It’s always worth waiting for the annual Berlin IFA for just one reason – the first official presentations have devices that will not be available until after some time. It resembles a fashion situation – the latest trends appear before the actual season, which allows you to organize the wardrobe and prepare for the arrival of the “new”. IFA is, therefore, a kind of compass of the latest trends and it is not surprising that it attracts the most important manufacturers from the industry, including, of course, the local, i.e. German. I've been using them on and off with the 598CS and man the 599 is far superior in every single aspect. Even the bass is much better defined on the 599, it goes deeper and is also faster and more precise with no "boom" whatsoever, that's pretty odd for open headphones compared to closed ones! They're also clearer despite this, I mean it, the sound is crystal clear and the soundstage is immense compared to closed cans. The HD599 has an Impedance of 50 Ω, and not the iconic 300Ohm of the audiophile level units. Its frequency response is 12- 38,500 Hz, the sound pressure level (SPL) is 106dBSPL (1kHz/1Vrms) and THD, total harmonic distortion is <0.1% (1kHz, 100dBSPL). In 1960 Sennheiser presented the MD421 to the world and it put the Sennheiser name on the map. Four years later Sennheiser created their first headphone, the HD414. I’m sure you’ve seen it before as it is very easy to remember with the yellow colored pads. Sennheiser produced it for 15 years and sold over 10 million units which is extremely impressive. They patented the open ear design for 25 years. Sennheiser employs 1300 people in Germany (of which 400 are in production) and 2800 people worldwide.

The sound stage is quite good on these. I won’t talk about it in terms of listening to music, as it’s rarely ever recorded in a way that makes you appreciate the sound stage of headphones. Sennheiser’s Marketing Dpt says the following: “The new HD 500 range has been refreshed with Sennheiser’s elegant contemporary design language, which discretely communicates refinement, purpose and exceptional build quality. The HD 599 features subtle premium design cues that reveal their superior performance at a glance. The HD 599 combines a timeless ivory color scheme with a headband finished with brown stitching which, with the matte metallic detailing on the ear cups and headband, create an immediate impression of substance and quality”. The mids are well balanced on the HD 599 SE, but similarly to the HE400se, they tend to drop off at around the 1.2-2kHz range, though not nearly as much. I suppose this is done on purpose to reduce the “shouty” frequencies that tend to make the listening experience a bit harsher. The HD599 – according to Sennheiser – lets the listener enjoy their choice of home entertainment with exceptional wearing comfort assured, thanks to the large ear cups and soft, replaceable ear pads. Created with Sennheiser’s “Ergonomic acoustic refinement” (E.A.R.) technology, the headphones have been designed to more effectively channel the audio signal directly into the ears of the listener for a more satisfying listening experience. Offering a step into the world of audiophile sound, the HD599 is a premium headphone for those seeking sophisticated sound, design and build quality. The top-of-the-range model impresses with a natural spatial performance.Assetto Corsa Competitizione has amazing sound design, and you can really appreciate it with these headphones, especially using the in-car view. It feels like you’re in the car, and you can accurately hear the curbs, other cars, and even how your tires are doing based on the sound alone. Grenades exploding in the distance, footsteps, and gunshots around you in Counter-Strike are goosebump-inducing with how wide the sound stage sounds on these headphones. Imaging The HD555/595 design that the 558/598/599/etc are based on were never designed for gaming, they were designed for music, movies and media devices.

Marketing people always find interesting statements, don’t they? I do see what they mean though and for a whole lot of people who never experienced decent sound this most likely will be the case. The keywords that come in to mind when listening to the HD599 are smooth, engaging and musical and all that in a very possible way. The HD599 simply sounds smooth and is easy to listen to and it to a lot of ears will sound natural with a lovely warmness. Sennheiser achieved to make the HD599 smooth and detailed at the same time and because of that it will please both the new listener as well as the more experienced one. The H599 is a headphone you can perfectly use for watching movies and for listening to music to, it’s a great all-rounder. When you look at the HD599’s press material you immediately notice this headphone is branded as a top of the line “do-it-all” headphone for watching movies and for listening to music and basically anything that can be done with a headphone. The HD6XX and all the higher end models are marketed as pure audiophile headphones for music listening. The best gaming headphones IMO, are the ones that are best at reproducing binaural soundfields accurately. Newer game engines are becoming more realistic with spatial audio and headphones such as the 600 can actually create a more realistic sounding reproduction of a binaural sound field over the 598. It's the reason both HD700 and HD800 are good for gaming as well.

I also found out you can put the 598CS pads on the 599, this makes the sound closer and bass heavy, on the other hand the 599 pads on the 598CS makes the sound super tinny and just awful. I think the 599 is basically a perfect headphone, for my taste as is, I don't even need to EQ the bass unless I'm listening to literal basshead stuff. I wish I could try the HD600 "to see what lies beyond that" but I can't afford them. Don't give up on your HD600 for gaming just yet. A headphone doesn't need to be 'designed for gaming'. If you read such a thing that is pretty much marketing.