[Mirakoolz]

Hi All

The HD600 is available on special and I've been teasing the idea of getting a set however im not sure if i have a place for them.

Currently Own;

• AKG K712 Pro Slovakia - My everyday headphone. Could do with more vocal warmth and a tad more punch
  
• Fidelio X2 OG Woox - has some grain in the treble
  
• B&W P7 - not comfy. Bass is strong but sometimes not tight.
  
• Schiit Jotunheim

i owned the HD650 long ago and didnt enjoy them. the bass was strong enough but highend is what lead me to sell them. they sounded very thick and congested for movies and online video

Motivators;

• ability for balance connection - to utilize my Jot
• everyone loves them and im curious
• helps when watching/reading reviews as its referenced as a baseline headphone

thanks for your thoughts and help

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Perofrmance wise they've been eclipsed by the HE400i if you look at measurements. However, personally the product support of Sennheiser s HiFiMan more than makes up for that.

 

[Energy]

Agreed with the above poster. Personally I would get the HE-400i but sometimes you may run into a quality control issue with them and might have to go through a back or forth in order to get yourself a solid pair. It didn't happen to me, but I do know some who gave gone through that. Amazon reviews also shows up a good handful.

 

[Odor trader]

Typically it's thrown around that the HD6x0 series is used as a yardstick for all other cans mid-fi.

But it's the sound you want.
Also what you want out of this hobby.

 

[serman005]

If you did not enjoy the 650s, I doubt that you will appreciate the HD600. I own both and they are remarkably similar--though not, obviously, identical. I personally cannot see you liking the HD600.

 

[cossix]

I've heard the Jot has a glare in the treble which may annoy you with any bright can. I've not heard the 600 but I own the 650 and I'm going balanced with the Jot because any extra brightness won't hurt the 650 due to the laid back treble they already have. That being said, I have researched 600 vs 650 plenty enough, and if you don't like the 650 I doubt you'll like the 600. +1 vote for the HE400i, ive wanted to try them out so badly as an intro to planar. I don't know if they fixed their connectors but if they have, make sure you don't get one with those awful twist connectors. They're like screwing tiny television/internet cable wires into a wall jack. Everybody needs to ditch proprietary connectors and just go mini jack!

 

[Mirakoolz]

Thanks for the insight guys.
when i did own the HD650's they were powered off my E09K. to be honest i cant hear any differences between amps. did back to back auditioning with the JOT and Asgard2. couldn't appreciate any difference.
I did look into the hifiman HE400i and had a short audition with them whilst auditioning the JOT. unfortunately the 400i's fit my head at the last notch in the headband with the metal bar touching the headstrap. quickly wrote these off as i predicted these will cause discomfort once owned

 

[squee116]

I was going to say the HE400i/HE400s might be the right direction.
That said, I found a warm amp does wonders for the K712. I had good luck with the Vali and the V200, but tubes might not be such an awful idea. I agree with other posters, that the HD600 might not be in your wheel house as things stand, but with a different amp, who knows? If you're in the LA area, you can audition a bunch of a amps/dacs with your headphones and some on the wall at the Schiitr.

 

[Mirakoolz]

im yet to delve into tubes and dont see so in the immediate future. I'd like my next headphone to be balanced to enjoy what my Jot can offer. though warming up my K712's sounds like something i should try.
Im from australia so auditioning is quite limited - without having to travel far and perhaps buying out of convenience- above all else- once instore

 

[squee116]

im yet to delve into tubes and dont see so in the immediate future. I'd like my next headphone to be balanced to enjoy what my Jot can offer. though warming up my K712's sounds like something i should try.
Im from australia so auditioning is quite limited - without having to travel far and perhaps buying out of convenience- above all else- once instore

That does make things more difficult. I understand why you want the HD600s, as they are THE reference for most reviewers talking about sub-500$ headphones. I'm not aware of too many other "warm" headphones in the range that would outclass your X2, besides the HE-400S maybe, and the 650, which you didn't like. I think the next tier is closer to 800 or 1k.

