Sennheiser has been in the audio business for too long to not have a near-perfect headphone lineup. Almost every can they put out has something special going on for it. In fact open-back headphones have always been a successful niche for them and HD 598 special edition headphones have demonstrated this again. Their posh exteriors, the heartwarming sound and airy soundstage bring you music nirvana. They have a higher impedance than MDR10R which means they will need some external help to piston the volume up with miniscule portable MP3 players. Once you get them going, they will fill the inside and outside of your head with sweet melody.
Audio Performance
Sennheiser HD 598 SE headphones have one of the cleanest cut audios in their price range. It’s hard to rival such clarity and detail across the frequency spectrum.Vocals and guitars put forth every ounce of their being through these cans. Highs uphold their dignity even at the highest volumes. There’s not a sliver of sibilance with a volume jerk up. Then there’s the bass. It rears its majestic head only when needed. Bass growls deeply in the undercurrent of mids and highs to give them a sense of suppressed energy. New Years Day by U2 transports you into a different universe of perverse bass thumping down, barely held in reins, over Bono’s magical voice with Adam Clayton’s Midas touch on bass guitar.
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The soundstage of HD 598 SE is massive. It puts every instrument and every distance in perspective for the listener forcing the music to come out of your mind and alive around you.You will be able to visualize the vocalist’s restlessness and his or her persistent conformity ritual with the drummer. It creates a sense of space in our head that projects to our personal concert. Rise of the Dark Knight has never felt so intense with any other headphone.
Devices like smartphones, iPad, iPod may not be able to draw the best out of Sennheiser HD 598 SE headphones. Try a FiiO E10K or an SMSL SD793 amplifier and use these to connect to the smaller devices and enjoy the minutiae of their audio.
Design and Features
The HD 598 SE headphones from Sennheiser could be their Harry potter in terms of comfort, the Chosen One. There’s no denying the way Velour earpads feel against your ears. The earcups are oval and encircle your ears rather than sit annoyingly on them and destroy your zen while listening to music. Even if you have jumbo ears and the earpads tend to make themselves cozy on your ears, the touch of soft cushion can only be enjoyed. The cranial arch is also sewn with leatherette material that is attached like tiny cushions.
HD 598 SE is an open back design. The metal grill at the back of its earpieces carries the Sennheiser logo. The left earcup has a slot to fit 3.5mm jack for the cable. Cable is detachable and can be replaced by the user. It locks with all the satisfying noises and sits firm unlike Sony MDR1R where there’s no locking mechanism for the removable cable. Sennheiser HD 598 SE actually clocks a higher weight than the usual 8 ounce mark. If you wear them for long hours, after a while your head might feel fatiguedwithout you realizing that it’s because of the weight.
Neodymium magnets, Duofol diaphragms, surround reflector and compressed cellulose fleece all work together to bring out the melodies from the HD 598 SE cans. Sennheiser utilize their ‘Eargonomic Acoustic Refinement’ (E.A.R) technology to channel all the sound into your ears and create a room full of music around you.
Additional Features:
Two cables: This special edition of Sennheiser HD 598 headphones carries two cables in the pack. One is a 10 feet cord that terminates in a 1.4mm jack. It can be used with studio equipment and most of the amps in the market. The length gives you leeway to move around and open a new packet of Cheetos while watching Miss Congeniality. Another cable is a 3.5mm male-male cable with inline remotes for smartphone use. Other than these, there are no other accessories to speak of. Given how precious these headphones seem, there’s no hard carry case because these cans are meant to be on only when you sit yourself down for glorious reveling in music or movies.
Reasonable price: If you look up the HD 598 SE headphones now, you will agree that they bang big for bucks. Such comfort and revelation of audio are not done so charmingly every day and definitely not at this price.
Pros:
- Highly comfortable, no clamping on ears
- Velour earpads and leatherette headband padding
- Tonally balanced detailed sound
- Detachable cable fastens with a lock
- Comes with a studio as well as a normal 3.5mm male-to-male cable
- Wide soundstage with 3D sound
Cons:
- No hard carry case provided
Verdict
Sennheiser HD 598 Special Edition headphones are for people who take their audio seriously. If you are a diligent person who likes to know every nook and cranny of the audio, then look no further than these. They look big and with cable they are quite hefty, so they are more of a home headphone than your city cans. With the different cables provided you can hook them up to your ultra large screen TV or home theatre for a 3D movie experience, audio-wise. Otherwise you can slip in an amplifier and connect them to playback devices. Either way HD 598 SE headphones requires discerning taste to display their audio prowess.
