[DavidA]

   
It's interesting that the V6/7506 came up in the midst of a Beats discussion, since I'd say it's the closest the headphone world had to Beats before Beats was but a gleam in the greedy eye of Noel Lee*. I remember almost 15 years ago reading through pages and pages worth of forum people and consumer product reviewers praising the V6 variant**, making it seem like the greatest thing since sliced awesome. It got recommended left and right. IMO, it's honestly nothing special. Pretty good for 1985 or so when it was new, likely durable as all hell (the garbage-bag-stretched-over-cheap-foam earpads notwithstanding), but not really competitive with newer options.
 
I'll give my impressions for the sake of discussion, since I've heard several of them on numerous occasions. The overall tonality leans toward being midrangey, with a persistent edge and a noticeably rough, "dirty" character. The treble drops off a cliff above 10 kHz (likely why my friend, who has a 7506 he's over the moon about, said my HD 600 sounded "tinny" to him). The upshot is that everything sounds dry and a bit like the sonic elements are dissociated cardboard cutouts. The lower and mid treble are elevated, lending a sort of "spitty" character to the upper harmonics on vocals, and a strange, unnatural sound to cymbals. They don't shimmer--it's like bursts of metallic noise, and it's all attack and no decay. If the upper mids are a bit pushed forward on the HD 600, they're excessive on the 7506. It gives the sound that typical "lo-fi" character that comes with lack of extension, kind of like listening to everything through a midrange driver. Or a clock radio. Despite this, the bass extends surprisingly deep, but the upper bass to lower mids transition has a noticeable dip, meaning voices lack depth and the bass sounds isolated and hollow. It's overall a great example of a headphone that draws a nearly perfect line on a diffuse field-compensated graph and yet sounds pretty far off the mark.
 
Much better, IMO, is the Shure SRH440. It's not perfect, and it requires a bit of modification for both comfort and sound reasons, but it's a lot closer to the HD 600 in raw sound quality than others I've heard (the aforementioned 7506, the infamous M50, even the more expensive HP50). In stock form the baffles tend to dig uncomfortably into the ear after about half an hour, and the sound has a persistent tizzy edge that no amount of EQ can solve. The treble spike is also a little too powerful, leading to fatigue on brighter material. The trick is to affix felt over the drivers (though not over the bass reflex ports), which eliminates the comfort issue, softens the treble peak, and cuts down on the tizz. This last one is likely because the felt front loads the driver and damps the mid treble ringing somewhat, leading to a cleaner sound.
 
It's still not on the level of the HD 600, but it's a good deal better than I've heard elsewhere, and for $99 it's a pretty good deal, IMO. The overall sound is slightly V-shaped, but with strong presence in the upper midrange. Not quite as neutral as the HD 600, but very nicely balanced, and by virtue of this an excellent all-rounder. I've gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of my pair over the past six years, though it's not the most durable thing out there, and the headband requires further modification if you, like I, happen to find it uncomfortable.
 
*Or, if the rumors are true, his son, who sold the cow with the milk when he drew up the deal with Dr. Dre without any input from daddy.
**The 7506 variant is wired slightly differently and utilizes a gold-plated connector rather than the nickel-plated one on the V6--the two headphones are otherwise identical, but that hasn't stopped people claiming one or the other sounds noticeably different/better

My experience with the MDR-7506 and HD-600 is really different, to me the MDR 7506 has a slightly recessed mid range making it good for listening at very low levels, its like it has a built in loudness switch like some old hi-fi gear.  A lot of my friends and family that have very little or even those with some exposure to decent audio gear will almost always chose the MDR-7506 over the HD-600, and I suspect its the same reason with Beats and Bose, its all about the bass, to most not in these pages the more bass the better the headphones will appear to sound to them.  Another reason is if I let someone listen to the HD-600 and MDR-7506 on a smart phone like a Galaxy or iPhone they will always like the MDR-7506 over the HD-600 due to the better dynamics and bass, the HD-6XX and most better headphones need a decent amp to be driven properly but there are exceptions.  And if we go with a budget of $75, hard to find better than V6/7506, but if anyone knows of others in this price I wouldn't mind hearing about them.

