Sennheiser HD 600 Impressions Thread
Nov 22, 2016 at 5:40 PM Post #16,996 of 23,311
  @Denon5220, that youtube vid is really bad, but don't know if the CD would be better, only way to find out is to listen to the CD


Yeah it sounds bad to me, often we have no clue how people rip these stuff and upload on youtube, When this was recorded did they have means of storing these on digital format?
 
https://youtu.be/WVvrKpvzumM?t=731
 
I went ahead and Pre Ordered it on Amazon anyways I ordered the CD I want to get it for the booklet etc. I only buy really few stuff in CD these has it has to be an all time greatest
 
This was by far the absolute best version of I shot the Sheriff I ever heard even better than the studio version but the quality of the youtube audio for a HD video, jeeze....
 
Booklet looks sick
 

 
Nov 22, 2016 at 5:49 PM Post #16,997 of 23,311
How the hell did these guys sing so good live often better than studio recording?
 
And artists these days cannot sing without autotune to save their life? or always using Playback?
 
Bob Marley does it so effortless same as AC/DC or Beetles or Elvis even Michael Jackson and Celine Dion was famous for playback almost every performance they did was playback.
 
Yet I can't think of a single live performance where Elvis or Marley ever used playback.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 5:56 PM Post #16,998 of 23,311
I'm not saying a DAC isn't important, but rather that one has to be economical about it. It's something I keep seeing in the forums when people recommend gear, so I'm not calling you out on it, but bringing attention to the fact we can't just do it willy nilly with no regard to things like budget or price/performance. Recommending to someone who initially had a $200 budget for a good headphone (and is happy with their sound card solution) to buy a DAC/amp that costs $500 alone is far from economical. We're talking $750 to get a Mojo and an HD600; that's not budget in any sense of the word to most people. I don't care how good the Chord Mojo is and I know it's really good, I've listened to it myself. The Chord Mojo is a great device, but it stretches past what I (and likely many others) consider to be a reasonable limit on the law of diminishing returns, especially for a headphone that costs less than $300. At one point, I ran my HD600 from a Topping D20/SMSL sApII Pro stack; that stack cost me $160 and it didn't sound much "worse" than the Chord Mojo. Now I'm running both my headphones and my speakers from a TEAC AI-301DA which cost me $320 and again, it doesn't sound much "worse" than the Mojo, yet wins absolutely in creating a balance of quality and versatility. One can't only think about how a pairing sounds; other variables, when present, must be taken into consideration.

Yeah you can get better sound stage in an open can, won't say the HD600s are necessarily the one to go for if that's what you're looking for. Sound stage with the HD600 is very average to my ears, nothing to scoff at, but not something to advertise either. It does fantastically with placement and imaging though so if that's your thing, the HD600 will do quite well.


I already have the hd600s midgetguy..... :)

What i was saying is that i wouldnt mind if the hd600 sounded a little bit warmer, fuller, bassier (without ruining clarity of course) to fullfill my tastes and since i am a momentum over ear fan i am just trying to know if the hd650 or fidelio x2 would give me the same type of sound of the momentum but even better.... :)
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 6:28 PM Post #16,999 of 23,311
I already have the hd600s midgetguy.....
smily_headphones1.gif


What i was saying is that i wouldnt mind if the hd600 sounded a little bit warmer, fuller, bassier (without ruining clarity of course) to fullfill my tastes and since i am a momentum over ear fan i am just trying to know if the hd650 or fidelio x2 would give me the same type of sound of the momentum but even better....
smily_headphones1.gif

The HD-650 is closer to the Momentum IMO, the X2 is not as smooth in the mids as the HD-650 which is what the Momentum has.
 
Spending on a DAC to change the sound of the HD-600 would not be my recommendation, it would be cheaper to buy the HD-650 or X2.
 
