[SilverEars]

It sounded dull and lifeless through the headphone jack on my AVR, better with a HeadRoom MicroAmp, and MUCH better with the Burson HA-160. I don't hear much difference with this headphone when I contrast the Burson with Marantz HD-DAC1

Not sure modern day AVR has the protection resistor for the headphone out, but given Sennheisers are 300 ohm, it makes sense that they should be fine out of AVR type amping, but question is, were you using the built-in DAC or external?

I recall a Kenwood receiver I used to own and the HD650 was a bit more darker and muddier. I wonder why? I wonder if the protection resistor for this receiver was greater than 120 ohms? I think minimum is 120.

Can't say120 ohms automatically guarantee muddy sound as BH Crack is 120 ohms output impedance. Perhaps the receiver's impedance is pure resistance is why? No idea. 650 out of crack doesn't sound muddy.

 

[Majestyk]

The Emotiva A-100 BasX (designed with vintage receivers in mind) has been said to pair well with the 600's.

https://emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/50492/emotiva-headphone-review-senheisser-hd600

 

[Majestyk]

Not sure modern day AVR has the protection resistor for the headphone out, but given Sennheisers are 300 ohm, it makes sense that they should be fine out of AVR type amping, but question is, were you using the built-in DAC or external?

I recall a Kenwood receiver I used to own and the HD650 was a bit more darker and muddier. I wonder why? I wonder if the protection resistor for this receiver was greater than 120 ohms? I think minimum is 120.

Can't say120 ohms automatically guarantee muddy sound as BH Crack is 120 ohms output impedance. Perhaps the receiver's impedance is pure resistance is why? No idea. 650 out of crack doesn't sound muddy.

Vintage Kenwood receivers are dark with just about any pair of headphones, and speakers too for that matter. Best to go with late 70's Yamaha or Pioneer. I find late 60's to mid 70's receivers have too much bass.

 

[Sermo]

Hi,

 

[Shane D]

I should state up front that I am not a huge Sennheiser fan. I bought the HD6XX a few years ago and an amp to go with it. I was unimpressed and sold both.
I recently took a pair of HD600's in on trade. Cycled them through all six of my amps, but could never feel the love. Perfectly adequate, but nothing special. I have heard several times that they really need a tube amp to shine. They weren't shining on my hybrid tube amps or SS amps.

I recently took the dive and bought a tube amp from Mapletree Audio Design (MAD). It is a small outfit in Canada. I bought the Ear+ HD II. The amp is AWESOME and I now get the HD600's. This amp forms a perfect bond with my Grado GH2's. But then when I plug in the HD600's and jack the volume to 10:00/11:00, I was blown away. I never thought I would be comparing Grado's to Senn's, but these sound similar. I would give the Grado's a 10 and the HD600's a 9+. Where the 600's are nice and smooth, the Grado's are just a bit sharper. For my preferences, the Grado's are a better match. But I can see someone preferring the HD600's as they really do come alive with a tube amp. If I didn't have these Grado's, I would keep and love the HD600's. I might anyway.

To balance my Sennheiser opinions, I loved the HD598C's when I was first starting in the hobby. I thought they were a Great $99.00 headphone. Several months ago I picked up a pair of HD58X's just out of curiosity. MAN, do these things punch above above their weight! They will never replace my # 1 'phones, but those cost five times as much. If you are a music lover, but have very little money to dedicate to hardware, a KILLER set-up would be HD58X and Cavalli Liquid Spark.

So, I am not a Senn hater but have been underwhelmed by the 600 series. But add a tube amp and...

 

[mobbaddict]

I should state up front that I am not a huge Sennheiser fan. I bought the HD6XX a few years ago and an amp to go with it. I was unimpressed and sold both.
I recently took a pair of HD600's in on trade. Cycled them through all six of my amps, but could never feel the love. Perfectly adequate, but nothing special. I have heard several times that they really need a tube amp to shine. They weren't shining on my hybrid tube amps or SS amps.

