Sennheiser HD 599 SE Around Ear Open Back Headphones (Black)

UniqueLinen876

Mar 18, 2026 2:43 AM

2 Comments

Joined Feb 2021

UniqueLinen876Mar 18, 2026 2:43 AM

2 Comments

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I've had these for years. Don't listen to the snobbish headphone community that says you need to shell out $500+ for a good pair for headphones, these are amazing for open back headphones and will serve 99% of people. The open back gives the sound a great sound stage, which is great for certain applications. I bought them at a slightly higher price a couple years ago and never regretted it. Insanely comfortable and can be used for gaming, music, and any general application. Slap a Sennheiser mic into the port and you have an amazing gaming headset that will blow any competition out of the water.

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BlueMeal5164

Mar 18, 2026 2:51 AM

29 Comments

Joined Apr 2025

BlueMeal5164Mar 18, 2026 2:51 AM

29 Comments

Definitely decent headphones for the price just remember open back means people around you can kinda hear them too if you are a more casual consumer.

1

Mr2GQ

Mar 18, 2026 2:55 AM

56 Comments

Joined Nov 2005

Mr2GQMar 18, 2026 2:55 AM

56 Comments

Quote from UniqueLinen876

:

I've had these for years. Don't listen to the snobbish headphone community that says you need to shell out $500+ for a good pair for headphones, these are amazing for open back headphones and will serve 99% of people. The open back gives the sound a great sound stage, which is great for certain applications. I bought them at a slightly higher price a couple years ago and never regretted it. Insanely comfortable and can be used for gaming, music, and any general application. Slap a Sennheiser mic into the port and you have an amazing gaming headset that will blow any competition out of the water.

1000%. I bought these for $140 ten years ago... and still grab them regularly. Are they $1k audiophile headphones- no. But you also don't neeeeeedddd a DAC to push these, either. They are miles above other headphones in the same price point.

Buyer beware: these are the gateway drug to an expensive hifi audio hobby. Lol

1

3

dealzgurl

Mar 18, 2026 3:18 AM

99 Comments

Joined Sep 2014

dealzgurlMar 18, 2026 3:18 AM

99 Comments

Are these good for Zoom calls or phone calls where I have to interview clients? If not, I'm open to recommendations.

1

zeddikus_tkr

Mar 18, 2026 3:30 AM

434 Comments

Joined Mar 2011

zeddikus_tkrMar 18, 2026 3:30 AM

434 Comments

Quote from dealzgurl

:

Are these good for Zoom calls or phone calls where I have to interview clients? If not, I'm open to recommendations.

These do not have a microphone so if that is not an issue, these would be nice to hear in the zoom call. I personally use a Logitech G Pro X headset which sounds provides good sound and has a nice microphone for my Teams calls.

sisseton

Mar 18, 2026 3:46 AM

756 Comments

Joined Nov 2014

sissetonMar 18, 2026 3:46 AM

756 Comments

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Got these in the bone white color for $69 about 2 to 3 years ago and paired them with a FiiO E10K Olympus 2 DAC for $30 and couldn't be happier. These headphones have been an amazing purchase, honestly one of the best I've ever made.
I use them daily. They are comfortable, sound great, and I can wear them for long periods without getting sweaty. They have also taken their fair share of abuse and handled it all like a champ. For $100, it is an incredible deal, and I would absolutely buy them again.

2

Zorba1446

Pro

Mar 18, 2026 4:52 AM

1.6K Comments

Joined Sep 2018

Zorba1446

Pro

Mar 18, 2026 4:52 AM

1.6K Comments

Anyone compare these Senns to the Grado SR80? Similar pricepoint and all...

1

Riptides

Mar 18, 2026 11:53 AM

73 Comments

Joined Dec 2012

RiptidesMar 18, 2026 11:53 AM

73 Comments

Quote from UniqueLinen876

:

I've had these for years. Don't listen to the snobbish headphone community that says you need to shell out $500+ for a good pair for headphones, these are amazing for open back headphones and will serve 99% of people. The open back gives the sound a great sound stage, which is great for certain applications. I bought them at a slightly higher price a couple years ago and never regretted it. Insanely comfortable and can be used for gaming, music, and any general application. Slap a Sennheiser mic into the port and you have an amazing gaming headset that will blow any competition out of the water.

The open back doesn't cause feedback with the mic?

TheOgre

Mar 18, 2026 12:58 PM

368 Comments

Joined Aug 2022

TheOgreMar 18, 2026 12:58 PM

368 Comments

Quote from Riptides

:

The open back doesn't cause feedback with the mic?

There's really not that much sound leakage from the open backs unless you have it cranked up. The microphone you attach is going to be an electret condenser, which is designed for very close range pickup, so close range that anything more than a few inches from the mic will be inaudible.

