This could be the perfect starter audiophile headphone for anyone looking to get into the game. Quite possibly the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. Darn good highs, mids, and bass though some might find it a bit on the light side. Overall a great purchase. Biggest turn of for most will probably be the odd color scheme adopted for the 598, but personally I love it. Another minor problem is that these headphones do not do metal justice. Sure they might be great all-rounders, but if metal is the only thing you listen to it would do you good to look at other similarly priced headphones. Granted these headphones ARE capable of keeping up with most metal bands out there.
EDIT: To add a bit more to this review. These headphones are very non-fatiguing. I've listened to these for hours at a time with no ill effects. The sound along with the amazingly comfortable ear pads conspire to make these permanently attached to your head for a long time indeed. I did pay the full 240+ dollars, but with a bit of looking around you can probably buy them for far less. Although an amp is not needed the HD598's do sound better with an amp.
EDIT 2: These headphones tend to play better with slower music. Prog rock like Pink Floyd, S.B.B sound fantastic on these headphones, as well as King Crimson. I've found that bands like the early Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple also sounds very nice. I've found that dubstep tends to be a bit cold on these headphones, but the bass is there. I can say that the headphones do sound better after a burn in.
EDIT 3: Nearly a year later, and I still have no issues with these cans. They have in fact taken over as my go to cans for gaming, movie watching, and just chilling. Although some creaking has shown it's ugly face this only happens when I adjust my headphones. The dreaded cracking issues has not surfaced on my post recall production headphones. I believe that Sennheiser has permanently fixed that issue. Headphones remain clean, and the pads remain uncompacted.
EDIT 4: Still going at it. The excellence just keeps coming from these babies. I can comfortably say that they are now in fact fully burned in. Soundstage is pretty damn impressive now that I've expanded my collection to more than just two headphones. Just a few things to note that I haven't really answered before.
-Bass: Nice thump to it. Not going to be the tooth filling rattling bass found in my HFI-580, but it does strike a nice balance for me. Give the bass guitar in some older music a nice notable presence.
-Mids: All there and accounted for. Rather mid-centric in this regard. Does vocals very well as well as acoustic guitar. Not too much else to say. They simply make this can a good fit for most music.
-Highs: Not too fatiguing at all. You catch the high bits well enough without feeling like someone just ran a dog whistle through an air compressor. Maybe not as prominent as the mids, but certainly there.
Overall all the bits are there and accounted for. This headphone from the few I've heard over the years strikes an excellent balance which leave me with the impression that it's current place in the head-ranking is well deserved. (10/28/12)
EDIT: To add a bit more to this review. These headphones are very non-fatiguing. I've listened to these for hours at a time with no ill effects. The sound along with the amazingly comfortable ear pads conspire to make these permanently attached to your head for a long time indeed. I did pay the full 240+ dollars, but with a bit of looking around you can probably buy them for far less. Although an amp is not needed the HD598's do sound better with an amp.
EDIT 2: These headphones tend to play better with slower music. Prog rock like Pink Floyd, S.B.B sound fantastic on these headphones, as well as King Crimson. I've found that bands like the early Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple also sounds very nice. I've found that dubstep tends to be a bit cold on these headphones, but the bass is there. I can say that the headphones do sound better after a burn in.
EDIT 3: Nearly a year later, and I still have no issues with these cans. They have in fact taken over as my go to cans for gaming, movie watching, and just chilling. Although some creaking has shown it's ugly face this only happens when I adjust my headphones. The dreaded cracking issues has not surfaced on my post recall production headphones. I believe that Sennheiser has permanently fixed that issue. Headphones remain clean, and the pads remain uncompacted.
EDIT 4: Still going at it. The excellence just keeps coming from these babies. I can comfortably say that they are now in fact fully burned in. Soundstage is pretty damn impressive now that I've expanded my collection to more than just two headphones. Just a few things to note that I haven't really answered before.
-Bass: Nice thump to it. Not going to be the tooth filling rattling bass found in my HFI-580, but it does strike a nice balance for me. Give the bass guitar in some older music a nice notable presence.
-Mids: All there and accounted for. Rather mid-centric in this regard. Does vocals very well as well as acoustic guitar. Not too much else to say. They simply make this can a good fit for most music.
-Highs: Not too fatiguing at all. You catch the high bits well enough without feeling like someone just ran a dog whistle through an air compressor. Maybe not as prominent as the mids, but certainly there.
Overall all the bits are there and accounted for. This headphone from the few I've heard over the years strikes an excellent balance which leave me with the impression that it's current place in the head-ranking is well deserved. (10/28/12)