[SpeakerBox]

  Restored doesn't mean to exceed the original capability which might be subpar, especially at the headphone jack. Some vintage kit is good and some not. As I've stated having a high value resistor in series with the headphones (typically 120 Ohms, if I remember correctly, could be even higher) could have an adverse affect on the sound due to headphone impedance curves and weak damping.
The dynamic range of by far most recordings isn't sufficient to reproduce the piano dynamics you speak of. We are often led to believe huge DR in sources.
Yes some of those power supplies have serious transformers and huge capacitors.

 
Trust me - in this case the 1250 exceeds the original.  Won't bore you with the details but I restore vintage as a hobby and the 1250 when done right is pretty amazing.  How do I know?
 
I compare the sound to my Jeff Rowland amps which are pretty good.  The 1250 is not a JRDG amp - but it holds up pretty well after my mods.
 
Also, I have watched piano on my scope and it does indeed exhibit intermittent clipping under 10 watts into 8 ohms.  Would be worse into HP jack with 300 ohm HPs.
 
That said I suspect it will be even better out of the taps when I get a chance to try it.

 

[StanD]

   
Trust me - in this case the 1250 exceeds the original.  Won't bore you with the details but I restore vintage as a hobby and the 1250 when done right is pretty amazing.  How do I know?
 
I compare the sound to my Jeff Rowland amps which are pretty good.  The 1250 is not a JRDG amp - but it holds up pretty well after my mods.
 
Also, I have watched piano on my scope and it does indeed exhibit intermittent clipping under 10 watts into 8 ohms.  Would be worse into HP jack with 300 ohm HPs.
 
That said I suspect it will be even better out of the taps when I get a chance to try it.

I prefer the speaker taps as well, If the signal is too hot, I'll figure out how to put together the correct LPAD to attenuate the Amp's output.
What kind of mods do you do?

 

[SpeakerBox]

 
I prefer the speaker taps as well, If the signal is too hot, I'll figure out how to put together the correct LPAD to attenuate the Amp's output.
What kind of mods do you do?

 
Yes, most agree taps are better - but I am truly amazed at how the HD600 sounds out of the HP jack.  I have been glued to those HPs for the last 3 days and loving it!  I may never come up for air.
 
The vintage mods are many.  Replace all the electrolytic caps (using quality film caps where ever possible - especially in the tone controls). In any case the electrolytic caps available now from Nichicon and others are better than what was around in the 70s.  I use all 105C degree parts and ones that exceed the voltage specs too.  Replace any semiconductors which are known to fail or have failed.  Re-solder all the boards and connections with WBT silver solder.  Clean all the controls with DeoxIt.  Reset all the bias and offsets to factory specs.  I obtained a near mint SX-1250 for $350 that I did all of this and probably some things I have forgotten.  It is my main man cave system.
 
I have seen recommended a series combination of 7 and 1 ohm resistors off the taps with the HPs across the 1 ohm.  This maintains the impedance that the unit wants to see and is probably what I will try.

 

[StanD]

   
Yes, most agree taps are better - but I am truly amazed at how the HD600 sounds out of the HP jack.  I have been glued to those HPs for the last 3 days and loving it!  I may never come up for air.
 
The vintage mods are many.  Replace all the electrolytic caps (using quality film caps where ever possible - especially in the tone controls). In any case the electrolytic caps available now from Nichicon and others are better than what was around in the 70s.  I use all 105C degree parts and ones that exceed the voltage specs too.  Replace any semiconductors which are known to fail or have failed.  Re-solder all the boards and connections with WBT silver solder.  Clean all the controls with DeoxIt.  Reset all the bias and offsets to factory specs.  I obtained a near mint SX-1250 for $350 that I did all of this and probably some things I have forgotten.  It is my main man cave system.
 
I have seen recommended a series combination of 7 and 1 ohm resistors off the taps with the HPs across the 1 ohm.  This maintains the impedance that the unit wants to see and is probably what I will try.

