Sennheiser HD 600

If this is your first foray into high-end audio, you're listening at home, and you can afford a decent amplifier, buy these cans before you splurge for any others.

Let me first attempt to burnish my credibility. I've had my HD600s for a few weeks. I'm not Steve Guttenberg and I haven't heard every system on earth. I have installed a number of 4-figure 7.1 systems, designed and installed my own room correction, and annoyed the Magnolia people at Best Buy by spending way too long running my own demo material through 5-figure Martin Logan electrostats. Also, I didn't spend my youth at KISS concerts, so at least for now, I'm not deaf.

Some cans I've owned or still own:

Grado SR80 (open, dynamic, $100)
Sony MDR-7506 (closed, dynamic, $100)
Oppo PM3 (closed, orthodynamic, $400)
Hifiman 400i (open, orthodynamic, $500)

I compared all of them back to back with these HD600s for many hours through a huge variety of well-recorded material, in all cases with an O2/ODAC. This latter component has ruler-flat response and zero audible distortion; I'm not messing with the output with anything that might favor one can at the expense of another.

My short take is this: start with these HD600s. Mixing, pleasure listening, whatever; if your environment allows for open cans, start here. Nothing cheaper is a more complete product in aggregate. You can spend more and get improvements in some areas, but almost always with commensurate disadvantages elsewhere. Plenty of folks with $1500 HD800s keep their HD600s anyway for when they get tired of the pointed treble of that otherwise stellar can. Orthodynamics and electrostats will top them in the midrange and highs, but often lose on bass impact.

Start with the HD600 so you can find out what you like. Because it's been around for 20 years as an audiophile benchmark that everyone's heard, you can find endless measurements and comparisons. A sentence that starts with, "I like my HD600 except for ..." is likely to bear more fruit than any other reference.

That in mind, let's talk about how they're designed and how they compare with the others above.
 
OPEN VS. CLOSED:

Headphones are just small speakers. With any speaker, you only want to hear one side. The other side makes the same noise at the same volume, but reversed in phase. If you could magically direct both sides at each other, they'd cancel out. (This is incidentally why it's important not to wire a channel backwards in your home stereo. Weird frequency nulls ensue.) We therefore need to do something with the reversed signal so it won't pollute the primary.

Closed cans (and conventional box speakers) cover the back of the driver with baffling material to absorb the sound energy. While this approach doesn't want for accuracy or frequency response, it does tend to make the listening space sound smaller. Open headphones (and "infinite baffle" speakers) solve the baffling problem by not solving it; they just vent the back of the speaker into a huge space. Great for acoustics (no need to account for backpressure and the like), but at the cost of treating the missionary one seat over to your collection of Eazy-E.

Sennheiser assumes you're listening at home with this can, so they've opted for an open design.

SOUND AND COMFORT:

Comfort is excellent. I have a big head and big ears. There's a lot of compression and I had to stretch the band a bit. After that, the light weight and plush cups that actually fit around my ears were easy to forget. The SR-80 are on-ear and uncomfortable, the PM3 are on-ear (for me) and very uncomfortable, the 7506 are on-ear and equally comfortable (because they have no clamping pressure), and the 400i are over-ear and equally comfortable.

Treble is very good. Clean, not strident, and neutral or very slightly forward. On par or better than the 400i for most material. The PM3 is noticeably recessed, but otherwise excellent. The 7506 has a somewhat forward mix with at least one frequency peak that can make it sound thin. The SR80 is quite sharp and tiring with trumpets, violins, and so on. This same treble overemphasis can add life to otherwise dull recordings.

Midrange is excellent. The 7506 sounds fairly good, but a bit "fake" and radio-ish back-to-back with the others. The SR80 has a large emphasis here suited to solo vocals, but becomes fatiguing quickly on any recording with more than a few things going on, particularly modern rock or pop. The 400i is stellar. The PM3 is almost as stellar, though ever-so-slightly colored. The HD600 has a very subtle, pleasing coloration I didn't catch until I equalized it. Detail resolution is slightly behind the orthos.

Bass is excellent. Both orthos play a little deeper and with better definition, but lack the HD600's "punch." The 7506 is decent here. The SR-80 might as well not have bass at all. There's a definite argument for the PM3; I might even prefer that one because, like all good orthos and unlike conventional dynamics, there's less distortion at low frequencies. Very pure, distinct tones.

My best description of the HD600 is "euphonic." There's nothing wrong with the sound. It doesn't sparkle or pound, or whatever wine-review description accompanies cans that try too hard. It's the kind of sound that makes you wonder where the last three hours went.

FILES AND DACS:

You can't talk about an output device without a parallel discussion about the signal chain. That includes your audio file, a DAC, and an amp.

The importance of file format is overrated. No one's ever been able to reliably tell the difference between 44 KHz / 16-bit CD "Redbook" audio and any ostensibly better (e.g., SACD, DVD-A) digital format. Surround sound and the limited dynamic range of analog records might be pleasing to some folks, but for pure 2-channel listening, there's no point chasing anything better than a CD .

In fact, even lossy compression may suffice. Much of the vitriol directed at lossy file formats stems from bad encoders. If you converted your CDs to MP3 at low bitrates with whatever terrible encoder we had fifteen years ago, you'll probably catch some noises you won't like in some material (e.g., a subtle warble in the ring of a cymbal). But modern 256 Kb/s AAC (Apple's preferred format) or 320 Kb/s MP3 encoded in the last five years? The confluence of factors necessary to be able to distinguish it from the original source (trained listener, good hearing, great gear, isolated sound, repeated listening, looking for that specific flaw) is so rare as to be irrelevant.

DACs (digital to analog converters) take your MP3, FLAC, MP4, or whatever digital signal and convert it to an analog signal that can be amplified. They're not that complicated; this conversion is very much a solved problem. Or would be if not for the lack of a line-out to skip the amplifier stage in most audio devices, or the tendency to bury the poor DAC among other noisy components that pollute the sound (read: every motherboard ever). If you decide you want a separate one, anything actually labeled as a DAC (ODAC, Modi, whatever) is fine. I spent a lot on an ODAC because it measures well enough never to need upgrading, but honestly, you could replace it with a $30 Fiio DAC and I might not notice.
 
