[BrettMatthews]

 
I think you will be really satisfied. I have compared my HD600 amped from Asgard 2 and amped from BH Crack and I get much better synergy with the Crack. I use my lower impedance headphones with the Asgard 2 with great results.

Yep. As expected it's awesome!

 

[razor13]

Hi all, I'm a newbie audiophile.
Based on lots of research on this website I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Sennheiser HD 600 (Amazon had a $400 bundle with a $150 gift card, so the headphone cost me $250).

I have read many comments recommending the Schiit Modi 2 & Magni 2 combo for HD 600.
Is there anything better for $200-$300 ?
I will be using this setup with my desktop pc.
I will get the HD 650 cables as an upgrade.

 

[lsamod]

Hi all, I'm a newbie audiophile.
Based on lots of research on this website I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Sennheiser HD 600 (Amazon had a $400 bundle with a $150 gift card, so the headphone cost me $250).

I have read many comments recommending the Schiit Modi 2 & Magni 2 combo for HD 600.
Is there anything better for $200-$300 ?
I will be using this setup with my desktop pc.
I will get the HD 650 cables as an upgrade.

Get the Bottlehead Crack OTL if you can. it's a DIY kit.
HD650 cables aren't an upgrade. Stock cable is fine. You don't really have to change the cable unless you go for balanced amplification.

 

[crafft]

to me the HD650 cable is not an upgrade. More or less a sidegrade. 
I've had the HD650 and now own the HD600. I also purchased the HD650 cable for the HD600 and thought that the HD600 would profit. But to my ears it did not so much. I lost some clarity and upper end. I prefer the original HD600 cable for SQ.
 
The HD600 with HD650 cable sounds like a stock HD650, some will like this others not so much. I wonder if HD650 with HD600 cable is more or less the HD600 sound.  I can't compare because I've sold the HD650.

 

[razor13]

Good to know about the cable, I wont buy it if its not worth it.
I read about the Bottlehead Crack OTL, some say its not that difficult to DIY but like I said Im a newbie I'd rather get something thats plug n play.

 

[k4rstar]

Good to know about the cable, I wont buy it if its not worth it.
I read about the Bottlehead Crack OTL, some say its not that difficult to DIY but like I said Im a newbie I'd rather get something thats plug n play.

JDS Labs O2+ODAC
 
Doesn't get much more plug and play than that, plenty of headroom for upgrading should you choose to do so. 
 
About the 650 cable, there's no difference in sound quality but it is simply a nicer cable and thicker. But you could probably do better with a 3rd party replacement cable for less.

 

[BrettMatthews]

Good to know about the cable, I wont buy it if its not worth it.
I read about the Bottlehead Crack OTL, some say its not that difficult to DIY but like I said Im a newbie I'd rather get something thats plug n play.

I like the HD650 cable for it being terminated in 1/4", and for it being a bit more robust.

 

[Midgetguy]

 
to me the HD650 cable is not an upgrade. More or less a sidegrade. 
I've had the HD650 and now own the HD600. I also purchased the HD650 cable for the HD600 and thought that the HD600 would profit. But to my ears it did not so much. I lost some clarity and upper end. I prefer the original HD600 cable for SQ.
 
The HD600 with HD650 cable sounds like a stock HD650, some will like this others not so much. I wonder if HD650 with HD600 cable is more or less the HD600 sound.  I can't compare because I've sold the HD650.

To me, the main reason to get the HD650 cable over the HD600 cable is simply that the HD650 cable is sturdier. It's thicker, it's better built, it has a beefier plug. Didn't seem to sound different to me.

 

[Qonmus]

Has anyone had luck with any of cables for sale on Ebay? 
 
Something like one of the links below:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-Replacement-Cable-Fits-HD650-HD600-HD580-HD525-Headphones-/331754634122?hash=item4d3e1dfb8a:g:yK4AAOSwl8NVcGgK
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-OCC-Silver-Plated-Cable-For-Sennheiser-HD650-HD600-HD580-Headphone/251493925186?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Df7875714e89e4f30b3f96ce2da38ab82%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D331754634122
 
Purely shopping for aesthetics and build quality here - I just want something that looks cool and won't fall apart on me. 