The closest to the Momentum over-ear is the EL8 to me, a little pricy but it has the planar bass that goes low and is detailed, nice smooth mids that a just a touch more forward than the HD-650 and the highs are a touch rolled of like the Momentum.  They are also easy to drive but not as comfortable due to the weight.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 8:20 PM Post #17,000 of 23,311
I already have the hd600s midgetguy.....
smily_headphones1.gif


What i was saying is that i wouldnt mind if the hd600 sounded a little bit warmer, fuller, bassier (without ruining clarity of course) to fullfill my tastes and since i am a momentum over ear fan i am just trying to know if the hd650 or fidelio x2 would give me the same type of sound of the momentum but even better....
smily_headphones1.gif

That comment is pointed more towards @netseraph rather than at you since their statement seemed to be as a recommendation for @Denon5220 as a simple "catch-all" solution when no such thing exists.
 
I'd wager the HD650 is the better bet since I did find it to have warmer tendencies than the HD600. Haven't heard the X2 so wouldn't be able to comment on that one.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 8:29 PM Post #17,001 of 23,311
  The HD-650 is closer to the Momentum IMO, the X2 is not as smooth in the mids as the HD-650 which is what the Momentum has.
 
Spending on a DAC to change the sound of the HD-600 would not be my recommendation, it would be cheaper to buy the HD-650 or X2.
 
The closest to the Momentum over-ear is the EL8 to me, a little pricy but it has the planar bass that goes low and is detailed, nice smooth mids that a just a touch more forward than the HD-650 and the highs are a touch rolled of like the Momentum.  They are also easy to drive but not as comfortable due to the weight.


The EL8 is super pricy..... :D
My budget is 300 euros and to be honest i dont want to spend more than that on a single pair of headphones (specially now that i have a baby on the way.... :) ).
Yes the hd650 seems to be the best and safer choice for my tastes. I dont doubt that the x2's are great headphones though.... i had a blast with the she3590 iem's.... what a pearl for 9 euros.... :D
Philips is capable of awesome things....
 
My only concern with the hd650 is mostly about the bass punch.... since i am a edm listener i like a solid and punchy bass response and therefore i am at least expecting a little bit more of that on the hd650 in comparison to the hd600. Also its confusing to see some people call the hd650 boring while others love just them for edm and metal.... i dont LOOOOOOve the hd600's but i would never call them boring....
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 9:42 PM Post #17,003 of 23,311
  So basically the shp 9500 is like an upgraded Grado 80i?
 
Same type of harshness in the highs same kind of brightness?

 
My understanding of the Grado SR line, based on my own experience with an SR225i and on reading lots of impressions and looking at lots of measurements, is that Grados as a class have a very distinctive sound, and that in general, the further up the SR-xxx line you go, the brighter the overall sound. Tyll Hertsens in fact has said that the SR60 is his favorite of the range, on account that it's the least bright. However, they all have a prominent spike at around 2 kHz, most likely a resonance artifact from the small, perfectly round cups in which the drivers sit, which pushes the middle and upper harmonics of vocals and instruments forward. In my experience with the SR225i, this spike is wholly unlike the extra upper midrange energy on the HD 600 in that, on the Grado, it doesn't sound natural. It's an obvious coloration on top of everything played through the headphone.
 
This doesn't mean it's terrible--if you like the signature, it can be very enjoyable. On a few genres I really enjoyed it, and fans of the sound tend to be very vocal about it. But good all rounder a Grado is not, IMO--I gave up on mine because, then as now, I wanted one headphone to rule them all, and the Grado clearly wasn't it. In general, the midrange spike can be fatiguing, as can the treble, which I found bright and unrefined without modification. A few plies of toilet paper over the drivers improved the sound immensely, as is often the case with underdamped driver systems. It can't do anything for the midrange resonance, though, meaning you'll always have that signature, for better or worse.
 
My advice is if you disliked the SHP9500, unless you get an opportunity to try a Grado for yourself without obligation for an extended period (which, due to Grado's strict US distribution only policy, might be difficult for someone where you are), steer well clear--they're all going to be bright and splashy in the treble, to varying degrees of overall treble lift and with varying amounts of midbass boost (on the RS, GS and PS series) to balance it out.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 9:53 PM Post #17,004 of 23,311
 
The EL8 is super pricy..... :D
My budget is 300 euros and to be honest i dont want to spend more than that on a single pair of headphones (specially now that i have a baby on the way.... :) ).
Yes the hd650 seems to be the best and safer choice for my tastes. I dont doubt that the x2's are great headphones though.... i had a blast with the she3590 iem's.... what a pearl for 9 euros.... :D
Philips is capable of awesome things....
 