AMPS:

Amps have one primary purpose: make the cans play loud enough. Your laptop, phone, iPod, and sound card all have amps already. Whether any particular amp/headphone combination plays loud depends on the sensitivity (dB/mW) of the headphones, their "ohm" rating (their input impedance; the electric equivalent of backpressure), and how much power the amp can output at that ohm rating. Cans with low impedance (e.g., 20-30 ohms) and high sensitivity (100+ dB/mW) are easy to drive. You could run them to deafening volumes off an iPod. Higher impedance cans, not so much. These HD600s have high impedance (300+ ohms) and middling sensitivity. They need more power. They need an external amp, whether portable and battery-powered or a metal box at home.

Just for kicks, let's do some math to prove the point. Loudness is all about decibels. Deafening is 120 dB, loud is 90 dB, and libraries are 40 dB. On this scale, things sound twice as loud every +10 dB, but every +3 dB needs double the power. You probably want to be able to hit at least 110 dB for transients. Maybe 115 dB if you don't like your spouse and want to never hear them again.

The iPhone 6 has pretty typical power output for a portable:

Driving 15 ohms: 45 mW
Driving 30 ohms: 25 mW
Driving 300 ohms: 3 mW

The scale is linear: double the ohm load and you (in physics land with spherical cows and amps that don't run out of current or voltage) cut the output wattage in half. These HD600s are 300ish ohms with sensitivity around 97 dB/mW. The iPhone manages 3 mW for a load like this, so we're looking at maybe 101 dB max. Weak sauce, particularly since that's the loudest possible volume and the average volume for most recordings (that aren't Metallica) will be quite a lot lower. (If you raise the average levels with a maxed-out amp, the peaks won't get any louder, but they will clip and distort.) Compare the PM3: that one does 101 dB/mW with impedance around 30 ohms. With 25 mW from the iPhone, we end up at 115 dB; much more potent. You'd need 60 mW at 300 ohms (about 25 times as much power) to get the same volume out of the HD600.

After power, the next challenge for the amp is to not ruin frequency response. That's hard for one big reason: the impedance of dynamic headphones (all of them unless labeled orthodynamic or electrostatic) changes with frequency. It might be 200 ohms at this frequency and 400 ohms at another. If the amp's output impedance is zero, that doesn't matter. If it's more than zero, the voltage sent to the cans (and by implication how loud they are at that frequency) will change over the frequency range. Whatever response curve Sennheiser had in mind ("Ve shall haf 14% less zeebilance"), high output impedance can result in something very different. This is why it's hard to take subjective opinions seriously if you don't know how the headphones were driven.

There's another benefit to low output impedance: better bass control. Speakers tend to get sloppy and distort with frequencies near their resonance peaks. That manifests as a muddy, definition-smothering bass hump. The best way to prevent this distortion is with electrical damping, the ability of the amp to electrically prevent unwanted movement (in the same way that it's hard to spin a motor if you've shorted the power terminals). To keep the bass tight and changes in frequency response inaudible, the amp impedance needs to be, if not zero, at least 8 times less than the headphone impedance. A few inexpensive devices pull this off with just about every can (e.g., the original Sansa Clip+ that measures 1 ohm), though not many (the various iPhones tend to be 5-10 ohms).

Everything else about amps starts to get subjective. To me, the perfect amp has zero distortion. To the folks buying tube amps, distortion is the whole point. Same thing with deviations to the frequency response curve; best-case, it's flat over the entire range, but if the "house curve" of your headphones is the typical V-shape with an emphasis on bass and treble, an amp that rolls both ends will make the cans an easier listen over the long term. Tube amps usually attenuate the high end; since the classic "audiophile" curve has strong treble to emphasize detail, softening that treble peak quite often sounds better.

Anyway, long story short, if the open design of these HD600s didn't already to consign them to home use, their high impedance almost certainly will unless you want to supplement your traveling kit with something like a Fiio E07K.

HD600 vs. HD650:

The HD600 is one of the most neutral headphones available. Everyone says that about speakers they're used to that don't have glaring response anomalies (and sometimes even if they do), but it's true here: the correction to flatten the HD600's frequency curve is minimal. Music tends to be mastered with a neutral output device in mind; if your hearing isn't unusual, neutral cans are likely to sound good over the broadest cross-section of material.

The HD650 is the same experience less some treble. It's constructed almost identically to the HD600; the $100 price difference is a marketing maneuver that has nothing to do with sound quality. Rolling the treble lends a "warmer" and slightly less detailed sound that'll flatter music mastered "hot" or with excessive treble or bass equalization. ("Warm" in audiophile parlance is akin to warm and fuzzy; "hot" mastering implies that the sound engineer compressed the dynamic range to make everything loud.) The HD650 also won't draw quite as much attention to themselves. Whether that's better is personal preference. The HD700 and HD800 take the opposite approach: you're getting detail whether you want it or not.
 
Incidentally, not all "detail" is the same. Detail comes from boosted treble or better drivers. Lesser cans favor treble. Bumping the high range sounds clear and vivid on first listen, but quickly becomes fatiguing. (Bose speaker demos are notorious for this.) Better cans opt for more powerful, higher-impedance, lower-distortion drivers (or different technologies entirely as with electrostats) so intrinsically revealing that the manufacturer can use a more relaxed tone curve. The most detailed dynamic cans (i.e., the HD800) have only a mild treble bump. Less, even, than the HD700, which makes do with a less sophisticated driver. It's unsurprising, then, that reviewers tend to find the HD700 a little harsh on direct comparison.

You could achieve the HD650's sound by plugging the HD600 into tubes, but if that's really what you want, there's a better way.

SIGNAL PROCESSING:

Here we enter controversy. Audiophile purists believe in maintaining the integrity of the signal from recording to output. 24-bit audio, SAC-D, fancy cables, and giant Class A furnace amps are not out of place in this crowd. I respect the motivations for that view, but I've abandoned it with the HD600 for the better. We've had enormous advances in signal processing over the last twenty years. The HD600 is a mechanical device. It doesn't, and can't, have an perfectly flat frequency response. The cups and driver enclosure impact the sound too much, even if the driver itself could be made perfect, which it can't.

But if we measure the curve, we can recreate any frequency response we want by digitally modifying the input. This is DSP: digital signal processing. The software equalizer in iTunes is a basic DSP, as is Autotune and every "enhance" button you've ever seen in a music player. The processing is almost never "free" (in the sense that it'll only have positive effects), but the benefits can vastly outweigh the downsides.

