HD600

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by SpaceLaser, Oct 8, 2015.

  1. JK47

    JK47 Guest

    How many foam disks were on each side? My HD650 had 3 sandwiched together on each side for a total of six.
     
  2. SlyFox

    SlyFox New

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    I'm really curious about this mod, is it really that good? I know once I remove the foam it can't really be added back.
     
  3. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    @SlyFox If you really wanted to, you could probably put it back. I think it's not that easy, but I haven't tried. It was worthwhile to me, but I also always remove driver grilles where possible.

    @JK47 My HD600 had one disk per side.
     
  4. qetadg

    qetadg New

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    Did anyone notice a change in baffle design in the hd600? Compared to my hd580 the hd600 baffle lacks the ring around 4 of the holes, from the pictures I've seen all previous hd580/600/650 have this ring. I think this should not have any effect on the sound but I just thought it's interesting that Sennheiser decided to put this ring in the first place and now removes it.

    hd600:
    [​IMG]

    hd580:
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    Interesting @qetadg I never noticed that. I just looked at my HD600, HD650 and HD6XX. They look like your picture of the HD600 (and my HD580 looks like your HD580 picture).

    Looks like they made different molds when they switched from the HD580. I don't have an early HD600 to see if maybe the switch took place immediately when the HD600 was first produced.

    None of this explains anything, just some observations.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2017
  6. sunnygsm

    sunnygsm New

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    More out of curiosity than belief, but has anyone tried the 650 cables with the 600's? Does it make a difference? I ordered a spare cable just in case my stock one has issues at any point. Probably too lazy to compare the two though.
     
  7. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    @sunnygsm - It seems to be popular to replace the HD600 cables with the HD650 cables. I ordered HD650 cables with my HD600 order. The HD650 cables seemed more substantial, in cable thickness and (IIRC) in the plugs that go into the earpiece sockets.

    I never tried to compare the sound.
     
  8. sunnygsm

    sunnygsm New

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    I got my 650 cables today. They are definitely a lot heavier. I tried comparing the sound but it took too long because of how difficult it can be to get the connectors in/out. I'll stick with the stock and keep the other one as a spare for now.
     
  9. Scubadude

    Scubadude Almost "Made"

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    By a strange twist of fate (and impulsive bundle buying) I now own two pairs HD600 and another two HD650s. They are my 2nd and 3rd pairs I have owned of wach model. My first real cans came in the form of a minty HD600 that served me well for a year or so until I bought my first HD800s. Eventually I sold that pair because I found it quite close to the HD800 in character if not in absolute technicalities. The first HD650s I sold because the upper bass / lower mids were just too warm and woolly for my taste. But time moved on and on repurchase I began to enjoy both HD600 and HD650 again for what they are.

    So the HD600s are a low usage but old (cloth-lined) pair with a collapsed headband pad and a 2016 pair with maybe 40 hours on. The 650s are both oldish silver box models, one with cloth liners and high wear pads, the other in virtually new condition. Reading up on the various mods made me wonder which of these are most mod-worthy and why? Your thoughts please.
     
  10. Decomo

    Decomo Almost "Made"

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    After trying many different headphones starting HD600 and ended up settling with HD600. I, too personally prefer HD600 stock against HD650(M).
    From now on, it will not be a headphone to upgrade but focusing on improving source and amp....

    Never tried Tube amp before (always with Solid State and currently pairing with GO2A balanced) and just got Millet Starving Student Hybrid Tube Amp for cheap to test with HD600 and quite surprised (in good way). Not sure how much improvement I should expect by getting Crack but keen to try it near future.........
     
