[bagwell359]

I've got into moding these recently. Dynamat and felt. No holes blocked. The dynamat helps dampen the mid/upper bass. LESS BASS ! Oh yes, but cleaner, faster, less veiled. Felt? Cuts back on reflections which in a headphone tend to be much higher in percentage than what can be found in a properly treated room. Increases clarity, tends to drop incidance the occasional sharpness/light presentation that they can be guilty of.

I took off the sponge barrier covering the driver from the ear. An instant dose of clarity, but, the possible contact of the ear and the driver makes you wonder. I went to using a HFM dust barrier, lightly glued over the cut out edges of the sponge. That seemed to give more than 1/2 the clarity of no sponge, but more safety, and the edges of the sponge keeps the pads at the 'proper' distance.

Listening last night the clarity from 60 Hz -> 1.5kHz was so marked. The four big differences between the 600 and my favored HE-500 was the:

* sound stage was deeper and much wider on the 500 over the 600
* volume on bass under 200 Hz favors the HE-500, but, the 600 is generally quicker - but very quick drum strikes in some cases were very constrained on the 600
* cymbals overtones go on forever on the 500's (yes, planar drivers don't stop that fast), 600's don't. Truth is probably closer to 600, but they stop faster than they should based on decades of listening to near SOTA speakers (of all technologies) with the same recordings.
* certain instruments (percussive mostly) have a certain plastic character on the 600, also the image size seemed too small (even taking consideration that the 500 is bigger than 600). I should have taken notes. I will when get back from my vacation.

Heard more classic cans lately, and the HD-600 and HE-500 still sit at the apex in terms of quality/price in the used market - and they compliment each other well.

 

[omniweltall]

I've got into moding these recently. Dynamat and felt. No holes blocked. The dynamat helps dampen the mid/upper bass. LESS BASS ! Oh yes, but cleaner, faster, less veiled. Felt? Cuts back on reflections which in a headphone tend to be much higher in percentage than what can be found in a properly treated room. Increases clarity, tends to drop incidance the occasional sharpness/light presentation that they can be guilty of.

I took off the sponge barrier covering the driver from the ear. An instant dose of clarity, but, the possible contact of the ear and the driver makes you wonder. I went to using a HFM dust barrier, lightly glued over the cut out edges of the sponge. That seemed to give more than 1/2 the clarity of no sponge, but more safety, and the edges of the sponge keeps the pads at the 'proper' distance.

Listening last night the clarity from 60 Hz -> 1.5kHz was so marked. The four big differences between the 600 and my favored HE-500 was the:

* sound stage was deeper and much wider on the 500 over the 600
* volume on bass under 200 Hz favors the HE-500, but, the 600 is generally quicker - but very quick drum strikes in some cases were very constrained on the 600
* cymbals overtones go on forever on the 500's (yes, planar drivers don't stop that fast), 600's don't. Truth is probably closer to 600, but they stop faster than they should based on decades of listening to near SOTA speakers (of all technologies) with the same recordings.
* certain instruments (percussive mostly) have a certain plastic character on the 600, also the image size seemed too small (even taking consideration that the 500 is bigger than 600). I should have taken notes. I will when get back from my vacation.

Heard more classic cans lately, and the HD-600 and HE-500 still sit at the apex in terms of quality/price in the used market - and they compliment each other well.

Any pics, Bagwell?

I find Dynamat to be very effective for bass tightening. HD650 somehow improves more than HD600.

 

[bagwell359]

Any pics, Bagwell?

I find Dynamat to be very effective for bass tightening. HD650 somehow improves more than HD600.

I'll try to get them online, I'm going off line shortly and won't be back til about the 25th, so probably then. Most placements obvious I think.

Other stuff:

I stuck a quarter sized round lump of blue tack over the back screen above the bass port or whatever that is above the driver. Doesn't seem to make any difference.

I also ran them for a few days with the screen off, and heard a bit more clarity maybe, but nothing like the HE-500 screen removal does.