To jump straight to the point, a company called Sonarworks has measured and corrected the HD600. The plugin is about $70 from them, and in addition to making the HD600 a legitimate tool for mastering, it also improves ordinary listening sessions quite a lot. Bass impact in particular, always a weak point with headphones, sounds speaker-like through it. The Sonarworks VST plugin works through a VST-supporting player like J-River Media Jukebox or any of a dozen VST hosts (e.g, Audio Hijack on Mac). If you don't like the result, you can emulate a variety of other headphones. Grado GS1000? Sure. HD650? Yep. I hate spending money on things that aren't hardware, but in this case, I'm sold.

It gets better. After you've installed that, download Wave Arts Panorama5. It's a very powerful binaural emulator that'll take recordings out of your head and put the singer in front of you. Real binaural recordings use a dummy head with physical ears to create positioning cues that can sound wildly more realistic. Panorama (and free, albeit much inferior alternatives like 4Front and Psypan) use HRTFs (head-related transfer functions) to modify a conventional signal with math to recreate the dummy head effect. Done well and matched to your ears, it can leave you agog. ("Why is my neighbor pounding on the ceiling? Oh. Wait.") Likewise a program called "Out of Your Head," which is expensive because the author measured a bunch of high-dollar audio setups. Want your HD600s to sound (exactly) like a movie theater? That's now a thing.

IN SUM:

To wrap this novel: definitely try the HD600s. They're frequently on sale in the low $200s. There isn't anything as good anywhere near that price. To give perspective, after demoing them against the 400i for a month, an ortho at twice the price that everyone raves about, I returned the 400i. But I'm a home listener. If you're on the go, have small ears, and don't want to annoy everyone, try the Oppo PM3 instead. Truly, you can't go wrong with either.

I hope every person looking into audio gear picks up an HD600. I really understand why it is a classic headphone and how even decades after its launch, it is still considered one of the best headphones you can get. In my opinion the best part of the headphone is its sound stage and positioning. While not super wide, it is super easy to determine where instruments and where they are relative to each other. Also the headphone is not extremely hard to drive and because of its popularity there are hundreds of amps that were designed with this headphone in mind. 

Here is a link to my video review on youtube that goes a little more in depth: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqr62LqnGyw

In my humble opinion the Sennheiser HD600 is by far one of the best sounding dynamic headphones on the market period hopefully you'll agree with me at the end of this review.

Specifications
 

Frequency response (headphones)	12 - 39000 Hz
Sound pressure level (SPL)	97 dB at 1 mW
THD, total harmonic distortion	0,1 %
Contact pressure	ca. 2,5 N
Ear coupling	circumaural
Jack plug	3,5/6,3 mm stereo
Cable length	3 m
Transducer principle	open, dynamic
Nominal impedance	300 Ω
Weight w/o cable	260 g

Nothing really much to see here other then the fact this is a very high impedance headphone with a moderate sensitivity which means this headphone clearly NEEDS good amplification. Self powered small USB dac/headphone amplifiers can drive this headphone fine however for the best experience I recommend at least a Schiit Magni or O2 as both these amplifiers swing plenty of current into a high impedance load. These headphones will play well out of a receiver (as long as its a resistor based headphone out not opamp), integrated amplifier and preamp aswell (I've used it on my vintage mid 70s era Sansui integrated amp and it drives the headphone very well to extremely loud levels too). If tubes are your thing these match perfectly with all OTL Tube Amplifiers due to their high impedance.

Build
The Sennheiser HD600 is a unique headphone in the way that every part can easily be removed and replaced and spares are readily available and when I mean every part I literally mean everything, you don't even need any special tools to disassemble it everything just snaps together. Fit and finish are really nothing to write home about, it seems durable enough never had issue with my headband cracking/snapping (which is supposedly an issue) I've had the headphones for a while and im not precious with them either. The overall build quality is fine and it does the job, it isnt spectacular by any means especially at this price point. The standard cable is pretty lame I destroyed mine in just a few months (the part that connects to the earpiece). Replace this with a HD650 cable which is much more solid and better made cable and no before you ask it does nothing for the sound don't try to tell me otherwise I don't believe headphone cables make any tangible difference, although don't let it stop you spending 5 or 10 bills on a custom cable though if that helps you sleep at night.

Comfort:
If you can get over the initial clamping force that goes away slowly with time these are a very comfortable headphone the pads are soft and plush and feel good on the head. You can hardly feel the headband on your head there is no pressure points there other then the clamping around the ear. People stretch the headband to help loosen clamping force but I do not recommend this as its not needed and you can potentially break it. It will go away with time.

Sound:
The Sennheiser's sound signature can be described as neutral with a slight warm tilt although not overly rolled off at all. Its a smooth sounding and forgiving headphone not fatiguing to listen to in the slightest but still remains detailed enough to be somewhat analytical (Which the 650s don't do IMO).The bass is good just don't expect it to extend super low, Its right were it should be not overly abundant but enough for the headphone to not sound anemic in the slightest. This is why to me the HD600 to strike the perfect tonal balance for a headphone.The 'veiled' term used by some to describe these headphones a load or rubbish and anyone that believes in this probably listens to obscenely bright headphones. Soundstage is good but not amazing for open headphones if you want a headphone with a superior soundstage have a look at the K7xx line of headphones or step up to the HD800 which especially the latter offer a massive sound stage. 

Ill give you my listening experience with my 3 amplifiers source is music files from my PC -> Optical in to my DacMagic 100

Woo Audio WA6
If I blindfolded you you probably wouldn't be able to tell this is a tube amplifier. The HD600s sounded great for this amp however the low end wasnt as present or as tight as it was with my other solid state amplifiers. Highs where crisp and clean nothing rolled off and mids were present with great punch and clarity. There really isnt that much more say about this amplifier. If I had a bottlehead crack or Woo Audio WA3 there would have been much more to say and made for a more interesting comparison as these are both OTL which greatly alters the sound signature.

