[Hypops]

Yeah, you're never always sure what headphone you're going to gravitate towards. A headphone can be good but it just doesn't grab you and sometimes an inferior headphone just causes you to listen to it more and you end up liking it more.

Sometimes leaving a headphone alone makes you realize what bothers you about it. I don't like selling off headphones anymore as I learned sometimes a headphone that doesn't jive with you on your previous system may end up one of your favorites on a different system. Sometimes something as simple as changing interconnects or the usb or optical cable or tinkering with amp settings will fix a headphone for you. I keep multiple different interconnects for this reason. After switching cables around on my system recently with some new cables, ironically my least favorite of the HD 6xx lineup is my favorite of the HD 6xx on this current setup, the HD 650. But if I swap things around it will be the HD 600 or the HD 660S2.

So much truth. My speaker system is especially susceptible to this. It's always on the razor's edge between brilliant and lifeless. I've got it so dialed in after years of building, tweaking, and rebuilding that even the slightest change or EQ adjustment can send me back to square one, and I have to recalibrate everything all over again.

Thankfully, headphones and desktop gear are much more flexible and much more cooperative with EQ. Even so, I'll regularly find myself not using something. Appropriate to this thread, I'm not really using my HD 600 at all. I've chalked this up to it needing a more appropriate amp pairing, so the process begins again...

 

[bagwell359]

So much truth. My speaker system is especially susceptible to this. It's always on the razor's edge between brilliant and lifeless. I've got it so dialed in after years of building, tweaking, and rebuilding that even the slightest change or EQ adjustment can send me back to square one, and I have to recalibrate everything all over again.

Thankfully, headphones and desktop gear are much more flexible and much more cooperative with EQ. Even so, I'll regularly find myself not using something. Appropriate to this thread, I'm not really using my HD 600 at all. I've chalked this up to it needing a more appropriate amp pairing, so the process begins again...

I do room acoustics, mods, PEQ for speaker and headphone systems. Based on reading your posts I don't think we are that far off - so far.

But I believe in Heuristics to get in the ballpark, then fine tuning making sure some factors are set - like VAC, humidity, no headaches or irritation, and lots of reference pieces played on gear that's already tuned at a similar of higher level (hopefully available) than the piece in question - and then toggle changes,, first singly then in groups. It is very time consuming, but it does get me to delve to maximize for what I believe is reference - which is part of the hobby. I never totally throw in my results that are over time getting closet to the goal.

But to avoid audio nervosa, you've got to know when to say stop, and enjoy - hopefully for months if not years. High velocity of new equipment tends to shorten the analysis, and often one gets lesser results.

Hope that helps someone.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Tonight I'm doing something I've wanted to do for years now. I'm listening to the HD6xx on a true god-tier amp. The Violectric V281 Reissue. And sure enough, everything people say about these cans is true. They really do scale! Listening to Amber Rubarth, and this is the first time the soundstage on the HD6xx hasn't felt small and closed in.

I'm familiar with how these handphones sound with proper amperage. My Audio-GD NFB-28 had quite the beefy amp stage. A good amp has always made the HD6xx sound great. But a GREAT amp expands its capacity quite a ways.

 

[Livnmuskoka]

A good amp has always made the HD6xx sound great. But a GREAT amp expands its capacity quite a ways.

That's what I recently found out with a Bryston bha-1 and HD600's, especially with a balanced cable to get all the power available. I was skeptical after reading how much they will scale, but it's true. I've owned and listened to several clearer and more detailed headphones, but after hearing the 600's my priorities switched from clarity and detail first, to tone first. The etymotic er4xr also helped show me this. Having 95% of all the clarity and detail possible isn't that great if the tone isn't right.

 

[Angel III]

Tonight I'm doing something I've wanted to do for years now. I'm listening to the HD6xx on a true god-tier amp. The Violectric V281 Reissue. And sure enough, everything people say about these cans is true. They really do scale! Listening to Amber Rubarth, and this is the first time the soundstage on the HD6xx hasn't felt small and closed in.

