[Billheiser]

I agree bass, comfort, and durability are not strong points for Grado. I like my bass too. In fact it's the main reason I love my DT 770's so much. But something about the Grado sound signature puts a smile on my face. You can't really put a price on that. Not sure about the RS1e but the PS-500 I hear is amazing. I seen more than one reviewer say they prefer it over the HD 800.

PS: I don't intend to turn this into a Grado appreciation thread .

I'd like to hear the PS-500, evidently it's one of their most satisfying ones.

 

[zaxdad]

One of the advantages of being older. My first concert was in May 1968 at Temple stadium. I was 14. Four blocks from my house. Headliner was Hendrix. Also The Grateful Dead, Cactus,Steve Miller Band. It was a great time (if I recall)

 

[BobG55]

Turning 60 in May.  I try to remember this famous saying : "Don't complain about getting old, it's a privilege denied to many" 

 

[CADCAM]

So I got the famous HD600 in today, I tried to go into it without any preconceived notions. I had the HD598 and did not enjoy them, they were veiled and grainy to me and I never warmed up to them. I have been listening to my AKG612 and the Keces amp from a Bushmaster MKII DAC and it's been superb. Anywho I let the HD600 warm up to room temp as the box and headphones were cold from the eternal arctic vortex New England has been locked in for the last several weeks. I immediately realized they did not sound like the HD598, at least not what I remember. To me fresh out of the box I would say they sounded refined with excellent low end. I also received a Beresford Capella amp in the mail today (audio overload) and was playing the HD600's out of the Beresford tag team and it was splendid sounding but I had been listening to the Keces amp for the last several months and that has been my reference so I switched back to it. Result? Really really impressive. I would say the sound was slightly more sophisticated than the AKG's and the bass was just a bit tighter. Now don't get me wrong the K612 out of the Keces is incredible and has a speed and lightness to it but the Sennheiser's were playing some outstanding music. I have read they (HD600) sound like speakers more than other headphones and I would have to agree. Initial impressions are... I like them, I like them much more then I thought I would. I will let them "burn-in" for a couple of days and report back but I think they are a keeper.
 
I almost feel guilty now that I have the HD600, DT880, AKG612 & AD-900's but this hobby is so awesome to experience, the only thing is my beautiful main audio system hasn't been powered up in months.
 
HD600 = thumbs up

 

[blse59]

  So I got the famous HD600 in today, I tried to go into it without any preconceived notions. I had the HD598 and did not enjoy them, they were veiled and grainy to me and I never warmed up to them. I have been listening to my AKG612 and the Keces amp from a Bushmaster MKII DAC and it's been superb. Anywho I let the HD600 warm up to room temp as the box and headphones were cold from the eternal arctic vortex New England has been locked in for the last several weeks. I immediately realized they did not sound like the HD598, at least not what I remember. To me fresh out of the box I would say they sounded refined with excellent low end. I also received a Beresford Capella amp in the mail today (audio overload) and was playing the HD600's out of the Beresford tag team and it was splendid sounding but I had been listening to the Keces amp for the last several months and that has been my reference so I switched back to it. Result? Really really impressive. I would say the sound was slightly more sophisticated than the AKG's and the bass was just a bit tighter. Now don't get me wrong the K612 out of the Keces is incredible and has a speed and lightness to it but the Sennheiser's were playing some outstanding music. I have read they (HD600) sound like speakers more than other headphones and I would have to agree. Initial impressions are... I like them, I like them much more then I thought I would. I will let them "burn-in" for a couple of days and report back but I think they are a keeper.
 
I almost feel guilty now that I have the HD600, DT880, AKG612 & AD-900's but this hobby is so awesome to experience, the only thing is my beautiful main audio system hasn't been powered up in months.
 
HD600 = thumbs up

Enjoy! Nothing beats the feeling of listening to 600's for the first time.

 

[BobG55]

Many HPs have come and gone but the ol' HD600 is not only still around but it still rules.  

 

[StanD]

  One of the advantages of being older. My first concert was in May 1968 at Temple stadium. I was 14. Four blocks from my house. Headliner was Hendrix. Also The Grateful Dead, Cactus,Steve Miller Band. It was a great time (if I recall)

So you're another '54 born that dug Hendrix at 14. Many of my younger friends didn't know what to make of him, they weren't experienced.
By the way, my hearing is still pretty darned good, despite listening to that hummingbird that hummed too loud.

 

[CADCAM]

FYI NewEgg has the HD600 for 255 free shipping no tax.

 

[CADCAM]

Listening to Jean Luc Ponty - No Absolute Time from the HD600 and sound is exquisite, fantastic bass.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRpqpSB5Ok
 
check out the 2nd track Savannah

 

[Midgetguy]

  FYI NewEgg has the HD600 for 255 free shipping no tax.

Great time to pick up a pair for anyone who needs a new friend or wants to revisit an old one.

