[Rick Hunter]

I'm contemplating buying a HD600 to mate with my Hornet...
Only the thing is: does it only exist with that ugly blueish fake stone-like paint job?
Please tell me it also comes in gray or black or whatever!

And second: is the cardas cable (the 4 feet short one they sell on headroom with the 1/8 plug) worth it?

I'd like to buy it for multiple reasons, from what I read around I figured that:
- It sounds better than the stock cable
- HD600 stock cable is a little fragile
- HD600 stock cable is long (10 feet) and has 1/4 plug (Hornet has 1/8 plug)

So it would be short, better sounding, and with the right plug size for me...

Is it worth the extra 185$ in your opinion?

 

[amartignano]

AFAIK only one color of the HD600 exist.
The Cardas is worth sonically, once tried, I "can't" return to the stock cable. For q/p ratio, do yourself your considerations, 150$ are a lot of money for a cable.

Andrew

 

[Gradofan2]

The current version of the Cardas Senn cable is grey, it replaced the baby blue cable this fall - the construction / geometry of the two are the same (I've read). They're reportedly identical in sound quality.

The Cardas cable definitely improves the Senns - though, as a copper cable, it is a bit warmer, and weightier than the Headphile Senn v2 Black Silver, which seems to have greater clarity and detail. The Zu Mobius is a combination of copper and silver, and seems to have a bit more slam, and dynamics than either one, with about the same clarity and detail as the Senn v2, and the same weight as the Cardas.

Their all great with the HD600, or HD650, and they tend to brighten their sound a bit, though the Cardas and Senn v2 seem to mate with the HD600's better than the Zu, which may be just a bit bright with the HD600's. The Zu seems to mate best with the HD650 - seems to improve the clarity, detail and dynamics, as well as brighten them.

If you shop around, you can find the Cardas for about $135 new, and the Senn v2 is less than that, I think. You may find them used for even less.

The Senn v2 has less external noise from cable movement than the others - but, it's not bad with any of them, unless you're "hyper-sensitive."

As far as the colors of the HD600 - there is only the one color, but you can buy the HD650, and replace the elements / drivers with the HD600 elements / drivers... or you can buy the HD580 and replace the screens with the HD600 / HD650 screens - either way you get the HD600 sound in a different color frame.

 

[JLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gradofan2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you shop around, you can find the Cardas for about $135 new, and the Senn v2 is less than that, I think. You may find them used for even less.

Dang...Just bought some for $150. Where can you find them for $135?

 

[Andrea]

I'd do HD650 + its cable, rather than HD600 + Cardas ...

 

[patrickamory]

I agree, the fake granite/marble look of the phones is hideous, but the sound trumps the look.

Patrick

 

[dmoffitt]

I love how mind sound with the Cardas. At the very least, on my old (stolen) pair I had the 650 cable which was a bit of an improvement but IMO the Cardas is well worth the price. Not only does it sound great but it's much more comfortable / really well made.

 

[sbulack]

Jude has written a really helpful description of the sonic effects of the Cardas replacement cable with the Sennheiser HD600 in this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8751
I have found this description to apply just as well to its effects with the HD580.
In my opinion, the Cardas replacement cable is worth every penny of its price with the HD580.

 

[patrickamory]

I didn't mean to make a completely vacuous post... I left out that I use Headphile's Senn V2 BlackMax cable and think it's fantastic.

Patrick