This is a review and detailed measurements of a Sennheiser HD 598 SE with replacement "leather" pads. It was sent to me by the owner with a funny note:
"Hello amirm. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD598s that I inherited. I hate them. I hate them the same way that one might hate a dog barking at 2 AM, or a romantic rival who stole one's lover. Please let me send them to you so you can justify my deep hatred. Then you can fire them into the sun."
The 598SE seems to be discontinued but it sold for $249.
I must say, I like the replacement pads as they felt quite nice to wear:
Helping with the comfort is the ultra low weight of these headphones:
I am not going to give you the cup dimensions since they are not the originals.
Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!
Fitting these headphones on the fixture was super easy with matching of the two cups and levels at two different frequencies.
As is my usual practice, I look around for other reviews and measurements before finalizing mine. It was very difficult to find measurements of the SE version. Claim on the internet is that only the color is different. I saw no proof of this with measurements of both side by side. As you see below, my measurements markedly differ from 598 series posted online. I have no explanation for the discrepancy but stand beyond mine being correct for this sample.
Sennheiser HD598 SE* Measurements
As usual we start with our frequency response:
I line up my measurements around 425 Hz. Here you could shift that point and get slightly different visual representation but the story will be the same: there is a massive bass to mid-range boost from 70 Hz up to 500 Hz. This part correlates with measurements of 598 in the wild (although maybe not peaking as much). I then show a huge shortfall between 500 and 3000 Hz. This would indeed be a horribly sounding headphone if correct:
Distortion is high in upper bass and at elevated volume but fortunately we have excess output there so EQ will be in our favor:
Mid to high frequency distortion is extremely low:
Group delay indicates issues in sub-bass which may just be due to very low output in that region:
This is sensitive headphone that is easy to drive:
Impedance is middle of the road so you don't need a ton of voltage to drive it:
Sennheiser HD 598 SE Listening Tests and Equalization
It took playing just a few seconds of my first standard test clip to realize this is one horrible sounding headphone! Boomy bass swamps the mid-frequency detail and was distorted to boot (at higher volumes). There was zero spatial qualities which is indicative of hole in response between 1 and 5 kHz which measurements tell us we have.
Fortunately the shortfalls are broad in nature so was quick to bring them into compliance with just four filters:
The transformation was incredible. Sub-bass was now clean and powerful, able to play as loud as you ever wanted. I could literally get my ear lobes to resonate and tingle for the second or two I pushed it! What a great sensation if hearing loss was not to follow after extended listening.
The sound become very open with female vocals and sharper instruments coming to the forefront with zero harshness. Spatial qualities went from grade F to B+. Combined with the comfort of the headphone, I could and did listen for a long time.
As a confirmation, I had my oldest adult son do an AB test with and without EQ. He thought on some tracks the difference was subtle but on others, he liked that it took away the boominess and made the instruments so separate. Note that I had not shown him any measurements or what the EQ was doing.
Conclusions
The measurements and subjective results by no less than three humans agree that out of box tuning of this headphone is horrible. This doesn't jive with any review I read on the 598 or 598 SE. I tend to think that there is more to this SE version than just color back. Anyway, I am not going to generalize the response to all 598 SEs. The walk-away point though is that objective measurements proved their worth strongly in confirming subjective listening tests and showing the path to equalization.
For this specific Sennheiser HD598SE, I cannot recommend it without EQ. It simply is horrid. With EQ however, it becomes a keeper. I understand you can pick these up used for $100 or so at times. If so, and they all measure/EQ like this, they would be a good choic.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
"Hello amirm. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD598s that I inherited. I hate them. I hate them the same way that one might hate a dog barking at 2 AM, or a romantic rival who stole one's lover. Please let me send them to you so you can justify my deep hatred. Then you can fire them into the sun."
The 598SE seems to be discontinued but it sold for $249.
I must say, I like the replacement pads as they felt quite nice to wear:
Helping with the comfort is the ultra low weight of these headphones:
I am not going to give you the cup dimensions since they are not the originals.
Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!
Fitting these headphones on the fixture was super easy with matching of the two cups and levels at two different frequencies.
As is my usual practice, I look around for other reviews and measurements before finalizing mine. It was very difficult to find measurements of the SE version. Claim on the internet is that only the color is different. I saw no proof of this with measurements of both side by side. As you see below, my measurements markedly differ from 598 series posted online. I have no explanation for the discrepancy but stand beyond mine being correct for this sample.
Sennheiser HD598 SE* Measurements
As usual we start with our frequency response:
I line up my measurements around 425 Hz. Here you could shift that point and get slightly different visual representation but the story will be the same: there is a massive bass to mid-range boost from 70 Hz up to 500 Hz. This part correlates with measurements of 598 in the wild (although maybe not peaking as much). I then show a huge shortfall between 500 and 3000 Hz. This would indeed be a horribly sounding headphone if correct:
Distortion is high in upper bass and at elevated volume but fortunately we have excess output there so EQ will be in our favor:
Mid to high frequency distortion is extremely low:
Group delay indicates issues in sub-bass which may just be due to very low output in that region:
This is sensitive headphone that is easy to drive:
Impedance is middle of the road so you don't need a ton of voltage to drive it:
Sennheiser HD 598 SE Listening Tests and Equalization
It took playing just a few seconds of my first standard test clip to realize this is one horrible sounding headphone! Boomy bass swamps the mid-frequency detail and was distorted to boot (at higher volumes). There was zero spatial qualities which is indicative of hole in response between 1 and 5 kHz which measurements tell us we have.
Fortunately the shortfalls are broad in nature so was quick to bring them into compliance with just four filters:
The transformation was incredible. Sub-bass was now clean and powerful, able to play as loud as you ever wanted. I could literally get my ear lobes to resonate and tingle for the second or two I pushed it! What a great sensation if hearing loss was not to follow after extended listening.
The sound become very open with female vocals and sharper instruments coming to the forefront with zero harshness. Spatial qualities went from grade F to B+. Combined with the comfort of the headphone, I could and did listen for a long time.
As a confirmation, I had my oldest adult son do an AB test with and without EQ. He thought on some tracks the difference was subtle but on others, he liked that it took away the boominess and made the instruments so separate. Note that I had not shown him any measurements or what the EQ was doing.
Conclusions
The measurements and subjective results by no less than three humans agree that out of box tuning of this headphone is horrible. This doesn't jive with any review I read on the 598 or 598 SE. I tend to think that there is more to this SE version than just color back. Anyway, I am not going to generalize the response to all 598 SEs. The walk-away point though is that objective measurements proved their worth strongly in confirming subjective listening tests and showing the path to equalization.
For this specific Sennheiser HD598SE, I cannot recommend it without EQ. It simply is horrid. With EQ however, it becomes a keeper. I understand you can pick these up used for $100 or so at times. If so, and they all measure/EQ like this, they would be a good choic.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Appreciate any donations using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