O2
The wire with gain as people call it again nothing really much to say here either the HD600s paired wonderfully plenty of power to drive these cans with ear shattering levels. Bass was more prevalent on this amplifier then on the Woo (probably due to the higher dampening factor). Mids and highs seemed very similar, so similar infact the only difference I could pick was that the highs seemed to be more prevalent on this amp but thats not to say that the Woo rolls off the higher frequencies that would be an exaggeration, best way to describe it would be slightly smoother sounding.

Gustard H10 (modified v200 clone)
Pairs excellently with this amplifier. Bass was very controlled and tight and more prevalent then on the O2 (which would make sense as people describe the V200 as a warm sounding solid state amplifier) other then that it was very very similar to the O2 across the rest of the frequency spectrum. Keep in mind this amp is complete overkill for these headphones.

The HD 600 is a forgiving headphone but at the same time is still detailed enough to give you an accurate portrayal of whatever it is you are listening to. As you can clearly see it does everything rather right and that's a big call to make as its very hard to find a headphone you can actually say this about. No headphone is perfect even top of the line flagships which cost many times more then this. The HD 600 isn't perfect either but for the price point this headphone is available for its as close to perfect as you can get.

Dear Head-Fi community,
 
By the time you get to my short review I am sure you have read many other reviews for this popular set of cans. So without elaborating on the wonderful mids, the neutral sound, or great soundstage I would like to share my favorite attribute of these wonderful cans. These of all my cans I keep coming back to even though I have superior headphones. I find they are the most sonically comfortable for extended listening of any of my headphones and I find myself shelving my Beyerdynamic t1s and Audeze in favor of my HD 600s during a long project for quiet background noise. I recognize that in nearly every aspect the other cans sound better and I do prefer them for serious listening and movies. But something about my HD 600s makes the very comfortable to listen softly for hours at a time. In order to try and quantify this preference I have tried several different cables and light modding. Following this I discovered that the only thing that seemed to affect this attribute was the simple foam mod (removing 4 pieces of foam around the driver. At first I noticed that the Sennheiser veil that many people complain about was lifted and I seemed to get a better bass and treble response, however after a long session I discovered that I could no longer wear them for extended periods like I could before. With most things headphones things become very subjective, however if you are considering these awesome headphones don't be afraid to give these a shot because they will never leave you tired or strained.

Info:
DAC: CA Dac Magic Plus.
Player: Foobar2000.
Source: PC lossless files through USB to DAC.

I've had these headphones since Christmas now and coming from HD 598's the improvement was noticeable (less grain,more bass impact, NEUTRAL and more realistic) but the treble sounded hot, and the stereo-image too narrow... 

After listening for them and comparing them for few days, my brain started to adjust to the sound of the headphones and it started to sound AMAZING.
The headphones stereo-image started to widen a bit (or a placebo).

Anyway, now 4 months after owning them I have been really happy with them and I just did the foam mod (I replaced the inside foam with stocking and stretched it over the driver)
and OH MY GOD. It's pretty much a whole different headphone. The whole sound of them just opened up and the stereo-imaging is now clearer and sharper than ever.
Listening to Tipper's Forward Escape album, I could hear every little sound moving around in space super clearly.
Only negative is the lack of bass impact, but I guess I can't have it all.

I bought these as a demo from Music Direct some years ago.  And they're still on the front lines of my headphone stable.  They're non-fatiguing, and exhibit an openness no other headphone (even the 650, which I also love, but it's not the same cup of tea....) I've heard has.   I prefer these for Orchestral and Chamber music.  I have a set of Ultrasone Pro 900's that seem to integrate well with Big Band Jazz (Ferguson, Gordon Goodwin, Bob Mintzer, Buddy Rich, etc.) I have used these to master recordings of my Brass Quintet and they've performed very well for me.  A stalwart!  While they do seem to benefit from good amplification, they're not so fussy that a compact mixer like an Allen & Heath (I've even used it on a small Mackie) can't do the job.

This headphone is simply stunning. Especially given the new price. It never does anything wrong no matter what I throw at it. It handles all genres of music like a Bad-ass and it's easy to drive and for about 500$ (with a schiit stack or o2 Amp oDAC combos) you can get something that gets close to high - fi while saving money for school.
 
 
Fantastic. 
 
I also own many other headphones (Ath-m50x, lots of Grados, HD-650, and two HD 518s ) and my sources are the Bottlehead Crack, The Odac +o2 Combo, and the Schiit Stack.  In my opinion, This headphone is the best general-purpose headphone.

Let me just say one thing up front: if you have any complaints about the speed or the bass extension of these headphones, you need a better headphone amp. /endofdiscussion The HD600s will take the best in source material and amplification, and give you the best sound in return. It's not coincidental that these cans are held up as the reference's reference: more than any other headphone I can think of they sound like whatever it is you are listening to. Their most notable audio characteristic is this ... amiable compatibility. That and the ability to play cleanly at very loud peak levels. Combined, the HD600s are ready for whatever you care to throw at them, never drawing unwanted attention to themselves, always sounding great.
 
Perhaps part of the secret to this neutrality and high enjoyment factor is the way they dial down the resolution just a tad. A fraction de-focused, one notch less treble intensity - blending the music into a coherent experience rather than individual strands of detail. Some people might disapprove, I call it genius.
 
These are comfortable, durable headphones built to a high standard. The foam pads on the earcups and headband died after a decade or so, but I easily replaced them with the new parts from Sennheiser.

These are, imo, the best Sennheiser headphones. Among the many headphones I've tried, the only ones that feel really neutral and natural. A perfectly balanced sound, smooth yet very detailed. Bass has very good extension  and awesome overall tone and impact. Mids are magical, dead neutral and flat and you really feel this on voices and strings. Highs are very extended and smooth and there's plenty of detail. An awesome allrounder. Best value headphones out there, with X2 as a close second. Sounstage is very good but not on par in tridimensionality with that of hps such as HD800 and X2.
Build quality is great, very sturdy but light, and they are very nice looking. Cable is good but improvable, HD650's cable is better. Comfort is really great, they disappear after a while and theyb stay perfectly fit even while moving your head. Pads are very comfortable.
I find HD600s better than HD650s, much more natural mids and overall sound , they're more involving with better bass (hd650s' bass has too much mid-bass and less impact). HD650s are still very good though.
X2s have a more tridimensional sound with more bass but lack some naturalness and smoothness in mids/highs, there is a notable peak up there. HD800s have better soundstage but everything else is worse because of another peak in treble and mids are a little too recessed.
Overall HD600s are to me the best hps out there because they are very good at everything and have no big weaknesses, altogh newer hps may be better in specific fields. They are the only ones with a totally neutral, smooth and balanced sound. Very very pleasing, I consider them my reference headphones to compare others to. Definitely a MUST-HAVE.

