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The bassier German
The successor to the best-selling HD 595 has been due for a while. The HD 598 is the cheapest among circumaural consumer headphones. The HD 598 is attractive looking with a cream-coloured headband and earcups. Build quality is strictly so-so. They’re quite comfortable with a luxurious headband and despite the strong claiming force the soft ear padding cushions your head.
The HD 598 sounds best amped with a solid state amp, since they tends to be a little lush, but they’ll sound fine out of an audio out port, unlike the much tougher to drive HD 800 that we reviewed recently. They also don’t up with progressively better equipment like the HD 800. However, they’re a lot more source forgiving. There is a slight hump in the mid bass, and on account of this, the bass notes tend to have more emphasis. Bass is reasonably tight, but not taut and springy, and fast bass notes have noticeable overhang. There is a bit of sibilance to some vocals, particularly noticeable on quieter tracks like Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven. If you’re a music enthusiast, you’ll enjoy the HD 598, if you have a good system and a Rs. 9,000 headphone amp, you will enjoy them a bit more, as long as the amp’s neutral. The soundstage pretty compressed, and you really need to concentrate before you can imagine instruments around you. If you’re really discerning about nitty-gritty details, the HD 598 will not satisfy, but neither will anything else at that price.
For a price of Rs. 12,990, the HD 598 is already beyond the shopping range of most headphone buyers. If they’re in your budget, they’re a good buyers they aren’t very fussy with equipment and sources, and will give you a true peep into the world of mid-to-high fidelity sound.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Frequency response: 12-38500 Hz;
Sound pressure: 112 dB;
Impendance: 50 ohms;
Weight: 270 grams;
Cable length: 3 meters
CONTACT:
Sennheiser Electronics India Private Ltd.
Web site: www.sennheiserindia.com
Price: Rs. 12,990