Sennheiser HD600 - Did I do the right thing ?

I have no idea what you listen to, but you very well could find you like the HD600 better than the HD650.

I've never heard the 650's, but I was in the same situation a while back trying to decide between these two headphones. After reading countless threads I gathered the conclusion that the HD650 isn't really a clear step up from the HD600, it's more of a lateral move. A lot of people characterize the 600 as being more neutral while the 650s are more colored, and for the same reason many prefer the 600 to the 650 despite it having the lower model number. If it were me I'd put the extra 100 into the amp and dac or pocket it for your next upgrade (which is inevitable no matter what you might think ).

Depends on your sound signature preference really. Some will prefer the HD-650 and others the HD-600. I prefer the HD-598, but it doesn't mean the HD-600 isn't good. The HD-600 is probably the most neutral out of the bunch, but it's still fun enough to listen to if you like it's signature. I remember really loving the HD-600 for movies. The HD-650 had a lot of bass for me and not nearly enough treble for my preferences. I guess it's not that it had too much bass, but I just didn't like it's bass. For me the HD-650 was better than the HD-600 in many areas, but I still preferred a more neutral sounding headphone.

 

The HD-650 needs a really good amp. I didn't like my HD-650 much from the E9 despite it being a fairly good amp for the price. The HD-600 seemed to benefit less from amp upgrades. The E9 should be better for the HD-600 than the HD-650. That was my experience anyway.

 

Now I prefer the HD-598 to ALL of these. Is it better? Not really, but I just love it's signature. It's got some forward sounding mids and a huge soundstage that's even bigger than that of the HD-600. The HD-600 might have a better and more accurate soundstage though but I haven't compared them.

 

I think most everyone could like the HD-600. If you don't love it Amazon is pretty good about returns. Chances are that if you dislike the HD-600 you might not like the HD-650. If you hate both, you'll probably love the HD-598

 

BTW most people will hate me for saying this, but I find the HD-598 more detailed and less forgiving than the HD-600 and HD-650 on ANY amp i've tried. This doesn't mean anything, but it was kind of a surprise for me.

In my personal opinion you did the right thing.  

 

Don't worry about it, the 650 isn't an upgrade compared to the 600, it's a side grade, the same quality with a slightly different sound signature.

I wouldn't say the 650 isn't an upgrade.

It has a better, thicker cable and matched drivers to name two upgrades over the 600.

Instead, I would say it's a small improvement but some people still like the 600 better.

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So do I!

Man, you're having buyer's remorse before they've even arrived? Looks like the head-fi bug bit you hard. But if you're looking for people to ease your conscience and assure you that your $270 wasn't wasted, then you're among friends. You can't really go wrong with any of those pairs, the 600s are probably the safest bet, as it's hard to find nagging flaws in neutral headphones (except for the real bass-heads). Looking at your preferred genres it seems like you chose excellently. Enjoy your new cans!