Sennheiser HD 598 Cs Around-Ear Closed Back Headphones - Black

I decided to write this review in response to other non-informative reviews on Amazon regarding Sennheiser HD 598Cs.Statements such as, these headphones are “poor”, “awesome”, “awful”, “good”, “flat”, “lacking bass”, etc. provide no information whatsoever except the reviewers’ vague preference. Poor vs. awesome based on whose standard and/or compared to what? As for the frequency response of these headphones, it is not “flat". But I have yet to encounter any headphones with the true flat frequency response, unless through EQ. If you are in doubt, pay a quick visit to headphone/headroom and study frequency response graphs of many headphones that audiophiles often use as anchoring points.My headphone experiences include (current and past): AKG K451, AKG K550, AKG K702, Grado SR80e, NAD Viso HP50, Sennheiser Momentum Wireless, HD 25-II, HD600, and HD650. I will mention some of these as the anchoring points to explain my experience with HD598Cs. My listening was done using JDS Lab ODAC combo with Apple Lossless music files.If you are curious about the amount of bass or treble of these headphones, you can make an educated guess by looking at the HD598SE graph (currently there is no graph available for HD598Cs, to the best of my knowledge). My guess is that HD598Cs and HD598SE share a very similar sound signature, with a bit of added bass response in HD598Cs compared to HD598SE due to the closed design. Claiming that HD598Cs has no bass is a false accusation. Just look at the measurement. What's not enough for you can be plenty for others.My initial impression of HD598Cs was similar to that of Sennheiser HD600 (maybe 90%) and of AKG K702 (maybe 10%). In fact, based on my subjective visual assessment, these three sets of headphones do exhibit similar frequency responses (assuming HD598Cs and HD598SE are similar; please look up graphs for these three headphones). Compare the graph of your favourite cans to that of HD598SE (+ maybe a bit of bass), and you know whether these headphones are worth your time/listen/money.Compared to AKG K550, I felt that HD598Cs was more comfortable to listen for a long period of time for two reasons. One was that the overall headband and cup shapes embrace my head, whereas AKG K550 kind of used to sit on the top of my head. I did reshape the headband of AKG K550 a few times however, to make it follow the curve of my head in the end. But even after reshaping the headband, I still find HD598Cs more comfortable than AKG K550 (and as comfortable as HD600 and HD650). Secondly, the treble on HD598Cs felt less sharp than on AKG K550. In other words, I sensed that the treble amplitude of HD598Cs was lower than that of K550. However, a quick look at frequency response graphs will tell you that overall the treble amount is about the same (again, based on my quick visual assessment) between these two headphones. This is to say, studying the frequency response graphs won’t give you all the information you want. You will eventually have to test cans on your own. But I find studying frequency response is a good starting point.If I may consider HD598Cs as the closed-version of H600, I would say NAD Viso HP50 is the closed-version of HD650 (+ Grado’s in-your-face sound signature). I won’t go into detail about how HD650 and HP50 compare, since this review is about HD598Cs. I should note, however, the obvious fact that HD598Cs is closed and HD600 is open - the sound quality difference is there. But to my ears, I find HD598Cs not much worse than HD600, disregarding the sound signature difference due to the closed vs open design between the two. If you ask my preference between HD598Cs vs. Momentum, I like HD598Cs over Momentum. I felt that I could hear sound more evenly across the frequency from HD598Cs than from Momentum (and indeed this is the case based on the frequency responses, especially in treble range).As closed headphones and at this price (<£150; although I was lucky to snap this pair at £89), I find the sound quality exceptional. Although I was extremely lucky to be able to get these at £89, I have to say, having sold these at such a low price point was a huge mistake on Sennheiser’s part. Based on my previous experience with headphones under £100, I find low-end headphones (e.g., AKG K451 and many others that I cannot even remember and be bothered to list here) try hard to impress listeners with lots of bass and treble in order to give the impression of high-end quality sound. In fact, similar trend is happening in music recording industries. Google “Loudness War”. But I digress. Now back to the price point of £89. This extremely and ridiculously low price tag (£89 during black Friday) gave access to many people who had not spent over £100 ever for a decent pair of headphones, who hadn't experienced sonic orgasms, or who simply expected more-bass-more-treble-more-everything from HD598Cs. To put it simply, Sennheiser invited the wrong audience to the party. The end-result is the dichotic "reviews" on Amazon you read today.To summarise, these are great everyday headphones. If you are into “neutral” sound, then these headphones will be an excellent choice. If you are into heavy thump/bass, your money would be better spent elsewhere.

First off the bat, I bought these headphones in this years Black Friday Week (2016) for £89. To be honest, I would happily pay full price for these headphones. I have been an avid user of Sennheiser for 11 years, starting off using the HD202s, then slowly progressing up, thinking the HD429s were the best I had ever used. Well I was right until I bought these beauties! The only way to describe them is like when you eat that perfect chip. It's nice and fluffy and hot on the inside, and deliciously crispy on the outside. No these headphones aren't crispy but the quality is very crisp and luscious! Here are some points I would like to make as to why I love these headphones so much compared to other Sennheiser Models.1. The sound quality is superb. It's like something you would get from a set of Bose headphones, it completely blows the likes of Beats out of the water. The bass isn't heavy which I like. Instead it compliments the other frequencies which means the quality on both modern and classical music is intricate. They're definitely worth the full price and worth investing in if, like me, you are in to sound design.2. Removable cables. This feature I find particularly handy. In the package is included a long 3.5mm to 6mm jack for all those in to sound and music design etc. But it also comes with a shorter 3.5mm jack cable for those who want to also use them for going out and about, and includes a microphone for all of those who play music from their phones. Not a feature I would use as I use my iPod but there we go.3. They are super light. Really you can find a lot of headphones these days, even cheaper Sennheiser models that are a little heavy and they become uncomfortable after a while of use. Particularly if, like me, you have a large head. These headphones are so light and comfortable you can kind of forget you are wearing them. And they are not too tight for those of us with fat heads! So as well as getting a rich and beautiful sound to tickle your earbuds (not a real concept I know), you get to enjoy that without discomfort on your ears and your head. I had that slight problem with the 202s. They are also rather stylish!4. They are noise cancelling. And believe me, they are. I live with 3 girls, all of them drama students and all of them loving to sing. So you can imagine my flat is very loud and chaotic and beautifully mad! Well these headphones cancel a lot of that out. Seriously, they do. One flatmate was singing at full projection in the same room as me while I was listening to Concerning Hobbits by the talented Howard Shore. I tell you this, I could hear every note perfectly. Maybe on the odd occasion I caught a bit of sound from my flatmate as she belted the top notes of her song but honestly, these headphones perfectly cut her out enough for me to be able to listen to my favourite music without interruption.So to summarise, would I recommend these to a friend? YES!! 100% yes! They might seem expensive, but for what you get, it is way worth it! You won't be disappointed!NOTE:I had been using these headphones for 8hours non stop to break them in, so don't expect the quality to be at it's best straight off the bat. However I can say the quality when you first start listening is something to admire from Sennheiser.