[gabsonuro]

Hey everyone, I plan on reading most of this thread, but just thought I'd pop a quick post in. 

I recently received a used pair of DT880s from someone on head-fi. Unfortunately, I have to sell them (gonna sell 'em for the same price I bought ';em for). They are excellent headphones. But my right ear rubs against the foam inside and becomes irritated. Also, I'm finding them too harsh on my ears. Also, they are too treble heavy, and I am really seeking neutrality. 

I'm a total fidelity freak, and am really looking for a setup that promotes fidelity. Accurate frequency response, accurate attack and decay, accurate imaging and soundstage, etc. Anyhow, do you guys think the HD600 would be the right choice? I'm thinking I will drive them with an O2 and ODAC. 

I do listen to some very fast music (technical death metal and prog metal). I hear the HD600 aren't very fast. Would they be the wrong choice for this kind of music? Also, is there the Sennheiser veil?

Edit: Do the drivers, or the insides of the cups touch your ears? Do the ear pads press against your ears? I REALLY like having my ears float in there untouched.

I had the same problem with my 880s. the foam on the inside was rough.

the 6x0 family will have a little more room, but your ears will still touch a little bit. thankfully the foam on the inside on the 6x0 series is much softer and not rough. I don't have the same problem with them and I find them very comfortable.

 

[LugBug1]

I actually owned a pair of 650's for a week and found them to sound pretty nice. they were slightly too bassy for me though.

I finally found a place that demoed 600's and they sounded great, but the bass was a little too light. i have a feeling it was because the rig I was hooked into wasn't fully driving them, I cranked the volume on the thing and it wasn't very loud, maybe medium volume. I could tell they weren't burned in aswell, the earcups were still hard. I also liked the aesthetics and the headband design better than the 650.

will the bass open up a bit with proper amplification and some burn in?

With proper amplification absolutely. They perform better with a high impedance hp amp regarding bass quantity and impact ime. A tube amp for e.g will give the required voltage to fill up the bottom end more than a SS hp amp. The 650's have that nice midbass hump which is nice but I personally prefer the more linear approach of the 600's.  

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

I had the same problem with my 880s. the foam on the inside was rough.

the 6x0 family will have a little more room, but your ears will still touch a little bit. thankfully the foam on the inside on the 6x0 series is much softer and not rough. I don't have the same problem with them and I find them very comfortable.

Okay, that sounds tolerable. I kind of get the feeling that Sennheiser has their understanding of consumer satisfaction pretty downpat. It shows in their products. They all look comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, etc.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

600 or 650 for rock/alternative/metal?

 
HD600. Tonal differences are subtle by my ears so on sound alone I'd go either way, but the HD600 saves you $100.
 

will the bass open up a bit with proper amplification and some burn in?

 
On "proper" amplification and source quality, bass only tightens up. Bass is loud but unnatural (loud but slow - think small venue with improperly set-up gain on the amps, or too small they have to amp them up to catch up to the drums) on most portable players and amps I tried it with. iPad is a bit cleaner, but still behind on every aspect vs a good solid state amp. I had a Little Dot MkII with it before and once the pads got compressed enough it overemphasized the stereotypical "tube sound."
 
 

I finally found a place that demoed 600's and they sounded great, but the bass was a little too light. i have a feeling it was because the rig I was hooked into wasn't fully driving them, I cranked the volume on the thing and it wasn't very loud, maybe medium volume. I could tell they weren't burned in aswell, the earcups were still hard.

 
There's the problem. The more mooshed the earpads are, the louder the bass, since the drivers are placed closer to your ears. I actually prefer the sound when the pads are just a little bit broken in. I rotate two sets to keep either from getting too soft too soon. When I swapped out the older set (washed the newer pair) I noticed the sound wasn't as bad as before, but within a month (approximately 1 to 2 hours per day) the sound was changing again. Next time I swapped them out, the older pads were back to the sound I liked.

 

[SunshineReggae]

  With proper amplification absolutely. They perform better with a high impedance hp amp regarding bass quantity and impact ime. A tube amp for e.g will give the required voltage to fill up the bottom end more than a SS hp amp. The 650's have that nice midbass hump which is nice but I personally prefer the more linear approach of the 600's.  

 
That's nonsense. Any decent solid state amp that isn't portable should have no trouble at all supplying enough current and voltage to a hd600, or most any headphone for that matter. By extension, being able to deliver more voltage (than necessary) does absolutely nothing for sound quality.
 
The HD600 is relatively basslight. Don't count on "burn in" to fix that either. It may be "fixed" by just getting used to them. Or get an amp with high output impedance to enjoy some bass bloat.