 

[crafft]

  To me, the main reason to get the HD650 cable over the HD600 cable is simply that the HD650 cable is sturdier. It's thicker, it's better built, it has a beefier plug. Didn't seem to sound different to me.

I can totally understand especially if you don't hear any difference.
 
My HD600 with HD650 cable feels also more secure because of the sturdier plugs and thicker cable. But I can detect a slight change in sound. Bottomend is blossoming a bit and I loose some clarity in the trebles with the HD650 cable. That's why I said I prefer the stock HD600 cable because of the SQ.

 

[Midgetguy]

  Has anyone had luck with any of cables for sale on Ebay? 
 
Something like one of the links below:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-Replacement-Cable-Fits-HD650-HD600-HD580-HD525-Headphones-/331754634122?hash=item4d3e1dfb8a:g:yK4AAOSwl8NVcGgK
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-OCC-Silver-Plated-Cable-For-Sennheiser-HD650-HD600-HD580-Headphone/251493925186?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Df7875714e89e4f30b3f96ce2da38ab82%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D331754634122
 
Purely shopping for aesthetics and build quality here - I just want something that looks cool and won't fall apart on me. 

Here's the one I use, it's about the half the price of the Lunashops silver cable you listed. Definitely will be thicker than that Lunashops silver cable since I have one like that for my HE560 and it's thinner than I thought it would be. But this one doesn't make much difference in sound (to me at least, I wouldn't say I have very sensitive ears though, YMMV), has a sturdy well-relieved plug, and is mesh-sleeved below the y-split. I use this maker's cables for 3 of my headphones, HD558, HD600, Fidelio X1:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Replacement-Cable-For-Sennheiser-HD414-HD430-HD650-HD600-HD580-headphone-/281645092022?var=&hash=item41935b0cb6mtZMuMijDUrlNJ_hKZKwgyg
 

 
I can totally understand especially if you don't hear any difference.
 
My HD600 with HD650 cable feels also more secure because of the sturdier plugs and thicker cable. But I can detect a slight change in sound. Bottomend is blossoming a bit and I loose some clarity in the trebles with the HD650 cable. That's why I said I prefer the stock HD600 cable because of the SQ.

Ah, I didn't hear much of a difference, but then again, my ears are quite so sensitive and I didn't swap them out for very long anyway so not much critical listening. It just struck me as pretty much the same overall. But it's better built for sure. I ended up with an different cable altogether, the one I linked above, because I didn't want such a long cable.

 

[krud484]

I've had my HD600s for the last 3 years and I've since upgraded a lot things that have changed their sound signature. I used to have the O2 + ODAC combo with the Moon Audio Blue Dragon usb and Sennheiser headphone cable upgrade. I found it to be too bright with shrill highs. I never really used the amp part of the ODAC. I found that I was getting a lot hot treble and sharp vocals. I moved up in their transparency when I got the Cardas cable for them. I finally felt that I'd removed that "Sennheiser veil." Now I'm running them through my iFi Micro iDSD and Schitt Asgard 2 and have reached perfect synergy for them. The HD600s feel like they are being driven to their fullest potential, or at least the fullest compared prior to not using a head amp.
 
Regardless, the HD600s remain my go-to workman headphone for critical listening.

 

[krismusic]

AFAIK the "Sennheisser veil" refers to the IE8. My 600's are not remotely veiled to my ears.

 

[Midgetguy]

AFAIK the "Sennheisser veil" refers to the IE8. My 600's are not remotely veiled to my ears.

I think the "Sennheiser veil" also refers to the HD650. I tend to characterize it more as a slight lack of clarity or kind of a slightly muffled feeling.

 

[RickB]

 
I think the "Sennheiser veil" also refers to the HD650. I tend to characterize it more as a slight lack of clarity or kind of a slightly muffled feeling.

 
One person's veil is another person's lack of treble etch.