[sanakimpro]

  You might want to try before you buy. IMO there is no reason for it to sound any different than what came with your HD600. Some people say so, others do not. So as I said try before you buy. In the meantme, enjoy your HD600's.

Thanks! Oh, I have no desire to upgrade it any time. I've decided to keep stock cables on my headphones, O2/ODAC and just keep trying different headphones.
 
Thank you again for your golden advice!

 

[StanD]

  Thanks! Oh, I have no desire to upgrade it any time. I've decided to keep stock cables on my headphones, O2/ODAC and just keep trying different headphones.
 
Thank you again for your golden advice!

Cool, IMO a good strategy as I think that headphones will make the biggest difference, by far. I think if one bought a pair of headphones that they don't like, get rid of them and get something that is appealing.

 

[Midgetguy]

  Agree to this.  Just wanted to add that for some the X1's adjustment range was not sufficient so suggest trying first if at all possible.

Always try first if at all possible. And I agree regarding the adjustment range (at least if I'm thinking of the same thing you are). I feel like I've got an average head and it's basically maxed out for me so it won't work very well if you've got a big head.

 

[perhapss]

  There's no comparison against the DT880 or K701 or Q701 (owned all of those as well) when it comes to the tonal naturality.

 
That's debatable IMO.
 
I love the hd600(despite recently selling mine) but others prefer the other headphones you've mentioned.
For example me and the DT880.
 
I find it more neutral to my ears.
For acoustic music it sounds clearer to me.
Then again, I'm a bit old and have a harder time hearing higher frequencies.
 
Regarding "comparison":
 
If you want a neutral-ish sounding headphone that features the bass/mid-bass: hd600.
If you want a neutral-ish sounding headphone that features the treble: DT880.
 
Both fine headphones IMO.

 

[metal571]

That's debatable IMO.

I love the hd600(despite recently selling mine) but others prefer the other headphones you've mentioned.
For example me and the DT880.

I find it more neutral to my ears.
For acoustic music it sounds clearer to me.
Then again, I'm a bit old and have a harder time hearing higher frequencies.

Regarding "comparison":

If you want a neutral-ish sounding headphone that features the bass/mid-bass: hd600.
If you want a neutral-ish sounding headphone that features the treble: DT880.

Both fine headphones IMO.

Guess my ears are a bit young then, I'm only 25 but my hearing cuts off at 14k. I will say the mids are extremely uncolored on the DT880 as well, so agreed there. I didn't think the dry treble was natural though

 

[perhapss]

 I didn't think the dry treble was natural though

 
I suppose "natural" means different things to different people as well.
 
I've spent a lot of time in concert halls in my life and often the treble energy is quite fatiguing to my ears these days.
I've never been fatigued by the treble on the hd600.

 

[metal571]

I suppose "natural" means different things to different people as well.

I've spent a lot of time in concert halls in my life and often the treble energy is quite fatiguing to my ears these days.
I've never been fatigued by the treble on the hd600.

I've been playing electric guitar for 11 years and the HD 600 is still the most realistic headphones I've heard.

 

[MorrisL]

   
Purely for comfort reasons. The HD650 (and the 600's for that matter) IMO are superior to MA900 in nearly every way sonically, but with my TMJ, their clamp and the shape of their cups (oval cups of this size always gives me pain, circular pads like MA900 and K7** agree better with my jaw) I could never wear it pain free for more than an hour. I really love the HD650's sound and was actually stubborn enough to buy it on THREE separate occasions to try again and again to somehow get it to work for me, but I could never solve that comfort problem... and yes, I've tried bending the headband etc, but I eventually realized it's mainly just due to how the cups line up to my jaw, as even a weaker clamp would start to hurt my jaw after a while...and even more telling was the fact that I found the LCD-2's, which actually clamp MUCH harder than the HD650s, much more comfortable on my face and jaw due to their bigger rounder cups and wider clamping pressure distribution. It really sucks when you finally find a headphone with a sound signature you feel is pretty much perfect for your own needs, but then find that you can't wear it for extended period of time without pain 

...
 
One day I may become daring enough to try a more drastic mod on the HD650 to try to improve the comfort enough for my needs somehow... but for now, the MA900's have been an acceptable substitute with it tonally being close enough to HD6**'s (somewhere in between HD600 and HD650 actually, IMO) and with its second-to-none wearing comfort.

