bpandbass
100+ Head-Fier
When the Sennheiser HD600 and HD650 came out in 1996 (I think) and 2003, respectively, they were on top of the game. Ergonomic, great-sounding headphones in a comparatively nascent consumer audiophile headphones market. Needless to say, since the 2010s, the market has absolutely exploded, and the market sector has been flooded with headphones that compete with the HD600/650. One would think that these new headphones on the block would outcompete this 20-something-year-old headphone design into obscurity, but alas, the HD600/650 still remains a top seller, in spite of headphones that may surpass it for ergonomics, comfort, durability, drivability, and sound quality. So why then, do the HD600 and HD650 remain so popular despite this increased competition? Here are my thoughts, which are NOT related to sound quality.
Time on the Market and Consumer Familiarity.
These headphones have been on the market for almost 20 years, and in that time, most audiophiles have listened to them due to their ubiquitousness. The HD600 may not be THE most neutral headphone out there, but I think the fact that it has been listened to or owned by so many audiophiles makes it a benchmark for companies to tune their equipment based on its sound signature. Just like a BMW 3-Series, the more a product has been used or experienced by various people shopping for a product, the better manufactures know that it is a benchmark based on the experience customers share with one another.
Serviceability
This is where Sennheiser got it spot on with the HD600/650, and something a ton of other manufactures don't seem to care about doing anymore with their easily breakable plastics, glued or riveted-on parts, and elastics that wear out prematurely (COUGH COUGH AKG). I wouldn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of headphones if the parts couldn't be serviced, or if something wore out prematurely, the headphones would become useless. Being able to easily work on the headphones yourself, and being able to buy spare parts is a huge plus for long-term durability.
Drivability
This is where the HD600 and HD650 truly shine. They are higher sensitivity headphones, so they can be run off of portable amplifiers people still like today, but are 300 ohms of impedance, so they can be literally driven by any sort of desktop amplifier (tube, solid state, or hybrid) without worrying about output impedance mismatches. To me, a headphone that can only be driven on a certain set of headphone amplifiers and systems, but cannot work well with others, limits the headphones' use with different customers. A headphone that can be driven efficiently off a Bottlehead Crack OTL tube amp(which it arguably does better than the latters), an Astell and Kern Kann, and a Schiit Magni 3 is a headphone that is going to have a wider clientele with different systems, and therefore will be used and recommended more. Plus, being able to simply plug in a balanced cable in 5 seconds to run the headphone fully balanced is certainly a benefit for those who want to scale the HD600 and HD650 up with their systems.
All of this, in my opinion, explains why there was such a demand for Sennheiser to collaborate with Massdrop to make an affordable Sennheiser HD650, the HD6XX. This demand also explains why Sennheiser came out with the HD660 S, which has a lower impedance that makes it even more usable with portable amps and media players.
Time on the Market and Consumer Familiarity.
These headphones have been on the market for almost 20 years, and in that time, most audiophiles have listened to them due to their ubiquitousness. The HD600 may not be THE most neutral headphone out there, but I think the fact that it has been listened to or owned by so many audiophiles makes it a benchmark for companies to tune their equipment based on its sound signature. Just like a BMW 3-Series, the more a product has been used or experienced by various people shopping for a product, the better manufactures know that it is a benchmark based on the experience customers share with one another.
Serviceability
This is where Sennheiser got it spot on with the HD600/650, and something a ton of other manufactures don't seem to care about doing anymore with their easily breakable plastics, glued or riveted-on parts, and elastics that wear out prematurely (COUGH COUGH AKG). I wouldn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of headphones if the parts couldn't be serviced, or if something wore out prematurely, the headphones would become useless. Being able to easily work on the headphones yourself, and being able to buy spare parts is a huge plus for long-term durability.
Drivability
This is where the HD600 and HD650 truly shine. They are higher sensitivity headphones, so they can be run off of portable amplifiers people still like today, but are 300 ohms of impedance, so they can be literally driven by any sort of desktop amplifier (tube, solid state, or hybrid) without worrying about output impedance mismatches. To me, a headphone that can only be driven on a certain set of headphone amplifiers and systems, but cannot work well with others, limits the headphones' use with different customers. A headphone that can be driven efficiently off a Bottlehead Crack OTL tube amp(which it arguably does better than the latters), an Astell and Kern Kann, and a Schiit Magni 3 is a headphone that is going to have a wider clientele with different systems, and therefore will be used and recommended more. Plus, being able to simply plug in a balanced cable in 5 seconds to run the headphone fully balanced is certainly a benefit for those who want to scale the HD600 and HD650 up with their systems.
All of this, in my opinion, explains why there was such a demand for Sennheiser to collaborate with Massdrop to make an affordable Sennheiser HD650, the HD6XX. This demand also explains why Sennheiser came out with the HD660 S, which has a lower impedance that makes it even more usable with portable amps and media players.
