[moodyrn]

Very interesting and surprising comment by Tyll on the July update over at innerfidelity. First he said they sound very similar to the th900 which isn't surprising. But then follow that comment by saying he prefers not the d7000, but the d5000 to these.

 
Like so many people say, sound is very subjective.

 

[plakat]

The price difference might skew things a little bit in favour of the D5000 I guess.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

Such a big decision to spend 1k on phones for me. Really want these. I guess I could always sell like you are if they weren't to my liking. As it did with Beyer T70s

How do TH600 compare to say beyer dt250 or mad dogs for monitoring/production? Worth the significant extra cost? More comfy, more low freq response, more detail, more versatile?

 
I've own both the TH-600 ad the Mad Dogs (albeit the rev3.0 which is now improved to 3.2).
 
In term of comfort, they both are top notch:
- The Mad Dogs have the best feeling of any phones (including the beyer dt-880) due to their excellent real lambskin leather pads and the perfect clamping force. They are a bit heavy (>400g) and end up weighting quite a bit on the neck in the long run.
- The TH-600 have a good feeling as well but the pads are stiffer, so you feel them a bit more on the jaws and cheeks. They are light and stay comfortable in the long run.
 
In term of sound, these are the antithesis of each other:
- The Mad Dogs are darkish with a forward (and excellent) midrange, linear and well defined bass and non-offensive treble. They provide the best isolation (both inside & outside) of any phones I've heard (including HD-25).
They sometime sound congested with my setup (on the warm/smooth of things) and would probably benefit from a neutral/treble-forward setup.
- The TH-600 are V-shaped headphones with a very very nice monitor-like tonality (reminiscent of Focal studio monitors and XS Multimedia speakers). They simply sound open, at the expense of isolation (which is just passable when compared to the Mad Dogs). These have the most refined treble I heard (I didn't hear the HE-6 yet but the 4s, 400s, 500s & 5LEs) and have a very nice bass punch and definition (tight bass with good impact, not bloated). The midrange is quite recessed and would benefit from a mid-forward amp (e.g. tube amp like the Zana Deux or WA7 - I heard neither).
 
In term of price/performance, no doubt, the Mad Dogs are the real deal.
In term of pure performance, I preferred the TH-600 because:
- the tonality is more to my liking (Focal sound, again);
- my gears tend to be on the warmish/smooth to accommodate my treble-happy cans (AKG/Hifiman sound) 

;
- they are lighter and more comfortable in the long run when sitting at my desk.
 
I just wish I had a tube amp to bring the mids back in the game... 

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

Very interesting and surprising comment by Tyll on the July update over at innerfidelity. First he said they sound very similar to the th900 which isn't surprising. But then follow that comment by saying he prefers not the d7000, but the d5000 to these.

 
Like so many people say, sound is very subjective.

 
Well, he prefers the LCD-2 over the HE-500, so... 

 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

pwned!  

 

[silverbox]

He likes D7K, he just thinks they're overpriced.

 

[designbykai]

Quote:

 
I've own both the TH-600 ad the Mad Dogs (albeit the rev3.0 which is now improved to 3.2).
 
In term of comfort, they both are top notch:
- The Mad Dogs have the best feeling of any phones (including the beyer dt-880) due to their excellent real lambskin leather pads and the perfect clamping force. They are a bit heavy (>400g) and end up weighting quite a bit on the neck in the long run.
- The TH-600 have a good feeling as well but the pads are stiffer, so you feel them a bit more on the jaws and cheeks. They are light and stay comfortable in the long run.
 
In term of sound, these are the antithesis of each other:
- The Mad Dogs are darkish with a forward (and excellent) midrange, linear and well defined bass and non-offensive treble. They provide the best isolation (both inside & outside) of any phones I've heard (including HD-25).
They sometime sound congested with my setup (on the warm/smooth of things) and would probably benefit from a neutral/treble-forward setup.
- The TH-600 are V-shaped headphones with a very very nice monitor-like tonality (reminiscent of Focal studio monitors and XS Multimedia speakers). They simply sound open, at the expense of isolation (which is just passable when compared to the Mad Dogs). These have the most refined treble I heard (I didn't hear the HE-6 yet but the 4s, 400s, 500s & 5LEs) and have a very nice bass punch and definition (tight bass with good impact, not bloated). The midrange is quite recessed and would benefit from a mid-forward amp (e.g. tube amp like the Zana Deux or WA7 - I heard neither).
 
