[Midgetguy]

  So I have fantastic news, I just sold my SMSL DAC and my Phillips SHP 9500 today.
 
Thank god I didn't have to learn the hard way I got back exactly well actually I made a $5 loss but its ok
 
so I must never again make the mistake I made when I bought the ATH M50, Denon D340, Phillips SHP 9500, or the sony MDR bluetooth or any of the other headphones that were all a disappointment. It is clear from trying all these headphone brands that nothing will ever satisfy me like a Sennheiser
 
What must I do now? my guess is I must go straight out and grab a HD 600, at the very least i will accept nothing lower than a HD 558.
 
So now is my second chance at life we must find out what the HD 600 is like. Is it brighter than the HD 5XX series? the HD 555 always had a beautiful surround type of signature. Could it be because of the EAR marketing sennheiser was using? the 555 were dark and laid back and surrounding type of audio but a perfect special kind.
 
One thing is for certain, the SMSL DAC / AMP with the burr brown 1793 dac was a NIGHTMARE!! no matter how much I tried, it caused bad fatigue with my ears and when I went back to my cheapo Xonar DG cirrus logic DAC my life was fixed everything became perfect it became smoother and darker. I am so glad I got back my money for that useless smsl dac. Who would have thought a burr brown would suck so much? who would have thought a $30 PC sound card would be so much better than anything else.
 
SO gents, there we have it I will not ever change this DAC again I learn my lesson now I will love and worship my cirrus logic DAC from now on till I die. But the question is will this asus xonar dg power the HD 600? or would I end up having a better experience with a 55 ohm HD 558?

You probably should've stayed away from the SMSLs in the first place. They aren't bad, quite far from that IMO, they're quite good for how cheap they are, but they tend to be flat or bright rather warm and dark which is what it seems like you want.
 
Since you'll only be running audio from your Asus sound card, I'd highly recommend the HD558 rather than the HD600.

 

[jaxz]

Hi. Any folks from San Diego, CA here? Where are a physical store who sells the HD600. My wife is there so i want she grab me a pair. Online its no good. She's there till thursday.
 
Thanks

 

[Midgetguy]

  Hi. Any folks from San Diego, CA here? Where are a physical store who sells the HD600. My wife is there so i want she grab me a pair. Online its no good. She's there till thursday.
 
Thanks

What's wrong with getting a pair online? If I may ask.

 

[Denon2010]

   
To my ears the 600 is way brighter (in a good way) than the 555.  My 555 did not seem to lose bass after modding though.

interesting should this brighter be better? I did notice the HD 555 was a little too dark but the shp 9500 was waaaaay to right and harsh.
 
I wonder how the HD 600 and 9500 shp bright highs compare?

 

[olek]

I would say hd600 highs are a bit more shelved compared to 9500.
 
Mind you, I like both cans for what they are. At least, as long as stock headphone cable for 9500 is placed where it belongs - in a trash can. Very poor cable, causing lots of harshness, glare and missing detail. Upgrading it with cheap Choseal cable from Amazon was major improvement. Anyway...
 
I like HD600 for relaxing musical experience, they are great for vocals (opera, jazz etc).

9500 are great for background music and conference calls, to save wear and tear on better headphones without having to suffer something totally mediocre.
 
Speaking of brightness... 9500 are not nearly as bright as T1, and that does not make them better than T1's

 

[Denon2010]

  I would say hd600 highs are a bit more shelved compared to 9500.
 
Mind you, I like both cans for what they are. At least, as long as stock headphone cable for 9500 is placed where it belongs - in a trash can. Very poor cable, causing lots of harshness, glare and missing detail. Upgrading it with cheap Choseal cable from Amazon was major improvement. Anyway...
 
I like HD600 for relaxing musical experience, they are great for vocals (opera, jazz etc).
 
9500 are great for background music and conference calls, to save wear and tear on better headphones without having to suffer something totally mediocre.
 
