Yes, but he will soon place the 600 on the WoF and put the 650 into Stuff We Like. I guess winning the What's the Most Important Headphone in the History of Headphone Enthusiasm? poll necessitated a WoF spot.
I put the HD 650 on the Wall early on because I knew they were great and hadn't done the comparison. Now that I've had the chance, I find myself preferring the 600. Add the $100 difference, and I feel it's the better buy.
The poll really didn't have too much to do with the decision as the HD 650 wasn't available as a choice. I was tempted to put headphone into the poll as families. Certainly it makes sense to do the HD 580/600/650 as one choice, same with the Denon Dx000. But then you have to start thinking about where to stop on the Grados. Anyway in the end I decided to just have single headphones. I chose the HD 600 because it was around early in the game and probably had more influence as such.
I have to admit that the whole reason for the poll was to justify my feeling that the HD 600 was the most important headphone in the hobby. If I'd have put the Beats on there it might have turned out differently. But the reason for the Beats' importance is just so perverse in my mind that I didn't want it to taint the poll.
To remain OT here, I think the HD 650 is a great phone as well, there's not that much difference between the two, and the differences are such that personal taste is the arbiter, not technical performance.
What amps do you guys like for the 600/650? Both tube and solid state.
The article is a good read Tyll. Good job!
I don't begrudge the HD650's dethroning from your WoF. I've not heard the HD600 but have always been curious. I paid $350 for a brand new HD650 (my second) some months ago. The HD600 would have to pop up for significantly less for me to scratch that itch on a whim.
It would've been interesting if you'd included the HD650 as a separate option on that poll though. I understand the consideration for other models and where to draw the line. However, the HD600 and HD650 are two distinct camps, a decade old point of discussion that continues to this day (though with less vitriol). You don't see the same lines drawn between Grado or Denon models.
Fwiw, I really enjoyed the HD650 from the Bifrost/Lyr stack, especially with some vintage Herleen made Amperex tubes. It's not too shabby either from my current rig -