I'm familiar with how these handphones sound with proper amperage. My Audio-GD NFB-28 had quite the beefy amp stage. A good amp has always made the HD6xx sound great. But a GREAT amp expands its capacity quite a ways.

If you try the HD660 you will see how different they are in soundstage. Music in the HD650 has a more distant soundstage, which is a good thing and helps you better perceive the micro details in the piece of music. I'd like to try the HD600 and HD660S2 with my V200. Unfortunately I discovered that the G111 MKII, although good as an amplifier, has a stage that is too close to the ear... more suitable for monitoring.

 

[IXOYE]

Tonight I'm doing something I've wanted to do for years now. I'm listening to the HD6xx on a true god-tier amp. The Violectric V281 Reissue. And sure enough, everything people say about these cans is true. They really do scale! Listening to Amber Rubarth, and this is the first time the soundstage on the HD6xx hasn't felt small and closed in.

I'm familiar with how these handphones sound with proper amperage. My Audio-GD NFB-28 had quite the beefy amp stage. A good amp has always made the HD6xx sound great. But a GREAT amp expands its capacity quite a ways.

Yes, they really sing with Violectric's warmer sound, I have the V222.

 

[jonathan c]

If you try the HD660 you will see how different they are in soundstage. Music in the HD650 has a more distant soundstage, which is a good thing and helps you better perceive the micro details in the piece of music. ***I'd like to try the HD600 and HD660S2 with my V200*** Unfortunately I discovered that the G111 MKII, although good as an amplifier, has a stage that is too close to the ear... more suitable for monitoring.

*** A wonderful, musically valid combination ...

 

[IXOYE]

I have several headphones that are significantly more expensive than the HD 600, but I still rank my HD600 as my absolute favorite headphone, especially after I upgrade my amplifier to the Violectric V222, they really scale well with an amp that can deliver high voltage, to me HD600 is a bargain and the best headphone anyone can buy if they pair them with the right equipment.

 

[jonathan c]

I have waited quite some time for this: Alleluia! Nitsch/JAR modified Sennheiser HD-600!

From the venerable OTL Woo WA3: sound to rejoice, sound to lift one heavenward .

 

[Nicolas Yance]

I have waited quite some time for this: Alleluia! Nitsch/JAR modified Sennheiser HD-600! From the venerable OTL Woo WA3: sound to rejoice, sound to lift one heavenward .

Congrats! How do you like them?

 

[jonathan c]

• In a similar vein, the Beyerdynamic A20 h/p/a -- solid-state with an unusual 100 ohm output impedance -- is blazingly wonderful with Nitsch/JAR 600 !

Such air, ambience, layering, soundstaging !

 

[Hypops]

This thread has inspired me to spend some time with my HD 600. I had set my pair aside, underwhelmed and assuming that I needed to give them more suitable amplification to enjoy them. Instead, I decided to try out different recordings and instrumentation. That did the trick. In a big way. Acoustic, live, and especially live acoustic recordings nearly all sound incredible, even with my current amplification and sources. Just feeding it with a Mojo 2 and phone, I'm stunned at how alive music can sound. I've been going through a bunch of Evangelina Mascardi lute recordings, and it's like she's playing in front of me. Incredible.

Anyhow, my point is that by finding certain kinds of recordings, my experience of the HD 600 has completely changed. Incredible headphone with my solid state amps. Just a bit more recording- and genre-specific than my other headphones.

 

[BobG55]

Incredible headphone

For me, you could have stopped right there.

 

[michael2v]

I'm beginning to see why so many people swear by OTL amps with the HD 600. It's probably not the tubes that bring them to life; it's the high output impedance.

This is exactly the conclusion I’ve come to about tube amps as I’ve collected more amps and headphones than I know what to do with. It really hit home with the BHC, which has the highest output impedance among my collection and sounds absolutely magical with the HD-650/6XX.

Are they as technical and capable as kilobuck headphones? No, but there’s something about the richness and musical bloom that is just <chef’s kiss>.

 

[Deckard001]

My amplifier with Input sensitivity/impedance: 200 mV/10 kOhm and Power output: 300 mW (100 Ohm).

Is it going to be fine with HD600?