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The Sennheiser HD598 phones are an unusual color but they do sound excellent. Any shred of veil is gone now. These phones are lively, have long bass extension, real presence, excellent detail, good sound stage and are very easy to listen to for hours. They have really good balance from bass through to highs. I fed the 598s hours of high-res (24-96) audio. The better the source material the more they shine. These new Senns are pacy. They easily keep up with rock like Who - Who's Next. Yet they've retained Sennheiser's affinity for jazz and classical music. Every soft cough from the orchestra pit is audible in Jacqueline Du Pre - Elgar Cello Concerto. The 598s speed and acuity is evident in Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy. They reveal wonderful presence in the remastered Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence. My reference for bass extension is Michael Brook - Cobalt Blue. From the 1.44 minute mark 'Andean' sorts out the pretenders. Played through an iFi Nano DSD the 598s went right down there with good control although the deepest bass lacked grunt. Played on a lower spec Marantz PM8004 amp the bass on 'Andean' had far less authority. So I suspect the 598s will benefit from quality amping. 24bit 48KHz ALAC files were loud, lively and clear straight out of my iPod Touch 5. But the 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter is an impractical 9cm long plugged in. I tested the 598s on an iFi Nano DSD and sonically they are very well matched. But again the jack with adapter is awkward. 50 ohm 112dB phones are better suited to a 3.5mm jack IMO. I ran A/B comparisons with my old Senn HD555 phones. The 598s are far more immediate and pacy than the 555s without losing the effortless Sennheiser sound. And the HD598 phones are just as comfortable for prolonged listening as the 555s. The Sennheiser HD598 phones are well matched to a quality, mildly amped DAC and enjoyed while you work in a quiet office.

Since this first review I have replaced the standard Sennheiser cable with a shorter FiiO-HD1-RC (PC0CC-A) cable with 3.5mm jack. It proved a very good investment. Sonically everything is improved by a small but noticeable amount. On Geoffrey Oryema - Beat The Border 'Hard Labour' I heard music I've not heard before in 20 years of listening to this song. But I have downgraded my 'Comfort' score by a point as the HD598s are proving to be slightly less comfortable than my HD555s. These are terrific headphones and I appreciate their sound quality more every day.