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 would go with 6XX or 4XX, 4XX is more flat than 6XX and better for gaming as i know. 6XX should be better for music. 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. Not saying the 598 won't pull ahead or be more enjoyable in some respects. i just find that even though the hd600 is a bit darker, I find it more linear, natural and refined over the 598. In fact we have a pair of HD 599 demo unit in our office which, in my opinion, sounds slightly better than the HD 598. I can say that the sound signature of the HD 599 is the same, if not better, than the HD 598. Do keep in mind that due to burn-in and HD 598 will initially sound different than brand new HD 599. But if both are brand new, then they will sound very similar."

On "Don't Drift...", they're essential to the openness of the song. It sounds very spacious in there and you're relaxed. However, it can be a bit overpowering there as sometimes it can distract you from the detail, but more often than not, you will feel relaxed and happy with this mid-bass open on this song. On classical same story.However, the 560s also exist. I recently tried them out at Best Buy and I love the detail in those because its straight in your face. The 560s are the overachiever kids, the streaming service with a premium subscription. The 599s gives you what you need, but are more chill and know how to relax. Even when listening to discs on which bass was not skewed (Paul Simon “Stranger To Stranger”, Radiohead “A Moon Shaped Pool”), one does not feel their exaggeration. But that’s not all – good control of this range is complemented by clear, transparent, and saturated sound colors. When needed, the low components can surprise you with real momentum and freedom, but even then each hit seems precisely programmed. The specific “violent storm” known from the HD 589 has given way to “accuracy of mathematical machine operations”, which turned out to be good for the whole presentation. Without too much emphasis/deemphasizing the mid bass, the frequencies of the sound profile are excellent.

The HD 598 and HD 599 are extremely close in sound performance, with a slightly tweaked driver. Indeed the specs are the same – it’s mostly a facelift with different colour scheme and materials used. But since this headset is nearly dead, I want to replace it and the HD599 just didn't do it for me. So i'm kinda wondering if trying the hd600 is worth it as I didn't like the sound signature of the hd599. 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.I tried them while gaming as well and found the same issue I had with music listening were present there as well. Not clear enough to be a satisfying gaming headset for me. 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. 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. I'm going to add a few more details even though nobody seems to care about these cans for some reason.

Not really sure about other options in Europe, maybe the cheaper DAC-X6 also ( 910mW ). Or if you're willing to wait longer and pay customs: I assumed that the 599s were supposed to be more of an "entertaining" headphone, so I thought the comparison to the SR-80 might be closer, but the SR-80 blew them away. Listened on: ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 with Peace APO tuned to Harman Target, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with Wavelet with AutoEQ and limiter on, wired with apple dongle If an even-to-flat sound is your cup of tea, though, you’re better off opting for the slightly more-expensive HD 600 – for a clinical sound, the 600 reigns supreme. 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.It's a necessary evil, where it overpowers the song but also contributes to the airiness and openness of the song itself. According to Sennheiser the HD 599 is your first step into the world of audiophile sound and I couldn’t agree more. It’s smooth, easy to like and listen to but you also get good detail and depth resulting in a musical and natural sound. It weighs an astonishing 269 grams. When it comes to comfort, you can wear the HD 598 for hours without feeling any discomfort, thanks to its light design and the comfy earpads, as well as the leather bands. They have a small axis where you can adjust the size of the headband according to head size. 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. 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.

I would recommend FiiO K3 ( low power @ ~200mW its like the E10K just new and better ) or the FiiO K5 ( no DAC, but you can use FiiO DAP as DAC - 1.5W ).

I don't know what Sennheiser was trying to achieve here. Low midrange is accentuated making male vocals and guitars louder, while high midrange is recessed. This is pretty evident with good records where the voice is not mastered very loud. Detail is just average. Also HE4XX that i currently use doesn't have much bass by default, but with some EQ they have it more than enough and its really nice and realistic bass, the sub bass is pretty good ( sounds like my subwoofer, while the 598 for example is artificial af and has pretty much zero sub bass ), but to get the good bass on planars u need good AMP, since its like +12dB ( -12dB preamp ) on low end to compensate the volume. Lower-Bass is excellent. Very good for RapCaviar and other modern rap songs, may get in the way for songs using acoustics but you can EQ that down and problem solved. Doesn't remove detail, just is a distraction to it.