 

[CJ_CoCa]

I've been trying to decide which cans to get, I already have the Grado SR 225 and while I like their sound I find them to become kinda tiresome, both physically and sonically so I want to get something to complement them. I've heard the HD 600 are very neutral which pikes my interest since it would be a good change of pace.
The music I listen to the most is prog rock, post rock and stoner rock/metal, would the HD 600 be a good fit for these genres? I dont want to get them and find out they are not a good fit with the music i like.

I don't have an amp yet but i was thinking of either the O2/ODAC combro or just the Asgard 2 amp (for now), how do these fare with the Hd 600? Is there a better match for the Senheisser under 280 usd?

Thanks!

 

[LugBug1]

   
That's nonsense. Any decent solid state amp that isn't portable should have no trouble at all supplying enough current and voltage to a hd600, or most any headphone for that matter. By extension, being able to deliver more voltage (than necessary) does absolutely nothing for sound quality.
 
The HD600 is relatively basslight. Don't count on "burn in" to fix that either. It may be "fixed" by just getting used to them. Or get an amp with high output impedance to enjoy some bass bloat.

The general consensus for best amps for the 600/650/800 over the years are tube based and mainly OTL. High impedance doesn't mean bloated bass at all. Better control, fuller with more authority ime. Impedance matching is very important. I'm not saying that the 600's won't sound good out of a SS hp amp. In fact they sound good out of most amps, portable included.
 
A headphone isn't going to suck out any more voltage than is needed, but when it does need it, it appreciates it. 

 

[lextek]

I was also wondering about current production SS amps for the HDs. Back in the day the Headroom Max was great with HDs. What about today? Burson? Schit Asgard?

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

Are these cans "fast" enough for metal? Would you describe them as detailed? I really like accurate, neutral, detailed, fast cans.

 

[LugBug1]

  Are these cans "fast" enough for metal? Would you describe them as detailed? I really like accurate, neutral, detailed, fast cans.

You might prefer something like the Q701's in that case. The HD600's are great all-rounders but aren't the fastest sounding out there as they are fairly laid back in character. 

 

[Sonic Atrocity]

  You might prefer something like the Q701's in that case. The HD600's are great all-rounders but aren't the fastest sounding out there as they are fairly laid back in character. 

Yeah, I tried those out, and they were totally bass-light. 
 
What does 'laid back' mean in terms of headphones?

 

[LugBug1]

  Yeah, I tried those out, and they were totally bass-light. 
 
What does 'laid back' mean in terms of headphones?

kind of like more gentle sounding as opposed to aggressive. Grado's for e.g tend to be more aggressive sounding because of the forward upper mids and treble. 
 
I would also add that the Q701's have about the same amount of bass as the HD600 perhaps a bit more. Both hp's aren't bass light if amped properly. 
 
Maybe you could try a D2000? They have emphasized bass and a quite aggressive top end. Kind of u shaped a little. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Are these cans "fast" enough for metal? Would you describe them as detailed? I really like accurate, neutral, detailed, fast cans.

 
Yes, until the pads are worn out - the drivers get too close to the ears and  you get slightly more overbearing and less natural bass. When that's starting to happen, don't toss 'em out but get a new pair. Alternate them once in a while - the pads if rested long enough (assuming they weren't that beat up yet) they regain a bit more resistance. That's not unique to these - all headphones suffer on worn out earpads. What's going to be a problem is each new pair is roughly $60 (to be fair, K701 pads are $90).
 
Oh and get a good solid state amp. Most tube amps I've tried have too much bloom in the decay of the notes. No sense in rolling tubes if one good solid state amp can be it out of the box.

 

[LugBug1]

 ^^If you stretch the metal parts of the headband a bit, it takes the pressure off the pads and they will last years and the soundstage imaging etc stays good  

 

[StanD]

   
That's nonsense. Any decent solid state amp that isn't portable should have no trouble at all supplying enough current and voltage to a hd600, or most any headphone for that matter. By extension, being able to deliver more voltage (than necessary) does absolutely nothing for sound quality.
 
The HD600 is relatively basslight. Don't count on "burn in" to fix that either. It may be "fixed" by just getting used to them. Or get an amp with high output impedance to enjoy some bass bloat.

Even the FiiO E12 amp, an inexpensive SS Amp (15.5 Vp-p), can drive them to levels that will hurt your ears. This Amp has a bass boost switch that IMO works well with the HD600. These cans are pretty efficient and drive easily for 300 Ohms, although a cellphone or typical DAP most likely not cut the mustard without some help from an Amp.