My only concern with the hd650 is mostly about the bass punch.... since i am a edm listener i like a solid and punchy bass response and therefore i am at least expecting a little bit more of that on the hd650 in comparison to the hd600. Also its confusing to see some people call the hd650 boring while others love just them for edm and metal.... i dont LOOOOOOve the hd600's but i would never call them boring....

For EDM I would go with the HD-400i based on your budget, they will get you close (90%) to the EL8 for 1/3 the price, they also take EQ of the sub bass quite well, I went nuts and tried +10db @30hz, the HD-650 failed at this radical EQ but the HE-400i didn't miss a beat.  I wouldn't call either the HD-600 or HD-650 boring but I don't use either for EDM and I rarely listen to metal.  The HE-400i is also easier to drive.
 
Congrats on the baby
beerchug.gif
, enjoy them when they are young, they grow up really fast, my son is a Jr in college and my GF's daughter just graduated from college last Dec.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 9:59 PM Post #17,005 of 23,311
  So basically the shp 9500 is like an upgraded Grado 80i?
 
Same type of harshness in the highs same kind of brightness?

The Grado 80i is the better sounding headphone and if you mod them a lot better than the SHP-9500 IMO.  If you get the newer "e" series then its even better than the older " i " series IMO.
 
The high/treble are not the same, to me the SHP9500 had harsh/grainy highs while the 80i is more extended and forward but not as grainy and not harsh IMO.  Its like how some compare dynamic driver bass and planar driver bass, its the best way i can think of explaining the difference.  Another thing is the pads that you use will make a noticeable change in the sound stage, bass and treble so i suggest you experiment.  I've settled with the G pads and a balance between comfort and sound and try to tune housing to better match using the G pads.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 10:55 PM Post #17,006 of 23,311
  The Grado 80i is the better sounding headphone and if you mod them a lot better than the SHP-9500 IMO.  If you get the newer "e" series then its even better than the older " i " series IMO.
 
The high/treble are not the same, to me the SHP9500 had harsh/grainy highs while the 80i is more extended and forward but not as grainy and not harsh IMO.  Its like how some compare dynamic driver bass and planar driver bass, its the best way i can think of explaining the difference.  Another thing is the pads that you use will make a noticeable change in the sound stage, bass and treble so i suggest you experiment.  I've settled with the G pads and a balance between comfort and sound and try to tune housing to better match using the G pads.


Personally speaking the shp 9500 were not bad on my Xonar DG. My issue with the 9500 was mainly the SMSL amp that made it incredibly harsh somewhere in the 1khz range that caused physical pain in my ear drum. In a way I am kinda missing the super clarity of the SHP 9500 that I no longer have with the HD 555 it looks like my ears had adapted to the 9500
 
When I switched back to the Xonar DG it became darker and perfect to the ear drums no pain. The main reason I sold it was because I had to in order to get rid of the SMSL amp dac in my country nobody would buy that, the guy was willing to take both or none and only 1 person in my country was interested in that dac amp aswell so I got rid of it.
 
Now I will say this the shp 9500 sounded great to me, I even considered buying another one infact the whole reason I bought it was because hd 555 ear pads were $35 on Amazon so $63 felt like a lot more value for money.
 
The ear pads in the 9500 are trash, so I would replace them with HM5 if I bought it again.
 
So lets say we compare now the SR60e Grado to the shp 9500 are we looking at a better quality sound? I felt the 9500 was fantastic except for highs for some reason the highs were boosted far too much if you ask me. Now lets say the Grados are not boosted as much I think I would have a winner.
 
lets say I buy the SR60e and the larger ear pads for it, for over the ear do you say this competes a lot better with the shp 9500?
 
Give me a run down on the SR60e VS shp 9500 vs the older SR i line if you can.
 
