[Argyris]

A rural auction + £7.42 = a Pair of Hd600's and box of junk. Yes the foam was about to go, the headband cushion already gone but the pads came up with a vacum and a lint roll thingy. While the replacement parts I cut some synthetic dish cloth and clicked the pads back. So I'll see where they fit in my collection, other headphones are mix of planars, grado/magnum and valve and vintage amps make up the amplifiction end of my system. If I don't like them a profit looms large.

That's got to be some kind of record. I've read about a thrift store HD 650 that I think went for $30, but this massively tops that, even with the conversion from GBP into USD.

 

[snip3r77]

I never heard he 500. But I have he400i and I like 600 much more than it

I have both he500 and hd600. The he500 has very good bass heft . Even better than LCDX

 

[yangian]

I have both he500 and hd600. The he500 has very good bass heft . Even better than LCDX

Even HE400i has better bass than 600. But that does not mean HE400i is better than HD600 IMO. That's why I emphasize the holistic interpretation.
Actually the best bass I've heard is from a fake IE800, better than genuine IE800. But that does not mean the fake IE800 is better than genuine IE800. It's not. Actually the fake IE800 is very V shape. But I do like it more than IE800 for certain music and I like its bass more than any phone I ever heard.

 

[pbarach]

Even HE400i has better bass than 600. But that does not mean HE400i is better than HD600 IMO.

I have the HE400i and the HD600. Althoough the 400i has deeper bass, the distorted midrange on classical voice recordings and acoustic piano takes it out of the running for me. I rarely use the 400i.

 

[yangian]

I have the HE400i and the HD600. Althoough the 400i has deeper bass, the distorted midrange on classical voice recordings and acoustic piano takes it out of the running for me. I rarely use the 400i.

Thanks! I didn't pay much attention of what's wrong with it. But I know it's not as euphonic as 600 to my ears.

 

[Xbmyc]

Many of the really good bass cans are planar. Some of them are tuned to the basshead crowd. No use for those. Some like the MD 4XX are strong down to 55-60, but then fade out. The best are basically flat down to 30 and still pumping at 15.

You can get great bass at the ear. Not going to push you back in the chair however. Maybe get a sub that's crossed over just to run sub sonic. Seriously.

Back to to 600, what I like about them is what they do in the bass they do very well, what they don't do well, they don't attempt, and that makes them pretty easy to live with.

What do you think is a clear upgrade to HD600? I am looking to buy something new to try.

 

[spookygonk]

A rural auction + £7.42 = a Pair of Hd600's and box of junk. Yes the foam was about to go, the headband cushion already gone but the pads came up with a vacum and a lint roll thingy. While the replacement parts I cut some synthetic dish cloth and clicked the pads back. So I'll see where they fit in my collection, other headphones are mix of planars, grado/magnum and valve and vintage amps make up the amplifiction end of my system. If I don't like them a profit looms large.

Great find and price, but what a strange lot of other stuff with the headphones.

 

[DavidA]

I have the HE400i and the HD600. Althoough the 400i has deeper bass, the distorted midrange on classical voice recordings and acoustic piano takes it out of the running for me. I rarely use the 400i.

Can you expand a bit more on what the "distorted midrange" sounds like to you and maybe even suggest a track or two on where this occurs to you? I've never heard distortion in the midrange of the 5 different HE400i headphones that I've heard but I'm curious to see if you actually mean its a bit un-natural sounding since I did find the mids on the newer 2.5mm back plate less HE400i to sound "off" a bit.

 

[DavidA]

What do you think is a clear upgrade to HD600? I am looking to buy something new to try.

My upgrade/replacement for my HD600 is a custom built Ypsilon S1. Since the Ypsilon S1 driver has been replaced by the slightly warmer sound S2 it a bit different sound signature but IMO I still consider it an upgrade over a HD600 due to it being more dynamic, better low end and a touch smoother in the highs. To be clear the HD600 is a great headphone but for some like me the small peak at 3.5-5khz is an issue at times and the reason I started to look around for a similar sounding headphone, found it in the Ypsilon S1 which is like a DIY Grado RS series clone so it easy to drive and sounds great out of a phone or low power DAP.

 

[Brooko]

What do you think is a clear upgrade to HD600? I am looking to buy something new to try.