The 7 and 1 Ohms resistors in the LPAD will dissipate a lot of power. Since the HD600 is 300 Ohms, you can use higher values (lower wattage) in the LPAD. Yu should figure out how much attenuation that you need and determine the ratio of the resistors. You can probably cheat and not compute the HD600's load impedance if the resistors are much below 300 Ohms, which will probably be the case. Also if the 2 resistors parallel equivalent value is low enough then you will get good damping. You probably won't have to figure the output impedance of the Amp into the equation. You're not spitting atoms.

 

[Adu]

Cable looks really heavy which might put stress on connectors.

Not at all, the cable it's very light.

 

[qrtas]

Hi, have anyone had the chance to compare side by side the hd650/600 to the new Focal Elear?

 

[Midgetguy]

Hi, have anyone had the chance to compare side by side the hd650/600 to the new Focal Elear?

Elear is all-around higher fidelity with better bass extension and impact (assuming no EQ adjustments with either as some people here have had fantastic results with HD600+EQ) as well as what I'd say is a little more sparkly treble presentation. Soundstage is quite improved as well on what I listened with. In comparison, I prefer the style of the HD600 a little more with its increased mid presence rather than the Elear's sparkle. Both are very comfortable headphones, but the Elear has a much sturdier build, albeit as the cost of a little more weight. Personally, I'd pick the HD600 still. If money were no object, I'd own both

. But the HD600 still just gets more done for the price of admission.
 
*Keep in mind, this is from memory, at a Head-Fi meet, and not really with recommended gear. I'd advise to take my impressions with a bowl of salt, but I do stand by them.

 

[ZoNtO]

If you listen to any music with violins, I'd avoid the Elear unless you're willing to try third-party pads and/or other mods. The midrange suckout on stock Elear makes such music sound ridiculous. I also dislike the treble presentation as it's nowhere near as smooth as the HD6x0.
 

Yellow = Elear; Blue = HD650; Purple = Ether Open. Source: [cannot be named, though using images from said source is somehow OK]
 
 
inner|fidelity measurements:

1. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FocalElear.pdf
2. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD600.pdf
3. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD650.pdf

 
For reference, I've owned the HD650 (stock --> modded) for about a year, the HD600 (stock) for about six months now, and kept the Elear for less than a week. My favorite things about the Elear were the comfort (though HD6x0 is not uncomfortable) and the super long cable.

 

[jasonnaos]

Maybe I'm nuts but I'm not diggin my hd600s at all. In there defence I am running them through a cheap headphone amp and I've tried them through my sansui au6500. Don't get me wrong, I want them to be fantastic I paid good money for them. But I find myself grabbing my msr7 or shp9500 and my 600s are getting dusty, any suggestions?

 

[qrtas]

Thanks a lot. I have had so many different headphones, looking for that little extra SQ, LCD2, 3, different AKGs, Grado, Oppo, Focal, among others and the HD600 is the only headphone that always stay with me. I know that the HD600 is not perfect. I wish it had more extended and tighter bass. The mids and highs are spot on for my ears. I also have the LCD3 which I love, but I can't really say they are better that the HD600. They are very different, but I am not sure if better.

 

[Argyris]

Maybe I'm nuts but I'm not diggin my hd600s at all. In there defence I am running them through a cheap headphone amp and I've tried them through my sansui au6500. Don't get me wrong, I want them to be fantastic I paid good money for them. But I find myself grabbing my msr7 or shp9500 and my 600s are getting dusty, any suggestions?

 
Give it more time and listen to the HD 600 on its own, rather than swapping over to compare. It might grow on you. The big thing about the HD 600 is that it avoids the majority of faults many headphones have (e.g. sharp, biting treble; bloated bass, sucked out or off-sounding midrange). It doesn't really add any excitement of its own to the music. If you're looking for the immediate wow factor, you might be disappointed. It's a headphone that's great for long term listening (both within a single session and across many listening sessions) because the sound remains comfortable over the whole period, where many other headphones will either become fatiguing or reveal some aspect of their sound that takes the listener out of the illusion.
 
