[Tucker]

I have a pair, just how bad are the Sony MDR-V600 compared with most headphones here?

I'm upgrading soon, and assuming pretty much anything will be far superior in all respects... true?

I'm looking at the ATH-A500 and Sony D66 at the moment.

Any advice on those, esp relative to the crappy MDR-V600 would be apprciated.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tucker I have a pair, just how bad are the Sony MDR-V600 compared with most headphones here? I'm upgrading soon, and assuming pretty much anything will be far superior in all respects... true? I'm looking at the ATH-A500 and Sony D66 at the moment. Any advice on those, esp relative to the crappy MDR-V600 would be apprciated.

I can't comment about the models at which you are looking, but I can tell you that when I replaced my V600 with the Grado SR-80 I could not believe the difference. It was if the music was getting caught in the V600 somewhere and never fully making it to my ears and I had never noticed it.

 

[Tucker]

yeah, I've noticed how crappy the V600 are.

I've also heard the Grado 80, and while they sound awesome, I can't imagine listening to them for long periods, as they're really fatiguing IMO. Also, they leak a lot of sound which is a problem for my usage. If Grado made a mellower closed headphone, I'd be all over it.

Having said that, yeah they're awesome.

 

[minya]

The V600 are pretty much the absolute worst headphones I have ever heard.

 

[Cyclone]

one of my friend's friends DJ's and he uses v-600's, i saw em the other day and just started shaking my head. All that expensive DJ equiptment and your stuck with THOSE? wow, buy something else man.

 

[Tucker]

Some more specific and meaningful comments on what is bad about them, and what improvements can be expected would be more helpful...

 

[Eagle_Driver]

To be specific, the MDR-V600 has practically no low-end or top-end extension, severely overboosted midrange (especially lower midrange) and no detail at all whatsoever across the audible range. The lower range is very muddy, and the treble is mostly nonexistent except for a sharp peak near 10kHz.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tucker yeah, I've noticed how crappy the V600 are. I've also heard the Grado 80, and while they sound awesome, I can't imagine listening to them for long periods, as they're really fatiguing IMO. Also, they leak a lot of sound which is a problem for my usage. If Grado made a mellower closed headphone, I'd be all over it. Having said that, yeah they're awesome.

I agree about the fatigue. The SR-80 are excellent, fun cans, but not good for long listening. What are your pther basic requirements for your new cans? Personally, I am very pleased with the AKG K271S, which I think comes close to a Grado-esque closed phone. I'm also very inetested in trying the Beyerdynamic 250-250 (or -80).

 

[seeberg]

Ha ha ha! My brother found some V6's or V600's-I can't remember which- at a Goodwil for not more that $2! Too bad my SR60's smacked the life out of them. They were in perfect working condition and even had their unimatch plug, but they did need pad replacements very badly.

Late,
Abe

 

[Tucker]

The Monkey -

My basic requirements are ~$100, closed, circumaural. I'm looking at the A500 and D66 presently, trying to decide which is a less likly return for my tastes.

I listen mostly to Jazz and hiphop, focusing on insturmentals. As I mentioned before, I listen for long hours and am somewhat high end sensitive, so I don't want highly fatuiging cans like most Grados in my $ range.

 

[catscratch]

The V600 is pretty similar to the HD500 that I used to have (yup, pre head-fi). Soundwise: lots of midbass, grainy mids, no deep bass or treble extension. Very poor detail, imaging, soundstage, etc - as a matter of fact, you wouldn't even know what imaging and soundstage were just from listening to them. They were meant for kiddies who want big bass with their commercial hip-hop and wouldn't care about anything else, or know any better. To top that off, these were bargain headphones in Germany, but in the US, they commanded a hefty price tag for what they delivered.

As far as what you want to get: The A500 wins out over the D66 sound-quality wise for what you intend to listen to. But, that was a given. These are two very different sets of cans - the D66 were designed for portable use, and are small and foldable, while the A500's were made for stationary use, and are absolutely enormous (though very light). The D66 has a very natural, even sound, but is low on bass - or so I heard. I haven't actually listened to a pair, but that is what people seem to think of them. The A500's I owned, heard multiple pairs, given as gifts, and always thought very highly of (now upgraded to A900's, which are also really good). The A500's have a nice, neutral sound, with pretty big bass though well controlled, clear, natural sounding mids though a bit recessed, and a crisp treble, though not harsh. Are they fatiguing? Out of the box, they probably will be, though nowhere near the SR80. Once they break in, the sound smoothes out a whole lot - the treble settles down, the bass comes out and becomes more controlled, the mids become a bit more upfront. Also, they have a pretty nice soundstage. Very wide, almost unnaturally so, and imaging isn't the most precise, but hey, this is a $100 headphone - most headphones in this price range haven't even heard of soundstage. They will be really comfy, and are pretty well built, though the cord isn't detacheable. Overall, a very good bet - if you don't care about portability. If you do, D66 might be a better idea.

 

[kramer5150]

IMHO theyre pretty bad ....for the $$$

IMHO portapros and KSC75s sound better, at a fraction of the cost.
For that much $$$ you can get V6s or an AKG K240 series.

Now, if you can land a pair used for say... portapro or KSC75 price then they become a little more attractive, but they'll still sound bad.

Garrett

 

[D4ydream3r]

You might want to try this on your v600s.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/247925/interesting-mod-for-the-sony-mdr-v600-56k
 
It will make it sound way better better bass not shattering treble at least and absolutely free.