[yearsofwisdom]

  How are you defining "caliber" and "different"?

Mid/Hi-Fi. Different as in not as neutral. Maybe a more "fun" sound. Potentially for music that the HD600 is not great with, like rock and hip pop/rap

 

[Brooko]

@perhapss has it right below.  For anyone wanting a different headphone to the HD600, but in the same class, I'd always refer them to the former big three:
HD600
DT880
AKG K701/K702/Q701 family
 
All three are still world class sonically IMO.  Just make sure you have a decent amp - especially for the AKGs.
 
I sold my other AKGs and gave my 701's to my Mum.  Any time I get to see her for a weekend - she's now well into her 70's - I always sneak a quick listen to the AKGs.  And I'm always very tempted to repurchase them ....
 
 
 
Quote:

  Any other recommendations for headphones of HD600 caliber but very different? 

 

 
Beyerdynamic dt880 250ohm
 

 

[Brooko]

  Mid/Hi-Fi. Different as in not as neutral. Maybe a more "fun" sound. Potentially for music that the HD600 is not great with, like rock and hip pop/rap

 
Oops posted before I said that - forget my above post then.
 
You're probably looking for more of a V shaped sound.  Maybe the DT990?

 

[Midgetguy]

Fidelio X1 offers more fun as well, not sure if you categorize that as mid-fi, but I would. To my ears, it works very well for hip-hop/rap, not so sure with rock since I rarely listen to rock.

 

[perhapss]

  Mid/Hi-Fi. Different as in not as neutral. Maybe a more "fun" sound. Potentially for music that the HD600 is not great with, like rock and hip pop/rap

 
 
Beats studio?? 
Just kidding!
 
I think it's tricky to recommend a "non-neutral" or "fun" because most headphones are non-neutral IMO and one man"s fun is another man's tedium in my experience. That said I think the dt9900 is a good call or maybe even the Philips x2. You probably won't get get the chicks like you might with the beats though 

 !!!
 
Auditioning is EXTREMELY helpful always!!!
ALWAYS!

 

[DavidA]

  Mid/Hi-Fi. Different as in not as neutral. Maybe a more "fun" sound. Potentially for music that the HD600 is not great with, like rock and hip pop/rap

DT-990 as Brooko suggested, HE-400i/s, K7XX, SR-325e.  Depending on what is more important to you, bass, mids or highs one of these might work for you.  If you can do a little DIY then a SennGrado is a fun sounding headphone.

 

[yearsofwisdom]

  DT-990 as Brooko suggested, HE-400i/s, K7XX, SR-325e.  Depending on what is more important to you, bass, mids or highs one of these might work for you.  If you can do a little DIY then a SennGrado is a fun sounding headphone.

Interesting. Can anyone speak to the differences between DT990 vs. 880?
 
Also is AKG Q701 in the same class as HD600? They were on sale for 100 dollars today.

 

[DavidA]

  Interesting. Can anyone speak to the differences between DT990 vs. 880?
 
Also is AKG Q701 in the same class as HD600? They were on sale for 100 dollars today.

See this review: http://www.head-fi.org/t/513393/guide-sonic-differences-between-dt770-dt990-models-more
 
Great deal for Q701, I just couldn't get used to the bumps

 

[perhapss]

  DT-990 as Brooko suggested, HE-400i/s, K7XX, SR-325e.  Depending on what is more important to you, bass, mids or highs one of these might work for you.  If you can do a little DIY then a SennGrado is a fun sounding headphone.

 
The AKG k7xx family is now considered a non-neutral fun headphone ? 

 
 
 

  Mid/Hi-Fi. Different as in not as neutral. Maybe a more "fun" sound. Potentially for music that the HD600 is not great with, like rock and hip pop/rap

 
....for "rap and hip hop"
 

 
Does this have something to do with the reversal of the magnetic poles??
Please elaborate....

 

[DavidA]

   
The AKG k7xx family is now considered a non-neutral fun headphone ? 

I don't think the K7XX is neutral, the bass is elevated and the highs are on the bright side and everyone's definition of neutral is not the same

 

[thecrow]

Im looking for a very neutral, clean sounding phone with a good sound stage. Comfort is important and Im not interested in overly dark or bright sounding phones. Flat frequency, detail and punchy bass is important to me.

HD650

All of the above. And it will scale up as/when/if you buy better amps/dacs as you go.

And it will not be hard to sell if you decide to change your preferences/headphones in the future.

 

[Midgetguy]

  I don't think the K7XX is neutral, the bass is elevated and the highs are on the bright side and everyone's definition of neutral is not the same

As are ears. Can vary slightly by source as well. But for example, I actually do consider the K7XX to be neutral as I do the HD600. But for me, they are different sorts of neutral. I actually don't feel an elevation in bass like you do, in fact, it seems overall flat to me plus a very tiny bit on the bright side. Going back to my different kind of neutral point, I feel like the K7XX is the ever-so-slightly-skewed-towards-highs neutral while the HD600 is the ever-so-slightly-skewed-towards-mids neutral. It's why I personally prefer the HD600 as I like my mids a little bit more. I also felt like on the setup I listened to the K7XX on, the HD600 has more bass presence as well.
 
Overall, I will suggest that anyone should take every consideration we've all written here with a grain of salt as YMMV. Luckily, the one thing that doesn't affect is our ability to love listening to music, be it with these headphones or other headphones

 

HD650

All of the above. And it will scale up as/when/if you buy better amps/dacs as you go.

And it will not be hard to sell if you decide to change your preferences/headphones in the future.

I personally don't think the HD650 is a good choice for a non-dark headphone, but as I said above, YMMV. It's entirely possible for the HD650 to not sound dark at all if one has the right source or has been listening to darker headphones in the past.

 

[DavidA]

  As are ears. Can vary slightly by source as well. But for example, I actually do consider the K7XX to be neutral as I do the HD600. But for me, they are different sorts of neutral. I actually don't feel an elevation in bass like you do, in fact, it seems overall flat to me plus a very tiny bit on the bright side. Going back to my different kind of neutral point, I feel like the K7XX is the ever-so-slightly-skewed-towards-highs neutral while the HD600 is the ever-so-slightly-skewed-towards-mids neutral. It's why I personally prefer the HD600 as I like my mids a little bit more. I also felt like on the setup I listened to the K7XX on, the HD600 has more bass presence as well.
 
Overall, I will suggest that anyone should take every consideration we've all written here with a grain of salt as YMMV. Luckily, the one thing that doesn't affect is our ability to love listening to music, be it with these headphones or other headphones

 
I personally don't think the HD650 is a good choice for a non-dark headphone, but as I said above, YMMV. It's entirely possible for the HD650 to not sound dark at all if one has the right source or has been listening to darker headphones in the past.

I think there is some variation in the K7XX and or HD-600 as mine have more bass than my HD-600, closer to HD-650, but like you said YMMV

 

[Midgetguy]

  I think there is some variation in the K7XX and or HD-600 as mine have more bass than my HD-600, closer to HD-650, but like you said YMMV

Who knows, maybe that's true. Not like either of us has a few dozen K7XXs to test that theory out lol

.

 

[perhapss]

Ok so now the aka k7xx has been recommended as a fun headphone for rap and hip-hop.
Hell has officially frozen over.