[goober-george]

I ask this because I recently received the Mad Ear amp and the amp was designed around the HD-600s and Grados so I had huge expectations. I do have the oldest version of the HD-600s (black cloth drivers) but I was left unimpressed (same with Sr-225, biggest difference in sound was bass quality, and thickness of sound). I always figured I didn't like the Sennheisser sound after listening to the HD-598, but I gave it another try with the HD-580s. 
 
After listening to the HD-600s I still felt the sound was still too dark and bass heavy with the mad ear. I have a variety of tube combinations to still roll though and I've only owned the amp for a few hours. Anyways, my whole point of this thread makes me wonder if I need the newer version Sennheiser and how much an amp makes a difference. One thing I must say is, I'm only using the uDac for a dac until I get a proper cable for my O2 DAC, so that could be holding it back.

 

[wuwhere]

Have you tried other headphones like orthos?

 

[goober-george]

I have many orthos actually, but they all fall under the Yamaha YH or HP series. I love the way orthos deliver the sound in a package as far as tone goes but they lack in sound stage. That;s really my only complaint about orthos otherwise I enjoy the sound they deliver.  I have Mad Dogs that I have not yet listened to with the Mad Ears.

 

[GoldenGuy66]

   
After listening to the HD-600s I still felt the sound was still too dark and bass heavy with the mad ear. I have a variety of tube combinations to still roll though and I've only owned the amp for a few hours. Anyways, my whole point of this thread makes me wonder if I need the newer version Sennheiser and how much an amp makes a difference. One thing I must say is, I'm only using the uDac for a dac until I get a proper cable for my O2 DAC, so that could be holding it back.

Heya!
 
I have a slow ear. By that I mean it takes me 1-2 weeks of constant listening to come to a conclusion. I listened to my HD 600 for a week directly plugged in to the MacBook Pro. I was actually impressed with it's SQ without an amp/dac. I then bought schiit Vali/Modi and I am 100% satisfied. The first couple of days however, The schiit combo was a bit on the aggressive side but after my ear re-adjusted to the new amounts of detail/treble response it reverted back to that laid back, aire sound that sennhieser is known for.
 
In general, everyone's ear is different. Me, I like to make conclusions based on time spent with a headphone rather than an instant conclusion. So for example, I don't compare the ATH m50 side by side with the HD 600 but instead, I take 1-2 weeks with each and come out with an outcome. I write notes on the type of "feel" I get for each headphone I try on, and I stay with the best one.
 
IMO this is the correct way to compare headphones so If i were you, give yourself a bit more time than "just a few hours".
 
Duecez!