugging something into my phone to listen to music at home.
Well.
I'd place these below the X2HR, and then I make them out to be about 5-8% better than the k240s. Not as smooth as the k240s though.
And so easy to drive. I'm sitting at 8 o'clock on the TA-01b. Any further and it'll start to hurt me.
I'm usually between 9 and 10 with the k240, and can go up to 12 o'clock if the music is quiet.
Not bad though. Not bad at all. The HD 569's had me looking warily at sennheiser's 500 series. Demonic bats live inside the 569, piercing your brain and eyeballs with echolocation.
But these are not those.
I'd place these below the X2HR, and then I make them out to be about 5-8% better than the k240s. Not as smooth as the k240s though.
And so easy to drive. I'm sitting at 8 o'clock on the TA-01b. Any further and it'll start to hurt me.
I'm usually between 9 and 10 with the k240, and can go up to 12 o'clock if the music is quiet.
Not bad though. Not bad at all. The HD 569's had me looking warily at sennheiser's 500 series. Demonic bats live inside the 569, piercing your brain and eyeballs with echolocation.
But these are not those.
MRK1
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Oh wow, this thread is still around on the first page of the forums 
I wonder, do you think the impressions I posted 5 years ago are still accurate today? Back then I didn't really knew much about audio (and probably I don't know much even today).
Anyway, I still have my original pair and use them almost everyday. The headband started peeling so I just turned it inside out and kept using them.
I wonder, do you think the impressions I posted 5 years ago are still accurate today? Back then I didn't really knew much about audio (and probably I don't know much even today).
Anyway, I still have my original pair and use them almost everyday. The headband started peeling so I just turned it inside out and kept using them.
Thunder1299
New Head-Fier
Hi! I'm going to buy the hd 599 soon but I think there might be a problem with my sound card aim sc 808 with 32 ohm output impedance.I've heard that this headphones are becoming bloaty , mudded and overemphasized in bass with too high output impedance sources.Can you tell me what do you use to drive them well or if 32 output impedance is all right for hd 599? I really have no idea...Oh wow, this thread is still around on the first page of the forums
I wonder, do you think the impressions I posted 5 years ago are still accurate today? Back then I didn't really knew much about audio (and probably I don't know much even today).
Anyway, I still have my original pair and use them almost everyday. The headband started peeling so I just turned it inside out and kept using them.
A source impedance of 32 ohm's huh? Well, my silly old MF02s has a source impedance of 10 (according to @cqtek 's measurements), and while it wasn't night and day, the bass definitely loosened and bloated a bit.
I work around impedance matching (half the time) by using headphones that are measured as not suffering from drastic frequency response changes on higher source impedances, like my X2HR or k371. You could either try that, or, by the rule of eight, you're looking at headphones with an impedance over 256 ohms... although there are probably a few headphones in the 100 to 200 ohms range that could probably cope with it. Don't ask me which though
Thunder1299
New Head-Fier
Well that answers my question I guess...thanksA source impedance of 32 ohm's huh? Well, my silly old MF02s has a source impedance of 10 (according to @cqtek 's measurements), and while it wasn't night and day, the bass definitely loosened and bloated a bit.
I work around impedance matching (half the time) by using headphones that are measured as not suffering from drastic frequency response changes on higher source impedances, like my X2HR or k371. You could either try that, or, by the rule of eight, you're looking at headphones with an impedance over 256 ohms... although there are probably a few headphones in the 100 to 200 ohms range that could probably cope with it. Don't ask me which though
Too bad because this aim sc 808 has really powerful amp capable of driving even 600 ohm headphones and it did good for my 250 ohm dt 990 pro..well almost...While it drives them really well it's not the perfect source either way because of elevated highs which my dt also has...so sometimes the sound is just too sharp and also too clinical for my taste.Beyers love some warmth so change of source was inevitable at some point.I think ifi zen dac or some tube amp/dac would do the trick 
My budget is really tight right now so I could risk it and buy the hd 599 which I really want to try out and see if my love for sennheiser house sound is still a thing 
, because my old hd 555 sounded really good with sc 808 and there wasn't any problem with bass or anything.But I guess hd 599 are that sensitive to high impedance...so I think it's better to buy a good source first for both dt 990 and hd 599 like ifi zen dac v2 with output impedance of 1 ohm and then grab the hd 599 on amazon at much lower cost.
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Maitre Renard
100+ Head-Fier
Hello there!
Could you tell me what could be better new hd599 (110 euros ) or used hd560 ovation 1 ( the same price)?
I’ve never used hd599 but had tested hd598 that were skittle bit similar to my hd540 refII.
Many thanks in advance for any feedback!
Cheers
Could you tell me what could be better new hd599 (110 euros ) or used hd560 ovation 1 ( the same price)?
I’ve never used hd599 but had tested hd598 that were skittle bit similar to my hd540 refII.
Many thanks in advance for any feedback!
Cheers
Thomasr
500+ Head-Fier
Can someone confirm that the HD599 is wired internally for balanced connection? They have what appears to be a 2.5mm balanced input jack, but I thought I saw a thread somewhere here on headfi about someone opening them up and making changes internally for balanced operation.
Hello, HD599 is wired internally for balanced operation. That is one of the reasons of terminating in 2.5mm for the cable input. If you want to get a cable, the main thing to look for is that the new one will have a 2.5mm that is not bigger than the original, so that it fits inside the designated space.
Thomasr
500+ Head-Fier
A lot of the cables I found go one better: they include an OEM-style locking groove on the plastic barrel. I ordered one from Aliexpress so hopefully it's of decent quantity when it arrives.
I got mine from Amazon, a NewFantasia balanced cable. If your source is optimised for balanced, it'll sound great.
If it is what you expect, decent quality, post some pictures in this thread, maybe it’ll help someone in the future.
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