This is going to be a long(ish) post. I promised myself that I would not post on here until I had read the entire thread. It took me a few months, but I have finally made it.
Let me first say how happy and proud I am to be in the company of HD600 owners.
I have nothing else of this quality (headphone-wise) to compare them to, and I had no way to audition anything before I purchased. I took my time, did a ton of research and reading, did twice as much math, made wild guesses, browsed the FS thread here, wandered ebay, and eventually landed a winning bid. I definitely made one of the best decisions of my life.
My journey started when I realized that my old phones were just not cutting it. I am a musician and guerrilla/ home engineer-producer. This summer, I started a new band, and began recording everything we do. At the time, I was in a living situation that forced me into headphones for nearly all of my mixing (this has since been corrected, thankfully...). I knew that I was just not hearing anywhere what I needed to on the phones I owned. And it's not that they were extremely terrible. I listened to them for years as just listening phones. Train commutes, walking, relaxing in bed. But I never had to try and mix on them until forced to. Whenever I would listen back through my near-field monitors to mixes constructed on the phones, I was always terribly disappointed. I knew I needed a reference quality pair of phones.
My initial thoughts wandered to the AKG *7** line, purely for aesthetics, honestly. I think they make some wonderful looking products. I had browsed the Senn site and figured what I wanted from them was way out of my league (again, letting aesthetics rule the day). A/T, Beyer, Shure... I was sticking with the brands I knew from microphones. Looked at them all. Many, many, many times. And their prices...
That's really when it all hit me. I was going to buy new headphones for the sound. So, shouldn't that be the part that I actually do the research on? Google, bring me all the information I never really need about this thing I want to purchase! I eventually found a couple blogs that helped shape my decision, the first of which was the "mid-fi" trio article. It led me to take a look at the Senn line a little harder. The second was a 580/600/650 comparison. Then I found this place. And that's when I made the decision to get the HD600's.
It was purely a guess. I'm not the kind of person who can drop money on new gear very often. And I'm not sure what I would have done had I received them and been disappointed. I don't know that any of the other phones on my shortlist would have been disappointing.
All I need to say about these is that they have changed my life.
But I'm going to say a lot more...
I'm not using extremely fancy gear, and I don't know that I ever will. If the day comes that allows me to have some thing that apparently makes these headphones so much more amazing than that of my current listening situation, then I'll be happy to have that thing. Reading this entire thread before posting was a great way to curb the idea that I NEED to go spend money on something else. I don't. I have everything I need right now.
I acquired a used pair that were 10+ years old, black driver screen, and, from the pictures, looked to be in great shape. I had read everything about these phones at this point, and decided I didn't care what color it was on the back of the driver, they were going to sound good. I won the auction and immediately payed for them. I wanted these in my hands and on my head as fast as possible. The seller had them out the next day, and sent me all the info. I did the whole hit "refresh" every couple hours on the tracking number. A few days later, the tracking info showed that my package had been delivered. In a completely different state. A couple of emails with the seller later, we both contacted the USPS and requested an inquiry as to what happened. That was a Saturday. On Monday I got a call from my local PO telling me my package was there. The only theory was that the tracking label fell off of my box and landed on another package. Either way, I had my new toy. And they were perfect. I made a giant mistake within the first week of owning them, and managed to leave them (box and all) on top of my car. When I saw them in the rearview flying off @ 55mph, I was certain they were toast. When I got back to them, there they were, right on the double yellow line, still intact, but not without some battle scars. I collected all the pieces (box-scarred, cable-no scars), but the 1/4" adapter was gone. I went back to the scene of the crime a few days later and managed to find it, not without some hits of it's own. They haven't gone outside much since then. They work perfectly. And I kind of like that they now have this little "scar" on the R side grille. I have a bunch of scars, as do my drums and guitars, and now... my headphones. They are mine.
None of ya'll have a pair anywhere near as cool as mine...
I'm kidding. I know how this place gets. Just, for anyone who didn't get it...
I'm sarcastic, and I don't do the emoticon thing. Not gonna happen.
My personal experience with them has been that of immersion. The timbre and tonal balance are exactly what I wanted. The clarity, detail, separation, soundstage, all of it, just fits, in all the right ways, with my ears (and my brain). There hasn't been a thing I've listened to that doesn't sound perfect. Seriously, no matter where I take them (musically), they completely envelop me. I feel fortunate enough to say that. Can I now actually discern the difference between 256.Whatever and .WhateverLossless? Yup. But I'll be damned if I can't enjoy some fabulous music that's in my library from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away that sits @ 128... And if I really had a chance to A/B it (properly), I don't think I could tell the difference between music playing out of my MOTU 8pre or out of an old 90's Pioneer receiver. Hence, why I have no desire to run anything other than the gear I currently use. Except a record player, since I have a receiver. How much are those?...
Damnit, I'm doomed...
HD600, you sound magnificent.
Thanks to all of you that I don't know that helped me to this headphone. Couldn't have done it without you!
So, in return, I suggest you all go buy a copy of one (all) of these albums, plug in to whatever you listen from, take a sip on your favorite beverage, sit/lay back, turn it up and enjoy. This was my playlist tonight. I think they all sound fantastic on these headphones. But then, not much doesn't...
All Them Witches- Lightening at the Door (new to me, in heavy rotation, as happens with new things, some righteous rock n' roll)
dredg- el cielo (one of my top 10, first thing I listened to when I got these, I cried. All their albums kill, though)
the Kills- Blood Pressures (great record)
deftones- Saturday Night Wrist (just the one I picked, again, they're all great on these)
Florence + the Machine- Lungs (fantastic production, as is Ceremonials)
Morphine- Cure for Pain (Mark Sandman's vocals are fabulous in these cans)
DJ Shadow- Endtroducing... (so classic, so engaging with these)
I like the number 7, so I'll stop there for now, and get back to you with more later. Go appreciate your HD600's. I am.
And, I just now realized this is technically still the wrong place to post this. This is actually the "Impressions" thread, not the "Appreciation" thread. I've been reading it so long I got convinced by all the other posts that it was the "Appreciation" thread without looking at the header...