[Brooko]

@Skocko33
HD600 is great for classical. I only listen to large work classical almost. I had HD650, Philips X2, DT990/600, K240 monitor, and none of them can challenge HD600. If you had HD600, try Valhalla 2 or any OTL amplifier. They help expand soundstage. I tried several SS amplifiers and all of them have congested soundstage than OTL.
For classical, if you want to update from HD600, I think it would be sth. similar to HD800.

Sorry - again, depends on the amp. Suggest trying the HD600 with something like the iFi iDSD. No congestion. I do genuinely like OTL tubes as well - and the HD600 sounds marvellous out of something like the VE Enterprise or LD MKIV, but as long as you're using an amp with enough voltage, I've never found congestion to be an issue.

 

[Brooko]

Yeah. I just have to ask your opinion on DT880 against HD600 and AKG for classical?
You had them all.

Been a while now since I compared them. Luckily I have a record of the comparisons though
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/akg...yerdynamic-dt-880-review.666061/#post-9484073

I kept the K701, and gave it to my Mum. Since then I also bought and sold the K702 and Q701
I ended up with 3 versions of the DT880 overtime (600, 250 and 250 Pro) - eventually upgraded to T1 v1, and that was my go to for a long time (then I sold it and bought the HD800S)
I've bought and sold the HD600 3 times over the last 7 years or so. I always ended up missing it, and last time I purchased I vowed to keep it (and I have)

Couple of others you might want to consider if you can get them cheap enough .....

AKG K612 Pro - still have AKG house sound, but tonally probably AKG's closest headphone to the HD600. A little warmer than the K701, and while tonally similar to the HD600 - offers a little more expansive stage. HD600 still beats it in realism in timbre and tone IMHO.

Other one is the SRH1840. Again more expansive than the HD600, sound quite similar to it though - except doesn't have the mid-bass bump. Probably one of the flatter open headphones I've heard. Great for classical. Possibly a bit limited for some other genres though. HD600 is a great all-rounder (for me anyway)

 

[Skocko33]

Thank you guys! You are great! I will look for a used pair od HD600's!

 

[Zackobrien]

I have been listening to my 558's with foam mod (essentially 598's) and fell in love with them again, those mids....... Are the 600's a direct upgrade from them? I remember I loved mine when I had them, but it's a been a while since I've heard them.

 

[hanouk]

Hi

I disassembled my second-hand HD600 beause the other day when I installed new pads, I put a little too strong pressure on the grills to help insert the pads.

When disassembling it, I thought about the different iterations of the HD600. My HD600 is an older model with the Black Silk cover, but any expert here knows when Sennheiser switched to the Silver cover ? I bought it from Ebay last year, I should contact the seller to see if he knows anything. The box is the older one (with Sennheiser written blue in the face).

Here is my model :

After some research I found an article from Innerfidelity, seems I have a 50% early 50% mid old HD600 (clear pink circle and "goldish" center of the driver)

Anyway my HD600 sounds extremely clear and detailed, I've never understood the myth about the HD600 (or older models) being veiled.

One question though : when disassembling my model, I forgot to remember earcup was the right and wich one was the left one. I dont see any indication inside to indicate if its R or L. I guess its no big deal since i've inversed the plugs and the sound is identical.

 

[yangian]

Sorry - again, depends on the amp. Suggest trying the HD600 with something like the iFi iDSD. No congestion. I do genuinely like OTL tubes as well - and the HD600 sounds marvellous out of something like the VE Enterprise or LD MKIV, but as long as you're using an amp with enough voltage, I've never found congestion to be an issue.

I never try iDSD. Sorry I didn't say clearly. I didn't mean SS's is always congested. What I want to say is when comparing with OTL's, especially when you immediately switch from OTL to SS's that I have, I can clearly detect soundstage contracted, more or less. Actually before when I had 650, I found it works better on SS's. Of course all the conclusions are based on my very limited gears and IMO.

 

[Midgetguy]

Hi

I disassembled my second-hand HD600 beause the other day when I installed new pads, I put a little too strong pressure on the grills to help insert the pads.

When disassembling it, I thought about the different iterations of the HD600. My HD600 is an older model with the Black Silk cover, but any expert here knows when Sennheiser switched to the Silver cover ? I bought it from Ebay last year, I should contact the seller to see if he knows anything. The box is the older one (with Sennheiser written blue in the face).

