[Midgetguy]

Hey guys. I currently own the 400i as my open headphone. The fabric on the ear cups drive me nuts though. I just purchased the HD600 I’m hoping I made a good alternative decision.

Would you guys say they are in the same league of each other sonically? It appears they are quite similar in my research.

I've read each are quite good and probably on a similar technical level given their different sound signatures. HE400i should be a little easier to drive and will probably work a little better than the HD600 without an amp, but the HD600 is acceptable as well in that regard, IMO. The following impressions on build and comfort and whatnot are based on what I've read about the HE560 and HE400i being very similar as I personally owned an HE560, not the HE400i. Stock to stock, I'll take the HD600 because I like the sound signature a bit better and because it's more comfortable. The HE400i has too much clamp and so does the stock HD600, but to a lesser degree. And I felt like it was easier to lessen the clamp on the HD600 because you could more easily shape the metal arms on it whereas the metal headband on the HE400i took more effort to bend to the shape you want it to stay in to not clamp so much. I will say that I prefer the velour pad feel of the HD600 more than the velour sheet on the pads of the HE400i. The HE400i's velour layer felt more rough and scratchy than the HD600's.

Have fun with deciding which you like best. They're both good headphones, I can't say you'd go wrong picking either of them.

 

[Okrelayer]

Have you tried other ear pads? If you like leather the Dekoni sheepskin ones are quite comfortable and alter the sound only a little.
As someone who has owned both I wouldn't consider them similar sound signatures but in the same league technically with a slight edge to the HE400i IMO. That being said I only kept the HE400i (mine is an old SMC back plate version) and sold off the HD600 since it did irritate me at times due to the 3.5-5khz peak which I seem to be sensitive to but peaks higher up in frequency don't seem to bother me like the 6khz peak of the HD700 is no an issue for me. Another thing to consider is the HD600 is a high impedance headphone while the HE400i is a low impedance one so they react to amps differently and I never cared for the HD600 sound if I tried to use them on a phone or low power DAP, pretty much needed an amp (OTL or hybrid) to get them to sound decent while the HE400i sounds decent with even a low power DAP like Fiio X1 to me.

Thanks for your reply. Where did you purchase the pads? And where they easy to install?

 

[DavidA]

Thanks for your reply. Where did you purchase the pads? And where they easy to install?

I got the pads from MassDrop (not always available) but you can get them directly from Dekoni, but might be slightly higher price.
It easy to remove and mount the pads once you figure out how they are mounted. I use a credit card to help un-hitch one of the tabs which them makes it really easy to remove the remaining 3 tabs. If you go the Dekoni pad route then you will either have to take the mounting rings out of your current pads or order some replacement rings from Hifiman, or but the cheap velour ones to get the rings.
Mounting is just the opposite, get 2 of the 3 tabs hooked in and use a credit card to help you get the other 2 tabs in, like in this picture:

you can see the 4 tabs on the ear pad

there are 4 cut outs on the headphone cup side where the tabs go

using the credit card to push the tab in so it will catch on the cut out


my Dekoni pads mounted on spare rings.

If you have any questions about pads and such I'd suggest going to the HE400i thread since this is getting a bit off topic here

 

[yangian]

Have you tried other ear pads? If you like leather the Dekoni sheepskin ones are quite comfortable and alter the sound only a little.
As someone who has owned both I wouldn't consider them similar sound signatures but in the same league technically with a slight edge to the HE400i IMO. That being said I only kept the HE400i (mine is an old SMC back plate version) and sold off the HD600 since it did irritate me at times due to the 3.5-5khz peak which I seem to be sensitive to but peaks higher up in frequency don't seem to bother me like the 6khz peak of the HD700 is no an issue for me. Another thing to consider is the HD600 is a high impedance headphone while the HE400i is a low impedance one so they react to amps differently and I never cared for the HD600 sound if I tried to use them on a phone or low power DAP, pretty much needed an amp (OTL or hybrid) to get them to sound decent while the HE400i sounds decent with even a low power DAP like Fiio X1 to me.

I own both. I like 600 more. Sonically, 600 is a lot better than 400i IMO. Technically, they are in the same league, but bass is better on 400i, but treble is a little bit piercing to my ear. 600 has no that problem. Compared to dt990, they have similar sound signature actually.

 

[omniweltall]

I heard he400i quite a while ago. Trying to remember. Construction is very questionable. Very cheap build quality. It will not stand the test of time. Bass has more weight than hd600, but looser and flabbier. Treble is uneven and rough. Soundstage is a little wider than hd600, but image positioning is worse. In general, planars struggle with imaging compared to dynamics.