In term of price/performance, no doubt, the Mad Dogs are the real deal.
In term of pure performance, I preferred the TH-600 because:
- the tonality is more to my liking (Focal sound, again);
- my gears tend to be on the warmish/smooth to accommodate my treble-happy cans (AKG/Hifiman sound) 

;
- they are lighter and more comfortable in the long run when sitting at my desk.
 
I just wish I had a tube amp to bring the mids back in the game... 

Thanks, great info.
 
Lighter, comfort and better performance are big ones for me! I do a bit of sound design and occasionally music production and I'm after some monitor-quality cans with high detail retrieval. I'm pretty happy with both my HE-400 and Beyer DT1350s but the Beyers are not long studio session cans and the Hifimans are heavy, not that comfortable and leak (and more 'fun' impactful music-listening cans than studio ones)
 
Leakage isn't a big deal now, but planning on moving O/S within 12mths (to Canada from Australia) and will most likely be downsizing with my g/f to a 1BR and no longer have spare room/studio I'll definitely be keeping my DT1350s for portable/supersealed use, other than noise cancelling headphones they isolate better than any other pair I've heard.
 
I just hope the TH600s don't leak heaps even when at low volume? Would they disturb someone else in the room?
 
I would expect the Fostex lows to go lower and be tighter than the Mad Dogs. I think my mind is made up (despite the fact that I could get a nice camera lens with this kind of $), but don't have to rush into the purchase. Who knows maybe I'll get the Mad Dogs too to see what the fuss is about, and one day a nice tube amp like WA7

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

Thanks, great info.
 
Lighter, comfort and better performance are big ones for me! I do a bit of sound design and occasionally music production and I'm after some monitor-quality cans with high detail retrieval. I'm pretty happy with both my HE-400 and Beyer DT1350s but the Beyers are not long studio session cans and the Hifimans are heavy, not that comfortable and leak (and more 'fun' impactful music-listening cans than studio ones)
 
Leakage isn't a big deal now, but planning on moving O/S within 12mths (to Canada from Australia) and will most likely be downsizing with my g/f to a 1BR and no longer have spare room/studio I'll definitely be keeping my DT1350s for portable/supersealed use, other than noise cancelling headphones they isolate better than any other pair I've heard.
 
I just hope the TH600s don't leak heaps even when at low volume? Would they disturb someone else in the room?
 
I would expect the Fostex lows to go lower and be tighter than the Mad Dogs. I think my mind is made up (despite the fact that I could get a nice camera lens with this kind of $), but don't have to rush into the purchase. Who knows maybe I'll get the Mad Dogs too to see what the fuss is about, and one day a nice tube amp like WA7

 
I'm not sure about leakage, I don't own the TH-600 anymore and didn't do such a test.
The pads sealing is not the best and certainly not to the level of the MDs with Alpha Pads. Isolation is not to the same level either, but leakage, I don't know :/
 
The Mad Dogs on the other hand are excellent in that regard. I put them on my leg with music playing and they leaked no sound at all!
Isolation - both in & out - is always a strong point reported be all the reviews.
 
You could always put the Alpha Pads on it to increase the seal, at the expense of a darker sound (probably more linear, even) 

 

[Massacare]

Thanks, great info.

Lighter, comfort and better performance are big ones for me! I do a bit of sound design and occasionally music production and I'm after some monitor-quality cans with high detail retrieval. I'm pretty happy with both my HE-400 and Beyer DT1350s but the Beyers are not long studio session cans and the Hifimans are heavy, not that comfortable and leak (and more 'fun' impactful music-listening cans than studio ones)

Leakage isn't a big deal now, but planning on moving O/S within 12mths (to Canada from Australia) and will most likely be downsizing with my g/f to a 1BR and no longer have spare room/studio I'll definitely be keeping my DT1350s for portable/supersealed use, other than noise cancelling headphones they isolate better than any other pair I've heard.

