[MorrisL]

For as long as I remember, the HD 600 has been something of a gold standard for mixing and mastering. If I only had a dollar for every time I saw a photo of a smiling audio engineer with a pair of these sitting on the desk behind him! Still, despite its legendary status in the studios all over the world, many people believe the HD 600 is less than ideal for mixing and mastering for one reason alone: the bass... The entire sub-bass of these flat and incredibly natural sounding cans is rolled off and mixing decisions for the low regions don't translate well as a result.

But in 2018 and a new, strange headphone appeared on the market: the Massdrop HD 58X. According to what I read, it addresses this one short coming of HD 600 with a sub-bass that leaves nothing to be desired and it's otherwise relatively close to the HD 600 in the upper spectrum.

So my question (especially to those who have owned or heard both)... Can the HD 58X be used for mixing and mastering work as well as the HD 600? Is the HD 58X even better due to the fixed bass response?

 

[MorrisL]

I wonder if quality control has been an issue with HD 58x. I did a bit more research after this post and found that some people find the 58X bright and others find it dark... Some find the 58X as neutral as the 600s and others find them featuring the famous 650 veil. This is weird. I'd really appreciate the thoughts of people who have heard them both.

 

[DrpsDrpr]

I wonder if quality control has been an issue with HD 58x. I did a bit more research after this post and found that some people find the 58X bright and others find it dark... Some find the 58X as neutral as the 600s and others find them featuring the famous 650 veil. This is weird. I'd really appreciate the thoughts of people who have heard them both.

The 58X had both a veil and considerably more distortion than my 600s when I listened to them. I did a good chunk of burn-in on them and it didn’t alleviate those aspects much at all from what I could detect. I’d say it was an acceptable amount for a $150 headphone, but it didn’t exceed my expectations in that price range, excepting the bass performance, and I still vastly preferred the 600s to them. I’m not an engineer or anything, but as an enthusiast, I wouldn’t do any kind of professional audio work on them, they felt squarely like a listening can to my ears.

 

[MorrisL]

The 58X had both a veil and considerably more distortion than my 600s when I listened to them. I did a good chunk of burn-in on them and it didn’t alleviate those aspects much at all from what I could detect. I’d say it was an acceptable amount for a $150 headphone, but it didn’t exceed my expectations in that price range, excepting the bass performance, and I still vastly preferred the 600s to them. I’m not an engineer or anything, but as an enthusiast, I wouldn’t do any kind of professional audio work on them, they felt squarely like a listening can to my ears.

Thank you! I was eager for a 600-type mixing solution with the bass roll-off fixed, but I guess this isn't it... Especially since you say you've heard distortion too.

 

[parimento1]

I have the 600 and 58X. The 58X has noticeably more distortion, but I can't speak of a veil on them. The 650s were the only ones I had that had the characteristic and noticeable veil. That being said, the 58X has more midrange, treble, and bass and much bigger soundstage than the 600. The bass however, does not jive well with the rest of the frequency ranges and sounds overdone. Other than that, the frequency response is more "fun" than the 600s, and definitely not as neutral. The timbre is not as good as the 600s. I would say these would not be a good choice for mixing.

 

[sikki-six]

For most music HD600 is just fine for mixing, even when monitoring the lows. Rock, metal, acoustic, folk and live-music in general usually have quite little subs - they just get in the way. On the other hand, some very bass-prominent electronic music might need that extra sub-reach from the monitoring hp too. I all depends on what you are doing. Planars tend to do flat bass that reaches all the way down great - maybe go that route if needed.

 

[MorrisL]

For most music HD600 is just fine for mixing, even when monitoring the lows. Rock, metal, acoustic, folk and live-music in general usually have quite little subs - they just get in the way. On the other hand, some very bass-prominent electronic music might need that extra sub-reach from the monitoring hp too. I all depends on what you are doing. Planars tend to do flat bass that reaches all the way down great - maybe go that route if needed.

Thanks for chiming in. Recently had a chance to fly to a city where I could AB the 800 and 600 and I am just shocked by the comfort level of the 800. It didn't seem to me the 800 had a whole lot more sub, but the clean sound stage and natural, life-like timbre was incredible. The reason I'm so surprised is because I thought there wasn't a headphone as natural sounding as the 600. Turns out the 800 is on a whole new level. I did feel that before long I'd get a headache due to the sibilant highs. I hope the 800S fixes that and remains as natural sounding. The piano sounded like a real piano right there in the room and you'd forget you had headphones on. Also, I tried pretty much every hifiman planar and many other AKG flagships. None were as good for classical music as the 800.

 

[MorrisL]

That being said, the 58X has more midrange, treble, and bass and much bigger soundstage than the 600.

