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Sennheiser HD 598 SE* Review (headphone)

frogmeat69

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What do you mean "close enough?" That is the puzzle we are trying to solve. I explained at the outset that people are saying these are the same headphones but no objective data is provided. If you don't have an SE version to present, then there is nothing relevant here.
The original 598 was that tan/cream colored set with brown pads,
1624928153055.png
the 598SE was basically the same headphone, but in black like the pair you tested.
I owned the SE and don't remember them sounding that horrible, but not all that great, either. The pads should be original for testing, me thinks.
 
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ezra_s

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I have one Amir is welcome to test once he is done with the headphone my wife keeps nagging me about. :) Haven't offered the GSP500 because it didn't seem especially important to me. I can think of 10 other headphones I would rather see reviewed. If Amir and others think GSP500 is worthwhile, I am happy to lend it.

I find this headphone has some more good sub-bass than others I used and it is generally good for its intent, also seen "zeos" talking crap about it.. so I'd love to see it properly analyzed by amirm (I didn't see any measurements of it anywhere else).

The recent review of the PC38X reminded me of it because it has a similar mic.

I would really appreciate it! Oh and probably we would get a good EQ suggestion for it :)
 

raistlin65

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Pads can dramatically change the frequency response of the headphones.

For example, here are uncompensated measurements that Dekoni took of the HD650 that show the stock pads frequency response and their various aftermarket pads


Dekoni-HD-650-Pads-Compared-1-1024x555.png


So what you've measured here, @amirm, is akin to someone sending you a pair of speakers but they've modified the enclosures extensively. lol

Which aftermarket pads are they???
 

AndreaT

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Useful test for those looking to improve their musical experience and who happen to listen to Music through a pair of these disgraceful HP. In case you are wondering, I do not, but just by fat chance, as I used to be a Sennheiser customer.
 

Maiky76

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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 felt quite nice to wear:

View attachment 137977

Helping with the comfort is the ultra low weight of these headphones:

View attachment 137978

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:

View attachment 137979

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:
View attachment 137980

Distortion is high in upper bass and at elevated volume but fortunately we have excess output there so EQ will be in our favor:

View attachment 137981

Mid to high frequency distortion is extremely low:
View attachment 137982

Group delay indicates issues in sub-bass which may just be due to very low output in that region:

View attachment 137983

This is sensitive headphone that is easy to drive:

View attachment 137984

Impedance is middle of the road so you don't need a ton of voltage to drive it:

View attachment 137985

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:

View attachment 137987

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.

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Hi,
Here are some thoughts about the EQ.

Notes about the EQ design:
  • The average L/R is used to calculate the score.
  • The resolution is 12 points per octave interpolated from the raw data (provided by @amirm)
  • A Genetic Algorithm is used to optimize the EQ.
  • The EQ Score is designed to MAXIMIZE the Score WHILE fitting the Harman target curve with a fixed complexity.
    This will avoid weird results if one only optimizes for the Score.
    It will probably flatten the Error regression doing so, the tonal balance should be more neutral.
  • The EQs are starting point and may require tuning (certainly at LF).
  • The range above 10kHz is usually not EQed unless smooth enough to do so.
  • I am using PEQ (PK) as from my experience the definition is more consistent across different DSP/platform implementations than shelves.
  • With some HP/amp combo the boosts and preamp gain need to be carefully considered to avoid issues

Excellent L/R match.

I have generated one EQ, the APO config file is attached.

Score no EQ: 13.2
Score Armirm: 48.3
Score with EQ: 94.6

Code:
Sennheiser HD 598SE APO EQ Flat@HF 96000Hz
June292021-093948

Preamp: -9.8 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 24.45 Hz Gain 9.73 dB Q 0.89
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 182.98 Hz Gain -9.80 dB Q 0.50
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 630.19 Hz Gain 6.59 dB Q 2.03
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1567.59 Hz Gain 9.97 dB Q 1.68
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2995.06 Hz Gain -3.50 dB Q 2.60
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5466.54 Hz Gain -2.45 dB Q 4.75
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7989.00 Hz Gain -6.19 dB Q 5.00
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 9902.66 Hz Gain 4.00 dB Q 0.49

Sennheiser HD 598SE Dashboard.png
 

Attachments

  • Sennheiser HD 598SE APO EQ Flat@HF 96000Hz.txt
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  • Sennheiser HD 598SE Dashboard.png
    Sennheiser HD 598SE Dashboard.png
    948.1 KB · Views: 107

Alice of Old Vincennes

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I've got the HD 599 'phones. The sound description you have of the 598 se corresponds to the 599s, thick in the midbass/lower midrange, fuzzy/blurry on top. Similar reaction to the 579 [also have]. I don't understand how a company that came up with the 650 'phones would come up with such nasty sounding headphones.
I have ,599 and 650. Wife and son prefer 599 due to comfort. I really can't hear much difference between them. Both sound good.
 

tdockweiler

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Maybe you should have a new policy of measurements with original pads only?
Or if you do measure them with alternative pads, also post measurements with originals too.