Here is my model :

After some research I found an article from Innerfidelity, seems I have a 50% early 50% mid old HD600 (clear pink circle and "goldish" center of the driver)

Anyway my HD600 sounds extremely clear and detailed, I've never understood the myth about the HD600 (or older models) being veiled.

One question though : when disassembling my model, I forgot to remember earcup was the right and wich one was the left one. I dont see any indication inside to indicate if its R or L. I guess its no big deal since i've inversed the plugs and the sound is identical.

I don't know of there being any difference really in the headphone capsules. They're not shaped any differently that I can tell. Just as long as you have the connectors sorted out, I don't think there's supposed to be an issue. The L/R is really most prominently handled by the cable connection in terms of where sound's going and the headband for head orientation. Thinking about it, this might have been quite intentional for more than just the reason of user-replaceable capsules for HD600/650. If you ended up with a dead driver, you wouldn't have to say specifically L/R driver, you'd just say you had a dead driver and they send it out. It makes for easier manufacturing too since you'd only need a single tool set to churn things out. The tool set would just make HD600/650 capsules, it wouldn't have to be making left capsules and right capsules. The HD700/800 series don't so such a thing because of their shapes, but most other headphones where the L/R driver are symmetrical designs would have this ideal built into the manufacturing.

 

[Argyris]

Thank you guys! You are great! I will look for a used pair od HD600's!

As a pretty heavy classical listener, I can say the HD 600 works quite well. I've also owned the DT880 for a little over seven years now, and I would say classical is one of its strong suits. There are three major differences between the two:

1) The DT880 has better bass extension than the HD 600, which rolls off pretty noticeably below around 70 Hz. For classical I've found this is really only an issue for things like organ bass and large percussion instruments. Most of the time I barely miss the lower bass on the HD 600, but the DT880's extra extension is certainly nice.

2) The HD 600 has a bit more forward midrange than the DT880. The DT880 is probably closer to neutral here, but this is somewhat tempered by point three. And this is not to say the HD 600 is inferior in the midrange; on the contrary, I prefer its presentation here to the DT880 most of the time (again, because of point three). The DT880 tends toward clear, open midrange with a bit more perceived distance from the source than with the HD 600, whose midrange is a bit more present and upfront, though no less clear.

3) The DT880 has noticeably boosted treble compared to the HD 600, which has what I would consider optimal treble balance. In particular, the DT880 has more presence in the upper treble, which emphasizes the sense of space and adds a clear, shimmering quality to strings. I particularly like this effect, and it's the source of the "airy" descriptions of the DT880 sound, as well as the feeling that it has a larger soundstage than the HD 600. On the other hand, the boosted mid-treble affects the timbre somewhat and makes the overall sound seem a bit thinner than the HD 600—the latter is slightly euphonic, whereas the DT880 leans towards analytical. I prefer euphonic to analytical these days, so the HD 600 is an overall closer fit for my sonic preferences.

The treble is both the DT880's most characteristic sonic feature and its biggest flaw, as it's the area where the sound deviates most strongly from neutral. This is less of an issue for classical than, say, modern pop music, as with the latter you often have hyped mid-treble baked into the mastering, which leads to uncomfortable sibilance on the DT880. For classical, even with vocals, this has not been an issue IME.

Hopefully this helps. I like both headphones for different reasons, but I spend most of my time listening to the HD 600. Where it falls behind the DT880, it isn't very far behind, whereas the DT880's treble can be more troublesome, often being recording dependent. The HD 600 is closer to neutral overall and disappears for me in a way the DT880 can't quite match.

 

[Skocko33]

Thank you @Argyris! Do you think that EQ would help with DT880 treble in order to make it more neutral?

 

[yangian]

As a pretty heavy classical listener, I can say the HD 600 works quite well. I've also owned the DT880 for a little over seven years now, and I would say classical is one of its strong suits. There are three major differences between the two:

1) The DT880 has better bass extension than the HD 600, which rolls off pretty noticeably below around 70 Hz. For classical I've found this is really only an issue for things like organ bass and large percussion instruments. Most of the time I barely miss the lower bass on the HD 600, but the DT880's extra extension is certainly nice.

