Sennheiser HD 599 Headphones Review

What if I told you, you haven’t seen a color? You come over to my house, walk into my kitchen, look at a backsplash, and ask, what color is that? I look at you and say Blue. Only your response is, “Blue… blue can look like that?” That is what happened when I put on the Sennheiser HD 599 headphones, and I assure you, I thought I was going to be overpaying for a middle-of-the-road sound experience.

           I am a sucker for a deal when buying anything, whether a saxophone or coffee maker. So when I began to dabble in the possibility of upgrading from my 17-year-old AKG K-240 studio headphones, it was overwhelming. I have always wanted to be an audiophile. The guy who gives advice, talking about sound frequencies and impedance, but I’m not that guy when it comes down to it. I am terrible at remembering numbers and ranges. As a saxophonist, it isn’t the information I use daily. So when I investigated upgrading from these headphones, I submerged myself in headphone brands, product reviews, and audiophile blogs to figure out what would work best for me. The rabbit hole left me torn, half-educated, and even more confused than before. Like googling what could be the cause of a strange rash, trying to self-educate comes with risk. So before I bask over my favorite headphones, let me explain what I was looking for in a pair of headphones.

Neutral Listening and Power 

I’m a purest. I want a flat line unaltered sound. To me, a neutral balance will give me a bit of everything. It’ll be honest if I’m listening to recordings of myself, I’ll be able to edit using logic, I will be able to listen to a range of genres, and know the balance is true to the recording. So, I wanted a pair of headphones that conveyed sound in a balanced form. I wanted headphones that could get loud, my biggest gripe with the AKG K-240’s was when I plugged them into my laptop, I maxed out the volume, but my ears wouldn’t bleed. Too often, you listen to softer recordings in the classical realm that don’t get loud enough. Using my “good” pair of headphones and still having to wince my eyes and stiffen my neck to increase my super hearing powers left me aggravated. I wanted my next pair of headphones to be able to crank up the volume and regret it.

Looks and feel

           If I was going to spend more cash, I wanted to feel cool doing it. So as important as the sound quality was, I wanted comfortable headphones with a unique look. While my casual listening rarely goes beyond 30 minutes, but when I record or have a lesson over zoom, the time can add up. Once again, my AKG’s didn’t feel comfortable. To be fair, they were so old the leather cups had cracked and scratched against my skin. I wanted a pair that caught my eye while still providing functionality.

Open or closed back – wireless or wired

           I didn’t have much experience with open or closed-back headphones because I had never investigated buying over-the-ear headphones. To this point, I was strictly into earbuds. If you want headphones to block out the sound of screaming children or the neighbors down the hall, closed may be for you. Also, if you do lots of at-home recording and are worried about noise bleed from headphones, this is an important feature. However, if you are looking for a more enjoyable sound experience, open back is the route you want to go with. Open back gives you that surround sound feel but comes with the caveat that you can be interrupted by your surroundings. Therefore, there is a tradeoff between the two, and you should take this into account when making the decision.

Everyone wants wireless, but there are two solid justifications for going with wired headphones. First, essentially zero delay and interference compared to wireless connection: and significantly lower prices. When you’re hardwired into your sound source, you don’t have to worry about that annoying random static interference. Wired versions compared to similar quality wireless are at least 100 dollars cheaper. Also, if you are worried about longer sessions, battery life isn’t an issue when you just plug right in.

Searching for Advice

           When I went down this rabbit hole of discovery, I found a few excellent resources. Number one for me was rtings.com. Rtings has almost every possible headphone you can find with in-depth reviews and testing analysis of each while giving you barebones stats with some summarized feedback. The best part about Rtings was the comparison feature. Once I narrowed my options, I could compare both headphones side by side to really look at the differences between them. If you like to nerd out with numbers, this sight is what did it for me. I also spent a lot of time reading more conversational reviews, and Headfonia.com had the article that really caught my eye when making my final decision. Ironically it also contained a quote from Sennheiser’s own marketing team that almost scared me off. “You may have listened to headphones that are quite good. The HD 599 will show you what lies beyond that. Be warned: there is no turning back.” After spending countless hours looking into a high-quality pair of headphones, I started to regret stepping into the $200 range if it was only going to cause me to feel a desire to upgrade 6 months later. I should mention all this research was to ask for these headphones as a gift…. So just before Christmas, I backed out and said I wanted to go with a cheaper, “safer” model.

My Review

           Thank God my girlfriend didn’t listen to me. Sure, enough, on my birthday, I was surprised with the HD 599’s. They have a cool retro look and plush velvet replaceable ear cups. Lightweight, good quality feel. The audio cable is also removable, so you can replace the cord if it gets damaged. They looked great and felt great, but what about the sound?

They blew my mind…

The open-back style sound was unreal. Listening to music became more emotional. I felt like I was getting lost in the music. The treble and highs were crisper than I had been used to hearing, with the bass still distinct. It was a private concert taking place as I sat alone in my living room, and this is not an exaggeration; tears started to form. At 30 years old, I listened to music, unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. Kid Cud, Coltrane, Tim McAllister, New York Phil; It was all better, and because it was all better, I felt like I was experiencing sounds I didn’t know existed. Literally hearing things, I couldn’t distinguish with headphones in the past.

The Sennheiser HD 599 headphones changed my perception of sound. I found myself listening longer, editing my music more effectively, and even plugging them into my Xbox controller to watch Netflix and play video games (more on this soon). The sound was hands down better than anything I have ever experienced beyond surround sound in a movie theatre, and everything I was reading was telling me these were just the entry point of sound for audiophiles. Sennheiser’s marketing was no exaggeration. When Morpheus asks Neo to choose the blue pill or the red. Once you choose, there’s no going back.