They have umph and impact on my vintage Yamaha SS amp.
I know I keep banging on about it, but also don't forget about the possibility of intersample variations. e.g. I bought 2 pairs of HD600 within a couple of weeks of each other from Amazon, I sent the second pair back for a refund because it had harsh and 'shouty' mids. Much later I bought a used pair of HD600 for my dad. This pair has poorer bass extension than my pair but I actually prefer the sound of his pair because it has more "air" in the high treble and therefore sounds a little more open than my HD600.
It is very difficult to get a reliable seal on the miniDSP EARS measurement rig for consistent/repeatable results. (The pinnae are too large and stiff and the flatplate isn't cushioned enough). Placing elastic bands around the ear cups isn't ideal but it improves the consistency of the measurements.
It's a weird thing sometimes, as with all media experiences honestly. It's like how some movies, you watch a second or third time and each time it feels different than the first time; I often see people comment about how they would be lukewarm about a movie the first watch, but for whatever reason they'll watch it a second or even third time and they come out of it saying they enjoyed it more. Likewise, sometimes we listen to some headphones and while we don't consider it amazing, maybe we keep it around. 500 listens later, something feels different and BAM, now you're experiencing it like you didn't think you had before!These are really nice headphones. My DT880's crapped out yesterday and I plugged these into my Violectric V220.
I can't recall ever liking these headphones this much.
I bought a pair of HD600s two days ago. I expected a more neutral sound signature. I found it to be great with my upgraded bottle head crack, especially with classical music vs my HD650s. After the first 4 hours, I was loving the HD600s. The improved treble and tight, but sufficient base is great for critical listening. Then, I listened again the next day and I once again love the warm sound signature of my HD650s. I think having both of these cans is the best situation. It’s like having Northern Italian and Southern Italian food. Both are good and in any given day you may prefer one over the other.
I know I keep banging on about it, but also don't forget about the possibility of intersample variations. e.g. I bought 2 pairs of HD600 within a couple of weeks of each other from Amazon, I sent the second pair back for a refund because it had harsh and 'shouty' mids. Much later I bought a used pair of HD600 for my dad. This pair has poorer bass extension than my pair but I actually prefer the sound of his pair because it has more "air" in the high treble and therefore sounds a little more open than my HD600.
In the last couple of years I added the HD660S, HD650 and HD58X to my collection, all bought new. According to my measurements, my HD600 is almost identical to the HD650 with respect to bass extension to below 20Hz, but the HD650 has more bass from 20Hz to 300Hz when a perfect seal is made. My HD660S has the weakest bass extension, and my HD58X has the strongest bass extension.
With regards to my HD600 vs HD650, I prefer the 600 because the 650 sounds more muddy/bloated in the mid-bass/upper-bass and slightly thicker and more shouty in the upper-mids. The fact that my HD650 also has less treble than my HD600 further increases my preference for the HD600. I can however make my HD650 sound almost identical to my HD600 with a few simple EQ adjustments. With this EQ applied you'd find it very difficult indeed to distinguish between these two headphones in a blind A/B test.
