[linglingjr]

I just won a pair on ebay $255 free shipping.  Not the best price but it doesn't come with the 3/4th inch adaptor do you guys know if AKG style ones will work with them? thanks.

 

[Lorspeaker]

Quote:

Quote:

I like my 600's very much. I'm barewiring them from two pots, the pots coming off my SACD 777es from Jena interconnects RCA's and those wires barewired to the pots' input. I'm listening to world classical music -- european string quartets and piano/harpsichord -- and orchestra, java court gamalan and classical music of india/pakistan.
 
With standard HD650 chord i'm hearing full orchestra hall atmosphere in Furtwangler's Beethoven symph. 9 recorded in Stockholm in, i think, 1942. This is on an Italian CD, and perhaps was originally an aluminium 78 disc radio transcription? The sonic information is there, it just needs a clear path. Direct wiring to the outputs improves many times over the stock interconnect plug -- especially the 1/4 inch or the mini-plug phone-jack sound, which is unacceptable as stock. perhaps the Cardas or another high-grade plug would change my mind.
 
I'm wanting to get the Jena Lab cable mod for the Sennheisers. It's 450$ and a lot of money for me, but I need to hear as much of what the composer intended as an invention of music as I can. Might another brand of cable also work as well, for a pure bright and complete headphone sound? The Jena interconnects I bought from Echo Audio for 300$ a few years back, and they're just the best of any I've ever lived with. I like their cable.
 
The pots are primitive, yes? they're not even Alps, just 10$ each Canadian pots, but they're short path and sweet enough and with two I can adjust for my hearing.
 
this is all towards getting a good sound out of the 600's -- I have them now and live with them -- in semi-committed intention to getting an HD 800. Again, i'm poor, but I'd do that -- spend that much money on cans and interconnects if i really have to. I'll see how a new cable might work for the 600's first.

 

Holy cow, I can't even imagine the miles of cable, the dozens of plugs, the hundreds of capacitors, resistors, transistors, vacuum tubes, and potentiometers that are already standing between you and the composer. And then more recently, the Opamps, DACs, ADCs, and buffers and filters the analog master (probably not the original master) traveled through on the way to your CD.
I think it's great that you want to extract every last bit of fidelity, but I don't think one more plug and 9 feet of wire are going to make any difference.

 
i have long forsaken the idea of fidelity..its a mirage.
 i am v sure he will hear a diff....
its just a matter of IF its worth it, and synergy...and thats personal.
every cable i ever plugged in has made a diff...placebo burnin..color of sleeves...yadayada...all affect the sound.. this is a great hobby. lol

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

I just won a pair on ebay $255 free shipping.  Not the best price but it doesn't come with the 3/4th inch adaptor do you guys know if AKG style ones will work with them? thanks.

 
I doubt it - from what I remember the AKG adapters are screw-on types, the Sennheisers only need to be pushed into the adapter.

Why not use the savings to get another HD600 cable from Sennheiser? You're not likely to break the adapter anyways, so it's still essentially like having a spare cable ready if you break one. Or maybe even put it towards an "upgrade" cable, some on eBay can be a lot cheaper than boutique cables that combined with the HD600 could have bought you a headphone upgrade already.

 

[linglingjr]

I might get an upgraded cable down the road.  Ill wait and see how they sound stock first though.  I'm only using it with an e7/e9 combo and I've heard cables are the last thing to upgrade. I dont think the cable will be the weak link in this set up. And sennheiser sells the adaptor for $2 so ill just get that for now, thanks.

 

[mikebauer]

yes, you're quite correct, if that's what i'd said i was going for, but i've failed to state my situation clearly. i'm trying to do the right thing to the sound by hardwiring my headphone cable to a pair of simple rheostats and hardwiring the rheostats directly to the CD player.. this is a passive connection to my headphones, with the only plug being the plug into the 600's themselves. what i want to get is a new cable harness to replace the 650 cable i've got now. i'm thinking of getting a four foot Jena Labs cable with no phone plug attached. that'll cost about 450$. so, you see i'm not attaching anything at all like a headphone cable extension to my existing cable. what i actually am asking is for a solution to the pots -- the rheostats don't give a linear sound, although there's so much complete sound that it's effective enough as a sound stage. ( i'm listening to both orchestra and solo instruments. )
 
i want the cleanest and purest sound i can get, which is the most color-free image of the original recording i can hear. i don't want a mellow sound, because i listen to raw instruments like violin which are as they are. to test this, play a violin in a room while you're listening to a decent recording of one of the Bach partitas. the soundz from your wonderful fat speakers mellow speakers will probably sound like you're listening to it through a rug with holes in it -- holes to let some frequencies creep out quicker than others.