 

[Argyris]

  My experience with the MDR-7506 and HD-600 is really different, to me the MDR 7506 has a slightly recessed mid range making it good for listening at very low levels, its like it has a built in loudness switch like some old hi-fi gear.  A lot of my friends and family that have very little or even those with some exposure to decent audio gear will almost always chose the MDR-7506 over the HD-600, and I suspect its the same reason with Beats and Bose, its all about the bass, to most not in these pages the more bass the better the headphones will appear to sound to them.  Another reason is if I let someone listen to the HD-600 and MDR-7506 on a smart phone like a Galaxy or iPhone they will always like the MDR-7506 over the HD-600 due to the better dynamics and bass, the HD-6XX and most better headphones need a decent amp to be driven properly but there are exceptions.  And if we go with a budget of $75, hard to find better than V6/7506, but if anyone knows of others in this price I wouldn't mind hearing about them.

 
I guess everybody has different preferences and tolerances. I only know I've given this headphone a try on numerous occasions, including all the way back in 2010 when it was between it, the SRH440 and the M50 (which I went with initially but returned two weeks later). I've just never liked it. In fact, it was partially because of my impressions of the 7506 that I avoided the HD 600 for so long, because I just assumed that I would never like a headphone with dominant upper midrange presence. The Koss SP330 was the first indication that I might actually be able to enjoy such a signature, but the thing was quite uncomfortable on the ears and was a bit too rolled off in the upper treble for me to keep.

 

[danmlr]

Wow, some rather lukewarm impressions for the Sony MDR. I thought it was the benchmark at $100. 
 
I'll just buy the Philips 9500 next month. 

 

[Midgetguy]

  Wow, some rather lukewarm impressions for the Sony MDR. I thought it was the benchmark at $100. 
 
I'll just buy the Philips 9500 next month. 

It used to be, but it's quite long in the tooth now and even older than the HD600, which isn't exactly a young headphone itself. For my personal preferences, the SHP9500 is just about the best headphone you could buy under $100. It's a little lacking in bass and perhaps a touch too energetic in the treble and upper mids, but overall, it's the best headphone I've heard in that price range, open or closed.

 

[pbeg7]

I guess everybody has different preferences and tolerances. I only know I've given this headphone a try on numerous occasions, including all the way back in 2010 when it was between it, the SRH440 and the M50 (which I went with initially but returned two weeks later). I've just never liked it. In fact, it was partially because of my impressions of the 7506 that I avoided the HD 600 for so long, because I just assumed that I would never like a headphone with dominant upper midrange presence. The Koss SP330 was the first indication that I might actually be able to enjoy such a signature, but the thing was quite uncomfortable on the ears and was a bit too rolled off in the upper treble for me to keep.

How on god's blue Earth are the 7506 and hd600 being compared.

 

[dakanao]

  My experience with the MDR-7506 and HD-600 is really different, to me the MDR 7506 has a slightly recessed mid range making it good for listening at very low levels, its like it has a built in loudness switch like some old hi-fi gear.  A lot of my friends and family that have very little or even those with some exposure to decent audio gear will almost always chose the MDR-7506 over the HD-600, and I suspect its the same reason with Beats and Bose, its all about the bass, to most not in these pages the more bass the better the headphones will appear to sound to them.  Another reason is if I let someone listen to the HD-600 and MDR-7506 on a smart phone like a Galaxy or iPhone they will always like the MDR-7506 over the HD-600 due to the better dynamics and bass, the HD-6XX and most better headphones need a decent amp to be driven properly but there are exceptions.  And if we go with a budget of $75, hard to find better than V6/7506, but if anyone knows of others in this price I wouldn't mind hearing about them.

At that price, the Creative Aurvana Live is awesome. 
 
It sounds really natural and clear, but without any harshness at all. 

 

[Midgetguy]

How on god's blue Earth are the 7506 and hd600 being compared.

