[Daniel_S]

Hi,

A month ago, some old sealed phillips 'phones of mine were finally filed in the rubbish bin and I started looking around the 'net, learning about what makes a good headphone. Firstly I spent many enjoyable hours reading reviews and opinions about headphones and the other day I had a chance to listen to 3 Sennheiser headphones. The listening experience put a lot of the terms I had read about (terms like warm, forward, soundstage etc.) into perspective. It also left me a without a firm decision and so I'm here, open to any suggestions on offer.

Firstly, here are a few things about what my broad intentions are:
- These headphones will be used at home and so I have been looking at open 'phones. I found that my old pair of circumaural 'phones made my ears itchy and hot which is another reason I like the idea of open 'phones.

- I will be listening mainly to music that I'd call rock, from pretty much every rock decade as well as classical music and a bit of jazz, metal, pop, rap here and there.

- I am intending to build a CMOY amp (mainly for the fun of building and then tinkering - I have reasonable electronics experience) and expect that will then lead to more (expensive) amps.

So on with my experience with the 3 Sennheiser 'phones. I only listened to one track and only for about 5 minutes on each pair. The store is a high-end audio store and although I didn't take notice of the CD player and headphone amp, they seemed to be decent:

555 - Straight up these were better sounding that any headphone I had ever heard, remembering I had only listened to fairly ordinary sets in the past. They were comfortable but after 4 mins my ears felt a little warm. This served as my reference point for the other two 'phones. I was impressed.

595 - Firstly, these felt better on my ears. I don't know if the material is different but it felt cooler and lighter on my ears. I could immediately notice that the sound was 'better'. In particular I noticed that with a snare drum I could really hear the wire against the drum. I knew I'd happily fork over the extra. The other thing I noticed was that I felt like I was sitting on the stage with the musicians. I had read about 595s being 'forward' and the term 'front row seats' has been used to describe them...now I understood. This is what I was expecting - 'better' than the 555s all over for me.

600 - I tried these just because they were there. The first thing I noticed was that the amp needed to be turned up a lot more. I had read about this but this made it much clearing - these things were significantly harder for the amp to drive. They were also fractionally more comfortable on my ears than the 595s. They sounded 'better' still than the 595s. I thought I could hear more detail in the sound although it was less 'full on' and I found myself cranking the amp more and more. Once I got them to the right level I realised that the very forward presentation (I think that's the right term!) of the 595s had actually tensed me up a little. I did a few 595 to 600 swaps and confirmed that whilst it was an amazing sensation to feel like you were sitting on the stage (595s) I found it to fatigue me and I preferred to be sitting back a little (600s). As well as being further back, the sound seemed less 'bright' (not sure if this is the right term, higher sounds did not seem to crash into me as much as the 595s). I don't know if this comes with being less forward. Overall these were a noticably better listening experience but more than I was hoping to pay.

The going internet price in Australia is roughly:
555 - $200 AU
595 - $330 AU
600 - $580 AU
650 - $600 AU
The 595s seem to be going for a relatively lower price than elsewhere.

So where to from here? The 555s are better than anything I've ever heard but the 595s justify the extra spend for me. I loved the 595 sound (in particular that I could hear every detail) but I'm not sure I would handle being so far forward all the time. I was a little tired when the impromptue listening experience presented itself ( so maybe I'd like it more when refreshed) but I think that overall I prefer to feel like I'm watching rather than performing on stage! I may end going for the 600s (but then I should test the 650s I guess) but they are a mot more than money than the 595s. At the moment I think I'll try 595s and maybe I'll adjust to the forward presentation.

Can anyone suggest other 'phones I should look into? A less forward 595 would be great or a cheaper 600 that's perhaps a little brighter . One other thing, is it possible to compensate through equipment? The Beyerdynamic 880s ($500 AU) are something I'd like to try but opinions seem to suggest they are not well suited to rock (light on the bass) - is this something that could be compensated from the source?

I'll be looking forward to hearing opinions. Please correct me where I may have mis-used and jargon in describing the sounds I was hearing. I know I'll be happy with whatever I buy but I'm enjoying the journey and think I have a little more 'research' ahead of me.

Regards,

Daniel

 

[hentai]

seeing the prices , you either go for the 555 or the 650

 

[Feanor]

the hd 580 has the same drivers as the 600, and it is cheaper. I'd say go for that. If the forwardness bugs you now, think what it will be like in a week.

