[jonathan c]

I think that was just because Romania is at a higher altitude than Ireland. Therefore, the peak frequency increased somewhat

However - in Ireland, due to a national desire to ‘go greener’ (more Emerald?), peat peak use is falling…..oh never mind….

 

[SHAMuuu]

So the new Senny pads are "deeper"... ? Something like 0.5cm IIRC someone measure b/w the older style

My theory is that b/c everyone complained about the pads flattening too fast, Sennheiser added some cushion .

This maked me reconsider the whole 660 vs 600 thing b/c they came with these new pads which take a bit to settle (i'd say a good 20-30 hours) to get those classic Senny mids. B/C new pads make the mids ever so slightly less intimate.

But with the time, the mids, those classic mids (and this from a 580 experienced/big big fan.)

Anyway this post is not to add fuel to the 580/6x0/6xx/660s battle ....

rather the new pads and the mids being normalized from some wear. Not like the older pads, where sound was optimal from the get go (new pads)

Hope that makes sense.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

However - in Ireland, due to a national desire to ‘go greener’ (more Emerald?), peat peak use is falling…..oh never mind….

Now I've heard it all- single malt headphones

 

[MacMan31]

The HD6XX will gain a new lease on life, as well, from BHC (without/with ‘speedball’). You may find yourself to be a 600/6XX owner. I am & I use both.

Yeah perhaps I would keep both the 600 and 6XX. I was looking at various posts on Reddit concerning the BHC. There seems to be a divide on the Speedball option. Some say it seems to remove some of the "tube sound" and are against the option. Others really like the upgrade. Would be nice if there was a switch on the amp to turn speedball on or off. Kind of like having a bass boost button.

 

[jonathan c]

Now I've heard it all- single malt headphones

…short listening session!…

 

[bagwell359]

I do know that I owned, at one time one of the best OTL amps made : the Eddie Current Zana Deux S and I prefer the sound of my vintage Kenwood KA-8006, Integrated amp, 70wpc [1974].

That's it. What I was looking for.

 

[Strat1117]

Come on guys. There is no right and wrong on this stuff, and ANY experienced, thoughtful audiophile can tell you that. It is the prime directive - ‘Reasonable minds may disagree.’ The Audio Science lot think they are actually measuring things that can’t fully be measured and they’re using the wrong rulers. See Albert Einstein quote in my sig below. Except for gross mismatches, the measurements mean little. No measurement can predict what will best please my ear. I’ve had equipment that measured terribly but sounded great (e.g., Koetsu Black cartridge) and equipment that measured well and sounded awful (e.g., arc SP-9 preamp). So leave this arguing over chocolate chunk vs. soft vanilla and getting upset about it to the smarmy measurement guys. Let this be the forum where you can say what you like without simultaneously insulting another poster with a preference for a different flavor profile. I run my 580/600/650 with Class A SS (neither OTL nor vintage receiver), and I get lovely results that make me happy. But what do I know? I’ve only been doing this for ~50 years.

[Long and irrelevant tangential rant deleted for bandwidth preservation and self-censoring purposes, but trust me, it was brilliant. Sorry you didn’t get to read it.]

My point is simply that it is perfectly ok to say you prefer chocolate chunk over soft vanilla. It is not ok to tell someone who prefers soft vanilla that he’s an idiot for doing so.

Just my $.02, after seeing two of my favorite fellow posters being a little less circumspect with one another than is normally the case.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

However - in Ireland, due to a national desire to ‘go greener’ (more Emerald?), peat peak use is falling…..oh never mind….

Oh Senny Joy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

 

[Strat1117]

However - in Ireland, due to a national desire to ‘go greener’ (more Emerald?), peat peak use is falling…..oh never mind….

Now, the measurement guys would find fault with your use of a Scotland (Islay specific) pun in an Ireland context, but judicious application of the uncertainty principle and other penumbrae and emanations of non-linear dynamics leads one to the ineluctable conclusion that it’s really all about the Glencairn Glass.

 

[Midgetguy]

Technically the frequency response changed from 12Hz - 39,000Hz to 12Hz - 40,500Hz in the renewal. Doubt that makes an audible difference to anyone in real life situations.

I barely pay attention to those frequency spec listings; I doubt I could hear above probably 18kHz if I bothered to do a sine sweep. The higher and lower frequencies do have an effect I think, but nothing that I could say I hear, more like something I kinda feel (and how reliable and tangible could I even say it was?).

