[Chrysoberyl]

...they were VERY harsh and painfully bright in the highs the first two days,but now they are becoming more velvety without losing airyness.I still have my HD 595,and I got to realize how really,really great are the new phones,but also how close to them the old ones are...still the openness and the highs of the HD 600,and at the same time the bass impact make them superior,but nor by a very long shot(yet!).However,compared to them,the HD 595 sound a bit like closed cans.The funny thing is that I paid more for the 595(bought in Finland) than for the 600(bought in the german ebay).

 

[dkpaul]

I moved from HD595 to HD650. The difference is clear. But I paid more for the HD650...

 

[mofonyx]

Burn them in for 2 years.

Seriously.

 

[greydragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mofonyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Burn them in for 2 years. Seriously.

It really takes that long?

 

[Zorander]

I have owned my HD-650 for about that long now. Almost there...

 

[Ogresmash]

I noticed the same thing. When I went from my 555s to my 600s, the clarity and harshness of the highs caught me a bit off guard. I actually really liked it when compared to the almost veiled highs my 555s offered. As I burnt them in they smoothed out and now retain that great clarity, but without a hint of harshness.

 

[catscratch]

600's are harsh when the recording and the associated equipment is harsh. By themselves they add very little harshness into the sound. With the stock cable there is a bit of grain to the treble, but it is smoothed out with a smooth signal chain.

Seriously one of the best dynamic headphones ever made, that do things that very few other headphones can. Tonal balance, tone, and tembre are exactly right. Too bad they're so slow...

P.S. Match them up with a Raptor if you want to go single-ended, one of the best combos I've ever heard! The raptor is a neutral, as opposed to a typical warm and tubby tube amp, with lots of dynamics and drive. Throw in a neutral source (this is essential, since a harsh one will sound harsh in this setup, and an overly warm one will sound wooly), and you will have a setup that makes jazz, more minimal rock, and more minimal classical pieces sound absolutely live. You get the tube harmonic saturation and that bit of airy bloom, but you don't get the overblown, wooly bass or rolled-off top end.

If there is a headphone out there that is exactly like the HD600 tonally and tembrally, and as full-bodied and impactful, but at the same time as fast as an electrostat, I will have found my headphone nirvana. The K340 is close, but still no cigar.

 

[sachu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mofonyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Burn them in for 2 years. Seriously.

..lol


Just listen to them for a couple of weeks and then see if your opinion stays the same.

 

[Chrysoberyl]

2 years...hehe.Another quality I noticed compared to the 595 is that the dynamic differences between passages are quite a lot more evident,and that makes them so expresive...I suppose there are better,or much better cans out there,but I'm totally satisfied with these!

It's maybe time for a source upgrade,hmmmm...

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

Seriously one of the best dynamic headphones ever made, that do things that very few other headphones can. Tonal balance, tone, and tembre are exactly right. Too bad they're so slow...

I exchanged e-mails with the man who runs the website known as "headphonesguru". He was nice enough to give me his measurements of the HD600's impulse response time. They are indeed marginally slower than other headphones in the same price range. However, he also stated that the difference was small enough that it would not be audible.

 

[rb67]

Dang, I thought the HD600's were quite tame and mild. Guess I"m a Grado guy

They're a great pair of headphones though, and the do a lot of things really really well. Congrats on your purchase and let us what you think after you've acclimated to em!

 

[Chrysoberyl]

Well,yes,they're indeed tame and mild compared to Grados...that's why I'm a Sennheiser(and Etymotic) man! What's not mild compared to Grados?

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif I exchanged e-mails with the man who runs the website known as "headphonesguru". He was nice enough to give me his measurements of the HD600's impulse response time. They are indeed marginally slower than other headphones in the same price range. However, he also stated that the difference was small enough that it would not be audible.

It is clearly audible to me.

However, in my experience, slow impulse response has been a characteristic of (just about) all dynamic drivers. So, when I say that the HD600 is very, very slow, I am not just comparing it against other dynamic headphones but comparing it against other driver technologies that are much faster, like electrostatics and balanced armatures. I was raised on electrostatic headphones, so to speak, and I have come to expect electrostatic-like speed in top-tier systems.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rb67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dang, I thought the HD600's were quite tame and mild. Guess I"m a Grado guy

Yup; I seem to find the same thing. I find that my MS2i are a great complement to my MS2i.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup; I seem to find the same thing. I find that my MS2i are a great complement to my MS2i.