Thanks. MA900 is often viewed as the most comfortable headphone out there. Too bad they're discontinued. 

 

[sanakimpro]

   
That's debatable IMO.
 
I love the hd600(despite recently selling mine) but others prefer the other headphones you've mentioned.
For example me and the DT880.
 
I find it more neutral to my ears.
For acoustic music it sounds clearer to me.
Then again, I'm a bit old and have a harder time hearing higher frequencies.
 
Regarding "comparison":
 
If you want a neutral-ish sounding headphone that features the bass/mid-bass: hd600.
If you want a neutral-ish sounding headphone that features the treble: DT880.
 
Both fine headphones IMO.

Own both. Agree on deciding between DT 880 and HD 600

 

[DarthFader]

I've been playing electric guitar for 11 years and the HD 600 is still the most realistic headphones I've heard.

Even over some of the higher end Grados? To my ears, cans like the PS500/RS1/GS1000/PS1000 do an amazing job reproducing rock music in general and guitars in particular.
 
Here's a bigger philosophical question for you: is there anything realistic about an electric guitar? I know you can play one without amplification or distortion...but who does that? We get a nice amp, maybe some nice distortion pedals, and we rock out. It's fun! But we're always hearing a reproduction of a compressed, crunched, processed sound that's not real. We used gear to shape it into something else.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love all things electric guitars, especially the fun ways we can overdrive and distort their sound. But can such a sound be used to make a judgment about what's "realistic"? At the end of the day, you're using a speaker to make judgements about the sound quality of another, much smaller set of speakers.

 

[perhapss]

 
Even over some of the higher end Grados? To my ears, cans like the PS500/RS1/GS1000/PS1000 do an amazing job reproducing rock music in general and guitars in particular.
 
Here's a bigger philosophical question for you: is there anything realistic about an electric guitar? I know you can play one without amplification or distortion...but who does that? We get a nice amp, maybe some nice distortion pedals, and we rock out. It's fun! But we're always hearing a reproduction of a compressed, crunched, processed sound that's not real. We used gear to shape it into something else.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love all things electric guitars, especially the fun ways we can overdrive and distort their sound. But can such a sound be used to make a judgment about what's "realistic"? At the end of the day, you're using a speaker to make judgements about the sound quality of another, much smaller set of speakers.

All good points IMO.

 

[metal571]

 
Even over some of the higher end Grados? To my ears, cans like the PS500/RS1/GS1000/PS1000 do an amazing job reproducing rock music in general and guitars in particular.
 
Here's a bigger philosophical question for you: is there anything realistic about an electric guitar? I know you can play one without amplification or distortion...but who does that? We get a nice amp, maybe some nice distortion pedals, and we rock out. It's fun! But we're always hearing a reproduction of a compressed, crunched, processed sound that's not real. We used gear to shape it into something else.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love all things electric guitars, especially the fun ways we can overdrive and distort their sound. But can such a sound be used to make a judgment about what's "realistic"? At the end of the day, you're using a speaker to make judgements about the sound quality of another, much smaller set of speakers.

Oh yeah obviously I agree...though I am not a fan of Grados, at least not the Prestige models. But just my experience with music in general over so many years gives me a good idea, especially with specific songs, how they should really sound. I also find music with distorted guitar actually makes it very easy to judge midrange timbre of headphones. Not sure if anyone else does the same thing.

 

[perhapss]

I've been playing electric guitar for 11 years and the HD 600 is still the most realistic headphones I've heard.

 
No offense but if you spent the last 11 years with acoustic instruments you may feel differently regarding "realistic".
The HD600 does make a warm and cozy partner for acoustic instruments IMO however....

 

[metal571]

No offense but if you spent the last 11 years with acoustic instruments you may feel differently regarding "realistic".
The HD600 does make a warm and cozy partner for acoustic instruments IMO however....

Well electric is my main. Most guitarists including myself have played acoustic plenty of times as well. It wasn't a well worded point on my part lol. Well, the HD 600 is really boring for acoustic and classical IMO. I grab my Austrian K701 for genres like that instead.

 

[StanD]

   
No offense but if you spent the last 11 years with acoustic instruments you may feel differently regarding "realistic".
The HD600 does make a warm and cozy partner for acoustic instruments IMO however....

Why can't an electric guitar or any electronic instrument be reproduced realistically?