Top Review
From my experience so far, these work really well with the set-up that I have. The bass is audible without being obtrusive, and the highs are very clean and pleasant. Mids are not as detailed as I would prefer, but are acceptable. The ear cups are super comfortable, and personally I like the style and colorway. The colors look better in person than they do in the pictures online. I previously bought (and returned) the m50x and 598cs, but I will be keeping the 599.
Anyway, that's my brief opinion of this particular product. For those who wish to read on, I will provide some information about my set-up, which I think will be far more useful to those trying to improve their overall listening experience (spoiler alert: it is NOT just about the headphones that you choose).
When I started shopping for a new pair headphones, I was mostly listening to music through the Spotify app on my phone, connected to a set of decent quality Bluetooth earbuds. That set-up was okay for work, but I was in search of a premium audio experience for home listening. I (mistakenly) assumed that I could just buy some over-ear headphones, plug them into my phone or laptop, and everything would be instantly amazing. That was definitely not the case.
After looking into it a little bit, I found out that the sound output capability of my devices was limiting the potential quality of the headphones. I also discovered that even the "high quality" setting in Spotify delivers heavily compressed audio, resulting in much less detail and sound quality. I searched online to find out if there were any streaming services that were able to deliver higher quality audio, and found a few options. I ultimately settled on Deezer, which has since replaced Spotify as my go-to music app. If you have the premium Deezer subscription and a decent internet connection, you will be able to stream true Hi-Fi audio. It actually made a significant difference for me even with my ear buds, and even more so with the 599s.
While this was definitely an improvement to what I was used to, I still felt that my headphones could do more than my devices were letting them do. I did some reading and found out that most stock sound cards in laptops are pretty average, so I bought a Fiio E10k DAC/amp to bypass the sound card. For me, it made a HUGE difference. I was able to get much better detail, and also listen at higher volumes without sacrificing quality.
I have to imagine that these would sound even better when connected to a real sound system playing a record or a CD, but the set-up that I put together is pretty much perfect for my purposes. So, if you want high quality audio without having to spend a bunch of money on stereo equipment, give these headphones, Deezer, and the E10k a try. I'm reasonably picky, and I am about 97% satisfied with this solution. -
Daniel Rafferty