I recently took the dive and bought a tube amp from Mapletree Audio Design (MAD). It is a small outfit in Canada. I bought the Ear+ HD II. The amp is AWESOME and I now get the HD600's. This amp forms a perfect bond with my Grado GH2's. But then when I plug in the HD600's and jack the volume to 10:00/11:00, I was blown away. I never thought I would be comparing Grado's to Senn's, but these sound similar. I would give the Grado's a 10 and the HD600's a 9+. Where the 600's are nice and smooth, the Grado's are just a bit sharper. For my preferences, the Grado's are a better match. But I can see someone preferring the HD600's as they really do come alive with a tube amp. If I didn't have these Grado's, I would keep and love the HD600's. I might anyway.

To balance my Sennheiser opinions, I loved the HD598C's when I was first starting in the hobby. I thought they were a Great $99.00 headphone. Several months ago I picked up a pair of HD58X's just out of curiosity. MAN, do these things punch above above their weight! They will never replace my # 1 'phones, but those cost five times as much. If you are a music lover, but have very little money to dedicate to hardware, a KILLER set-up would be HD58X and Cavalli Liquid Spark.

So, I am not a Senn hater but have been underwhelmed by the 600 series. But add a tube amp and...

Good reason alone to keep the Senny until I get to hear it on a tube amp! Nice feedback, thanks.

 

[Deolum]

Is the HD600 worth it when you have much better headphones? Always considered the 600 to be that kind of headphone that you can get for 100 € on ebay if you're lucky and have fun with even though you have much pricier cans. Is that right? I now got my first real amp (violectric V200) and with my Grados and sensitive IEMs i think the cutie is a bit bored.
If so better 600 or 650?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

600 all the way. Never goes out of style, just a timeless classic you can always enjoy no matter what else you have.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Is the HD600 worth it when you have much better headphones? Always considered the 600 to be that kind of headphone that you can get for 100 € on ebay if you're lucky and have fun with even though you have much pricier cans. Is that right? I now got my first real amp (violectric V200) and with my Grados and sensitive IEMs i think the cutie is a bit bored.
If so better 600 or 650?

My advice would be to get the 600, and to try to get it new. At Thomann you can find it under 300 EUR. Such an awesome headphone you keep for life, might as well get it new.

 

[Slim1970]

I'm in the same boat as @gimmeheadroom on the HD600's. I've got plenty of high-end headphones and when I had the HD600's I enjoyed them just as much as those. I also preferred their sound over the much warmer sounding HD650's. I plan on adding the HD600's back to my stable of gear really soon.

 

[mvule]

Is the HD600 worth it when you have much better headphones? Always considered the 600 to be that kind of headphone that you can get for 100 € on ebay if you're lucky and have fun with even though you have much pricier cans. Is that right? I now got my first real amp (violectric V200) and with my Grados and sensitive IEMs i think the cutie is a bit bored.
If so better 600 or 650?

Two different sound signatures, personally I'd go with the HD 600. Neutral but lush in the mids.
Should go well with your amp from what I've read about it.

 

[xeizo]

I compared HD600 and HD650 back in the day when I bought my HD600, I remember I thought the HD650 had a much too thick and colored midrange to sound natural. It does indeed sound more powerful, but less natural imho. And I prefer natural.

 

[RickB]

I compared HD600 and HD650 back in the day when I bought my HD600, I remember I thought the HD650 had a much too thick and colored midrange to sound natural. It does indeed sound more powerful, but less natural imho. And I prefer natural.

Plus the HD600 has an "air" and transparency that the HD650 lacks.

 

[bagwell359]

Very few receivers or pre-amps of any era have a dedicated headphone stage - meaning its an afterthought or a steep compromise. One of the first dedicated headphone stages was the AGI 511 - a preamp from the late 70's with some audiophile cachet. I found a junker 511 in '84 and stuck the headphone circuit into my PS Audio VI, and that ended up smashing just about everything I came across for some years.

I know lots of folks here are proud of their antique Marantz, Pioneer, Denon, etc. gear - but if you ran your phones direct from the amp outputs, you'd be way way more impressed.

As for the 650 vs 600. Take the 600, add some upper bass/lower midrange and put in a piece of toilet paper for the treble and you have a 650. It's not for me, but... lots of people swear by them. I've got my BH Crack kit, I'm waiting on a bunch of after market pieces to build it, and I'll hear the 600 as intended.

 

[aisalen]

Get the HD600, it is natural and the bass is not lacking too compared to HD650. I sold both my HD650 and HD58X.