[TexasBuck]

Thanks Eee Pee and RidleyGuy for the price advice.  I'll try and stay patient.  I was hoping to get them for close to $300.  That certainly looks possible.  With the money I save, I can sink into a new cable if needed.  Right now, the 650's are $30-$40 less than the 600's.  From what I've read, the 600's are better for rock, which is 100% of what I listen to.

 

[Satellite_6]

Better for rock? Not really. 

 

[Ridleyguy]

You should be able to buy the HD 650 for around $325 new, if you decide to go that route.  Satellite_6 may have a good point.  It boils down to personal preference, but the HD650, while more laid back, definitely has more bass than the HD 600.  I don't think anyone would contest that.

 

[TexasBuck]

Quote:

Better for rock? Not really. 

Can you elaborate please?  I listen to all kinds of rock.  (From Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails to Depeche Mode, The Shins and The National)  I've read the 650's heavier bass can bog it down for faster/heavier rock.  I'm sure both would be great for Indie and classic rock.  I've also read the 600's are more detailed than the 650's.  Detail is something I really value with the Grado 325is I currently have.  I'm not set on the 600's by any means but most of what I've read to this point, tells me the 600's are better than the 650's for the music I listen to.  Please set me straight if I'm off base.
 

 

[Satellite_6]

Quote:

Can you elaborate please?  I listen to all kinds of rock.  (From Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails to Depeche Mode, The Shins and The National)  I've read the 650's heavier bass can bog it down for faster/heavier rock.  I'm sure both would be great for Indie and classic rock.  I've also read the 600's are more detailed than the 650's.  Detail is something I really value with the Grado 325is I currently have.  I'm not set on the 600's by any means but most of what I've read to this point, tells me the 600's are better than the 650's for the music I listen to.  Please set me straight if I'm off base.
 

The HD 650's are in fact more detailed, they are the model up after all. The HD 650's bass is a tad too boomy and uncontrolled but it's not something that can't be fixed with EQing and a good solid state amp. 
 
It's more a matter of preference, not a matter of genres. Read my article, and consider both. 
 

 

[Zombie_X]

More detailed you say? I think because of the added bass and smoother sound that the phone is actually loosing some details. To me the HD600 is more transparent and also a tad brighter which pulls the details out more. I had the HD650 and HD600 side by said and the HD600 had more detail to my ears and even though it's a model up does not mean it's more detailed. IMO the over abundance of bass combined with the smoothness of sound hurts the detail level. I believe the HD650 is too smooth and ill defined to be more detailed. That's just my opinion though. I do agree that the bass is too boomy and can become quite muddy. Amping helps but doesn't solve the issue.
 
Now I do love the HD600 for rock, especially more modern rock and metal because the phone can take the treble and smooth out the harsh sound of most modern recordings. I fidn the headphone sounds good with Cold and Opeth.
 
Quote:

The HD 650's are in fact more detailed, they are the model up after all. The HD 650's bass is a tad too boomy and uncontrolled but it's not something that can't be fixed with EQing and a good solid state amp. 
 
It's more a matter of preference, not a matter of genres. Read my article, and consider both. 
 

 

 

[Ridleyguy]

I agree with Zombie_X's comments. The HD 600s also have more forward mids.

Based on your Grados comment, you should like the HD 600 better than the HD 650 - by a considerable margin.

 

[Satellite_6]

The HD 580's do have more forward mids because the soundstage is virtually nonexistent, not really a good thing in my book. The HD 650's are definitely more detailed despite their smoothness. The driver is just more resolving. The difference isn't big but the HD 650's can sound more surreal with a good recording, and I've actually heard minute details that are not present in the HD 580's. As for the bass, yes amping combined with EQing can solve the issue - completely. 
 
 

 

[palmfish]

I would never purchase a pair of headphones that needed to be "fixed" with amping or EQ.

 

[Satellite_6]

Quote:

I would never purchase a pair of headphones that needed to be "fixed" with amping or EQ.

Nothing is perfect. I find that very few headphones sound good without any EQing, although I suppose that depends on preferences.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

I would never purchase a pair of headphones that needed to be "fixed" with amping or EQ.

LOL then that would mean that you should stay away from all headphones then because all of them wouldn't have any sound if there is no amp of any kind. As for EQ, I would never use any with the hd600s for example.

 

[AlexRoma]

Those Sennheiser HD6** series phones require expensive amps, much more powerful than say, littleDot MkIII/MKIV amps to really sing. No other phones I've owned had such scalability like Sens... Even my beloved BeyerDynamic (600ohm) do better job on low-mid/if gear...  I want to say that if you do not own at least a 400$ amp , such as AMB's M3, HD600 are not gonna show what these are up to. I can hardly bear my HD600's on LittleDot MKIII unequalized (too colored mids, too bright highs). M3 made these sing Un-EQ-ed much, much better. I'm sure, on a true High-End amp, HD600 might be as good as most of you say, not on low-fi gear for sure... 

 

[rawrster]

I wouldn't say you need a $400 amp with these. I had the HD600 with my PPAv2 amp and they sounded wonderful.

 

[lejaz]

Hahaha.....I love that last sentence!

Haven't been keeping up with this thread, and just found that, so I decided to chime in.  It describes exactly how I felt once I got the hd580. Ah, now I can finally just lay back and enjoy the music with nothing out of place to distract my attention (like a big treble peak with one phone, weak bass with another, upper mids harshness with the v6, etc, etc, etc.) The hd580 is just so balanced that it seems to play well with everything in my music collection. I could never say that before about any phone I tried. Back to the music...

 
Quote:

That's perfect, because it's true for me also.  I've spent the whole week listening to a new output tube in my amp using nothing but the HD 800, and I have to say, I miss the HD 600 because I can put it on and just have at it.  As if I don't have to think about anything...  
 
 
I've been in critical listening evaluation mode for too long, I want to relax already!  

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

I wouldn't say you need a $400 amp with these. I had the HD600 with my PPAv2 amp and they sounded wonderful.

Agree - NFB-12 + HD600 = pure heaven.