 

[Puma Cat]

  So I got the famous HD600 in today, I tried to go into it without any preconceived notions. I had the HD598 and did not enjoy them, they were veiled and grainy to me and I never warmed up to them. I have been listening to my AKG612 and the Keces amp from a Bushmaster MKII DAC and it's been superb. Anywho I let the HD600 warm up to room temp as the box and headphones were cold from the eternal arctic vortex New England has been locked in for the last several weeks. I immediately realized they did not sound like the HD598, at least not what I remember. To me fresh out of the box I would say they sounded refined with excellent low end. I also received a Beresford Capella amp in the mail today (audio overload) and was playing the HD600's out of the Beresford tag team and it was splendid sounding but I had been listening to the Keces amp for the last several months and that has been my reference so I switched back to it. Result? Really really impressive. I would say the sound was slightly more sophisticated than the AKG's and the bass was just a bit tighter. Now don't get me wrong the K612 out of the Keces is incredible and has a speed and lightness to it but the Sennheiser's were playing some outstanding music. I have read they (HD600) sound like speakers more than other headphones and I would have to agree. Initial impressions are... I like them, I like them much more then I thought I would. I will let them "burn-in" for a couple of days and report back but I think they are a keeper.
 
I almost feel guilty now that I have the HD600, DT880, AKG612 & AD-900's but this hobby is so awesome to experience, the only thing is my beautiful main audio system hasn't been powered up in months.
 
HD600 = thumbs up

Cadcam,
Really nice mini-review! Congrats on a nice write-up! Like you, I was very, very impressed with my HD600s when I first got them and I enjoying them even more now that I have a Schiit Valhalla 2  OTL headphone amplifier to drive them. Really nice a combination of a neutral, quiet, clean and musical amplifier synergistically interacting with a classic headphone design that still performs at a  exceptionally high level today. I've only gotten into headphones at the very end of 2014; I've been a loudspeaker-based 'phile for the last 7 years, and have a very nice, rather high-end 2-channel system driving Dynaudio Contour S3.4 loudspeakers.
 
The transducer that HD600s reminds me most of are the classic Quad ESL-63 electrostatic loudspeakers, a speaker known for it's transparency, top to bottom coherence, and neutral yet remarkably beautiful and natural tonality. Much like the Quads, you can listen to the HD600s even at low levels and hear deeply into the music. When driven with first-class amplification electronics, ESL-63s, which are probably over 50 years old as a design can still compete with loudspeakers of today extremely favorably. The HD600s are very much like this in that regard. 
 
You've probably read that HD600s "scale" beautifully with better and better source and amplification electronics, and they do. They also scale with better power cords for the head amp and DAC and higher quality interconnects. They also scale, however, with better and better source material. They not only sound good with Redbook level 16/44 content, but drive them with exceptionally well-recorded and mastered higher res content, and they can be quite astonishingly good. 
 
One can always have more bass, more resolution, more sound staging, more this, more that, but at the end of the day, HD600s do more things better than almost any headphone I can think of, and most importantly, they create an an extremely engaging and beguiling listening experience. The fact that you can get this typically for around $250-$300 is a remarkable value proposition. 
 
And like you, I haven't been listening too much to my main loudspeaker-based system very much of late. 

 

[krismusic]

One of the advantages of being older. My first concert was in May 1968 at Temple stadium. I was 14. Four blocks from my house. Headliner was Hendrix. Also The Grateful Dead, Cactus,Steve Miller Band. It was a great time (if I recall)

Now that is a lineup!
My first big concert was Alice Cooper. Killer tour.
Exciting. First time in London on my own.
Not in your league though.

 

[Sundown]

 
Cadcam,
Really nice mini-review! Congrats on a nice write-up! Like you, I was very, very impressed with my HD600s when I first got them and I enjoying them even more now that I have a Schiit Valhalla 2  OTL headphone amplifier to drive them. Really nice a combination of a neutral, quiet, clean and musical amplifier synergistically interacting with a classic headphone design that still performs at a  exceptionally high level today. I've only gotten into headphones at the very end of 2014; I've been a loudspeaker-based 'phile for the last 7 years, and have a very nice, rather high-end 2-channel system driving Dynaudio Contour S3.4 loudspeakers.
 
The transducer that HD600s reminds me most of are the classic Quad ESL-63 electrostatic loudspeakers, a speaker known for it's transparency, top to bottom coherence, and neutral yet remarkably beautiful and natural tonality. Much like the Quads, you can listen to the HD600s even at low levels and hear deeply into the music. When driven with first-class amplification electronics, ESL-63s, which are probably over 50 years old as a design can still compete with loudspeakers of today extremely favorably. The HD600s are very much like this in that regard. 
 
You've probably read that HD600s "scale" beautifully with better and better source and amplification electronics, and they do. They also scale with better power cords for the head amp and DAC and higher quality interconnects. They also scale, however, with better and better source material. They not only sound good with Redbook level 16/44 content, but drive them with exceptionally well-recorded and mastered higher res content, and they can be quite astonishingly good. 
 
One can always have more bass, more resolution, more sound staging, more this, more that, but at the end of the day, HD600s do more things better than almost any headphone I can think of, and most importantly, they create an an extremely engaging and beguiling listening experience. The fact that you can get this typically for around $250-$300 is a remarkable value proposition. 
 
And like you, I haven't been listening too much to my main loudspeaker-based system very much of late. 

 
Alright. Now that's just crazy talk.

 

[StanD]

  Listening to Jean Luc Ponty - No Absolute Time from the HD600 and sound is exquisite, fantastic bass.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRpqpSB5Ok
 
check out the 2nd track Savannah

If you like Ponty, there's a good chance you'll also like Dave Weckl.

 

[StanD]

   
Alright. Now that's just crazy talk.

+1