[samthegreat4]

Quote:

Some great advice on this thread.
 
OP - as another owner of both (HD600 & DT880) - here's what I would advise for a start.
 

• Put your Samson away.  Don't use it for at least a week.
• Use the HD600 exclusively for a week
• After a week try your Samsons briefly again.

 
What you should find .......

1. The Samsons will sound excessively and unnaturally bright
2. The HD600s by now will sound very natural
3. You should now also notice that the HD600 treble is not 'veiled', and that it's not missing any details.

 
I really can't understand the comments on the famed Senn veil.  All the detail that I get from a headphone like the DT880 is still there in the HD600 - it just doesn't have a spotlight shone on it 

 
Don't get me wrong - I love both the DT880 and HD600 - but they have two very different presentations.  One is very bright (actually almost unnaturally so), and the other is slower - but IMO is more life-like, with far better presentation of tone and timbre (HD600).
 
If you are going the DT880 route - you will need a reasonable amp with it.  And even the HD600 (although they are relatively easy to drive) IMO scale well with amping.  You can get them to reasonable volume straight out of an ipod - but via my NFB-12 or Little Dot I notice no murkiness, cloudiness, or veil.
 
If after a week you still don't like the HD600 - get rid of it and either go DT880 or K701/702/Q701.  They may be more to your liking.

The good advice keeps coming.
I just ordered a Fiio E11, because I'm just so damn curious whether an amp will really do anything to the sound and because I need to turn my DAC volume up pretty high in order to be able to get volumes I want.

Let's see 

Would you say: hold off on ordering the DT880 as comparison and sending one of 'em back later? 

 

[Brooko]

It's up to you.  Some people prefer brighter headphones.  Everyone's preferences are different.  I personally don't like dark headphones (which is why I bought the HD600 over the HD650) - but I have never found the HD600's treble lacking.
 
All I'm suggesting is to give the HD600 a fair chance before you jump.
 
It would be like going from a Grado to the HD600 - then telling everyone that the HD600 was a dull lifeless headphone.  In reality - you never gave the HD600 a chance.  Our brains react remarkably to change our perception of what sounds right - especially when we take away the chance to compare contrasting and vastly different sonic signatures.  It's just how we (humans) are wired

 

[samthegreat4]

Quote:

It's up to you.  Some people prefer brighter headphones.  Everyone's preferences are different.  I personally don't like dark headphones (which is why I bought the HD600 over the HD650) - but I have never found the HD600's treble lacking.
 
All I'm suggesting is to give the HD600 a fair chance before you jump.
 
It would be like going from a Grado to the HD600 - then telling everyone that the HD600 was a dull lifeless headphone.  In reality - you never gave the HD600 a chance.  Our brains react remarkably to change our perception of what sounds right - especially when we take away the chance to compare contrasting and vastly different sonic signatures.  It's just how we (humans) are wired

Yeah you're right, I'm gonna give them a chance. Curious how they sound with the Fiio E11. 

 

[Brooko]

They were OK - I owned the E11 for a while too.  You may not notice much difference in anything except extra volume though.  Some people will wax lyrical about sudden extra sound-stage, detail, etc - all I'd suggest when you get it:
 - be aware of new toy syndrome (expectation bias)
 - make sure you volume match as carefully as possible when comparing (louder can appear to sound better to our ears)
 
The E11 does have a bass boost - but unless you're a bass head, I don't think you'll need it with the HD600s.

 

[Eisenhower]

Quote:

Yeah you're right, I'm gonna give them a chance. Curious how they sound with the Fiio E11. 

 
They will sound louder with an amp. The sound signature shouldn't change unless the previous headphone out was distorting or something (which might happen if you are listening above 80% volume).
 
As I said before, the HD600 are really most advantageous for people who listen to music for lengthy periods of time or for people who get easily fatigued by high amounts of treble.

 

[samthegreat4]

Damn, one thing is for sure: when listening to Jazz on the HD600s it's like having an audio-orgasm. It's so smooth and warm 

 

[MrEleventy]

Spend more time with them... and then you'll end up selling the Samsons.

 

[samthegreat4]

Quote:

Spend more time with them... and then you'll end up selling the Samsons.

The direct reason why I bought these was because the cable of my Samson went **** and I ended up with ''kggrr'' and sound in only 1 ear. So, I only just quickly used the Samsons as comparing material when I first got the HD600s. The only sound that's entering my ears for now is the sound that's coming from the HD600 speakers 

 

[iancraig10]

I find the Beyer DT880 difficult to live with if I'm honest. It is a very open sounding headphone but for me it's way too much up top and not enough down below. I find myself craving for more weight after a half an hour or so with the DT880.
 
I know that it is supposed to be an accurate headphone but for my ears, it has a raised treble and lacks weight so a great deal of music seems distant with them.
 
I like headphones to be a little more speaker-like in tonality. ie: with the distance your ears are from speakers, the treble doesn't tend to be as edgy as many headphones, where the 'speakers' are very close to your ears.
 
Some headphones try to imitate speakers and so they roll the treble down in order to do this. It's not always a bad thing. However, the HD600 mids are really flat up to about 4kHz. Some of the best mids around on a headphone and this is the important 'presence' area.
 
DT880 sounds flashy by comparison, but you really start to notice the top end if you are used to the Senn 'speaker-like' sound.
 
Get the HD600 to focus properly in the mids by adjusting the volume and you will find the bass and treble are really well balanced.
 
If you prefer a brighter sound of course, then the DT880 would be better for you.
 
At one time, the DT880 was FOTM here and when I dared to comment on my problems with the treble response, many took offence, but to this day, I still have the same problem with them.
 
The HD600 is more forgiving of lower end type amps too. (and I would count the Fiio in that range) The Fiio is slightly warm. If you want a portable, I find the O2 very good with the Senns and it has bags of power as well and drives them with ease.

 

[samthegreat4]

Quote:

I find the Beyer DT880 difficult to live with if I'm honest. It is a very open sounding headphone but for me it's way too much up top and not enough down below. I find myself craving for more weight after a half an hour or so with the DT880.
 
I know that it is supposed to be an accurate headphone but for my ears, it has a raised treble and lacks weight so a great deal of music seems distant with them.
 
I like headphones to be a little more speaker-like in tonality. ie: with the distance your ears are from speakers, the treble doesn't tend to be as edgy as many headphones, where the 'speakers' are very close to your ears.
 
Some headphones try to imitate speakers and so they roll the treble down in order to do this. It's not always a bad thing. However, the HD600 mids are really flat up to about 4kHz. Some of the best mids around on a headphone and this is the important 'presence' area.
 
DT880 sounds flashy by comparison, but you really start to notice the top end if you are used to the Senn 'speaker-like' sound.
 
Get the HD600 to focus properly in the mids by adjusting the volume and you will find the bass and treble are really well balanced.
 
If you prefer a brighter sound of course, then the DT880 would be better for you.
 
At one time, the DT880 was FOTM here and when I dared to comment on my problems with the treble response, many took offence, but to this day, I still have the same problem with them.
 
The HD600 is more forgiving of lower end type amps too. (and I would count the Fiio in that range) The Fiio is slightly warm. If you want a portable, I find the O2 very good with the Senns and it has bags of power as well and drives them with ease.

I already ordered the Fiio E11 though as I needed to turn up the volume quite a bit.