Or, it could turn out you just don't like the HD 600. Sound preferences aren't an exact science. My advice is don't go nuts thinking about different amps or other upstream equipment just yet. Spend some more time with the HD 600, and if at the end of it you really don't like it, don't convince yourself that you can somehow "fix" this with additional purchases, or that you have fixed it just by plugging it into something different. The point of exploring personal audio should be to find a headphone that lets you genuinely enjoy your music, and if it turns out the HD 600 doesn't do that for you, there's absolutely no shame in that, nor any point in pouring additional investment into something you don't like in the first place. You aren't doing anything wrong just because your preferences don't match those of the people in the HD 600 impressions thread--you'd think we would like our headphone. 

 And we do--but we're not an authority on what you like. You are.
 
Hopefully this helps. Don't give up just yet!

 

[Happytalk]

Give it more time and listen to the HD 600 on its own, rather than swapping over to compare. It might grow on you. The big thing about the HD 600 is that it avoids the majority of faults many headphones have (e.g. sharp, biting treble; bloated bass, sucked out or off-sounding midrange). It doesn't really add any excitement of its own to the music. If you're looking for the immediate wow factor, you might be disappointed. It's a headphone that's great for long term listening (both within a single session and across many listening sessions) because the sound remains comfortable over the whole period, where many other headphones will either become fatiguing or reveal some aspect of their sound that takes the listener out of the illusion.

Or, it could turn out you just don't like the HD 600. Sound preferences aren't an exact science. My advice is don't go nuts thinking about different amps or other upstream equipment just yet. Spend some more time with the HD 600, and if at the end of it you really don't like it, don't convince yourself that you can somehow "fix" this with additional purchases, or that you have fixed it just by plugging it into something different. The point of exploring personal audio should be to find a headphone that lets you genuinely enjoy your music, and if it turns out the HD 600 doesn't do that for you, there's absolutely no shame in that, nor any point in pouring additional investment into something you don't like in the first place. You aren't doing anything wrong just because your preferences don't match those of the people in the HD 600 impressions thread--you'd think we would like our headphone.   And we do--but we're not an authority on what you like. You are.

Hopefully this helps. Don't give up just yet!

I didn't love mine until I got a cardas cable for them. Tightened up the bass where I wanted it. They are just headphones after all though...

 

[alitomr]

bWOW. I love my HD600 and I did it from the first listen. But WOW do they shine with the Valhalla 2. They are simply amazing. 
 
As others have said so many times, they dont add much to the music. But when it is well recorded, anyone who loves music and great sound should absolutely love it. I had the DT880 for a couple weeks while in nyc, and they are very solid, but in my opinion they are way way way behind the HD600 in every single aspect. I couldnt hear that extra detail that they were supposed to have over the HD600. To the contrary, I found them to be more bright, but somehow with considerable less detail in the highs. They are very good, and for the 139USD an excellent buy imho, but they are not in the same league as the glorious HD600.
 
Even double amping with the astro mixamp tr ps4, I find them simply stunning. 

 

[jasonnaos]

Give it more time and listen to the HD 600 on its own, rather than swapping over to compare. It might grow on you. The big thing about the HD 600 is that it avoids the majority of faults many headphones have (e.g. sharp, biting treble; bloated bass, sucked out or off-sounding midrange). It doesn't really add any excitement of its own to the music. If you're looking for the immediate wow factor, you might be disappointed. It's a headphone that's great for long term listening (both within a single session and across many listening sessions) because the sound remains comfortable over the whole period, where many other headphones will either become fatiguing or reveal some aspect of their sound that takes the listener out of the illusion.

Or, it could turn out you just don't like the HD 600. Sound preferences aren't an exact science. My advice is don't go nuts thinking about different amps or other upstream equipment just yet. Spend some more time with the HD 600, and if at the end of it you really don't like it, don't convince yourself that you can somehow "fix" this with additional purchases, or that you have fixed it just by plugging it into something different. The point of exploring personal audio should be to find a headphone that lets you genuinely enjoy your music, and if it turns out the HD 600 doesn't do that for you, there's absolutely no shame in that, nor any point in pouring additional investment into something you don't like in the first place. You aren't doing anything wrong just because your preferences don't match those of the people in the HD 600 impressions thread--you'd think we would like our headphone.   And we do--but we're not an authority on what you like. You are.

Hopefully this helps. Don't give up just yet!

 

[jasonnaos]

Well put brother I will follow your advice. Thank you I appreciate the input.