[dryvadeum]

How much did the HD600s cost when they were first released?

 

[DefQon]

$600?

 

[blueangel2323]

  For some reason, I just happened to stumble upon this thread. A few years ago, after joining the ''dark side'', I sold my HD600, and although I've never regretted selling my 600, I can understand how some peoples love them and might even see them as part of an end game setup.
 
I think that if we spend enough time listening to a pair of headphones that we like, we end up percieving those headphones's sound as, ''the right sound'', and anything that sounds different, won't sound right, some call this, brain burn in.
 
I hope this makes some sense to some of you, otherwise, I'm sorry for waisting your time.

 
Your ears definitely adjust to different sounds, so I agree with you to an extent, but I also think that the HD600 sounds pretty close to "right" on an objective level, as they are quite neutral, and very smooth. I'm spoiled by their smoothness/evenness, and they make most other headphones sound very peaky in comparison. Now even a small bump (a few dB) in the crossover of a multi-driver IEM sticks out like a sore thumb out to me.

 

[Sorrodje]

   
Your ears definitely adjust to different sounds, so I agree with you to an extent, but I also think that the HD600 sounds pretty close to "right" on an objective level, as they are quite neutral, and very smooth. I'm spoiled by their smoothness/evenness, and they make most other headphones sound very peaky in comparison. Now even a small bump (a few dB) in the crossover of a multi-driver IEM sticks out like a sore thumb out to me.

 
I definitely agree with that. I really can't find any music that sounds wrong through a HD600. Last word in nothing but overally a stunning good headphone for music listening . HD600 is a masterpiece.  HD800 si a (big) step beyond but sometimes I say myself it's a step too far for simple music enjoyement.  So, in my mind, the HD600 is a "right" headphone. 

 

[wrightanswer@ear]

I'd also like to tell people who own the newer versions of the Apogee Duet (mine is the latest Mac/IOS version), that the HD600 works beautifully with it. Of all headphones I've used with it, the HD600 is the best by far.
If it hadn't been for some people saying otherwise and making me over-cautious about amp requirements, I'd have bought the HD600 months ago and wouldn't have wasted my time buying and auditioning many alternatives, like the K550, DT880, HD598 and others which proved nowhere near the class of the HD600.
I don't doubt that other amps can be even better, just as there is always a better amp to drive speakers even if one has already spent $5,000 on one. But to my ears the Apogee/HD600 is a fine pairing, smooth and controlled, wonderfully musical, with plenty of power. Fom my recollection, it is a MUCH better combination than the HD650/Musical Fidelity X-Can v3 pairing I had some years ago. So my recommendation if you have the Apogee is to make the HD600 a prime consideration, whether or not you intend to upgrade later.
The Apogee also drives my Neumann KH120A studio monitors and there is a very nice complementary sound quality when switching between the speakers and the HD600. VERY happy with this setup!  

 

[kamalz]

   
Your ears definitely adjust to different sounds, so I agree with you to an extent, but I also think that the HD600 sounds pretty close to "right" on an objective level, as they are quite neutral, and very smooth. I'm spoiled by their smoothness/evenness, and they make most other headphones sound very peaky in comparison.

 
 Most of my audiophiles friends doesn't want a "true" exact sound.  they wanted the "right" sound
 They wanted it to be "colored" to their liking but still preserve the believability. Most importantly,
 they wanted to be  drawn into the music emotionally ( like deep into the black hole ) even by the
 sound of violin only. They need to feel , Its the music & them , nothing else in between.
 HD 600 sound just pretty close to "right" for me

 

[kamalz]

 Bottlehead gonna Crack my wallet soon.

 
  Dont forget the speedballs

 

[diaBoliQu3]

   
 Most of my audiophiles friends doesn't want a "true" exact sound.  they wanted the "right" sound
 They wanted it to be "colored" to their liking but still preserve the believability. Most importantly,
 they wanted to be  drawn into the music emotionally ( like deep into the black hole ) even by the
 sound of violin only. They need to feel , Its the music & them , nothing else in between.
 HD 600 sound just pretty close to "right" for me

Yup... I want something that sound sweet to my ear because that's what I paid for. Listening to HD600 and I notice a lot of undetected sound, intonation and background sound from my FLAC collection. OMG!

This headphone really make my day. I can "see" the lips parting apart inside my ear.

 

[kamalz]

   
I definitely agree with that. I really can't find any music that sounds wrong through a HD600. Last word in nothing but overally a stunning good headphone for music listening . HD600 is a masterpiece.  HD800 si a (big) step beyond but sometimes I say myself it's a step too far for simple music enjoyement.  So, in my mind, the HD600 is a "right" headphone. 