HD600 has better cohesiveness to the sound. I need to EQ the hd600 bass up. Bass quality is there, but hidden behind the quantity. Once EQ-ed, hd600 has very tight and technical bass, akin to hd800 bass character, but less deep. Soundstage is small and upfront, but imaging is very good. Perfect for small ensembles. Upper mid is slightly elevated, but makes females vocal shines to my ears. Treble is smooth as butter. Realibility is top notch. You'll have good night sleeps as you dont have to worry your can crapping out on you. Hd600 is one of my most respected cans out there, regardless of price. Along with hd800, I use it as benchmark to conpare other cans.

 

[yangian]

I own both. I like 600 more. Sonically, 600 is a lot better than 400i IMO. Technically, they are in the same league, but bass is better on 400i, but treble is a little bit piercing to my ear. 600 has no that problem. Compared to dt990, they have similar sound signature actually.

One thing forgot mentioned. 400i is heavy! Don't like that though not very uncomfortable

 

[pbarach]

They don't sound the same at all. The he400i has deeper bass. The HD600 is much, much clearer and cleaner on acoustic piano and soprano voice. To me the Sennheiser headphones give back more of the room sound from the recording--things sound more spacious.

I listen almost exclusively to classical music and much prefer the 600's, but your music/auditory preferences may vary. I know that on recent recording session photos for classical music, the producers and engineers often are using 600's.

 

[yangian]

They don't sound the same at all. The he400i has deeper bass. The HD600 is much, much clearer and cleaner on acoustic piano and soprano voice. To me the Sennheiser headphones give back more of the room sound from the recording--things sound more spacious.

I listen almost exclusively to classical music and much prefer the 600's, but your music/auditory preferences may vary. I know that on recent recording session photos for classical music, the producers and engineers often are using 600's.

I totally agree. That's what I do.

 

[BobG55]

The mids on the HD600 are an unsurpassed audio engineering feat in headphones. That's why they're still around & in their 22nd year of production. I love this headphone & have never parted with it since 2003. Even the now retired Tyll Hertsens praised the HD600's mids as being just about the very best while reviewing the Sonoma Model One ($5,000).

 

[Argyris]

The mids on the HD600 are an unsurpassed audio engineering feat in headphones. That's why they're still around & in their 22nd year of production. I love this headphone & have never parted with it since 2003. Even the now retired Tyll Hertsens praised the HD600's mids as being just about the very best while reviewing the Sonoma Model One ($5,000).

Indeed. This was what really opened my eyes when I first got my HD 600. After a short adjustment period, I found the midrange to be my favorite part of the new (to me) sound signature (the lack of biting treble was a very close second). And it continues to captivate. It's the one area where I will accept zero compromise if I ever try to find an ostensible upgrade to my HD 600—if it doesn't have midrange of the same quality, it's not good enough. I'm not bothered enough by the rolled off sub bass of the HD 6x0 family to retire my example just to get better bass extension but worse midrange.

 

[krismusic]

Indeed. This was what really opened my eyes when I first got my HD 600. After a short adjustment period, I found the midrange to be my favorite part of the new (to me) sound signature (the lack of biting treble was a very close second). And it continues to captivate. It's the one area where I will accept zero compromise if I ever try to find an ostensible upgrade to my HD 600—if it doesn't have midrange of the same quality, it's not good enough. I'm not bothered enough by the rolled off sub bass of the HD 6x0 family to retire my example just to get better bass extension but worse midrange.

A 600 with good bass extension would rule.

 

[Midgetguy]

A 600 with good bass extension would rule.

HD58X has some of that property, but I feel it does mess very slightly with the rest of the frequency response. They didn't feel hugely different nor is that change in freq response a bad thing, but it's just a bit different. Still quite good and a total bargain IMO. My friend got the AKG K7XX a couple years back for $200 and I personally like the HD58X better. And it's even cheaper at $150! His K7XX broke recently and he said that it would cost like $100 in service or something and I was like, dude, screw that, just buy the HD58X when the drop rolls around again

 

[omniweltall]

A 600 with good bass extension would rule.

Did you guys ever try EQ?

 

[FinBenton]

Iw tried to boost HD600s bass so many times with APO software, never had good outcomes with that.

 

[krismusic]

Unfortunately my only source is iPhone/mojo running Tidal. Plus my EQ skills are poor.