I have owned my HD600 for 12-15 years now. I had to change headband and earpad de to weare after 10 years. I believe the Sennheiser HD600 is my best purchase EVER no matter what! I am extremely happy with them. They are great sounding. I truly feel they are shining with my Darkvoice 336SE amp. Great bass, openness, dynamic, instrument separation etc. They are not particular picky regarding amp og source. I love their sound. 
 
I also own Denon D500 lawton mod and Hifiman HE500. Both om which I regard inferior to the Sennheiser HD600.
 
Cant recommend them strong enough!

​

​

​

​

​

(Excuse me if bad grammar )
 
Sennhieser hd 600 review (So Far, No AMP.) *keep in mind I have never been a person who likes loud music, so the HD600s have enough volume directly plugged in for my ears. Not everyone is the same and it does not mean you are death. Im just accustomed to listening at this level because I believe you get more fidelity from doing so.
----------------------------------------------  
Highs- Not as prominent as I want them to be. Very peaceful on your ears though, absolutely no fatigue and very natural. It seems the 558s color this area to a much greater extent than the 600
 
Mids- The most beautiful I have heard. Even directly plugged in to my macbook pro the mids are very detailed and natural, sometimes even sounding realistic  slightlyoverall  better than my SR 325is.
 
Bass/Lows- VERY good bass (atleast to me) lacking a bit of sub-bass but the mello highs help establish a good amount of body.This means, It never really seems like it lacks body although it’s sub bass is not as prominent.
 
 
Detail- On par with the m50, less fatigue. Absolutely brilliant 
 
Imaging/soundstage- So far the imaging increases as the quality of the file does. This is a forgiving headphone but it does benefit from higher quality recordings. Good separation and soundstage, although a bit bigger would be nice. In the long run, the amp might give me what i’m looking for here .
 
Compared to HD 558 (Modded foam pads) directly plugged in (NO AMP YET PEOPLE)
 
HD600>HD 558 Detail
HD600<HD558 Highs (The 558s are more aggressive especially during guitar riffs, and I like it better so far)
HD600=HD558 Imaging
HD600>558 BASS
HD600>558 Overall presentation, NO amp or DLC
 
But remember, this is directly plugged into the 3.5mm jack. Subject to change when my DAC/AMP arrives sometimes next week.

————————————
 
I received my shiit valid/modi amp.
Overall I am very satisfied with the result. The soundstage seems to have increased and I can now hear “layers” of instruments. I did not think this level of fidelity would be possible with a sub-200 dollar amp/dac combo and the HD 600.
 
 
Everything seems to be perfect. And I actually don’t believe it!
 
 
Highs- It seems like the dac/amp combo is slightly brighter than neutral and a tad more aggressive. To me, the combination with the HD 600, being more laid back,  made it absolutely perfect!
 
Mids- These beasts were already good without an amp. Now I am hearing the same amount of refinement and balance but with even more detail. It’s safe to say this headphone now  has more detail than my ATH m50s. Definitely getting to a point where they sound realistic.
 
 
Bass- Absolutely one of my favorite parts of this combination. The bass has been increased but has also gotten tighter than when directly plugged into the Macbook Pro. This is more noticeable with high quality recordings. There is enough “Thump” for most music, but I still feel it’s not proper for EXTREMELY (Slightly annoying and restarted) dubstep.
 
 
Imaging/SS- Is this a dream? I am hearing layers of instruments  and the wind around them. No i’m serious. Do i really need to upgrade further?
 
 
In direct comparison with an amplifier there is absolutely no competition with it’s little brother the HD558. I am so satisfied with this purchase I don’t think I will be upgrading in the near future. 5/5

The Sennheiser HD600's are my first set of headphones. I have long wanted to pen down this review, and here I am writing this review after several months of experience with my beloved HD600’s.
 
 

 
 
Intro : I am an 21 year old Engineering student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself an music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I mostly listen to Bollywood and Indian Classical Music. There is not much audiophile-community presence in India, Though lot of potential remains to be tapped. Auditioning an headphone is almost impossible in India. At the time of my purchase, I took recommendations from fellow Head-Fi ‘ers who guided me into right path, towards the Mighty HD600. 
 
I will try to keep this review simple and hope it will help fellow enthusiasts to know more about the wonderful HD600.
 
Sennheiser HD600 is an upgraded version of the HD580, which was an revolutionary headphone released in 90’s and has won thousands of ears along its journey till today. The HD600 is made in Ireland, and comes packed in an thick and strong cardboard box which is cushioned from inside, where the HD600 stays put, for its onward journey towards the beloved owners! No complaints here.
 
 
 

 
 
Design and Build : Excellent and practical build with professional grade materials. High quality joints, nothing squeaky, sturdy grills, conventional yet very reliable connectors. nano-carbon material ensures in light weight. Very durable, sturdy and reliable construction, along with an attractive Marble finishing. Now not many prefer marble finishing, but as for me, I love it! The HD600 is modular! One can fully dismantle it and assemble it back with ease! Which ensures in long life and easy maintenance of the headphone.
 

 
Comfort : It is very comfortable, can be worn for hours without any sign of discomfort, thanks to oval shaped earcups. The Initial clamp force is a bit strong, but the force relaxes off gradually according to the shape of our head. Ventilated velour pads along with head cushions keeps us cool and comfortable, which is a big plus for Hot climatic countries like India.  
 

 
Sound : The HD600 is an Wonderfully sounding headphone. It’s sound can be consider as ‘Euphonic’ Rich, Textured, magical sounding with very good sound stage and details. It’s natural, smooth and grain-free sonic quality often makes one feel as If they are hearing their music in real concert and not through an headphone!
 
Lows : Very good bass and sub bass. Balanced and Tight, well extended, and clean.
 
Mids : Seductive and very natural. Mids are presented in a lush and rich manner, which results in its pleasing natural sound.
 