Is it possible for you to still measure these with the original pads before you ship them back?
Maybe the owner doesn't mind waiting a few weeks (since they hate them anyway!).

I remember loving the original yellow HD-598 with the original pads.
I'm actually not sure what makes the SE any different.

I actually prefer them to the HD-650.
I wonder why Sennheiser discontinued the original HD-598?

PS that frequency graph is pretty ugly for sure. Reminds me of an old one I saw of the Koss MV1.
Possibly the worst measuring headphone ever made.
 
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Sinquito

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I had this headphone, never liked it. I always thought it was me, but they never sound “good” or “special”. I gift them away almost new, since I never actually used it because of the sound. Later I bought a pair of HD600 and those are still my favorite pair of headphones to this day, night and day if you ask me. Based on the FR, I also think that maybe the pads are affecting the measurements, or maybe this particular pair is broken. Anyway, I can confirm that my pair were also bad sounding with stock pads and I don’t think mine were broken.
 
OP
amirm

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Is it possible for you to still measure these with the original pads before you ship them back?
The owner doesn't have the original pads. What you saw, is what I got to test.
 

tdockweiler

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Someone take one for the team and overnight mail him some Hd-598 official pads :)
Wish I could, but my poor HD-598 cracked and died a slow death. Always wanted to get another one some day.
I remember getting them on sale for $150 once. Pretty good deal at the time.
Sadly at the time there was only the ugly yellow version which reminded me of one of the old yellow stained Super Nintendos.
Remember those? Ugh.
 

frix

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Well, I understand that amir gets stuff send by users. But whats the point and value to test gear which is discontinued and not in its original state? I don't want to sound ungrateful but I why not invest that time in current products?
 

solderdude

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HD598SE as measured by Rtings with original pads.
I know it says HD598 but that was the brown/creme version the SE is black... only difference. Not everyone wanted/liked the brown/creme one and the SE (black) was made to increase sales. Same story with HD599.

I have ,599 and 650. Wife and son prefer 599 due to comfort. I really can't hear much difference between them. Both sound good.

HD599 vs HD650

hd599-vs-hd650.png


HD598 and HD599 are more similar than not.
The aftermarket pads all are a bit darker sounding.

Any EQ based on this measurement would ONLY apply with similar aftermarket pads

+10dB around 200Hz is going to sound very muddy.
descriptors2.png


I would expect the original pads to have +5dB around 200Hz.

The dip around 1.5kHz is going to give a lack of clarity/detail as well.

The weird behavior at 40Hz and 60Hz is pad bounce, the pads absorbing and delaying those frequencies, that's why it is so visible in the delay plot.
Fortunately the wavelength is so long a little delay there isn't a big issue.
 
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Luke

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I'm not sure how many HD598 units oratory has measured, but the one I sent in was the SE version.

It's hard to overestimate the impact pads have on the tuning of headphones. It would be like reviewing a used pre-built computer that originally had an RTX 3090, but the previous owner swapped it out for a GTX 1660... same computer, right? :D
 
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amirm

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Well, I understand that amir gets stuff send by users. But whats the point and value to test gear which is discontinued and not in its original state? I don't want to sound ungrateful but I why not invest that time in current products?
People have interest in discontinued products since they can often be picked up on the cheap. In this case, the owner had donated the speaker to me so I thought I measure it and see if I can confirm his subjective findings.
 
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amirm

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We had the hottest day in the history of this area today. Firing anything into the sun would be something I would do if it helped lower the temps!
 

StuartC

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People have interest in discontinued products since they can often be picked up on the cheap.
Exactly, almost all of my gear is secondhand. If you're savvy you can find some great gear for much more palatable prices. Especially when all of your other hobbies need vast chunks of money too. Not to mention children, wife, house, pets, fancy holidays etc etc.

When I am in a position to implement my end-game system at home I'll look at brand new, but not until. In the meantime I can chop and change without really losing much money.

Keep up the good work Amir, we all appreciate your dedication.
 
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