Just to throw this out there, but it's possible you didn't dislike the HD650. Online videos can have awful audio compression, and I suspect that unless you change the audio settings on the movies, they can as well. From what I've heard the HD6X0 series is particularly good at shining a light on poor recordings, so it's possible that your other headphones are just more flattering to poorly compressed audio formats? Have you tried using the HD650 with DTS-HD or Dolby equivalent vs Dolby digital etc?

 

[Mirakoolz]

Thanks to everyone thus far

i begun looking into the HE400i. very conflicting information out there, being called warm, bright, sibilant, bass light. i do remember them being forward in the mids/highmids and wasnt different enough from my K712. it was a very short demo though.
hmm, i wouldnt completely ignore the 600/650 to try with my Jot should a compelling opportunity come my way in the future.

 

[Energy]

400i is better than the 400 in my opinion.

You are very right in saying that the HE400 is more engaging due to it's smaller sound stage (compared to the HE500) and scooped up mid-range. It's details are there but a little in your face. The HE500 does this better but sometimes can be a little distant (like HD800/S when compared to more detail forward cans like Utopia) so this works better for more laid back music, orchestral, classical, or plainly if you just like this kind of presentation. The last time I listened to the 400i they have address these issues pretty well and I haven't heard much misleading information on them since. To me they're slightly less forward than the original 400 and details are no longer jarring. I heard HE560's being bright and bleached out so I tried a pair would agree. Having said that, after trying the 400i and it's headband, I can't really recommend the HE500 anymore. My preference was more towards the 400i. The sonic upgrades did it for me along with the added comfort from the headband. However if my money stretched a little more I would go with something else unless It stretched far enough to afford the HE-1000V2's otherwise my general consensus is that the earcups can be small for some. I have fairly small ears and they still hit the inner acoustic net of the headphones. I don't have these issues on my Utopia, HD800S, HE-100V2. The 400i has less of this issue because of the pad difference. The HE400 did when I used velour pads. HD600 I still vouch for as dynamic bass is always better in my opinion. HE650 is too smooth due to the rolled out treble which can sound veiled at times, but probably not as much as some Audeze cans. Just my two cents.

 

[squee116]

Thanks to everyone thus far

i begun looking into the HE400i. very conflicting information out there, being called warm, bright, sibilant, bass light. i do remember them being forward in the mids/highmids and wasnt different enough from my K712. it was a very short demo though.
hmm, i wouldnt completely ignore the 600/650 to try with my Jot should a compelling opportunity come my way in the future.

I just got in my 400i's yesterday and 400s's today. I had my 400i's on yesterday from about noon to 3am. I would say 400i's are pretty neutral. I'm sensitive to treble, and didn't have much issues listening to brass instruments at high volume. I prefer being closer to the stage, so the presentation is more to my tastes than the 712. Vocals and drums come forward in the 400i presentation, and guitars take a half-step back in rock. The bass itself comes alive in particular recordings and feels flat in others, and while EQ might solve this, I prefer not to EQ. The stage feels a bit less deep on the 400i's, but the imaging isn't any worse. I used both for gaming without Dolby or DTS, and found the 400i could actually give positional audio more accurately than the 712s. I'll be doing the same test on the 400s today.

Edit to add: I'm running the 400i and 400s through a bifrost multibit and violectric v200

 

[ProtegeManiac]

i begun looking into the HE400i. very conflicting information out there, being called warm, bright, sibilant, bass light. i do remember them being forward in the mids/highmids and wasnt different enough from my K712. it was a very short demo though.
hmm, i wouldnt completely ignore the 600/650 to try with my Jot should a compelling opportunity come my way in the future.

It's "bass light" for people who got used to headphones overcompensating for a flat response by resorting to an upper bass plateau and "bright/sibilant" for those who have a sensitivity to high frequencies, making that peak in the treble even worse for them.

 

[Testo]

How long will the special go on for? If you have the time, I would suggest demoing them in your local area if possible.