[StanD]

  I grew up with Sennheiser. Got the HD490 as a teenager, and the PX100 and HD555 in university. That was before a got serious with headphones.
 
Then, i tried all different kinds of headphones. I've found no Sennheiser that convinced me completely. The HD800 is unusable with not-ideal recordings. HD700 has a peak that is worse than all Beyer peaks combined. The instrument separation of the HD25 is sub par. The HD650 was closest to the warm comforting sound I found typical for Sennheiser. Somehow I found them totally boring.
 
I never considered the HD600 because of that terrible marble colour coming straight from the 90ies (on their homepage they still talk about using them with DAD and MiniDisc!!!!!)
 
Until now!
 
Received them today and can't stop listening. This is the Sennheiser sound I've been looking for for years. So comforting without being boring. Detailed without being harsh.
 
The colour, while being not great, is tolerable. Especially in low light.

 
And it sounds good straight out of an iPhone. It was the same with the HD650. I don't know where all the talk about being power hungry comes from. Sure they sound better with my amplifier. Much better. But I can enjoy listening to them on the phone. That's not the case with phones like the AKG K701.
 
Now that I have them, I hope Sennheiser will never release updated versions with better design 

IMO, the story about scaling is highly overrated.

 

[MWSVette]

Just from my personal experience the HD600 sound ok out of my laptop,  they sound really good using my e17, but then they truly sing with my Lyr and a great set of tubes.  If that is scalability, then I believe...
 
IMHO, YMMV, yada yada yada
 

 

 

[ToTo Man]

  And it sounds good straight out of an iPhone....I don't know where all the talk about being power hungry comes from. Sure they sound better with my amplifier. Much better. But I can enjoy listening to them on the phone.

This is my experience too.  Both my HD600 and HD800S are very enjoyable directly fed from my iPod or MacBook, and go plenty loud enough for my ears.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

   
 
Then, i tried all different kinds of headphones. I've found no Sennheiser that convinced me completely. 

Have you tried Baby Orpheus?

 

[SpeakerBox]

  Just from my personal experience the HD600 sound ok out of my laptop,  they sound really good using my e17, but then they truly sing with my Lyr and a great set of tubes.  If that is scalability, then I believe...
 
IMHO, YMMV, yada yada yada
 

 

 
You should hear them from a NM, fully restored, Pioneer SX-1250.  It is absolutely unbelievable!  I can't hear any of the flaws that I have seen in this thread (except for maybe missing the lowest octave or so).

 

[mn24viii]

Have you tried Baby Orpheus?

I wouldn't be surprised, if I liked them...

Also would like to hear the HD800s

 

[Timoteo80]

Each improvement in amping my 600s made a very noticeable improvement in sound. To me just because a phone can make them loud enough doesn't mean you are hearing them sound their best. Because on my iPhone the bass is VERY anemic. My e11 (on eq1) sounds much better, warmer/fuller. But the Crack amp brings not just that warmth but tighter bass, more separation & a sense of "air" that is not there with the other two. I myself believe in their "scalability" very much! That's been my experience at least.

 

[mn24viii]

Each improvement in amping my 600s made a very noticeable improvement in sound. To me just because a phone can make them loud enough doesn't mean you are hearing them sound their best. Because on my iPhone the bass is VERY anemic. My e11 (on eq1) sounds much better, warmer/fuller. But the Crack amp brings not just that warmth but tighter bass, more separation & a sense of "air" that is not there with the other two. I myself believe in their "scalability" very much! That's been my experience at least.

I agree that they don't sound their best with a phone. I have a grace m903 and that amp is surely better than a fiio. So, they are scalable, just like every other quality headphone.
It's just that I can enjoy the HD600 even with a phone. And that's not the case with some other phones like the K701.
Don't have any tube amp. Will test them with a friend's Cavalli in the near future.

 

[serman005]

I am listening to mine on an inexpensive acer Chromebook right now. With classical, including Stravinsky's Rite of Spring with its attendant tympani or kettle drum or whatever it's called, they still sound very good reproducing those low notes. Add the Bravo Ocean and they sound superb with, I agree, tighter bass, and also more texture, more detail. They are indeed a very nice headphone that scales well.

 

[Fearless1]

Seems the "story" about the scalability of the HD600 should be listed in the non-fiction section.

 

[DavidA]

I agree that they don't sound their best with a phone. I have a grace m903 and that amp is surely better than a fiio. So, they are scalable, just like every other quality headphone.
It's just that I can enjoy the HD600 even with a phone. And that's not the case with some other phones like the K701.
Don't have any tube amp. Will test them with a friend's Cavalli in the near future.

Not all quality headphones will scale like the HD-600/650.  HD-600 on a Cavalli Liquid Glass is about as good as I've heard but you can get very close for a whole lot less.

 

[StanD]

Other than an amp that can't drive a 300 Ohm can or has some defect (design or otherwise) I don't buy into this scaling business. We are easily fooled by our senses, expectations and short echoic memory. If one feels something is to be gained, just enjoy it.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

It's true. I compared Vali 1 and Mjolnir 2 on HD800 after a year of only listening to Mjolnir 2 and Vali came really frighteningly close for an eighth the cost. Issues of power and impedance are, as you say, separate, but if you take those off the table, you need WA5-level power to exceed the three digit offerings. I wasn't all that impressed by Liquid Au and the Tungsten prototype I heard in July.

 

[dr cornelius]

Question for anyone who is running a balanced cable with their HD 600s.  I just got a 4 pin cable to hook my 600’s to a Jotunheim and the sound is completely different - not the typical subtle thing one gets from a cable tweak - these sound like completely different headphones.  It’s tricky to describe but in a nutshell the headphones have morphed into a pair of Grados...  The sound stage feels very closed in but somehow there is more detail, which is pretty weird.  Vocals, bass and kick drums are right in the middle of your head - but it’s a very detailed “mono”.  When I switch back to the stock cable, that relaxed, even-keel sound returns.   
 
Is it the cable?  The balanced circuitry in the amplifier?  I wasn’t really expecting much of a sound difference, but this is far from a subtle change...  
 
Any thoughts?   

 

[marksaus]

I just did the same, upgraded to a C3audio balanced cable. Huge change to the Jotunheim - I think it's a lot to do with the XLR 4-pin connection and the overall much better quality cable. Soundstage for me is same if not better, but the bass and mid-bass has totally opened up and the treble has tamed. Very happy with the improvement!