[mrAdrian]

Will the HD600 complement well with the following genres?

Female Vocals
Piano/Cellos (mainly instrumental)
Orchestra
Acoustic

ALESSANDRO mspro and akg might also be strong contenders, and audio technica does really really really well with female vocals.

 

[ihideinbarrels]

I love my HD600. It was the first "audiophile" headphones I owned and it was even sweeter since it was a high school graduation gift from my uncle. I ran it off my ipod and logitech z5500 for about 6 years until I discovered this forum. Live and learn right? After getting the LYR and a dac, it's like discovering a new headphone. It's quite an experience!

 

[FlySweep]

Hmm interesting. I was looking at the HE-500 as an "upgrade" from the hd600, namely for the bass, which is a bit modest with the hd600.

 
Bass?  Oh yes.. the HE-500's bass capabilities are spectacular.  It possesses much more muscle, precision, and nuance than what the HD600 is capable of.  I found those massive ortho drivers nearly impossible to distort... and the extend deeeeep in an astonishingly effortless manner (provided you're driving them ably).

..I know a lot of people say they [HE-500] excel at electronica/hip hop because of the bass, but I personally quite like the hd600 for those genres. It just sounds effortless.

 
Same here.. I listen to a ton of (indie) hip hop, electronica, jazzy DnB, etc.. stuff with fast and/or deep low end.. the HE-500 reproduced it all in a very engaging manner.. but I also love how it all sounds with the HD600.  The HD600 might not deliver the slam or sparkle one might expect from a more colored phone.. but the HD600 offers excellent transparency and it's neutral-inspired signature does an excellent job of presenting the music in an 'honest' manner.

Will the HD600 complement well with the following genres?
 
Female Vocals
Piano/Cellos (mainly instrumental)
Orchestra
Acoustic

 
It'll sound especially great with that music.  I like how electric & acoustic guitars sound on the HD600 (particularly with a nice tube amp).  The HD600 has the dynamics to present orchestral music well, but it might not image as accurately or extend as deep (or high) as some other phones that might be especially suited for orchestral music.  Though considering the HD600's 'chameleon'-like sound, it's never stopped me from enjoying music it might not be absolutely perfectly suited for.. even in those cases, it gets so much of everything else so right.  For example, I find the ability to accurately portray the timbre of pianos somewhat difficult for a lot of headphones.. the HD600 does it with excellent tonal accuracy and transparency.  Vocals sound very clear and lifelike on the HD600, too.
 
Speaking of transparency.. one thing that jumped out to me, when A/Bing the HE-500 & HD600.. was just how clear the HD600 was.  It was frighteningly close to the HE-500 in that regard.. perhaps even exceeding it (palmfish could chime in here as he did an excellent, in-depth comparison of the HE-500, HD600, and another phone a few months back).  The HE-500 certainly isn't the last word (or product) when it comes to transparency (the DIY T50RP Paradox is the most transparent phone I've heard to date), but as a $700 flagship product, the price tag is consummate with it's performance.  For less than half that price, what the HD600 delivered in terms of transparency was truly impressive.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

The HD600 might not deliver the slam or sparkle one might expect from a more colored phone.. but the HD600 offers excellent transparency and it's neutral-inspired signature does an excellent job of presenting the music in an 'honest' manner.
 
It'll sound especially great with that music.  I like how electric & acoustic guitars sound on the HD600 (particularly with a nice tube amp).  The HD600 has the dynamics to present orchestral music well, but it might not image as accurately or extend as deep (or high) as some other phones that might be especially suited for orchestral music.  Though considering the HD600's 'chameleon'-like sound, it's never stopped me from enjoying music it might not be absolutely perfectly suited for.. even in those cases, it gets so much of everything else so right.  For example, I find the ability to accurately portray the timbre of pianos somewhat difficult for a lot of headphones.. the HD600 does it with excellent tonal accuracy and transparency.  Vocals sound very clear and lifelike on the HD600, too.
 
Speaking of transparency.. one thing that jumped out to me, when A/Bing the HE-500 & HD600.. was just how clear the HD600 was.  It was frighteningly close to the HE-500 in that regard.. perhaps even exceeding it (palmfish could chime in here as he did an excellent, in-depth comparison of the HE-500, HD600, and another phone a few months back).  The HE-500 certainly isn't the last word (or product) when it comes to transparency (the DIY T50RP Paradox is the most transparent phone I've heard to date), but as a $700 flagship product, the price tag is consummate with it's performance.  For less than half that price, what the HD600 delivered in terms of transparency was truly impressive.

 
Agree... I found the HD580/HD600's and the HD650's (all new versions with white fabric covering the baffles), with the RAL cryo-silver cable and matched setup, to sound very "Gradoish" (clear, detailed, fast, great soundstage, etc.).  My HD650's had the same drivers as my HD580's/HD600's - so they sounded identical.  I would not include the "old version" HD650's in this group - which are as "veiled" as the HE-500's are... but... have awesome bass!  In fact, I found them to sound as good, or better, than all other headphones I've tried (including the O2's).  The HE-500's just sounded too "thick, and syrupy" too me - without the clarity and realism of the "new version" Senns and, especially the Grado RS-1's, PS500's and PS1000's.  Though, this is with jazz, classical, country, R&B, and acoustic music, which requires phones which can produce greater resolution and subtlety than other types of music.  