The HD-600 plastic is high quality stuff, but, it resonates in audible places. Should re-release them as the HD-600T - for titanium - should only cost $150 per more....!

 

[omniweltall]

I'll try to get them online, I'm going off line shortly and won't be back til about the 25th, so probably then. Most placements obvious I think.

Other stuff:

I stuck a quarter sized round lump of blue tack over the back screen above the bass port or whatever that is above the driver. Doesn't seem to make any difference.

I also ran them for a few days with the screen off, and heard a bit more clarity maybe, but nothing like the HE-500 screen removal does.

The HD-600 plastic is high quality stuff, but, it resonates in audible places. Should re-release them as the HD-600T - for titanium - should only cost $150 per more....!

I see. Those back screens do tend to cause problems. I wonder if we can put some sort of shelf-liner.

Anyway, you take care. We'll see you back in a week.

 

[bagwell359]

I see. Those back screens do tend to cause problems. I wonder if we can put some sort of shelf-liner.

Anyway, you take care. We'll see you back in a week.

I didn't test with screens off before I covered 70% of the opposing plastic in felt and dynamat, which might well have damped whatever the screens are adding.

Thanks!

 

[Timoteo80]

In response to the “veil” question...I was worried about that exact issue myself. Thats why it took me years before actually removing the foam. The change in sound, though subtle, wasn’t what I expected. It was better than I thought might happen. If you think about it, foam behind the driver keeps the rear sound wave close to the driver, dissipating it slower. To me that resulted in a slight “congestion” to the overall sound. A congestion I didn’t realized existed until removed. Removing it added a slight “airiness” to the sound. Now take in mind that when at home I use my OTL Crack+SB tube amp which is a warm amp & when on the go I use a Fiio Q1 with the bass boost on. So without the warmth of the Crack or the bass boost on the Q1 I’ve always felt the HD600 to be shy on low end punch. So without a touch of warmth added some my consider the foam removed to “thin” out the tone. To me I consider it “air”. Hope this helps. Trying to be subjective & objective at the same time but not sure that’s possible haha

 

[Timoteo80]

Does anyone else use some sort of EQ or bass enhancement on their HD600s? I personally feel that listening to digital music on my phone I need some extra low end for them to be their most enjoyable. I use Tidal. Thoughts?....

 

[serman005]

Does anyone else use some sort of EQ or bass enhancement on their HD600s? I personally feel that listening to digital music on my phone I need some extra low end for them to be their most enjoyable. I use Tidal. Thoughts?....

I have not tried it. Would love to give it a shot.

 

[Brooko]

Does anyone else use some sort of EQ or bass enhancement on their HD600s? I personally feel that listening to digital music on my phone I need some extra low end for them to be their most enjoyable. I use Tidal. Thoughts?....

What phone? Most wont deliver the voltage required and the bass extension is first to suffer.

 

[L8MDL]

I'm guessing the HD-660S pairs much better with phones given its lower impedance. I know it makes a world of difference on my Pono, balanced or unbalanced. My 600's are gathering dust.

 

[yangian]

I'm guessing the HD-660S pairs much better with phones given its lower impedance. I know it makes a world of difference on my Pono, balanced or unbalanced. My 600's are gathering dust.

I really love 6XX with Pono balanced, same from 600. Plenty of power to drive them with balanced mode. Did you try 600 with Pono?

 

[L8MDL]

Yes - I own both. The 600's could never deliver the volume I need from the Pono, even balanced. As a "one time" lead guitarist I need plenty of volume.

 

[yangian]

Really! For 6XX, I only need to turn a little bit more than half of the max volume.

 

[yangian]

And I had 58X before, it's only a little easier to drive than 600.

 

[L8MDL]

It was not uncommon for me to run at 90-100% volume with the 600's. With the 660's the volume is set around 50-60%, balanced.

I considered running my entire flac library (around 12,000 tunes) through an app to increase the volume but it was easier just to buy the 660's. I love 'em.