Highs : Realistic and smooth. Not Bright. Just ‘Right’
 
Sound-Stage and Details : Sound stage is very good though not as wide as Q701 and not as detailed as DT880. The soundstage and detailing of HD600 is very balanced and ‘Just Right’ and ‘Realistic’
 
The HD600 can be said as more natural than neutral with respect to its sound. The HD600 gives Hi-Fi sound at Mid-Fi price point. One can listen to HD600 for hours together without any hint of fatigue or discomfort. Another positive point about HD600 is that, HD600 scales very well with equipments! I can easily recommend the Bottlehead Crack, which is an excellent OTL amplifier, has special synergry with the HD600. Otherwise an economical O2 amp will also do for an very good listen. The stock cable is quite thin, a reasonably priced Cardas cable would further enhance the already wonderful sound of the HD600. 
 

 
Conclusion : HD600 is an truely amazing and exceptional headphone! One can cherish it for lifetime. The HD600 is an masterpiece, which is a bliss for audiophiles and enthusiasts alike.
 

 
The following features are hard to find anywhere else, but are present in the HD600 :
 
1. Eternal Sound Quality
2. Super Comfortable
3. Very Durable
4. Scale-ability
5. Modularity
6. Affordable.
 
I would like to thank Sennheiser for creating the legend and Head-Fi for continuing the legacy.
 
 
The Sennheiser HD600 is not just another headphone; It’s a Legend.

The HD600 is a pair of excellent sounding cans. They have a balanced, natural sound and the soundstage is remarkably large. I can hear all sorts of sounds while listening to these cans and I can say that the instrument separation and detail is superb. The only problem I have encountered is that the initial clamping force is slightly strong.

Note that the price I put is buying used from a fellow head-fi user
 
About Me:
I am an 18 year old music lover. I have gotten into music more and more in the last year, with this being my first major headphone buy. Since I was 14 I knew that music would be my thing. I have enjoyed listening to Tapes and CD's since I was very young, and over the last few years I have been growing as a music lover. My headphone collection has gone from Beats Solo hd(trash 1/5) -> Beats Studio(ok but broke 2.5/5) -> Monster DNA(alright 3/5) -> Sennheiser hd439(surprised me for the price 3.5/5) -> Sennheiser hd600(pure gold 5/5). I've heard some nice headphones besides the ones I've owned, but nothing flagship. The sennheiser hd439's made me re-listen to my entire music library, and really got me into the whole hifi thing. Me set up is rMBP->headphone or ipod nano->fiio e5->headphone. At the time of writing this I have ordered the schiit modi/vali. Also something about my music style is I like the music to sound as real as possible, with no over the top bass or treble. Most of the music I am listening to with the hd600's is stereo FLAC and ALAC with a few MP3's. I know I don't have the greatest set up, but I can still hear a huge improvement.
 
Comfort/Design:
The HD 600's have an awkward design in my opinion, and clamp hard on your head at first until you get used to them. The open design might let a lot of noise in and out, but improves sound quality over anything I've ever heard that was closed. The paint on the headband of the plastic looks very 80's and is unattractive in my opinion. Besides that there is not much to complain about the headband is comfy. These headphones are also extremely light feeling on your head. After your body adjusts to the clamping from the headphones they feel comfortable and you can wear them for hours.
 
Listening setup/test songs:
As previously stated my setup is rMBP->hd600 and iPod Nano->Fiio E5->HD600. I know I'm not getting the full potential out of the headphones but they still sound great. The albums I used for the testing were Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan on a CD, Abbey Road by The Beatles on a 256kbps MP3, and finally Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys on a 96/24 FLAC.
 
Sound Quality:
No matter the quality of the recording, I can honestly say the Sennheiser hd600's greatly improved the overall sound quality of the music. While I haven't heard 192/24 music with the highest quality DAC/Amp/Headphones, I can still say with certainty the hd600's are some of the best headphones on the market and would be hard to beat with a direct connection to my computer. I will be holding on to these headphones for along time. The sound the produce is very realistic. They are a little warm sounding but defiantly not dark. While I haven't listened to much fast music (I hear they can struggle with faster music) I still would say they are detailed and clear sounding with all the music I listened to. They have a great sound stage with good separation of instruments, so that you can hear front, back, right, and left easily. The highs are not overly present but sound fantastic. The mids are my favorite part of these headphones, and really bring out the best in the music. The bass is great with out being over the top
 
Summary:
These headphones are the greatest I have ever had. They are built well, and sound amazing for listening to music. The most realistic sounds I have ever heard from music have come from these headphones. I highly recommend them over everything else in their price range ($300-$450).

I've been listening to the HD 600 with the FiiO E07k/E09k combo. I realise that this DAC/amp combo might not really get the most out of the HD 600 but I thought I'd share my thoughts nonetheless.
 
Firstly, I really like the sound of the HD 600. It's detailed, the bass is tight and present but doesn't dominate. Personally I think these headphones sound great with rock and classical music, I especially find drums and violins to sound very realistic. The comfort of these headphones is superb, the ear pads are very comfortable and the headphone is rather lightweight. I think the fit is also perfect and ensures that these headphones don't wobble around much. I find the HD 600 comfortable enough for hours and hours of listening.
 
My biggest complaint about this headphone is soundstage. I've heard people referring to its soundstage as a 3 blob soundstage and I think that sums up my opinion perfectly. The bass while it sounds really good, it lacks the visceral component that adds emotion to some RnB, rap and pop songs. The HD 600 still sound great for these genres but I can't "feel" the music as much as I would like to.
 
Some other minor quibbles are that the headband does feel like it could break quite easily and I think there is slightly too much treble for my tastes. Movies sound realistic but do lack the excitement of bassier cans IMO.
 
Overall, I'd say that these are excellent headphones. Good all rounders that perform well with most (if not all) types of music and really shine when listening to certain genres. Comfort which is a vital requirement for me is also top notch!

I've owned these for a year now so I think I can pass fair judgement. Great headphones. A legend among headphones. Neutral, clear and the reference I use to compare all others. Very comfortable, the most comfortable headphones I've ever used with the Beyer over ears. I sold my Audeze LCD2.2 and kept these, that's how much I like them.
 
Surprisingly easy to drive for 300ohm. They improve with adequate amplification, but I think people really overstate how important it is.
 
I did have the headband crack on me when stretching it (they have a bit of a tight grip initially), but Sennheiser were great and replaced them straight away for a new pair.