  11. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    HD600 delivers the good stuff. It takes a few minutes to get used to the focused 2 to 6kHz (ish) region, but damn, after minute 5 you just can't stop listening to it. No mod or equalizer I tried made it better. Including all kinds of bass boosts or cuts with different approaches using Jriver parametric eq.
    HD6XX is the opposite, it has a big wow factor and better technicalities (deeper, fleshed out bass, smooth (though plastic) texture and deliniated (though very plastic) highs. But in 5 to 10 minutes it just gets sooo BOOORING. Even fatiguing due to the unnatural FR and those ethereal upper mids that are out of place with the articulate bass and treble. It's sooo sleepy and unengaging. I hate it, but I am grateful for only paying 200$ to know for sure which my favorite headphone is.
    Seriously, every single time i listen to HD600 for more than 10 seconds I become awestruck. HOW can it be so clear and smooth at the same time, so energetic yet not etched or harsh or anything. Some people dislike the 4-5kHz energy, I'm pretty sure that's what bothers people, judging by EQ. NOT 3kHz like everyone thinks. 3kHz is not louder than 1kHz both subjectively and in measurements. 4kHz or up is where the needle is, but I like it, the sound just works as a whole. I repeat, NO eq whatsoever makes it "better", because it's perfect. If you somehow consistently find HD600 to be better with EQ, then it's not the headphone you are looking for.
    6XX just feels like it's tuned by a computer. Zero musicality.
    600 is bursting with joy, it LOVES giving you the chills and quite some ecstasy. Made me stand up and dance quite a few times, while 6XX is just depressing, good for falling asleep.
     
  12. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    Outwardly, HD650 does seem to be the semi official SBAF headphone of choice, but you will find plenty of us here who see HD600 as the better balanced headphone.

    It kind of ruins the hobby if you pick one up early on because everything else is just a little disappointing afterwards.

    If you really want to blow your load hook one into a BW fed by Yggdrasil.
     
  13. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    This. The HD 600 in stock form is always my headphone of choice. Be it the BW, the ZDS or my new Sapphire DIY (with Yggdrasil as the DAC) I find it has a better lower end than my 650 which has the coin, dynamat and foam removal mods. IMO, everything is much more linear and extended in the 600.
     
  14. Schopenhauer

    Schopenhauer Big Boobs, Big Grin

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    I've largely been out of the headphone scene for the past year and a half, instead focusing on speakers. Two months ago I purchased a pair of new HD600s at a sick f'ing price ($181). God bless Amazon gift cards. Started out listening on the UHA-6S.MKII, the only amp I had at hand, and have since upgraded to the Vali 2 with an EH 6CG7. I also added the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads.*

    When I finally dug my old reference cans, the LCD2R2s, out of the closet, they sounded completely frelled in comparison to the HD600s. The Audeze's treble is jagged as hell and the mids are recessed. This could be attributed, of course, to the fact that my brain has become accustomed to the smooth treble of the HD600s and to their relatively forward mids. I'm sure that's part of it. But the bigger part should be attributed, I think, to fact that (imho) the HD600 the better headphone. Or, to moderate that claim: For $181, the HD600 is the better headphone. My LCD2R2s cost x6 that.

    I could've saved a lot of money if I'd accepted the wisdom the SBAF Elders from the beginning. At the same time, how could I have recognized it as wisdom if I hadn't played the prodigal fool first?**

    *I liked the sound of the HD600 stock. But the Dekoni pads seemed to take them to the next level. If anything, the fenestrated sheepskin pads have made them sound more neutral.

    **In fact, I'm an even bigger fool than I've let on. I once owned the HD650s but convinced myself (somehow) they couldn't possibly compete. I should've actually listened them.
     
  15. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    If you have both you can have the cake and eat it too :punk:
     
  16. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    I do, and I do.
     
  17. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Been around for twenty years now.

    Amazing, eh?

