It is rare for two Jacobs to work in the same office, even rarer for them to share a passion for the same brand of headphones, and rarer still for their respective favorites to receive hefty discounts on Prime Day 2024. What incredible times we live in that this could happen.

The two of us (Jacob and Jacob) love Sennheiser headphones. Jacob Ridley, our senior boss, has Sennheiser headphones, HD 650 (Jacob R note: HD 800 S are the boss headphones. Junior Jacob Fox, on the other hand, has the entry-level HD 599.

Both headphones are on sale this Prime Day at a discount of over 30%; the HD 650 is on sale for $350 on Amazon, and the HD 599 is on sale for $130, also on Amazon. Drop also has the Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX for $169 (a $50 savings). For mid-range and enthusiast audiophiles, this is a relatively inexpensive purchase. Now let's hear what Jacob has to say.

Jacob F: My HD 599s have been on my head all day, every day, for a very long time. They are quite old, but in the world of audiophile headphones, that hardly matters. Great headphones are great headphones.

Certainly, the HD 599's dynamic drivers don't feature this new planar driver wizardry, but they sound surprisingly natural and punchy. Dynamic versus planar is a subjective choice, and both have their pros and cons.

It's hard to put into words the sound profile of the headphones, but the HD 599's drivers are not entirely neutral; the HD 599's drivers emphasize the mids and lows a bit, as do the high-end staples of Sennheiser's headphones. They sound great, at least to my ears.

As an open-back headphone that offers a great soundscape, I would recommend this product to anyone in the $150 and under price range, and to anyone looking to switch from a standard gaming headset to an audiophile headphone. The headphones are also comfortable, so much so that I habitually wear them while working at my desk, even when I'm not listening to anything. With the $70 Prime Day discount, I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

So, Jacob senior, tell us about the HD 650 headphones.

Jacob R.: The sound of the drums and bass spewing out of my ear canals. This is the HD 650 experience I enjoy every day. It's a simple headphone with no microphone, no onboard controls, and no wireless connectivity, but it's perfect for everyday use: when I'm chatting with my buddies on Discord, I use SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless headphones, but otherwise I use Sennheiser's HD 650 for the rest of the time.

These headphones offer a clarity not found in more affordable gaming headsets. This is not a criticism of the gaming headset, but a compliment to the HD 650. The open-back design and Sennheiser's upper-range focus deliver excellent sound quality, and when listening to high-quality FLACs on Tidal, I can enjoy the lingering highs, the sibilance of cymbal crashes, and other parts of a track that are often missed by muddy drivers.

SennSonic's FLAC is a great way to enjoy the sound of a track.

A pair of Sennheiser HD 650s also requires a quality DAC and amplifier combo. I have a Schiit Magni and Modi combo, which is a classic combination. I recently reviewed the Drop + Xduoo TA-84 OTL and found it to be a handy 2-in-one solution with a fairly sleek all-black look with four tubes on top.

Speaking of Drop, here's the thing: I wouldn't buy the HD 650 right now. I would buy the Drop HD 6XX instead. These are almost identical to the HD 650, including the sound profile, and are usually much cheaper at $219. However, they are available now for $169.

Drop + Xduoo TA-84 OTL is also $299 right now. That means you can get the same setup as mine for $468.