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. 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. 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. Honestly I wonder why these cans aren't more recommended all over the place, these are ridiculously good even at 180€, far better than the 598CS and the classic 598. Even in gaming these are better than the 598 because the soundstage is more precise and more sperical compared to the regular 598 and their tunnel-like soundstage (at least that's what I remember from before I sold the old 598).

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. 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.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. Should you fork out the bills for this one? If you’ve been searching for an impressive dynamic sound with plenty of highs and plenty of lows – and the HD 598 just didn’t cut it for you – I’m willing to bet you’ll love these cans. To my own ears, they sound just a tad cleaner than the 598, but don’t tell the fanboys I said that. 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. When I listened to RapCaviar though, it becomes the Achille's heel of these headphones. It detracts from the vocals rappin out and overpowers the song along with the Lower-bass. Lower bass is good itself, but if combined with this part of the frequency it just detracts from the song entirely. I'm going to add a few more details even though nobody seems to care about these cans for some reason.

P.S. I've noticed that the 598 sounds bit darker on my onboard compared to AMP, so that also could be the case for not having an amp.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. Sennheiser HD 598’s bass may not be as strong as other models’ basses, but it does have a powerful and well-balanced bass. You can play your favorite hip-hop tunes and not be disappointed with its sound quality.

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. 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.

It's a necessary evil, where it overpowers the song but also contributes to the airiness and openness of the song itself.