1

Destrukkt

Mar 18, 2026 1:30 PM

709 Comments

Joined Dec 2024

DestrukktMar 18, 2026 1:30 PM

709 Comments

Amazing speaker company use to play professional counterstrike with pc155s

1

CitizenTom

Mar 18, 2026 4:28 PM

102 Comments

Joined Dec 2014

CitizenTomMar 18, 2026 4:28 PM

102 Comments

The extra $60 to get the HD560s is very worth it. I started with these, which are super comfortable. But when I got HD560s thats when I started to notice a difference. I think HD6XX is too expensive, not much difference between 560 and that, not worth the extra cost. But extra cost to skip 599SE to get 560s is very worth it. But only if 560s is on sale (~$150-160)

1

peterskim

Mar 18, 2026 5:27 PM

2 Comments

Joined Jan 2011

peterskimMar 18, 2026 5:27 PM

2 Comments

Quote from dealzgurl

:

Are these good for Zoom calls or phone calls where I have to interview clients? If not, I'm open to recommendations.

If you have a dedicated mic, I think it's so much better to use open back headphones for virtual meetings! This assumes you're in a private office where you don't need noise isolation. When I switched from closed back headphones to these, it's a night and day difference in the experience because I can hear myself well.

ElatedSpaniel543

Mar 18, 2026 6:26 PM

1.1K Comments

Joined Nov 2020

ElatedSpaniel543Mar 18, 2026 6:26 PM

1.1K Comments

Quote from CitizenTom

:

The extra $60 to get the HD560s is very worth it. I started with these, which are super comfortable. But when I got HD560s thats when I started to notice a difference. I think HD6XX is too expensive, not much difference between 560 and that, not worth the extra cost. But extra cost to skip 599SE to get 560s is very worth it. But only if 560s is on sale (~$150-160)

I totally agree. And the 560S is only $140 right now at Best Buy and Amazon.

HappyBanana5597

Mar 18, 2026 8:18 PM

30 Comments

Joined Jan 2023

HappyBanana5597Mar 18, 2026 8:18 PM

30 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

Quote from UniqueLinen876

:

I've had these for years. Don't listen to the snobbish headphone community that says you need to shell out $500+ for a good pair for headphones, these are amazing for open back headphones and will serve 99% of people. The open back gives the sound a great sound stage, which is great for certain applications. I bought them at a slightly higher price a couple years ago and never regretted it. Insanely comfortable and can be used for gaming, music, and any general application. Slap a Sennheiser mic into the port and you have an amazing gaming headset that will blow any competition out of the water.

If you want similar headphones for gaming, drop pc38x are basically these headphones with a mic. They're fantastic. Once I started using sennheiser hd 598 for my PC gaming 12 years ago, I could never go back to closed back again. The sound is so much better and I like to be able to hear my surroundings, while still having great audio.

2

1

baron.bratwurst

Mar 18, 2026 8:59 PM

29 Comments

Joined Jun 2015

baron.bratwurstMar 18, 2026 8:59 PM

29 Comments

Quote from Zorba1446

:

Anyone compare these Senns to the Grado SR80? Similar pricepoint and all...

I own both so here's my take. Grado sr80 are basically the same as sr60 with better driver matching supposedly. Although all Grados tend to measure bad anyway. I'd still aim for the 80. I haven't gone for anything higher than the 80 since their tech looks behind by decades anyway (i.e. their headphones all look like they were designed in the 1980s). The Grados will leak sound considerably more than the Sennheisers. Also, while not as uncomfortable as people claim, if you position the sr80s in front of your ears then angle (as opposed to on your ear cartilage) they are fine. The cable on the sr80 is heavier/stiffer but I like that it's symmetric. Also, the twist lock on the Sennheisers is more of a bug than a feature and I mod this out on mine.
In general if you have a little skill buying a used Grado then modding it and adding new parts can give you an excellent "fun" headphone, however I understand most aren't able to. That's the positive of the Grado sr80, they sound great over fast guitars like in metal/rock or even stuff like anime music, anything with quick transients and upper mids they shine. They are fatiguing though though which is the opposite of the Sennheisers especially the hd599.
I would get the hd599 possibly with the BAM mic if you plan on using them primarily for productivity/podcasts/late night movie sessions. The hd560s would be best in general for music and games and is worth the extra $40. The hd6xx are no longer in production since Drop (formally Massdrop) went bankrupt so I'd skip them and the hd650. I'd recommend the hd600 instead if you go that route (that's another can of worms) and have a more solid build quality than these cheaper headphones. The Grado sr80s I'd recommend if you want to tinker around and like aggressively paced music, analogous to someone with a hot rod in their garage.

1

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Sennheiser HD 599 SE Around Ear Open Back Headphones (Black)

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