HD800S - it’s the logical next step in the Sennheiser range

 

[pbarach]

Can you expand a bit more on what the "distorted midrange" sounds like to you and maybe even suggest a track or two on where this occurs to you? I've never heard distortion in the midrange of the 5 different HE400i headphones that I've heard but I'm curious to see if you actually mean its a bit un-natural sounding since I did find the mids on the newer 2.5mm back plate less HE400i to sound "off" a bit.

I have the newer 400i (without the back plate). I hear the distortion on acoustic piano, such as a Mozart piano concerto, Instead of the clear ping! sound of the midrange piano keys, there is a fuzziness to these notes that is completely absent on the HD600's or the AKG K702, for example. A good test track would be any of the Mozart piano concerto recordings by Uchida/Cleveland Orchestra, or the Phillips recordings with Brendel, Mackerras, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, or Casadesus/Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra (usually playing under the pseudonym "Columbia Symphony"). In music like this, where timing and subtlety of touch are essential, the performance doesn't come through--I'm listening to the distortion instead. You know, I expect that very old recordings (such as these concertos played by Schnabel or Fischer) will be distorted, and it's worth it to me because of the artistry of the performances. But when the distortion comes in playback and not from the original masters, that's veryt frustrating.

 

[DavidA]

@pbarach, appreciate the detailed reply, I'll try some the recordings you noted to see if my HE400i displays the same fuzziness to the piano.

Gave some tracks a listen on my old HE400i (SMC/back plate, sorbothane, grill mod, attenuation rings) the piano is rendered clearer/cleaner than my HD650 and I asked my friend who still has a HD600 and old SMC HE400i to give some tracks a listen and she also noted that her old SMC/back plate, grill mod HE400i also sounds just a touch cleaner than her HD600 and HD660S with some solo piano tracks. I guess with this informal comparison I'd have to assume that there is a larger differences between an old SMC HE400i and newer ones (reason for the price drop?) than I originally heard. I was considering selling my old HE400i since it gets little use but since it seem to perform better to me than my HD650 with some genres/tracks that I haven't really tried out much before since I normally use my HD800, HD700, T1gen1 or HE560 for classical. Also tried my HD58X and its no match for my HE400i with well recorded classical, jazz and blues but is not as engaging / fun sounding with rock, pop, Kpop, Jpop, and oldies.

When I had my HD600 I remember them being quite good for classical and jazz but with other genres like rock and pop the small peak at 3.5-5khz bothered me at times. But I still prefer my Ypsilon S1 build since its fairly close in tone to the HD600 but its better extended up and down, doesn't have the peak, and is easily driven by a phone or headphone jack of a computer.

And thanks for the music recommendations, love it.

 

[zloxious]

I took some suggestions about portable amps for my HD600 but they were kinda expencive. Lately the family budget is kinda tight and I cant afford more than 200 euro .. or a bit more.. do you know any portable amps that could work with HD600 and are about 200 euro ? Graham Slee Voyager is an option .. but wanted to know if there are any other which I could use ?

 

[bagwell359]

What do you think is a clear upgrade to HD600? I am looking to buy something new to try.

Depends on what you have to spend, and what your equipment is, and what you like to listen too.

 

[yangian]

@pbarach, appreciate the detailed reply, I'll try some the recordings you noted to see if my HE400i displays the same fuzziness to the piano.

Gave some tracks a listen on my old HE400i (SMC/back plate, sorbothane, grill mod, attenuation rings) the piano is rendered clearer/cleaner than my HD650 and I asked my friend who still has a HD600 and old SMC HE400i to give some tracks a listen and she also noted that her old SMC/back plate, grill mod HE400i also sounds just a touch cleaner than her HD600 and HD660S with some solo piano tracks. I guess with this informal comparison I'd have to assume that there is a larger differences between an old SMC HE400i and newer ones (reason for the price drop?) than I originally heard. I was considering selling my old HE400i since it gets little use but since it seem to perform better to me than my HD650 with some genres/tracks that I haven't really tried out much before since I normally use my HD800, HD700, T1gen1 or HE560 for classical. Also tried my HD58X and its no match for my HE400i with well recorded classical, jazz and blues but is not as engaging / fun sounding with rock, pop, Kpop, Jpop, and oldies.

When I had my HD600 I remember them being quite good for classical and jazz but with other genres like rock and pop the small peak at 3.5-5khz bothered me at times. But I still prefer my Ypsilon S1 build since its fairly close in tone to the HD600 but its better extended up and down, doesn't have the peak, and is easily driven by a phone or headphone jack of a computer.

And thanks for the music recommendations, love it.

600 is much, yes, a lot better than 400i for classical.