Well I'm kinda new to Head-fi & since I'm a big fan of the HD600 here's my personal review of them which also touches on the amps & replacement cable (only mention it not analyze it).  Here goes :
 
What I enjoy the most out of the HD600 sound is the balance & clarity.  Right now I'm listening to Jeff Beck, "Blow by Blow" c1975 (produced by George Martin).  My sources are : TEAC PD-H600 (PD-H600 uses the Burr Brown PCM1796 D/A converter, a 192kHz/24-bit component) & Kenwood KA-8006 (70WPC) vintage integrated amplifier (1974); the HD600 replacement cable is from Headroom, Cardas Fatpipe cable for HD6XX.  
 
The sound is simply exquisite.  I was listening to the album with my HD650s previously and the difference I noticed immediately when I switched to the HD600 was the forward clarity of the cymbals & ping sound with no roll off (sibilance free) while simultaneously hearing all of the other instruments & nuances, perfectly balanced; some in the background but never overwhelmed.  My amp is set at it's most neutral possible i.e. the loudness option is never activated;  I only put the emphasis on the filters to bring out the subtleties when I'm listening at a reasonable high volume.  
 
This set up which is about all I can afford works wonders & truly makes the HD600 perform at it's peak.  They never sound coloured at any time.  As for the lack of bass or sub bass mentioned so often, let me just say that I can feel the bass in the sound as well as hear it i.e. the bass drum is felt & is always there & it's a special kind of subtleness by which I mean you can't miss it and I believe these headphones were designed this way in order to capture every sound possible without any over powering bass/sub bass or added treble/sibilance.  Again, when properly driven the bass sound/feel is unmistakably present.  It's quite ingenious when you consider it.  I own the HD800 but I seem to listen to the HD600 more often.  When I put them on after having put them aside for a while and turn the music on they never fail to bring a smile on my face & a nod because my ears & brains are saying to me  : "Ah yes, good ol' 600s, they never let me down" 

Most Musical and enjoyable, Sennheisers most comfortable, Does not need amp, great treble extension paired with correct source, very nice bass.
 
Out of all my cans this is best overall and most enjoyable sound. The HD650 right there but it does have a diffrent sound. I would say Q701 are a great headphone but missing bass.
 
Have: Grado Sr-60, HD555, HD595, HD600, HD650, ATM-50S, Ultrasone HFI 780, AKG Q701, Bose QC15
Had: Grado Sr-80
 
 
Worst headphones: Grado SR-80 and HD555(tried twice)
 
I am sure the $1000+ headphones are better paired with a great amp but this is what I have.
 
The Sennheiser are by far the best brand with combo of great fit, great finish, great comfort, great style, and great sound.
I started with Sr-60 and  wanted to go up with higher models with the Grado but the comfort is terrible. Bowls or Pads. Grado has great sound but after years of wearing them and then trying other headphones. I could never wear grado's again for more than 2 hrs at most every couple of months.
 
I use an STX and Audigy 2 sound card.

First off I'm going to say I was rather hesitant about buying these headphones.I had recently purchased the Hifiman He-400's, and while I very much enjoyed the SQ on those i found them far too cumbersome and uncomfortable. This was most likely due to the weight of the cans and lack of cushioning on the headband (which you can buy cushioning for). I also found that the velour cups didn't form a precise seal on my head which i suspect really didn't help with the bass. 
 
My preferences for headphones have to date been a rather bright sound signature. I was brought up on a healthy dose of AD900's and i freakin loved the comfort they offered. The bass was a bit lack lustre. This was my incentive for searching for a new headphone. 
 
I read a lot about the Hd600 and was struck curious by the sound signature that it offered. A much more natural sounding headphone, with a mid emphasis. This was most definitely different from my normal tastes. I demo'd a HD600 at a friends and was really quite unimpressed. I have a feeling that something was up with his setup (he was running a Matrix M stage amp and dac combo which i suspect was not genuine, as were his various headphones). 
 
Still after a lot of trawling through forums, friendly help from the lovely folk here, and a nice discount from the local audio store I made my purchase.
 
Packaging:
Quite impressed with the packaging truth be told. It has the feel of a quality product. It comes enclosed in a hefty black box with metal clasps. To open the lid has the feeling of opening the lid on high fidelity music. There on a foam bed lie the HD600's with an instruction manual on top. 
 
Build Quality & Appearance:
Straight out of the box the build quality seems solid. The first thing that struck me was the 'marble' design. From pictures I was anxious to see what it looked like in person. I had a bad feeling it would look tacky and cheap but this was not the case. You can immediately appreciate the build of the headphones, the marble finish is actually quite sophisticated. 
Coming from the Hifimans I was quite suprised at the comparative light weight of these cans. They really don't weigh much. 
 
Comfort: 
When I first put these on I was a bit taken aback at the clamp. I have a medium sized head (i would like to think) and the force was quite apparent. I was told however this would ease with time and it has. I have had these headphones on for the past four hours straight and they are sitting very nicely. They stay firmly in position if i say feel the need to bob my head vigorously, which is quite a bonus if you like to have a bit of quiet time at the desk and place you're head on your forearms. With the hifimans they would immediately slide out of place and I would be constantly needing to adjust them. Given time these headphones seem to adjust and stretch naturally to your head. 
 
Sound Quality:
First impressions:
That Sennheiser veil. It had to be mentioned. This was one thing that I was again anxious about. I like my music to be upfront and alive, not be distanced. Having listened to the Hifimans for a few weeks I had gotten used to that sound signature. If theres anyway to describe the Hifiman's in one word it would be 'alive'. Music on the hifiman's sound almost electric, very energetic and present. I enjoyed it. When I loaded up 'Beast' by Nico Vega the very first chord was like two cymbals crashing together at the center of your head. That was one of the moments where my eyes widened, I sat back and went 'huh... that.... sounds *******... awesome.' I have come to understand that this is a characteristic of the planar technology in the Hifiman's. To give a quick quick summation the sound signature I would describe as being present and alive if one can use those terms. The high's are good, the mids are a bit recessed from what I could tell, and the bass is pretty good. I was however a tad dissapointed with them as I was led to believe the bass would be something that it clearly was not. When users describe the bass as 'phenomenal' I expected it to be super impactful, deep and rumbly, almost visceral. This was not the case and I unfortunately regarded the Hifimans as having not met my expectations. Despite this the bass was deep and quick, it made rock music sound awesome whenever a snare was present. After listening to the Hifiman's for more than half an hour things tend to, for me, get a bit uncomfortable. The weight of the headphone caused strain on my head and having to constantly readjust the strap was a bit of a pain. I also found that despite the comfort factors my ears started to get quite fatigued from the headphone itself. 
 