Speaking of brightness... 9500 are not nearly as bright as T1, and that does not make them better than T1's

 
Well luckily for me I sold that shp 9500 and that worthless SMSL 793 II DAC/AMP I still cannot get over how badly my ears would hurt with the SMSL and when I swapped back to my Xonar DG how perfect everything became once more how smooth and airy and laid back the xonar is words cannot describe this. How could a DAC make such a different? yeah... and the funny thing the card only cost me like $30 US and it had a better headphone amp than the SMSL for double the price
 
Not to mention adjusting the equalizer on the PC sounded like ass when it came through the SMSL I like my EQ with +12 on the lowest frequency something the head fi community says NEVER ever do but I am forced to do it for the bass lol. But some songs I but it flat 0
 
so now that we have established that I already posses the perfect DAC for my ears, and that we have established my sale today has allowed me to up my budget to $230 USD I guess we have to now establish whether or not the Xonar DG card will properly power the HD 600. And if it is a no go would the HD 558 allow for a better experience because its 50 ohms?
 
I am awaiting for black friday sale for the HD 600 hoping to nab it for $220

 

[Denon2010]

What you guys think about this marble pattern? lol couldn't they just use black?

 

[SSandDigital]

What you guys think about this marble pattern? lol couldn't they just use black?

An anniversary edition all black or gray woupd be nice. Also with Hd650 cable.

 

[Denon2010]

An anniversary edition all black or gray woupd be nice. Also with Hd650 cable.

Is the HD 600 still retaining the crown of King? I read HD 800 is too bright and I have no idea the difference between 600 and 650 I really hope the marble in this 600 is dark

 

[Me x3]

  What you guys think about this marble pattern? lol couldn't they just use black?

I like the pattern

 

[Brooko]

 
Is the HD 600 still retaining the crown of King? I read HD 800 is too bright and I have no idea the difference between 600 and 650 I really hope the marble in this 600 is dark

 
I don't think any headphone can be given a crown of "king" - each individual has their own tastes.
 
HD600 has been part of my stable for years, and I spent more time with it than my T1 over the last couple of years.  It is a timeless classic which never fails to impress me.  However for me personally it has finally been surpassed, and I will be putting mine up for sale eventually.  HD800S is my new "king".  But I'd still recommend the HD600 in a heart-beat.  Fantastic headphone. 

 

[Midgetguy]

 
interesting should this brighter be better? I did notice the HD 555 was a little too dark but the shp 9500 was waaaaay to right and harsh.
 
I wonder how the HD 600 and 9500 shp bright highs compare?

Different sorts of brightness to my ears. SHP9500 is more sharp/harsh depending on what you run out of (more so if you power from an SMSL, at the least the ones I've tried) while the HD600 highs are more smooth while retaining detail and resolution.
 

  I would say hd600 highs are a bit more shelved compared to 9500.
 
Mind you, I like both cans for what they are. At least, as long as stock headphone cable for 9500 is placed where it belongs - in a trash can. Very poor cable, causing lots of harshness, glare and missing detail. Upgrading it with cheap Choseal cable from Amazon was major improvement. Anyway...
 
I like HD600 for relaxing musical experience, they are great for vocals (opera, jazz etc).
 
9500 are great for background music and conference calls, to save wear and tear on better headphones without having to suffer something totally mediocre.
 
Speaking of brightness... 9500 are not nearly as bright as T1, and that does not make them better than T1's

Didn't even bother untying that cable. Plugged in a different one right away, wouldn't know how the stock cable is other than rubbery and far too long for me.
 

