HD600

To be honest, on reflection, I have heard my HD600 shout. But it wasn't the headphones, it was the DAC. It hurt my ears and I didn't keep it.

Which, I suppose, amount to

Unless you feed it a shouty source. Which it will reproduce to the best of its ability, because that's what it is supposed to do.

 

I have a 1975 Yamaha CA-600 receiver, which is probably the brightest sounding receiver up to that point. Plus I have a Topping E30 DAC. And the HD650 's were still too warm for me. Removing the inner disc pads made them a tad more tolerable.

My HD600's on the other hand are absolutely perfect, although I find the original pads a touch too bright so I swapped them for similar looking Chinese pads. Now they sound more like a 650/600 hybrid.

 

Same question but different needs: I want a HD600 to occasionally (probably less than 10% total headphone usage) compliment the HD6xx, Utopia, and Auteur mostly on Vali2+ or Stellaris. Given that I won't use this often and have more resolving headphones available already - is it worth chasing down an old "black screen" version or any other specific version vs the relatively hassle free experience of just buying one online right now? If it matters, I have a spare HD600 series headband already and am not opposed to mismatching cups vs headband.

The only thing I've seen so far is that the move from Ireland to Romania itself didn't seem to make a difference.

 

I seem to be in the minority with this opinion, but I prefer silver screen to black screen HD600, although I still have only heard older marble finish ones that have a ton of break-in. Black screen to me just came across a bit dull and muddy, I like the slightly more incisive nature of the silver screen.

 

Silver screen were too shouty in the treble for me. Tried black silk (or black screen, whatever you want to call them) and it was the same deal. JAR600 version of silver screen works for me, as does black paper. The right variant of HD580 beats any 600 IMO though.
This is with an EC ZDS or DNA Stratus and a Holo DAC, so already pretty gentle on the upper end of things. But I'm not allergic to treble. For example, a silver screen 580 (though BS or BP are generally better) and a LSN800 are totally acceptable to me. There's something about 600 that just doesn't sit well with me except for the two variants listed above.

 

It seems the resale is higher on early versions of the HD600 and HD650. This may be because of the included storage case which is no longer supplied with the HD600 and HD650. Currently, the storage case is still included with the HD6xx.

With respect to production, the latest versions of the HD600 have a label that now states:

“Designed and engineered in Germany
Made in Ireland”​

 

People who chase baffle memes could give a shit about the storage case. They're more interested in the sound.

 

Did more searching about differences in sound between the HD600 versions and it sounds like I should just go with the new / current HD600 as that would best compliment my other headphones right now. Thanks for the feedback everyone.

@Erroneous - I've always felt like the 580 had no real sins of commission which is really rare in the headphone world, but I just never really got excited for listening with the 580. The 600 actually isn't super exciting to me either actually, but sometimes I want something that isn't as dark / smoothed out as the HD650/6xx for casual use but still has a somewhat similar sound. All suspension bands and hence the Auteur eventually annoy the crown of my head too much for sustained casual use and the Utopia 5.5k peak along with other things annoys me on most setups with the current Stellaris + Holo setup being one of the few exceptions.

 

That’s essentially my point. The earlier versions seem to have a higher resale because they were manufactured in Ireland, include additional accessories (value), and the belief they have better sound quality. I have owned two pairs of HD600 (1999 and 2012) and the difference in sound was very difficult to discern. I have also owned three pairs of the HD650 (2003, 2012, 2014) and again the differences were virtually inaudible. I have not heard the revised 2019 versions but will order the HD600 soon.

 

Mine was made in Ireland. Unbeatable timbre.

That accent makes me smile every time.

 

In 2019 when Sennheiser shifted the final assembly of units and the enclosure molding to Romania from Ireland, there was speculation on SBAF that the quality might change and thus early versions became more sought after (one example). Sennheiser later confirmed that the driver production has always remained in Ireland and, "the tooling for the old plastic molds was two decades old, and the new factory was an opportunity to use a new tooling with higher yield of in-tolerance enclosures." To my knowledge, Sennheiser has not stated anything about the new label that now says "Made in Ireland." So the spirit of your post is right in that it should make no difference to audiophiles where the final assembly occurred.

 

Edited my post. The Barianwavs experiment ended like the Hindenburg. The replacement leather pads were okay BUT the adaptors just pop out. They are about .5 of a mil too big, just won’t fit properly.

PLEASE SOME ADVICE. I noticed when taking the OG pads off, the foam over the speakers has had it, mine are original Irish jobs. Should I replace it? Is there a better option? Noob question but that’s why I’m here. I figure having no foam would make them brighter which they don’t need, but would appreciate advice. I love the 600,s; genuine classics.

Thanks.

 

So a little story of hope then sorrow after missing out on a black paper hd600 i got an offer from my friend to buy his old pair, so i did and loved it.

A few days later i see a listing for one, i see the black screen and an earlier serial number. I jump on it. I pop off the pads to start cleaning it (OCD and some people are gross) and im happy to see an older driver, copper/brass ring, black stripe across it.

Ive been waiting a few years for a good older hd600 and i finally lucked out!

I pop open the other side and oh... Ohhhh no. A driver replacement or something, but it is clearly different.


I contacted the seller to see whats up.

I gave both a listen and the older driver is a bit better. Clearer, a hair more detail, better texture. But there is also a bit of an imbalance.

My question is if there is anything positive i can get out of this? I highly doubt it but, any chance anyone will be selling 1 vintage driver to match up? Is the black screens worth swapping newer matching drivers into or should i keep everything matched up with their original chassis?

Open to suggestions.

 

The drivers have not changed much. New drivers should be fine.

 

Either way these were not matched the best. There is an imbalance and things always feel like the center is leaning towards the side of the older driver.

I also bought this one because it was older and i wanted to AB it to a newer model that i already had.

 

It will be quite difficult to match them yourself. You could hope you get something closer. But unless you match them by serial number I believe the unit variance will be difficult to overcome for your use case.

You opened a Pandora’s box, and the only end is a “new” matched pair. Might be easy, few friends of mine and my self have seeked out our own. But before piety I had last hope. Maybe one of them has an extra pair they may part with.

 

There's a lot of personal preference, but I prefer the older versions with black paper or black silk over the newer production silver screen models (both the marble headband and latest iteration).

I do have a handful of pairs and if there's interest I could measure them out like I did here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...-old-and-mighty-hd580.4631/page-2#post-389065

 

Well if they are let me know, it would be wonderful.

Yes, i prefered this older one compared to a newer, but still marbled revision. It seems to keep the good parts and better technicalities of the newer 600 but it thickens it up, is a drop less dry and it sounds even more "right". All slight nudges. Like it has some of the appeal of the 650 added to the 600, but with it still resoundingly being a 600.


Some silver lining. The seller did admit he got this from an "audio file's" sale so he most likely didnt know. He agreed to take them back and refund them, shipping back is on me but i think thats the best resolution.

But man the emotion rollercoaster on this, and now i cant unhear that sound. I think even that mid age driver is better than my newer pair, but its much more subtle. The black part of the driver is a bit bigger than the newest ones.

I even thought maybe to put the newest drivers in the black silk like screen body, but im not sure how much itll do, and tbh since its a return that gets scummy.

 

Has anyone here or in any other site compared any of the pre 2019 hd600s to the latest ones?