Now back to the Senn's. As a comparison when I first started listening I was a bit shocked and intrigued by what I was hearing. There was none of this excessive 'im alive' sound coming from the music anymore. It sounded different, and in a good way. To put it bluntly it sounded the way it was supposed to sound. I then realized that what I was hearing on the Hifiman's was really something that I didn't overly care for. They did sound good but in comparison to the HD600's they sound a bit fake and overemphasized. I would liken it to getting a new girlfriend, and finding out that your recent ex had fake boobs, and your current gf had the real deal. For some reason they just seem better. This was really a turning point for me in appreciating a different sounding headphone. While i did enjoy the bright sounding headphones I found an immense pleasure in the reality of the Senn's. Listening to music the way it was meant to sound without any artificial meddling to accommodate the 'mass audience'. By this I mean the treble centric and bass heavy headphones that seem to popular these days......coughbeatscoughcough. 
 
Highs-
As I have previously mentioned I am or was a fan of bright headphones. I liked hearing that sparkling treble as I listen to a lot of female vocals. I was absolutely terrified that I would lose that sparkle and a lot of my music would lose that magical allure that sends shivers down your whole body. The infamous sennheiser veil was something of a dealbreaker for me. I am very happy to report that the highs on the sennhieser while not able to be as in your face as other bright headphones (a good thing it turns out) does a remarkable job. 
 
Mids-
Now. This is what really suprised me. The HD600's have changed my perception of what I consider sounding 'good'. I listened to a lot of music that centered around mid's. One track that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to was 'Iron Man' by Nico Vega. That whole album in my opinion is very well recorded. The guitar, piano, pipes(organ?) that come in half way through the song redefined my perception of good music. It was also conincidentally the moment where I knew I would not be getting rid of my HD600's for a very. very long time. The HD600's seem to bring the mid's forward a tad, it makes male vocals standout a lot more which I find pleasant. Michael Buble has never sounded better. One thing I will note, and I can't say for sure. Is that it really depends on the quality and recording of the source as to how much these come through. For Buble's music his voice is very prevelant, if it was any more so it would be in danger of becoming uncomfortable. When I switch to Tool however the whole band seems to have taken a step back from the microphone, sounding ever so slightly distant and far away. 
 
Bass-
The bass was something I was not expecting to impress me. The Hifiman's were allegedly a bassier headphone both in regards to the quantity, impact and depth. I have a feeling people will have very different opinions as to which bass sounds better. The bass on the Senn's in comparison with no EQ has roughly the same quantity with a marginal amount more impact which I would I would say comes to its alleged slightly boosted mid bass. I would say that in general the bass does not extend to the depths of sub bass that the 400's can (Pun. Bet that's never been used before). There are moments when you are listening to some recordings when the Senn's delight the socks off you with some rather visceral subbass. You kinda just sit there thinking where.... the fudge did that come from. Despite the inconsistency in subbass I do find it more enjoyable than the 400's. The impact is greater and that really does add a lot of value to music for me. Whether it be Part of Me by Katy Perry or Flume's latest album (which sounds freakin dope by the way. If you own the HD600's please give it a listen. It is fantastic). The bass never ever overpowers the rest of the frequencies and is very consistent. If a song calls for an appropriate amount of bass it will deliver, if it doesn't then no bass for you. 
 
Equalisation-
These headphones... LOVE EQ'd bass. While I love the natural sound they produce 90% of the time. Increasing the bottom two frequencies in the STX centre releases the inner bass head. For stuff like flume or Mt Eden Dub where just a touch more bass really does add a lot to the music its incredible. Just bumping up the frequencies makes the Senn's breathe new life into the bass. The impact becomes a lot greater and the subbass more prevalent (although not greatly so). What is best is that in doing this, it doesn't mess with the rest of the frequencies. No distortion, no nothing. With the 400's I couldn't increase the bass without the rest of the spectrum suffering a noticeable amount. 
 
Gaming-
I'm a competitive gamer. Not professionally but I play a lot of FPS to the point where if I'm not in the top 3 I'd be dissappointed. With my current soundcard the Asus Essence STX I find the game and EAX settings completely useless. Not to say they don't work, but they don't work with the Senn's. Once you activate them positioning becomes completely indistinguishable. Sounds become muddied and it sounds like its all coming from center stage. If you keep the HQ option ticked where the source is the cleanest you can get a fairly good idea of where things are. Not pinpoint accuracy by any means but you can get the general gist of where things are coming from. For non competitive I jammed some Mass Effect 3. Focussing just on the audio experience the Senn's do a good job. The mids do a good job of making dialogue clear and the overall experience is pretty flawless. Only option I could mention is again upping the two lower frequencies a tad. Just allows for a more immersive experience. 
 
Just as a note, if you are planning on getting the 600's the source and recording of your music will impact on you're listening experience.
Also as much as I may have whinged about the Hifimans the SQ is still stellar. A great headphone and the after sales service at Head Direct was nothing short of spectacular. After a month of owning the 400's and finally (and at the time slightly begrudgingly) returning them, Head Direct had no problems with extending that two weeks when I was due to travel to HK so I could avoid the rather steep return shipping fee. If you find the Hifiman's comfortable (or perhaps invest in the cushioned pad if you don't) they would be a fantastic addition to any headphone collection. 
 
To finish I will say this. The HD600's have redefined my perception of quality audio. Whilst i was previously a pure bass and treble fan the HD600's have grown on me at a lightning rate. The detailed an prominent mids have made music I have loved that much more enjoyable and that really is priceless for me. Best of all In the hour it took me to write this, I have listened to a large portion of a Tool album, with this being the 5th consecutive hour of wearing the 600's. I have absolutely no fatigue and have no need to readjust them. I may as well sleep with them on.
 
Apologies for the poor grammar and spelling errors but it is now 3am. Bloody Sennheisers.