   
Well luckily for me I sold that shp 9500 and that worthless SMSL 793 II DAC/AMP I still cannot get over how badly my ears would hurt with the SMSL and when I swapped back to my Xonar DG how perfect everything became once more how smooth and airy and laid back the xonar is words cannot describe this. How could a DAC make such a different? yeah... and the funny thing the card only cost me like $30 US and it had a better headphone amp than the SMSL for double the price
 
Not to mention adjusting the equalizer on the PC sounded like ass when it came through the SMSL I like my EQ with +12 on the lowest frequency something the head fi community says NEVER ever do but I am forced to do it for the bass lol. But some songs I but it flat 0
 
so now that we have established that I already posses the perfect DAC for my ears, and that we have established my sale today has allowed me to up my budget to $230 USD I guess we have to now establish whether or not the Xonar DG card will properly power the HD 600. And if it is a no go would the HD 558 allow for a better experience because its 50 ohms?
 
I am awaiting for black friday sale for the HD 600 hoping to nab it for $220

Out of a sound card (and a pretty basic one for sure), I'd recommend the HD558 over the HD600. But at the same time, I haven't heard the HD600 sound terrible as long as you're happy with how loud you can make it. Can't see any power output specs on that sound card so can't really judge how much amping power it has, but if it has enough power for adequate volume, then I'd say get the HD600, then save up to get a DAC or amp or both at a later stage.
 

  What you guys think about this marble pattern? lol couldn't they just use black?

I like it. Honestly, I prefer it to the matte silver on the HD650. Heck, I prefer it to the pure black that the Massdrop HD6XX is.
 

 
Is the HD 600 still retaining the crown of King? I read HD 800 is too bright and I have no idea the difference between 600 and 650 I really hope the marble in this 600 is dark

Well if you're specifically calling out the HD800, I'll say this: on the whole, I prefer the HD600. If you wonder what the marbling is like, just view my profile pic. You can see how it compares to the black of the metal arms and the matte black of the edges around the grilles.

 

[Denon2010]

   
I don't think any headphone can be given a crown of "king" - each individual has their own tastes.
 
HD600 has been part of my stable for years, and I spent more time with it than my T1 over the last couple of years.  It is a timeless classic which never fails to impress me.  However for me personally it has finally been surpassed, and I will be putting mine up for sale eventually.  HD800S is my new "king".  But I'd still recommend the HD600 in a heart-beat.  Fantastic headphone. 

Wow nice then its settled I am going to pull the trigger on the HD 600 because the best headphone I ever owned was a HD 555 so I could only imagine how good the 600 is besides they super open back pattern looks so cool aswell you can see everything through the grill

 

[Denon2010]

  Different sorts of brightness to my ears. SHP9500 is more sharp/harsh depending on what you run out of (more so if you power from an SMSL, at the least the ones I've tried) while the HD600 highs are more smooth while retaining detail and resolution.
 
Didn't even bother untying that cable. Plugged in a different one right away, wouldn't know how the stock cable is other than rubbery and far too long for me.
 
Out of a sound card (and a pretty basic one for sure), I'd recommend the HD558 over the HD600. But at the same time, I haven't heard the HD600 sound terrible as long as you're happy with how loud you can make it. Can't see any power output specs on that sound card so can't really judge how much amping power it has, but if it has enough power for adequate volume, then I'd say get the HD600, then save up to get a DAC or amp or both at a later stage.
 
I like it. Honestly, I prefer it to the matte silver on the HD650. Heck, I prefer it to the pure black that the Massdrop HD6XX is.
 
Well if you're specifically calling out the HD800, I'll say this: on the whole, I prefer the HD600. If you wonder what the marbling is like, just view my profile pic. You can see how it compares to the black of the metal arms and the matte black of the edges around the grilles.

Thanks you are right the marble actually does look beautiful
 
I swear that super duper open back design where everything is exposed by the naked eye makes the 600 look so awesome.

 

[Denon2010]

So I have a last question, the bass in the HD 555 was pretty much ZERO. It was a headphone never known bass just like the HD 598 well the 598 is even worse The only way to get a little bit of bass was to move the 30 hz EQ very far up +20 something head fi members say never go do.
 
Taking this into consideration how would you all rank the bass of the HD 600?