If a headphone has more midrange, treble and bass, than it's just a louder headphone, isn't it?

Also, are you really sure the 58X has a "much bigger soundstage than the 600"? I just received the 58X, and even though I don't have the 600s any more, I don't recall the sound stage being any smaller.

 

[parimento1]

If a headphone has more midrange, treble and bass, than it's just a louder headphone, isn't it?

Also, are you really sure the 58X has a "much bigger soundstage than the 600"? I just received the 58X, and even though I don't have the 600s any more, I don't recall the sound stage being any smaller.

Yes, if it was added in equal amounts across all frequencies, then yes.

The soundstage I think is bigger than the 600. Let us know your impressions! I really like the headphone. For $150 I think it is a steal.

 

[MorrisL]

Let us know your impressions! I really like the headphone. For $150 I think it is a steal.

I like it too. And a lot. Just hard pressed to hear the distortion so many people are raving about...

 

[parimento1]

By the way, I take back the distortion comments. The hash I was hearing was in the recording. The headphones actually sound very clean. They are more clear/revealing which may point out flaws in the recording.

I've listened to it more, now that I have some time off from work, and the bass is a bit elevated and the upper midrange and treble sound great, but might be a bit elevated. Voices don't sound as natural either as through the 600.

These are very minor quibbles. The headphone is fantastic, and dare I say, better overall than the 600 or 650. I can't believe I'm even saying that.

 

[MorrisL]

By the way, I take back the distortion comments. The hash I was hearing was in the recording. The headphones actually sound very clean. They are more clear/revealing which may point out flaws in the recording.

I've listened to it more, now that I have some time off from work, and the bass is a bit elevated and the upper midrange and treble sound great, but might be a bit elevated. Voices don't sound as natural either as through the 600.

These are very minor quibbles. The headphone is fantastic, and dare I say, better overall than the 600 or 650. I can't believe I'm even saying that.

I find the 58X definitely more enjoyable to listen to than the 600/650... You know when they say "I hear new things in the music I thought I knew well"... I'd long stopped having to say that, but the 58X does indeed give me totally new things out of recordings I've heard many times through many fine headphones. This thing is indeed special. Just not sure it's a good mixing tool. Still not sure.

 

[MorrisL]

So I got the HD 58X, HD 600 and HD 650 side by side and spent a weekend A/B-ing them out of my Objective O2.

To answer my own question, for others who may be curious, the short answer is "No, this can't replace the HD 600 as a mixing headphone."

There's a lot more to be said though. For music listening, I would certainly choose the 58X over the 600 and the 650. Just not for mixing.

I didn't fully appreciate the 58X until I listened to some orchestral and chamber recordings and noticed the amazing, crunchy-delicious bottom end on the 58X. If you're curious, play any piece that features a cello and see how much more real and resonant it sounds with the 58X compared to either the 650 or 600. The 650 got a little close but it was still no match, even though the vocals and mids sound sweeter on the 650 and for lots of tracks the 650 was my clear preference. But strings! Especially lower strings! On the 58X, it's shockingly real, possibly even better than on HD800 which is arguably the world's best classical solution.

And with all that praise that I have for the HD 58X, it's not neutral. It's a warm headphone with some dry forward mids.

The only reason why I didn't keep the HD 600 for mixing either is because I discovered, by accident, that my Audio Technica M40x was just as neutral (if not even more neutral) as the HD 600 and it didn't leave anything to be desired when I compared the two. The M40X can replace the HD 600 easily and even fix the missing bottom-end issue. The 58X? I'll plug them straight into my LG v20 and lay down on my couch any time I have a spare hour or two.

 

[SilverEars]

I agree about 600 being the choice minus the bass for genre of music with sub-bass, but I disagree strongly regarding M40X. That's a poorly tuned closed-back with mid bloom issues. 600 is so much better technically.

 

[MorrisL]

I agree about 600 being the choice minus the bass for genre of music with sub-bass, but I disagree strongly regarding M40X. That's a poorly tuned closed-back with mid bloom issues. 600 is so much better technically.

Do you think you could spare a few minutes and A/B them (if you have both) like I did?

I wasn't expecting what I found either. In fact, what I really wanted was a justification to buy the HD 600, in addition to the HD 58X i already have.

The m40x sounded ruler flat and gave just as much detail, if not more, than the 600. I have a pair of Yamaha MS7 studio monitors and the 40X sounded a lot closer to those than the 600. The 600 still has a bit of the 650-style darkness, with the missing sub. Music mixed on the 600 might turn out to be too bright, whereas the m40x would translate well. I didn't experience the mid bloom you describe. I will A/B again, with an ear tuned to that.