 

[SDA]

Can you find the HD580 where you are? The HD580 and HD600 sound very similar (much more similar than the 555 and 595), and the price gap is quite large. It might be what you're looking for, although I'm obliged to warn you that it looks pretty ugly.

As for the DT 880, while it's true that they're not really regarded as rock headphones, the HD580/600/650 aren't either. They aren't light on the bass, although they aren't heavy on it either. They're also a little brighter and more forward than the 580/600, but not what I'd call fatiguing either. One thing you should definitely know about the DT 880: performance is VERY dependent on the amp used. The DT 880're pretty disappointing with a CMoy, IMHO anyway. They're somewhat forward, but not what I'd call fatiguing. Definitely better if you hear them in person, though.

 

[Snufkin]

A Cmoy isn't going to be enough to properly drive something like the HD600/650 IMO.

It's definitely worth considering as many alternatives as possible, I'd actually consider the Beyer DT880 to be less laidback for rock than the HD600/650 (but not as forward as the 595). I'd only consider the DT880 to be light on the bass when underdriven, but the exact same goes for the HD600/650.
If you are after a more laidback sound the HD6XX should do you fine - just remember a good amp will make a world of difference.


Don't take offense at this, but it's pretty common for people to consider the first decent headphones they hear "better than anything else" - even the worst of the best is still pretty good compared to the mediocre masses

As a personal note, I just can't enjoy rock with Sennheiser headphones, they simply don't do it for me. I don't know what it is about the sound, as technically good as it is, I just don't find it euphonic at all.

 

[Daniel_S]

Thanks for taking the time to reply - and for taking the time to read the essay I wrote (got a little excited)!

I will certainly try to track down a HD580 to try. I also think I should look at buying a good amp (time to look closer at the amp forums) and do the DIY amp as a side project.

Thanks again,
ds

 

[robzy]

<thread hijack>

Where did you manage to try these on? Somewhere in melbourne?

</thread hijack>

Rob.

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feanor the hd 580 has the same drivers as the 600, and it is cheaper. I'd say go for that. If the forwardness bugs you now, think what it will be like in a week.

I'd have to agree that you shouldn't buy something that bugs you. Even if it's just a little bit. Chances are that it will become a mayor annoyance and you'll end up buying something else and spent your money twice.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel_S I will certainly try to track down a HD580 to try. I also think I should look at buying a good amp (time to look closer at the amp forums) and do the DIY amp as a side project.

Considering your preference you'd be better off waiting for 580 to show up - or order them online. They're very 600ish and should be priced lower than 595 ... at 600 rather insane price there I would definitely go for 650.

I can't understand why phones prices are sky high in Aus while you're very close to Sin (or here ! my nos 580 was for slightly less than U$200).

 

[Bosch]

Howdy! You may want to consider importing a set of used HD600 or HD650s. I have also seen them for sale on the aus.hi-fi newsgroup. At this stage of the game, if you are considering one of these headphones, you might as well just go for the HD650, although as others have said, you will need an amp and perhaps a cable upgrade to get the most out of them. It depends on whether you just need one set for private listening to replace your old set and leave it at that, or if you intend to get involved a lot more in head-fi down the track, in which case I'd recommend shopping around and reading more about what's available. Then again, if that happens you'll probably end up buying more than one headphone later anyway. I am already planning my next purchase...

The impulse to buy something NOWNOWNOW is very hard to ignore. I bought my HD600s after a nominal amount of research, but if I had found this website first I would have pulled back to get a better idea of choices. It just turns out that I love the HD600 and am savouring each upgrade. I happen to like its laid back sound, and it does work beautifully with electronic, industrial and pop music, as well as with broadcast digital TV stereo and downmixed 5.1 from DVD. Plenty of sparkle and character for me anyway. Older analogue rock/metal recordings are OK but they tend to be stubborn and hence do not sound as vivid without more juice. Retail prices in Australia are more or less comparable to the US after import tax and currency conversion is added. But you may see headphones at this level discounted or on sale in the US more often. (I try to buy local whenever possible.)

As I learned with my HT gear, the best learning came after making that initial purchase and living with it for a while. Whatever happens, have fun, OK!