 

[RickH9]

So bought a pair of HD 600s from the classified forums here about 2 months back . They sound great, but I've been thinking of what my next headphone purchase will be. I've been thinking of either buying a "fun" and bass heavy headphone, such as the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, to complement the HD 600, or just selling my HD 600s for something better, like the Hifiman HE-5LE. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[palmfish]

yes, you're quite correct, if that's what i'd said i was going for, but i've failed to state my situation clearly. i'm trying to do the right thing to the sound by hardwiring my headphone cable to a pair of simple rheostats and hardwiring the rheostats directly to the CD player.. this is a passive connection to my headphones, with the only plug being the plug into the 600's themselves. what i want to get is a new cable harness to replace the 650 cable i've got now. i'm thinking of getting a four foot Jena Labs cable with no phone plug attached. that'll cost about 450$. so, you see i'm not attaching anything at all like a headphone cable extension to my existing cable. what i actually am asking is for a solution to the pots -- the rheostats don't give a linear sound, although there's so much complete sound that it's effective enough as a sound stage. ( i'm listening to both orchestra and solo instruments. )

i want the cleanest and purest sound i can get, which is the most color-free image of the original recording i can hear. i don't want a mellow sound, because i listen to raw instruments like violin which are as they are. to test this, play a violin in a room while you're listening to a decent recording of one of the Bach partitas. the soundz from your wonderful fat speakers mellow speakers will probably sound like you're listening to it through a rug with holes in it -- holes to let some frequencies creep out quicker than others.

I understand what you're saying (and what you were saying in your first post).

First of all, spending $300 for Jena Labs wire is a complete waste of money. Just look at the wiring inside your CD player for proof. If you must buy wire, go to Radio Shack and spend $3.00.

Now to address your issue. If you are tapping in with rheostats because you think bypassing the headphone jack or line outs will sound better, then you're wasting your time. If, on the other hand, your CD player doesn't have a volume control and you are simply looking for a way to avoid using an external amplifier, may I suggest something like this?

 

[MilesDavis2]

So bought a pair of HD 600s from the classified forums here about 2 months back . They sound great, but I've been thinking of what my next headphone purchase will be. I've been thinking of either buying a "fun" and bass heavy headphone, such as the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, to complement the HD 600, or just selling my HD 600s for something better, like the Hifiman HE-5LE. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

I'll buy the beyer but still keep the classic HD600.

 

[devhen]

Quote:

So bought a pair of HD 600s from the classified forums here about 2 months back . They sound great, but I've been thinking of what my next headphone purchase will be. I've been thinking of either buying a "fun" and bass heavy headphone, such as the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, to complement the HD 600, or just selling my HD 600s for something better, like the Hifiman HE-5LE. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

 
Yeah, personally I would never part with my HD600. I chose the former route because I was very happy with the HD600 but its bass was a bit lacking for some of my electronic music. I got the Beyer 770 which turned out to be a great compliment to the HD600 thanks to its very powerful and very well extended bass and emphasized highs. The 770s also complimented the 600s well in the sense that they are closed and isolate quite well, for when I don't want to hear my A/C running in the background.

 

[N0sferatu]

Quote:

I just won a pair on ebay $255 free shipping.  Not the best price but it doesn't come with the 3/4th inch adaptor do you guys know if AKG style ones will work with them? thanks.

 
It must have went up in price I bought this for $2.75 back a few years ago.  Works great.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068O6B/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

 

[RickH9]

Quote:

I'll buy the beyer but still keep the classic HD600.

 
 
Quote:

 
Yeah, personally I would never part with my HD600. I chose the former route because I was very happy with the HD600 but its bass was a bit lacking for some of my electronic music. I got the Beyer 770 which turned out to be a great compliment to the HD600 thanks to its very powerful and very well extended bass and emphasized highs. The 770s also complimented the 600s well in the sense that they are closed and isolate quite well, for when I don't want to hear my A/C running in the background.

So it seems that I will be buying a headphone to complement the HD 600s. Do any of you guys have any other suggestions for a headphone that complements the HD 600s besides the Beyerdynamic DT 990s? Would the Grado headphones be a good choice?