I just hope the TH600s don't leak heaps even when at low volume? Would they disturb someone else in the room?

I would expect the Fostex lows to go lower and be tighter than the Mad Dogs. I think my mind is made up (despite the fact that I could get a nice camera lens with this kind of $), but don't have to rush into the purchase. Who knows maybe I'll get the Mad Dogs too to see what the fuss is about, and one day a nice tube amp like WA7

I would say that there is leakage on TH600. Although not too much, the isolation from TH600 is not very good. But on low volume there should be no problem for leakage. The leakage is not bad like the HE series , but the pad on the TH600 doesn't seal a lot. TH900 shares the same problem too on leakage.

 

[KetchupNinja]

I'm considering selling off my D5000's for a pair of these.  Other than for general listening, I use them a lot for watching movies and such.  Would the TH-600's be less "fun" compared to the D5000?
 

 

[jibzilla]

  I'm considering selling off my D5000's for a pair of these.  Other than for general listening, I use them a lot for watching movies and such.  Would the TH-600's be less "fun" compared to the D5000?
 

 

[designbykai]

Quote:

A little bit but you get a much more refined sound for the little bit of fun you lose.

Like this comment
Also notice you have DJ gear and Adam A7X monitors, AND mad dogs. Nice
Have you tried Mad Dogs vs TH600 for production or DJ monitoring?
 
I would love if someone here who has TH600s could listen to this track and sum up how the sub bass sounds from 1min and 2min onwards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myJEUk-bzbw
(Great album highly recommended, awesome German Tech producer who uses a lot of analogue synths etc)
 
To me, my Beyers get it but clarity isn't quite there, not an 'even' sound (even if the bass note is modulating/down shifting in tone). HE-400s do a stellar job of reproducing it without dropping the volume/amount of audible bass frequencies.

 

[jjshin23]

Quote:

Like this comment
Also notice you have DJ gear and Adam A7X monitors, AND mad dogs. Nice
Have you tried Mad Dogs vs TH600 for production or DJ monitoring?
 
I would love if someone here who has TH600s could listen to this track and sum up how the sub bass sounds from 1min and 2min onwards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myJEUk-bzbw
(Great album highly recommended, awesome German Tech producer who uses a lot of analogue synths etc)
 
To me, my Beyers get it but clarity isn't quite there, not an 'even' sound (even if the bass note is modulating/down shifting in tone). HE-400s do a stellar job of reproducing it without dropping the volume/amount of audible bass frequencies.

Tried listening to the track and here is my thought.
 
Listened with the following headphones
1. TH600
2. Mad Dogs
3. HE500 (don't have the HE400 - I know they are different but this is the only Hifiman I have)
4. LCD3
5. TH900
6. Beyer DT770 pro 250 (J$ pads)
 
 
TH600
Sub-bass around 2:09 into the music came in strong, good impact and clean.
Overall all best balanced imaging of the group.  Nothing seemed to be rolling over into other components.  There is a good amount of air as well compared to some of the other headphones.  Perhaps the highs created that a bit more along with the accurate imaging.  The only thing I would say is the highs were a little high for my taste.  It had the most high present among the group which should be no surprise but there is a lot of it.  It didn't hurt my ears but more than what I am personally used to for a long period of listening.
 
Mad Dogs
Bass was not there and sub-bass was very little.  You really had to listen to pick it out.  I don't know that this mid-range cans are the best for this type of music. Just didn't do it for me after listening to the TH600.
 
HE500 
Much less air and felt a bit less refined over all to the TH600.  The sub-bass was lacking and things were blending into each other a bit.  I put the headphones on speaker taps and the bass along with the music came alive.  The bass and sub-bass really had a punch to it and the imaging improved greatly.  The air was still not as good compared to the TH600 and soundstage was not as good either.  It felt a little bit like a traffic jam of sounds but you could notice they were there.  The TH600 just had a more refined sound.
 
