Going to listen to multiple Headphones and IEMs but...

Hi, this is my first post on Head-fi, so sorry if I posted in the wrong section :)

I'm going to a store to try out headphones and iems to buy (probably sunday); however, theres a few they do not have to test, and I'd like a little help. The headphones/iems they do not have are:

Full-size: HD600, FA-003

IEM: DBA-02, RE262, GR07

It's hard to believe that those are the only ones I can't test, but this store has so much, it's hard to find phones they don't have. 

(I know, Heaven on earth :) )

Could you recommend me different pairs to listen to get an idea of how the missing headphones/iems sound? Anything is better than nothing, so headphones with soundstage of this, mids of that, etc. is ok, along with using iems to compare headphones and vice versa. A list of the headphones/iems I can try out are here.

http://www.e-earphone.jp/shopbrand/056/Y/

I know it’s in japanese, but if you click on the brand names, it will give you the model names in english.

sorry, the HD600s are the ones they DON'T have :(

But if they did, I probably would walk out with them based on what people say about them.

Thanks for the reply. Would the HD650s be the closest to the HD600s? Also, I heard the hd650s are really difficult to drive and are picky about amps, and therefore, is an unamped HD650 miles behind from an amped one? In other words, is it impossible to get a general idea of how the HD650s sounds when properly amped, without amping it, so I can get an idea of how the HD600 sounds?

Thanks, and sorry for the messy sentences :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssrock64 

I'm not a Sennheiser expert, but from my personal experience the HD650, when adequately amped, will resemble the sound of the HD600. When amped amazingly, it'll sound like an HD650. You may want to try the HD650 with a good (but not amazing) amp to get a general idea of the HD600 sound.

 

Those with more Sennheiser amping experience, correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks, I'll try some amps they have. I'm guessing the brighter/more forward amps will make the 650 sound closer to the 600? Would something like an iBasso T3 be good? Or would it have to be higher up, like an iBasso D12? (I'm only using iBasso as examples because out of the amps I can test out, these seem to be the best known, and on the brighter side)

Also, would the 598 be closer to the 600 than the 650 is to the 600?

Well turns out I got lucky and they had a used pair of HD600s that they let me listen to. Prior to that, I listened to HD598s, ad900s, ad1000prms, various Grados, the westone 2 and the ck10 (people say it sounds very similar to the dba-02) all unamped, from my iPod. My favorite was the audio technicas, which I enjoyed, but it didn't 'awaken' me, like music should through headphones that match your preferences. However, the 600s paired with a decent amp (MH audio HA-1) made me start smiling uncontrollably. After that, however, I went back to the ad900s, because I didn't want to eliminate an option so much less expensive. I thought an amp might make a difference, and I grabbed an E11 because I remember a fellow head-fier saying that they sounded really good with it. It didn't; it was very hard to distinguish, UNTIL I started playing with the EQ switch. On EQ '2' of the E11, the AD900s sounded amazing. It sounded big, but not like in terms of soundstage, it just felt big. (I don't know how else to put it lol) It had more authority, and was less thin sounding. Unfortunately, I had to leave, so I only got to listen for 30secs with this set up.

I've decided I'm going to go back 2 days later, when I have more time, to figure it all out. But as of now, I am seriously impressed with the HD600 and the AD900s with the E11.

Also, after much research, the closest to the RE262 seems to be the HD600. Does anyone have an idea about the GR07?

Thanks Guys, I've decided on the HD600. Will make a new thread on where to buy them online, because prices on Amazon are really high.