2) The HD 600 has a bit more forward midrange than the DT880. The DT880 is probably closer to neutral here, but this is somewhat tempered by point three. And this is not to say the HD 600 is inferior in the midrange; on the contrary, I prefer its presentation here to the DT880 most of the time (again, because of point three). The DT880 tends toward clear, open midrange with a bit more perceived distance from the source than with the HD 600, whose midrange is a bit more present and upfront, though no less clear.

3) The DT880 has noticeably boosted treble compared to the HD 600, which has what I would consider optimal treble balance. In particular, the DT880 has more presence in the upper treble, which emphasizes the sense of space and adds a clear, shimmering quality to strings. I particularly like this effect, and it's the source of the "airy" descriptions of the DT880 sound, as well as the feeling that it has a larger soundstage than the HD 600. On the other hand, the boosted mid-treble affects the timbre somewhat and makes the overall sound seem a bit thinner than the HD 600—the latter is slightly euphonic, whereas the DT880 leans towards analytical. I prefer euphonic to analytical these days, so the HD 600 is an overall closer fit for my sonic preferences.

The treble is both the DT880's most characteristic sonic feature and its biggest flaw, as it's the area where the sound deviates most strongly from neutral. This is less of an issue for classical than, say, modern pop music, as with the latter you often have hyped mid-treble baked into the mastering, which leads to uncomfortable sibilance on the DT880. For classical, even with vocals, this has not been an issue IME.

Hopefully this helps. I like both headphones for different reasons, but I spend most of my time listening to the HD 600. Where it falls behind the DT880, it isn't very far behind, whereas the DT880's treble can be more troublesome, often being recording dependent. The HD 600 is closer to neutral overall and disappears for me in a way the DT880 can't quite match.

880 is semi-open. I don't have 880. But if 880 does not have a larger soundstage than 990, which is full-open, it cannot have a larger soundstage than 600. You may need update your amplifier.

 

[Me x3]

HD

880 is semi-open. I don't have 880. But if 880 does not have a larger soundstage than 990, which is full-open, it cannot have a larger soundstage than 600. You may need update your amplifier.

HD600 has a pretty compact/intimate soundstage, while DT880 is slighly bigger and airier. Soundstage is not only related with how open the headphone is on the back.

 

[yangian]

HD

HD600 has a pretty compact/intimate soundstage, while DT880 is slighly bigger and airier. Soundstage is not only related with how open the headphone is on the back.

I know. However, I have 990 and 600 and to my ears, 600 has larger soundstage than 990. And I saw that someone claimed that 880 has intimated soundstage than 990. If that's true, 880 cannot have larger soundstage than 600.

 

[trellus]

I know. However, I have 990 and 600 and to my ears, 600 has larger soundstage than 990. And I saw that someone claimed that 880 has intimated soundstage than 990. If that's true, 880 cannot have larger soundstage than 600.

Maybe that's a case of relative comparisons not being valid across different sets of ears? . If it's a different set of ears that called the DT 990 larger in soundstage than the DT 880 than is comparing the HD 600 and DT 880 directly, that is likely the disconnect...

 

[yangian]

Maybe that's a case of relative comparisons not being valid across different sets of ears? . If it's a different set of ears that called the DT 990 larger in soundstage than the DT 880 than is comparing the HD 600 and DT 880 directly, that is likely the disconnect...

I agree. Things related to sound are tricky and weird. That's why there are endless discussions on headfi.

 

[DavidA]

Funny - I always found the DT990 quite piercing - they did have that nice stage width though. Good call of the HD700 though - it was one I hadn't though of (owned it for a while too).

I've never found the DT990 piercing but it could be that I only use them on a BH Crack or Ember unlike the HD600 which I did find bothered me at times. I think it might have been you that suggested to check out where the treble peaks were since some headphones like the HD700 didn't bother me while the HD600 is one of the few that did and it seems that I'm a little sensitive in the 3.5-5khz range which is right were the HD600 has a small peak but other "brighter" headphones like the HD700/HD800/T1 and others have peaks that are slightly higher in the frequency range and my hearing is not as sensitive to it.

@yangian, While I don't own a HD600 I still get to listen to a HD600 from time to time when I visit my friend Mari since she still has one and I've used it from time to time to do comparisons. I'm still trying to have a get together with Mari and Calvin (has HD660S), hopefully one of these days we'll all get together for dinner and so some direct comparisons but I do like the HD660S as a replacement for the HD600 since its so easy to drive but its over priced at the moment and since I have the BH Crack the HD650 is still my preferred choice.