A user was wondering if there was something comparable (though lower in fidelity) to an HD600 for under $100 whether in headphone or IEM format. Much like how the HD600 used to be (and still is) something easy to recommend for people looking in the range upwards of $300, the MDR-7506 used to be a goto recommendation for people looking for a cheaper headphone that still sounds good. It becomes more of a comparison of sound signature rather than fidelity as a 7506 can't compete with an HD600 on sound quality IMO.

 

[Drrizzt]

I'm amazed by the scalability of the hd600, i upgraded from a Project Polaris to a lake people G109, and god, the jump in resolution and transcient response...i wasn't expecting such a jump. What a wonder.

 

[Tayyab Pirzada]

  I'm amazed by the scalability of the hd600, i upgraded from a Project Polaris to a lake people G109, and god, the jump in resolution and transcient response...i wasn't expecting such a jump. What a wonder.

do you think it's worth it upgrading my amp? I have a Project Starlight. I like it because the tubes add some bass and warmth to the HD600's.

 

[StanD]

  do you think it's worth it upgrading my amp? I have a Project Starlight. I like it because the tubes add some bass and warmth to the HD600's.

If the amp has a flat FR, how does it add bass?

 

[Tayyab Pirzada]

  If the amp has a flat FR, how does it add bass?

Due to the tube. Some tubes are warmer in sound signature and add bass. I use an Amperex 12AT7 tube and it does exactly that.

 

[StanD]

  Due to the tube. Some tubes are warmer in sound signature and add bass. I use an Amperex 12AT7 tube and it does exactly that.

Warmer has to do with mids, not bass, some say it has to do with added even harmonics. If the Amp has a flat FR then there is no bass boost. Does your Amp have Bass and Treble controls? That would be nice but is rarely found in headphone Amps.

 

[Me x3]

  Warmer has to do with mids, not bass, some say it has to do with added even harmonics. If the Amp has a flat FR then there is no bass boost. Does your Amp have Bass and Treble controls? That would be nice but is rarely found in headphone Amps.

The amplifier can be flat for a purely resistive load which is not the case of the Sennheiser HD600.
If the output impedance is relatively high, a flat amplifier won't perform flat when driving the Senn HD600. It will colour the sound in the shape of the headphone's impedance.
HD600 as well as most dynamics have a bump in the impedance in the mid-bass region that extends into the lower midrange, so pair it with a perfectly flat amplifier with relatively high output impedance and you'll get warmer sound.

 

[StanD]

 
The amplifier can be flat for a purely resistive load which is not the case of the Sennheiser HD600.
If the output impedance is relatively high, a flat amplifier won't perform flat when driving the Senn HD600. It will colour the sound in the shape of the headphone's impedance.
HD600 as well as most dynamics have a bump in the impedance in the mid-bass region that extends into the lower midrange, so pair it with a perfectly flat amplifier with relatively high output impedance and you'll get warmer sound.

If you do the math, the Amp would need a very high output impedance to create this effect. An Amp with a 10 Ohm output impedance would only reduce the level at a 300 Ohm load by 0.282 dBV, If the impedance goes up to 600 Ohms then it would reduce the level by 0.140 dBV. That's a difference of 0.142 dBV which is inaudible. Change the Amp's output impedance from 10 Ohms to 100 Ohms and the difference from the same two load points becomes 1.16 dBV, again not very significant. IMO don't buy an Amp with an output impedance much greater than 100 Ohms. Most Amps have a far lower output impedance, so I wouldn't lose sleep about my HD600.
 
EDIT: If I was using an HD558 which has an impedance swing from low to high on a narrower frequency band, then I'd be more concerned about an Amp with a high output impedance. Again, use an Amp with a low output impedance.

 

[Tayyab Pirzada]

The amplifier can be flat for a purely resistive load which is not the case of the Sennheiser HD600.
If the output impedance is relatively high, a flat amplifier won't perform flat when driving the Senn HD600. It will colour the sound in the shape of the headphone's impedance.
HD600 as well as most dynamics have a bump in the impedance in the mid-bass region that extends into the lower midrange, so pair it with a perfectly flat amplifier with relatively high output impedance and you'll get warmer sound.

Yeah my amp has high output impedence