 

[Eisenhower]

Quote:

I'm gonna make this simple for the new guy asking about this headphone.  First off, don't ask about the details anymore with sound because you're going to get 50 different responses as everyone's ears and preference are different.
 
Bottom line:  FACT: HD600 is a neutral headphone.  HD600 sound is very dac/amp dependednt.  OPINION: I find it's  awesome for most music (esp female vocals)
FACT: Denon lineup is a tad mid range recessed (Opinion: I don't really find it a big deal nor notice it much).  FACT: It has thunderous bass (opinion: that makes your music alive).
 
Pick one, take a gamble, try it out.  If you like it...keep it.  If you don't, return them.  It's a simple as that.  Only ultimate opinion that matters is what you're ears perceive.  
 
Lastly, I'll quote this guy as I agree with him 100% (except with HD600 bass...EQ it and I get 75% of my Denon 7000's bass). 

 
The HD600 is very dac/amp dependent? This might be the case if your dac/amp is coloring the sound substantially... in which case you are using a BAD dac and/or amp (imo, unless you are into tube distortion). It's not like the HD600 knows the specific type of dac/amp you're using, and changes its sound signature accordingly...
 
I guess because they are detailed and neutral, you ought to hear a bad source component, but in my experience with using several different decent quality sources (laptop out, ipod out, emu 0404 out) with several different decent quality amps (headphone out from my receiver, cmoy, corda headfive, and emu 0404), I cannot hear any differences at all. And just for reference, I can distinguish (via blind testing) between 256 kbs mp3's and loseless files consistently.
 
People shouldn't be under the impression that buying a really expensive amp or dac will drastically change the sound of the HD600. It simply won't.

 

[mikebauer]

radio shack realist:
 
do you know this for a fact, or has rush limbaugh been talking about it on the radio? because, i've got jena lab interconnects and they're so much clearer than any other cable i've used. radio shack cable is lamp cord, typically and not even oxygen free.
 
i've looked at my CD player. It's a sony sacd 777es player. it's a very fine player for its time. but, it's old. should i sell it and get a radio shack CD player to go with my "radio shack gold plated headphone jack"? i could probably get about 50 or 60 radio shack CD players from what i'd get for it. good idea, except i'd have to get so much gold plated wonderful shack cables that i'd probably, in my feeble air head, get so confused i'd be dropping a CD in the toaster and waiting for the first breathless soundz of nora jones. gosh, she'd sound so golden honey mellow with a monster cable power-line filter.
 
do you like music, or do you like performers soothing you with contemporary sounds in your private listening space. do you ever do threesomes? watching clint eastwood dvd's at the same time...?
 
when i hear a bach violin partita on my player, i'm hearing the sound of the gut strings and the wood, and have a nice sense of the acoustics of the room. on a radio shack CD player -- i know what one sounds like -- i can hear a nice steely sound which is something like a flute with scrapings. with your radio shack wonder-inline attenuator, the violin sounds like a wooden penny whistle. you can hear this, and you know that it's the case, because you've been buying and trying everything since the 1970's to get a correct instrument sound using high fi. at least you didn't tell me to get a just so colorful tubed headphone amp and trade CD for a terrific radio shack LP turntable. i respect you for that, but i suppose walmart doesn't sell tubed headphone amps.
 

 

[palmfish]

"radio shack realist: do you know this for a fact"
 
Fact? You want to talk about facts? Well, what can I say?
 
I saw elitist, condescending, defensive, and sarcastic language in your post, but I didn't see any facts. Well, I suppose if I had spent thousands of dollars on snake oil, I would cling to my subjective proclivities and violently repel all invasions of fact and objectivity too.
 
Since you have already demonstrated your degree of tolerance to opposing viewpoints, I won’t confuse the issue by trying to turn this into a factual discussion. I won't mention any of the papers written by industry luminaries (Floyd Toole, Roger Russell, Douglas Self, etc.) that scientifically debunk cable (and other audiophile) mythology, and I won’t provide links to any of the many documented double-blind tests that support their expert opinions. I won't ask you to explain why or how boutique cables can sound "better" than lamp cord, and I won't ask you to provide specifications (capacitance, resistance, etc.) for these fancy cables. Although I'd love to see it, I won't ask you to post any before and after measurements that show an improvement in the accuracy/response of the HD600 as a result of your endeavors.
 