When you get a pair of the originals your XX will go up for sale

Wasn't the HD6XX based on the HD650 or am I remembering that wrong? Like they started with an HD650 and tuned it from there? My bro has an HD650. I bought an HD600. Eventually I got around to listening to his and mine on my amp, I think I made the better choice for my tastes.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Wasn't the HD6XX based on the HD650 or am I remembering that wrong? Like they started with an HD650 and tuned it from there? My bro has an HD650. I bought an HD600. Eventually I got around to listening to his and mine on my amp, I think I made the better choice for my tastes.

Yes, the 6XX is based on the 650. I never heard the 650 but I don't have to. I'm Old Skool. I like the Sennheiser House Sound from the 1980s. I'm sure they got it right with the 600s, no need to look further. Vocals, singer/songwriter, acoustic anything, the 600 just nails it. No room for improvement! If something isn't what it should be, throw more amp at them. They sing!

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Now, the measurement guys would find fault with your use of a Scotland (Islay specific) pun in an Ireland context, but judicious application of the uncertainty principle and other penumbrae and emanations of non-linear dynamics leads one to the ineluctable conclusion that it’s really all about the Glencairn Glass.

I'll drink to that, in a Galway highball

 

[Strat1117]

Yeah perhaps I would keep both the 600 and 6XX. I was looking at various posts on Reddit concerning the BHC. There seems to be a divide on the Speedball option. Some say it seems to remove some of the "tube sound" and are against the option. Others really like the upgrade. Would be nice if there was a switch on the amp to turn speedball on or off. Kind of like having a bass boost button.

Also, keep in mind, that owning a tube amp of any kind is a hands on experience - no matter what else you’ve read, if you buy a tube amp you’re going to roll tubes. And that is an expensive and frustrating rabbit hole until you get it right, and then it can be magic. Until it explodes. Which is why I sold off all my tube gear and went solid state 5 or 6 years ago. Never been happier.

I’m not saying not to do it - I did nothing but tube gear throughout my whole system for 25+ years and learned a lot - I’m just saying to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get educated if you do. Idk, for example, if the BHC is self-biasing (or maybe that’s not important with an OTL amp?), but if it’s not, you need to be comfortable with a multimeter and maybe even a soldering iron. Just for example. And probably only important for perfectionists, but you get my drift. In the early days of this hobby it was referred to as perfectionist audio, but I digress…

Enjoy!

 

[Strat1117]

Yes, the 6XX is based on the 650. I never heard the 650 but I don't have to. I'm Old Skool. I like the Sennheiser House Sound from the 1980s. I'm sure they got it right with the 600s, no need to look further. Vocals, singer/songwriter, acoustic anything, the 600 just nails it. No room for improvement! If something isn't what it should be, throw more amp at them. They sing!

I know nothing of the 6xx, but I own 580/600/650 all for many years, all ‘original’ Ireland models with some minor modifications, like Dekoni pads, and removal of rear foam. They each have their own flavor, but there’s no mistaking them for anything but siblings. The 600 is certainly the most technically correct of the three, but most (not all) of the time I prefer the slightly warmer 650 for relaxing and listening to music. That may well be due to a synergy with my amp - it’s not a generalization about the merits of either headphone (which can only be judged in the context of a system, but that’s a different discussion for another day). I buy and sell plenty of headphones, including the 660S - I keep the entire 580/600/650 ‘trilogy’, along with Audeze LCD-X and Drop+DCA Aeon Open X, for a reason, and that reason is that they are all musically satisfying. Which, I think, is ultimately the crux of the entire biscuit.

As you point out, the key to getting the best out of 300 ohm Sennheisers is amplification. I agree 100% - if you’ve already got a pair and you’re unhappy, look to your electronics before you blame the headphones, because the headphones are good. I don’t think they’ve been around for 30 years because they are veiled, or rolled or bass-shy, but I do think that a whole boat load of people wrongly believe that they are because they failed to put together a proper system. Headphones don’t run themselves, and if you feed them garbage, then they are going to put out garbage. Transducers do not, CAN not, make up for deficiencies upstream.

 

[jonathan c]

Now, the measurement guys would find fault with your use of a Scotland (Islay specific) pun in an Ireland context, but judicious application of the uncertainty principle and other penumbrae and emanations of non-linear dynamics leads one to the ineluctable conclusion that it’s really all about the Glencairn Glass.

Peat (from the bogs) is a fuel in Ireland…