Sennheiser HD600 Over-Ear Open Dynamic Hi-Fi Professional Stereo Headphones (Black)

First off let me say this is my first foray into "audiophile" headphones. I have tried a few of the in the ear style buds over the years (apples and Sony's) but I find them unpleasant to wear for more than a few minutes, along with the sound lacking. So I few years ago before an overseas flight I picked a pair of Sony MDR-V150 on a whim. They worked great and I thought I be happy. But then I started to see all these cool little headphone amp and such. So I started just innocently enough reading sites such as these just a few short months ago. Well on thing led to another and well I now am the proud owner of a pair of the Sennheiser HD600's, along with an amp/DAC combo.

When I received my brown box in the mail I could not wait to get it home and open it. I carefully open the shipping box and inside was a beautiful black corrugated box with gold shaded picture of the ocean with words "Sennheiser HD 600 for digital Natural Sound" I open up then corrugated box and slide out what feels to be a fabric type coated dark charcoal box. It's completely plain other than the small company logo and name in the company’s trademark blue. The whole packaging is high class, clean, and simple. To my surprise the box has metal hinges on the back edge and opens up much like a fine watch/jewelry box. As the aroma of pent up closed cell foam and plastics hits my nostrils I am fully intoxicated with my purchase. Quickly I grab the phones from the box and hold them up to admire them. Everyone is right the marbling looks a thousand times better than the photos show. The next though these are much lighter than I thought they would be. I quickly dash to my Pioneer VSX92-THX AV receiver and fire it up. I attaché my iPhone bypassing it's DAC in favor of the Pioneers. Quickly I launch Bob Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" (*all tracks are Loss-less encoded) the sound that flows from the headphones instantly sound like an old friend. The separation of his voice, guitar, and harmonica floor me. The sound-stage is unlike any headphone I have every listen to. It's very close to my home speaker setup.

 I turn the volume nob up bit to see what the headphones and my receiver can do. My impression is that the pioneer has a very decent headphone stage. It can easily push the cans well in to the deep pain range with utmost clarity. I don’t see me needing an amp for the front room, which saves some cash for more music. I reach for my Sony’s to compare the two but realize that the included adapter plug  with the HD600 will not accommodate the Sony plug. No biggie I pick up my new toy and head to my office. This is where I will be using them most of the time anyway. I have an old Mini JVC bookshelf system that I use as my near field stereo setup with my computer and it has the appropriate size connection to test both. To my surprise the JVC push both head phones very well. And also to my surprise both headphones have a similar sound at mild volumes. But when pushed the Sony’s quickly start to sound smeared and strained. Not so with the Sennheiser. They sound so incredible that you can easily slip in to the danger zone as to the volume level.

At this point I start to listen to some of my favorite tracks to better take in the sound of my new phones.

I fire up another Bob Dylan song “Most Likely you go your way (and I’ll go mine)” The detail of each instrument is very impressive and they are spread very nicely apart without feeling like they all come from the same space. Next was Clark Terry’s “Chat Qui Peche (A Cat that Fishes)” the horns sound so natural and I can hear each strand plucked on the upright bass. Each band member sound like they are in the appropriate spot. “Six Blade Knife” by Dire Straits has a very strong bass line that runs from the start to the end of the song. For a set of headphones that are said to be a bit soft on the bottom end they hit it with authority and without strain. The ability to hear every little sting touch on the lead guitar brought new elements to life. Song after song the amount of texture these headphones present is unreal. Everything is presented just as it was recorded. Every little breath the singer makes, every finger drag over an amplified string instrument, and every hacked mastering jobs.

These headphones are great and are everything I hoped they would be. Balanced and uncolored with exceptional midrange control. Can’t see me needing another set for a long time. Well maybe….  

Note: The price paid is used from Amazon Marketplace.

The first thing about these the HD 600 is the excellent tonal balance - it's never harsh, but the highs are still there and very detailed.  Sometimes the finest details may get lost in very complex music thanks to being overshadowed by other parts of the music, but the resulting detailed smoothness is a very good thing.

The mids - ahh, they're to die for!  They're the highlight of the headphones.  They're detailed and lifelike, similar to the highs.  But they're so realistic sounding - even so more than the HD 800 and Beyer T1 I've auditioned.  As far as I'm concerned, the HD 800 (haven't heard the HD 650) still falls short here in comparison.  Guitars, brass, saxes, vocals, and more sound so much more realistic (and and have more visceral impact) than anything else I've heard (my new Alessandro MS1is come close, but not as much with the low mids).

Bass is fairly tight and at just about the right level for all types of music.  You'll never make anyone happy with any given quantity of bass, but I think these are as close to a neutral level as you'll get.  Very low bass can be a little loose, and rapid bass notes aren't as distinct as the HD 800, Beyer T1 or DT 880, but it's still excellent overall (and especially compared to lesser headphones).

Their soundstaging is very good - but there are, of course, far superior headphones for this.  Depth is good, width is good, and precision of placement is good - again, a very balanced sound.  The sense of spaciousness (a function of all three factors) falls short of the AKG K701, and of course the HD 800 and Beyer T1 - but of course is far more evident than the close-in Grado sound.  The "It sounds like they're playing in the room with me!" sensation never really happens to the same level that my speakers (Infinity Renaissance 90) can provide.

The build quality is very good - the headband and frames are supposedly made of carbon fiber, but after inspecting them (and seeing photos of cracked headbands) I believe it is probably a carbon fiber reinforced plastic instead.  Less impressive to your friends, perhaps, but an excellent material nonetheless.  They do of course feel slightly plasticky as a result (but it never feels like cheap plastic).

They're quite lightweight, and the padding is excellent - the velour earpads and headband are very comfy.  I know some complain about them being too tight - I can't really comment, since I bought mine used.  I never found them to be too tight myself.

They stand up to abuse admirably well - mine have lived in my backpack for four months straight and only have superficial damage to the grills (they get dented when sharing the backpack with my Nikon) to show for it.  They haven't been babied at all - just no abuse like trying to bend the headband over on itself...  Anyway, since everything is modular, you can easily replace any part that has broken.  I just got new pads and a cable to replace the worn originals.

The marbled finish does wear off a little over time, but it has yet to become detrimental to their appearance so far.  Oh, and by the way, the finish looks a whole lot cooler in person than in photos of the headphones.

I've found amp'ing them not to be as difficult as some seem to think.  A/B'ing my uDAC (my main source and amp) against a Beyerdynamic A1 amp, I really couldn't consistently tell any difference between them other than ultimate power output.  The Sansa Clip+ actually does an admirable job running them up to moderately loud levels (not short-term ear blasting, of course), and never clips with them when playing music.  It does, however, sound slightly (yet noticeably) less dynamic and with a narrower, less well defined soundstage in comparison to the uDAC. I forgot that I have a crossfeed plugin (HeadPlug MKII) running on Winamp, so I have to retract those opinions for now - although it does stand for now that I can't get a crossfeed with the Clip (without using an amp with one).

So, the verdict?  These are amazing headphones, deserving of their place as one of the best dynamic headphones available to this day (15 years after their first introduction!).  Their smooth, slightly warm (not dark!), but very realistic and - yes - exciting yet neutral sound is near-perfect in balance.  Soundstaging is perhaps the area I would like to see the most improvement, but it is good in this respect already.

You'll have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands.

These are some of my favorite headphones. They have twice come into my life.