 

[palmfish]

Quote:

 
The HE-500's just sounded too "thick, and syrupy" too me - without the clarity and realism of the "new version" Senns and, especially the Grado RS-1's, PS500's and PS1000's.  Though, this is with jazz, classical, country, R&B, and acoustic music, which requires phones which can produce greater resolution and subtlety than other types of music.  

This just highlights how we all have different tastes and preferences.
 
I agree completely about the HE-500 sounding thick and syrupy, but I find the Grados too bright and shrill. The HD 600 to me is one of the most balanced sounding headphones out there. It just lacked a little bit of bass impact (fun) that I was looking for in a do it all can. For me, the Denon D7000 had the best of what the HD 600 offered, just with more visceral low frequency impact.

 

[olitender]

YEEEE

 

[punks15]

Quote:

Will the HD600 complement well with the following genres?
 
Female Vocals
Piano/Cellos (mainly instrumental)
Orchestra
Acoustic

Yes!

 

[the fool]

sorry to ask this question, is HD800 more similar to HD650 or HD600? I want to avoid repetition? forgive my english.

 

[mrAdrian]

Quote:

sorry to ask this question, is HD800 more similar to HD650 or HD600? I want to avoid repetition? forgive my english.

 
Different to both but the HD650 should be even more different

 

[underhysteria]

Quote:

sorry to ask this question, is HD800 more similar to HD650 or HD600? I want to avoid repetition? forgive my english.

 
I've listened to both the HD600 & HD800 side by side a day ago. It is no surprise that the HD800 (which costs about 4 times more) exhibits far more details with a very wide soundstage but the HD600 is good in its own way and definitely more enjoyable to listen to depending on your listening preference.   

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

sorry to ask this question, is HD800 more similar to HD650 or HD600? I want to avoid repetition? forgive my english.

 
From my listening to the HD600, HD650 and HD800, the most immediate difference is the HD800 doesn't seem to need Crossfeed as much; must be the angled drivers, but I can't be sure. It still helps though. And the one time I thought the sound was far too different was just because I was rolling on year-old HD600 pads. I got to try a fresh HD650 and a cable DIY-ed for my HD600, plus my HD600 with the fresh pads from that HD650, and the gap to the HD800 was considerably closed if you have Crossfeed. Unless you have recordings that would really have a lot of depth in the soundstage, you can be happy with the HD600/HD650.
 
Thing with that cable is the guy who made it won't disclose what it is. It could be ordinary cable from an electronics supply store for all I know (not that I'd care) but from impressions during a meet and my impromptu semi-blind* tests had everyone noticing it was "faster." And it was cheaper than eBay "custom cables" too; best of all just in time as my stock cable finally broke the conductor on the right channel.
 
BTW they sound different as the pads wear out - back in 2011 I tried an HD800 with worn pads against my HD600 with the old pads (not the ones I'm using now) - the former sounds too thin and the latter noticeably bloated. All these comparisons on the Meier Cantate (first version on the 2011 test, my Cantate.2 on the more recent one).
 
 
*Because we were having too much of a gap swapping out the cable and pads, just ordered new ones

 

[preproman]

Quote:

semi-blind* tests 

 
 
I just love those...

 

[the fool]

i am planning to buy hd600 or hd650,  but i heard from my friend that hd800 is an improve version of hd600, he is going to sell me his hd800 in 2013, hence i fear that if i buy hd600 now, there is some overlapping there in the future. I want to know which headphone has a bigger difference to hd800.

 

[IPodPJ]

Could anybody suggest an upgrade from the HD-600 that has a similar sound?

I really love the HD-600 but feel it could be the weak link in my Apogee Duet- Burson HA-160 set up. The HD-600 sound good, in fact they sound great, but the Burson is such a brilliant amplifier, i feel it could drive something a little more demanding. HD-800 maybe? Maybe it's the Apogee that is the problem. I was using a Cambridge DACmagic before.  i liked it at first but I found its brightness a little tiring after a while. The Apogee sounds flat in a direct comparison, but I suppose that's the brain at work. I have a Lavry DA11 too, but find that too dark with that set-up. I'm not worried about the DAC because I'll be getting the Burson HA-160D soon. 

Maybe I should just quell the feeling that i could be missing out on something, because it does sound incredibly good to me. 

The upgrade from the 600 would be the 800. They share similar tonal traits whereas the 650 shares tonal traits with phones like the LCD2.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

 
 
I just love those...

Not me; it's just making do. Problem with meets is even if there was a spare unit the pads are either too new, too old, or whatever age too used on that day.