frescagod
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2006
- Posts
- 106
- Likes
- 11
as a little background, i have decently musically trained ears, and as someone who is constantly commuting, i have come up the Shure earphone line (e2c > e3c> e4 > e500 > se530 > se846). the ATs were my first and only open-aire phones; i previously owned some HD280s and M50x, but sold them off because i didn't like the clinical sound. i listen to almost everything except for EDM and country.
wow. these Senns. after ~three hours of skipping around through familiar FLACs of mine, the first thoughts that come to mind are:
1. separation
2. detail
3. overall precise "quality" of sound
i'm only using these out of an M-Audio Fast Track audio interface, so it's nothing special at the moment (amp and DAC sometime soon), but it easily drives them at maybe 20% higher volume compared to what the ATs require.
when i am A/Bing these two phones, it is crazy how much different they sound. the best way that i can describe the difference is that the ATs have a streamlined, glossier "FM radio" sound to them, with a really sparkly treble, somewhat detailed bass but in lower quantity, and vocals that blend in with the whole mix. the HD600 is completely different to me. they don't sound as airy, but the instruments sound like they're set apart wider, and the vocals really stand out in the mix. i can really hear the nuances in vocals, across all genres. the treble is still really detailed and shines without sounding harsh, and the bass is more separated, more pronounced.
i won't describe every song that i've listened to, but a sample list would include:
the rolling stones - tumbling dice
counting crows - omaha
van morrison - into the mystic
BT - 1.618
aphex twin - xtal
the head and the heart - down in the valley
the allman brothers band - blue sky
bob dylan - stuck inside of mobile with the memphis blues again
nas - one love (remix)
radiohead - motion picture soundtrack
talking heads - this must be the place (naive melody)
on every one of these songs, the HD600 brings everything together and delivers it to my ears in this cohesive manner, in stark contrast to the ATs, where everything seems to blend together while still sounding sparkly clear. that sounds counter-intuitive, but my ears aren't lying to me. on sparse songs where vocals can stand out, such as the radiohead song, thom yorke's voice is so detailed that it sounds like he's singing into a different mic. on tumbling dice, the AT presentation is this kind of fun and fluid, but mick's vocals get sort of sucked into the mix, while the 600 has this almost surgical, but still fun sound going on.
that being said, there are some songs that i think sound better on the AT, like into the mystic. it sounds almost dead to me on the 600, but everything seems to come to life on the ATs.
comfort-wise, the ATs win hands down. i have worn them for 12 hour days with only brief breaks, and i've forgotten that they were on my head. the 600s have a tight clamp, which is well-documented.
overall, i think they're both great phones, and i think i'm going to be happy long-term with the 600s for $265. i hope they get at least a little more comfy in the coming months, because i prefer about 70 or 80% of my music through them so far.
i started looking at DAC and amp options while waiting for the 600s...maybe O2, maybe modi/magni combo, not sure. i'm open to suggestions, but i'm also skeptical about how much it would change (and improve) the sound vs. this audio interface that i use. it's definitely not the cleanest sound - my se846 sound significantly better out of my fiio DAP than the M-Audio.
wow. these Senns. after ~three hours of skipping around through familiar FLACs of mine, the first thoughts that come to mind are:
1. separation
2. detail
3. overall precise "quality" of sound
i'm only using these out of an M-Audio Fast Track audio interface, so it's nothing special at the moment (amp and DAC sometime soon), but it easily drives them at maybe 20% higher volume compared to what the ATs require.
when i am A/Bing these two phones, it is crazy how much different they sound. the best way that i can describe the difference is that the ATs have a streamlined, glossier "FM radio" sound to them, with a really sparkly treble, somewhat detailed bass but in lower quantity, and vocals that blend in with the whole mix. the HD600 is completely different to me. they don't sound as airy, but the instruments sound like they're set apart wider, and the vocals really stand out in the mix. i can really hear the nuances in vocals, across all genres. the treble is still really detailed and shines without sounding harsh, and the bass is more separated, more pronounced.
i won't describe every song that i've listened to, but a sample list would include:
the rolling stones - tumbling dice
counting crows - omaha
van morrison - into the mystic
BT - 1.618
aphex twin - xtal
the head and the heart - down in the valley
the allman brothers band - blue sky
bob dylan - stuck inside of mobile with the memphis blues again
nas - one love (remix)
radiohead - motion picture soundtrack
talking heads - this must be the place (naive melody)
on every one of these songs, the HD600 brings everything together and delivers it to my ears in this cohesive manner, in stark contrast to the ATs, where everything seems to blend together while still sounding sparkly clear. that sounds counter-intuitive, but my ears aren't lying to me. on sparse songs where vocals can stand out, such as the radiohead song, thom yorke's voice is so detailed that it sounds like he's singing into a different mic. on tumbling dice, the AT presentation is this kind of fun and fluid, but mick's vocals get sort of sucked into the mix, while the 600 has this almost surgical, but still fun sound going on.
that being said, there are some songs that i think sound better on the AT, like into the mystic. it sounds almost dead to me on the 600, but everything seems to come to life on the ATs.
comfort-wise, the ATs win hands down. i have worn them for 12 hour days with only brief breaks, and i've forgotten that they were on my head. the 600s have a tight clamp, which is well-documented.
overall, i think they're both great phones, and i think i'm going to be happy long-term with the 600s for $265. i hope they get at least a little more comfy in the coming months, because i prefer about 70 or 80% of my music through them so far.
i started looking at DAC and amp options while waiting for the 600s...maybe O2, maybe modi/magni combo, not sure. i'm open to suggestions, but i'm also skeptical about how much it would change (and improve) the sound vs. this audio interface that i use. it's definitely not the cleanest sound - my se846 sound significantly better out of my fiio DAP than the M-Audio.