Nov 22, 2016 at 11:14 PM Post #17,007 of 23,311
 
Personally speaking the shp 9500 were not bad on my Xonar DG. My issue with the 9500 was mainly the SMSL amp that made it incredibly harsh somewhere in the 1khz range that caused physical pain in my ear drum. In a way I am kinda missing the super clarity of the SHP 9500 that I no longer have with the HD 555 it looks like my ears had adapted to the 9500
 
When I switched back to the Xonar DG it became darker and perfect to the ear drums no pain. The main reason I sold it was because I had to in order to get rid of the SMSL amp dac in my country nobody would buy that, the guy was willing to take both or none and only 1 person in my country was interested in that dac amp aswell so I got rid of it.
 
Now I will say this the shp 9500 sounded great to me, I even considered buying another one infact the whole reason I bought it was because hd 555 ear pads were $35 on Amazon so $63 felt like a lot more value for money.
 
The ear pads in the 9500 are trash, so I would replace them with HM5 if I bought it again.
 
So lets say we compare now the SR60e Grado to the shp 9500 are we looking at a better quality sound? I felt the 9500 was fantastic except for highs for some reason the highs were boosted far too much if you ask me. Now lets say the Grados are not boosted as much I think I would have a winner.
 
lets say I buy the SR60e and the larger ear pads for it, for over the ear do you say this competes a lot better with the shp 9500?
 
Give me a run down on the SR60e VS shp 9500 vs the older SR i line if you can.


​sent you a PM since its getting off topic from HD-600
 
Nov 23, 2016 at 1:32 AM Post #17,008 of 23,311
  Now I will say this the shp 9500 sounded great to me, I even considered buying another one infact the whole reason I bought it was because hd 555 ear pads were $35 on Amazon so $63 felt like a lot more value for money.
 
The ear pads in the 9500 are trash, so I would replace them with HM5 if I bought it again.

Would take a little modding, but it looks totally doable from what I've seen. Because yeah, those pads aren't very good. As with everything, perspective is important; no match for something like the Sennheiser HD-5 and HD-6 lines, but hilariously, the pads on the SHP9500 are suddenly amazing when you compare to a Superlux HD668b. If you ever come across a pair of those with stock pads, give it a try cuz those pads are spectacularly terrible haha 
rolleyes.gif

 
Nov 23, 2016 at 3:35 AM Post #17,009 of 23,311
  Would take a little modding, but it looks totally doable from what I've seen. Because yeah, those pads aren't very good. As with everything, perspective is important; no match for something like the Sennheiser HD-5 and HD-6 lines, but hilariously, the pads on the SHP9500 are suddenly amazing when you compare to a Superlux HD668b. If you ever come across a pair of those with stock pads, give it a try cuz those pads are spectacularly terrible haha 
rolleyes.gif

I have Alpha pads on my SHP9500's, made possible by a 3D-printed adapter ring. The link to purchase them should be in the Z-Reviews modded SHP9500 video. The adapters were $10, if I remember?
 
Nevermind, I found it http://www.modhouseaudio.com/shp9500_adapter_rings/
 
And apologies for hijacking with non-HD600 stuff.
 
Nov 23, 2016 at 4:29 AM Post #17,010 of 23,311
For EDM I would go with the HD-400i based on your budget, they will get you close (90%) to the EL8 for 1/3 the price, they also take EQ of the sub bass quite well, I went nuts and tried +10db @30hz, the HD-650 failed at this radical EQ but the HE-400i didn't miss a beat.  I wouldn't call either the HD-600 or HD-650 boring but I don't use either for EDM and I rarely listen to metal.  The HE-400i is also easier to drive.

Congrats on the baby :beerchug: , enjoy them when they are young, they grow up really fast, my son is a Jr in college and my GF's daughter just graduated from college last Dec.


Thank you very much david.... :D
Its only in the beggining of april but i already dont want her to grow up.... :D

I appreciate the he400is advice and they do look really tempting but they go way beyond my budgt here in europe. The cheaper place to get them is on spanish amazon for 450 euros. On the german amazon they cost 650!!!!! Way too expensive for my 300 euros budget.... ;(

I really will have to live either with the x2s or hd650s.....
 

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