    :D
     
  18. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    I will make a thread for the Classics eventually when I've got a full review, but I've been doing some back-and-forth between the HD600 and the ZMF Classics and felt like this would be a good place for those impressions in the mean time. I ordered these a while ago but had to send them back for repairs after too long (pretty sure it was the Fostex wiring). Zach sent me back a pair with the balanced upgrade which allows for Audeze-style connectors/cables. I also got a cable upgrade (cause Zach is the man). It's a litz copper cable, the Atmos C. It is really gorgeous, but I am going to save sound impressions for a later post... the focus of this is going to be a comparison with the HD600, and I thought it would be best and fairest to use my ZMF OFC cables for both. Interestingly, I've never been big on cables, and I've never heard a difference that I wasn't certain was placebo but I also haven't tried a lot either. After reading about how cables are less like wires and more like capacitors, I am open to the idea. I have to say certain things in preliminary testing have caught me off guard, but I don't want to say more than that.

    Source Chain Eitr > Modi Multibit > Vali 2, running on 6SN7 tubes via adapter. Cables are from Blue Jeans (RCA, coax) and ZMF (OFC, Classics and HD600). HD600 also have Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads. The first thing to note is that in spite of its high stated sensitivity (101.2 dB), the Fostex driver in the Classics draws more power than the HD600. Not a little, not a lot, but it's noticeable (e.g. listening right now, HD600 comfortable listening volume is about 10:30, Classics are at ~12:30 for a similar volume).

    The HD600 and Classics are very similar in overall presentation, especially in timbre. That's a compliment, because it's really difficult to find a headphone at this price level that can produce a midrange as natural and realistic sounding as the HD600. They have similar levels of detail retrieval, but I easily give the edge to the Classics--vocals and some instruments sometimes mushy and loose going to the HD600, especially with really busy, chaotic tracks. The HD600 still has good speed/snap, don't get me wrong, but planars are nothing if not fast. The Classics hold together better when things get tough across the whole frequency range. I think the Classics are slightly less neutral than the HD600, slightly... hmm... warmer doesn't seem like the right word, but different. They kick harder and faster but are less aggressive than the HD600 (the HD600 are only aggressive if a mix is). Hard to describe. I think, overall, they are more similar than different.

    Bass quality/quantity and impact goes to the Classics, no f@#$ing contest. The HD600 sound neutered in comparison. I'm no basshead and I don't have a ton of music with heavy subbass, but the Classics are not afraid to rumble in a way that the HD600 couldn't dream of, and are tighter across the board. Not basshead cans, but more bass than would be neutral.

    Differences in treble and soundstaging are more difficult to pin down and I think I need some more listening to really put this into words. Overall the presentation for both are similar, in terms of timbre, extension and detail, with the edge on extension going to the HD600 and the edge on speed/detail going to the Classics. Neither is lacking in either respect. As expected from the FR graphs, the Classics treble is slightly tuned down, but going back and forth with the HD600 I think they are more similar than they are different here too. They do NOT have the same kind of warm, rich, smooth tuning as the HD650. Rather, I would say the treble is just a little more relaxed and easy. Soundstaging is simultaneously similar and completely different: the HD600 are open, but they have this weird flat 2d soundstage. OTOH, the Classics soundstage isn't really larger per se, but as the drivers are angled and significantly further back from the ear as with the Senns, they make similarly sized but more 3d soundstage. Not as wide as the Sennheisers, but with a semblance of depth.

    I definitely prefer the Classics, and that's saying A LOT, because I loved my HD600 for a long time. Please keep in mind these impressions are from the Vali 2, and I still can't say much about how the ZMFs scale, but I know the HD600 can scale a lot from here. I just don't have much else on hand, and figured I should use the same amp for comparing both.

    I am gonna chill with these for a while, try some cable swapping, use them at work, and prepare a full review.
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2018
  19. Xgatt

    Xgatt New

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    Man, I have to agree with this. I just got the HD600 last week, and for the first time in a very very long while, I got goosebumps listening to a few songs.
     
  20. AntennaHEAD

    AntennaHEAD New

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    I am ashamed to admit I only got to the HD 600 about a week ago, but wow is its reputation ever well deserved.

    Lovely midrange extension and fast response.
     

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