Got the HD600 a few days ago.
From the very first listen I knew that this is definitelly a reference performer, no non-sense stuff here.
They sounded very much like I would expect them to sound. all the frequencies are displayed equally clear and detailed, great tunning here, Sennheiser definitelly knows how to do it's stuff. I used to own and loved their PX100 and I think the HD600 are a great upgrade from those.
They still show some slow decay, specially around 2 to 4 KHz and some slight! artificiality in the way how they achieve their (very coherent!) presentation but there's great control all over the spectrum and they manage to sound natural, reasonably transparent and enjoyable with good timbre.
I guess one can't ask more from a 300$ headphone.
I like these, very good headphones.
I think they're technically very good, just short of brilliant.
Compared to the HD600 my modified GMP, with the stock earpads, sounds somewhat V-shaped and, ocasionally, uncoherent, haha, so I still have a lot of work to do with the Maestros.
This doesn't mean that my GMP have less overall mid presence than the Sennies, to my ears the difference is more around the 2 to 5 KHz area where the GMPs suddenly dip some dbs at 2KHz and then rise until a 5KHz peak (or so it seems), while the HD600 maintains a linear response throughout all the midrange but with a somewhat emphasized 2 to 4KHz area where I think the decay is slower than the rest of the spectrum... which I suspect, in conjunction with the absence of 10KHz peak, forms the source of the "veiled character" attibuted to this headphone...
On the contrary the GMP has more bass and lower mid presence relative to the uppermids and a treble peak and depending on the song either headphone will sound thinner or fuller or more natural (subjective, not neutral) than the other, it's a bit weird, but I think the HD600 is, generaly, the more technically correct, because of the bloomier, less articulate character of the GMPs lower frequencies and recessed upper mids.
The veil I've seen atributed to the Sennies... I think it's unfair... it sounds no more veiled to me than the DT880 (which has peaked treble), but I can see how both would sound kind of washed out/unclear when compared to superior stuff. My GMP manages to do so on some tracks but it's not as consistent performer as the Sennheiser and the Beyer, partly due to it's higher transparency and partly due to not as good tuning.
I don't think my GMP is superior to the HD600 though, they're different and the Sennheiser is, generally, easier to understand...
I also have the Beyer here with me but I still haven't compared them head to head with the HD600 because I detest them so much.
But I think it's safe to say that the Sennies are definitelly the better headphones among both.
Good stuff from Sennheiser here,
Good stuff!