Even though I wonder why you would install a $400 cable on a $250 headphone, I will not ask you for an explanation. I won't even attach a picture of the inside of your SACD player and ask you how this  $400 headphone cable can overcome the two penny wiring, relays, fuses, caps and resistors that are upstream. I won't ask you if you know the output impedance of the 777ES gain stage. And since I have already asked, without receiving a response, what benefit there is to hard wiring the headphones rather than using the headphone jack, I won't bring it up again.
 
I also won’t try to impress you with my exquisite taste in music or the scope and format of my collection (although I will say that it includes a nice selection of works from the Baroque Period, among others; but, alas not a single Violin Partita

).
 
Nope, none of that. All I’m going to say is that I am very glad that you get such great pleasure from your audio equipment and accessories, and I believe you are worthy of all the finest products that Jena Labs and similar companies have to offer.

 

[N0sferatu]

Quote:

"radio shack realist: do you know this for a fact"
 
Fact? You want to talk about facts? Well, what can I say?
 
I saw elitist, condescending, defensive, and sarcastic language in your post, but I didn't see any facts. Well, I suppose if I had spent thousands of dollars on snake oil, I would cling to my subjective proclivities and violently repel all invasions of fact and objectivity too.
 
Since you have already demonstrated your degree of tolerance to opposing viewpoints, I won’t confuse the issue by trying to turn this into a factual discussion. I won't mention any of the papers written by industry luminaries (Floyd Toole, Roger Russell, etc.) that scientifically debunk cable (and other audio) mythology, and I won’t provide links to any of the many documented double-blind tests that support their expert opinions. I won't ask you why boutique cables sound better than lamp cord, and I won't ask you to provide specifications (capacitance, resistance, etc.) for them. And although I'd love to see it, I won't ask you to post any before and after measurements that show an improvement in the accuracy/response of the HD600.
 
I won't attach a picture of the inside of your SACD player and ask you how a $400 headphone cable can overcome the two penny wiring, relays, fuses, caps and resistors that are upstream. I won't even ask you if you know the output impedance of the 777ES gain stage.
 
I also won’t try to impress you with my exquisite taste in music or the scope and format of my collection (although I will say that it includes a nice selection of works from the Baroque Period, among others; but, alas not a single Violin Partita).
 
Nope, none of that. All I’m going to say is that I am very glad that you get such great pleasure from your audio equipment and accessories, and I believe you are worthy of all the finest products that Jena Labs and similar companies have to offer.

 
LMAO I had to quote this for epic ownage.  Couldn't agree more.  
 
While I enjoy my sound, at some point I just enjoy what I got and just quit sweating the little details.  
 
These little examples of my typical listening would get the other guy having a coronary.
 
Most of my listening is through my work PC with (OMG...shudder now) MP3 playback (I do have a ton of FLAC though too) plugged into my DAC/AMP and my two main cans (listed in sig).
 
Oh and when on the go I actually plug them directly into a simple laptop and mobile phone and still enjoy the music.
 
While this is a hobby for most of us...some miss the point it's to "ENJOY THE MUSIC" and not worry about little details.  I appreciate good sound but could care less if I hear one extra little minute detail during my casual listening.
 
Oh yea, on the go...my "radio shack lamp cord" adapter that I paid $3 for works just fine.  Plus, I was at a head-fi meet a few years back and was demo'ing how easy it is to drive the Denon AH-D7000 from a "portable source" that a few commented on the "build quality and sound quality" from my radio shack adapter that when I told them how much it cost and where I bought it from (Amazon) they laughed and were amazed at the budget buy.
 
Gotta love placebo sometimes.  
 
Oh and to the other guy who quoted me earlier to clarify...
 
 
 

 
The HD600 is very dac/amp dependent? This might be the case if your dac/amp is coloring the sound substantially... in which case you are using a BAD dac and/or amp (imo, unless you are into tube distortion). It's not like the HD600 knows the specific type of dac/amp you're using, and changes its sound signature accordingly...
 
 

 
I should re-phrase, they overall will "sound the same" but with inferior power given to them they just lack that "punch" that really makes them sing.  I can tell jamming on a cell phone or laptop versus using my headphone amp or AV receiver it's definitely night and day.  
 
Do they sound the same "sound signature" wise?  Oh yeah, there's no doubting you're using the headphones but it's like driving a car with two engine options, one's anemic, and the other one sings.  Camaro/Mustang V6 vs V8, Corvette base vs Z06 vs ZR1, BMW 3 Series vs M3, etc....