 
    So very true..
    HD600 is a masterpiece- like a work from a true genius artist, Da vincci
  . HD800 is a world class, a product from a group of top MIT  engineers

 

[Sorrodje]

   
    So very true..
    HD600 is a masterpiece- like a work from a true genius artist, Da vincci
  . HD800 is a world class, a product from a group of top MIT  engineers

 
 
It seems you exagerate a bit my own words 

 .  I do prefer HD800 . No doubt in my mind. Because it perfectly fits my personal tastes. I do think I haven't heard anything ( I heard some Stax headphones but not Hi end ones and I really love it but HD800 had something more ( a kind of weight and "grandeur ) in my opinion) that reproduces so well classical and acoustic music and modern Jazz and the HD800 sounds very good too for some electronica.  The point is these genre are my favourites too. So I'm more Happy with my HD800 than with my HD580. Though, When I have to advice an headphone, I Never advice HD800  beacause i really think HD600 is more easy to appreciate for about every music.  HD800 is a formula one. Astonishingly good in some conditions. HD600 is more a luxury car for road use. Far more forgiving for everyday use. 
 
In one word , I don't really agree with "HD600 for Music , HD800 for engineers" statement. 

  I only say sometimes I think I could enjoy music without HD800 perfection or something like that. 

 

[kamalz]

It seems you exagerate a bit my own words   .  I do prefer HD800 . No doubt in my mind. Because it perfectly fits my personal tastes. I do think I haven't heard anything ( I heard some Stax headphones but not Hi end ones and I really love it but HD800 had something more ( a kind of weight and "grandeur ) in my opinion) that reproduces so well classical and acoustic music and modern Jazz and the HD800 sounds very good too for some electronica.  The point is these genre are my favourites too. So I'm more Happy with my HD800 than with my HD580. Though, When I have to advice an headphone, I Never advice HD800  beacause i really think HD600 is more easy to appreciate for about every music.  HD800 is a formula one. Astonishingly good in some conditions. HD600 is more a luxury car for road use. Far more forgiving for everyday use. 

In one word , I don't really agree with "HD600 for Music , HD800 for engineers" statement. :wink_face:   I only say sometimes I think I could enjoy music without HD800 perfection or something like that. 

 

[Delirious Lab]

I love how these cans are easy to drive with any amp... or no amp at all.
 
I'm stuck in a hotel for the week (travelling for work) and only brought with me a portable CD player, a PA2V2 amp and a Samsung phone.  No audiophile-grade sources either: variable bitrate MP3's and classical CD's recorded in the 1950's and 60s.
 
Even with this gear, everything I throw at the HD600, from Maria Callas to Rush, is giving me an awesome time.
 
Luckily, my room isn't facing the freeway....

 

[StanD]

  I love how these cans are easy to drive with any amp... or no amp at all.
 
I'm stuck in a hotel for the week (travelling for work) and only brought with me a portable CD player, a PA2V2 amp and a Samsung phone.  No audiophile-grade sources either: variable bitrate MP3's and classical CD's recorded in the 1950's and 60s.
 
Even with this gear, everything I throw at the HD600, from Maria Callas to Rush, is giving me an awesome time.
 
Luckily, my room isn't facing the freeway....

 
I find that my HD600 needs to be amped as portable devices cannot reach the voltages that this can needs, though it is easy to amp. The HD800 seems to be much more sensitive and is probably much easier to drive than the HD600.
 

Model	Impedance	Sensitivity	Power required by 95dB sound pressure	Power required by 105dB sound pressure	Power required by 120dB sound pressure	Peak voltage required by high dynamic	Current required by high dynamic
HD600	300	97	0.63	6.31	199.53	21.88	25.79
HD650	300	98	0.50	5.01	158.49	19.50	22.98
HD700	150	105	0.10	1.00	31.62	6.16	14.52
HD800	300	102	0.20	2.00	63.10	12.30	14.50

 

[blueangel2323]

   Most of my audiophiles friends doesn't want a "true" exact sound.  they wanted the "right" sound
 They wanted it to be "colored" to their liking but still preserve the believability. Most importantly,
 they wanted to be  drawn into the music emotionally ( like deep into the black hole ) even by the
 sound of violin only. They need to feel , Its the music & them , nothing else in between.
 HD 600 sound just pretty close to "right" for me

I don't see why "true" sound (neutrality, technical perfection) is at odds with "right" sound (natural, realistic, believable). I mean, the whole point of hi-fi is to faithfully reproduce sound, and ultimately that sound is the original instrument. So should technical perfection not sound realistic and natural? Should a faithful reproduction of the recording not sound like the real thing being played live? I doubt recording engineers purposefully make the recording sound cold and sterile as opposed to sounding like the real thing.

 

[amcananey]

Personally, I don't see why we can't just keep discussing the hologram stickers...