LCD3
Ran these through the speaker taps and they had better imaging but the highs were rolled back compared to the TH600.  The sub-bass did not have the punch as the TH600 yet very clean.  Imaging was good over all and soundstage was better than the HE500 and very close to the TH600.  The LCD3 was just a little too lush for this type of music IMO.  For my taste the LCD3 are better with a more romantic genre of music (especially with cello).
 
TH900 
Very similar to the TH600 but the sub-bass was just over powering on this track.  It was fun for about 30 seconds but it got annoying from being a bit over powering.  It's too early in the morning for this much bass. 

  Perhaps later in the day or evening it would have been better.  It was like going to a club and standing next to the speaker.  If you like the heavy bass then this was clean and a lot of it.  Had the most punch by far yet very clean and controlled.  Imaging was very good as well.  There was very little difference overall from the TH900 and the TH600 except for the heavy bass from the TH900 which made the highs seem to be less present.
 
Beyer DT770 pro
You mentioned the Beyers so I tried these cans and overall was pleasantly surprised that they sounded pretty good.  Normally the Beyer highs are higher than I like but that was not the case with these cans.  The bass was good but these cans lacked refinement.  The details were lacking but overall was good but nothing more with these.  I think I understand what you mean by clarity here.  Good but not great.  
 
Overall, The TH600 seemed to have performed the best with your track.  Detailed imaging, punchy bass and sub-bass, along with a good mount mid's and ample highs they all came together very well.  This is making me rethink about keeping these cans.  They are more linear than the TH900 as expected.  I think these are a very refined, clear, with better soundstage than the HE500 and a very good amount of openness and air in a closed can.
 
As for leaking sound they do leak.  Not as bad as the HE500 or open cans but you can hear them.  I've tried putting on the alpha pads as well as the J$ pads and you loose that sense of air and it does get darker overall but the imaging is still very clear.  They just don't seal as well as some good thick pads out there.
 
Hope that helps... Not sure if it did or not but these are my thoughts from your track on the TH600

 

[Greed]

I just don't think I can agree with much of what you said. You say that the TH-600 has a better soundstage than both HE-500 and LCD-3? 

 Sorry, but that is just wrong. I don't own the TH-600, but from the audition, I left with the feeling that they were inferior in comparison to the TH-900 on multiple levels, soundstage being one of them. Even still, the HE-500 and especially the LCD-3 have larger soundstages. I'll have to listen to the track provided, but I don't see any reason why the TH-600 should sound wider than either of those open cans.
 
By the way, what are amping these cans with?  

 

[jjshin23]

Quote:

I just don't think I can agree with much of what you said. You say that the TH-600 has a better soundstage than both HE-500 and LCD-3? 

 Sorry, but that is just wrong. I don't own the TH-600, but from the audition, I left with the feeling that they were inferior in comparison to the TH-900 on multiple levels, soundstage being one of them. Even still, the HE-500 and especially the LCD-3 have larger soundstages. I'll have to listen to the track provided, but I don't see any reason why the TH-600 should sound wider than either of those open cans.
 
By the way, what are amping these cans with?  

I agree with you on what you say in general and was very surprised with the outcome.  The feed back was strictly on the track provided.  So being pumped up from liking the TH600 on this track, I listened to some other bits of music and the TH600 fell to the middle of the pact again.  The track seems to really emphasis the strengths of TH600 - like it was the very best of the paring.  The LCD3's were very good but it didn't best the TH600 on this track but with Van Morrison it's not even close... The LCD3 runs away with it hands down.
 
I guess it is like a very good bottle of wine pairing very will with the dish.  May not be the best bottle of wine but for some reason it pairs well in just about every aspect IMO 

 

[Greed]

Quote:

I agree with you on what you say in general and was very surprised with the outcome.  The feed back was strictly on the track provided.  So being pumped up from liking the TH600 on this track, I listened to some other bits of music and the TH600 fell to the middle of the pact again.  The track seems to really emphasis the strengths of TH600 - like it was the very best of the paring.  The LCD3's were very good but it didn't best the TH600 on this track but with Van Morrison it's not even close... The LCD3 runs away with it hands down.

 
Very interesting... Might have to pick up the TH-600s to do further listening. I love my TH-900s enough to try the TH-600 for a workplace rig.