Sennheiser HD 600 Impressions Thread
Feb 18, 2013 at 6:37 AM Post #2,629 of 23,418
Just wanted to share what's tipped me over for going with the HD600 instead of the HD650; I auditioned both phones in a music gear store hooked up to a fairly high end stage piano, while that is not exactly the same as the assorted types of music I'm going to use these phones for it was a revealing experience.
 
When using the HD600 I thought there was something wrong with the phones and that the stage piano was sounding through some speakers, I had to take off the phones to be sure. It was totally silent outside. A very true illusion of a piano playing in front of me.
 
On with the HD650, and it sounded just as usual with headphones, right inside the head and a slightly "busy" sound at that. The illusion was gone. No way I could go with the HD650 after that, of course I want to be able to have as transparent and live sound as possible, The HD600 was an easy choice, especially after all collective praise they have had through many years ie as proven as can be  :)
 
Feb 18, 2013 at 7:53 AM Post #2,630 of 23,418
The 650 is a special phone in its own right, but as you point out the accuracy of the 600 is unique.  I bought the 600 shortly after getting a great deal on the 700.  I wasn't planning for both, but am burning them in together, alternating between the two.  For classical music especially, the 600 is incredible.
 
Feb 18, 2013 at 8:23 AM Post #2,631 of 23,418
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Yes - but I would only use an adaptor cable.
 
The integrated barrel adaptors put a hell of a lot of strain on the 3.5mm socket and I would not touch them with a bargepole.
 
Feb 18, 2013 at 12:28 PM Post #2,632 of 23,418
I know what you mean ..
 
At one point , i manage to get the sound coming from the front  but i notice some details is missing if listen to an ochestra..
 
then finally i manage to make HD600 not only  able to project details & transparency & huge soundstage , but also the atmoshere of the music & most importantly having a soul.
 
A soul in HD600 can gives you goose bump  make your hair on the arms literally stand after hearing deep bass & can make you cry when just listening to instrument playing sad melody. 
 
To be able to get dark silent background & total transparency & sound musical are easy , but to be able to feel the atmosohere where the music is played is another level. in short , you fell like you are there..well that is audio nirvana to me
 
Yes, my rig is kinda expensive , even my dc power supply to power up my music source costing  3000 euros  
 
sometimes, i felt my hd600 doesn't deserve this . Of course, i intend to have another headphones 
 
Feb 18, 2013 at 2:04 PM Post #2,633 of 23,418
Well, I don't really see how anyone serious about HiFi would want more bass than what the HD600 already has. Bass is plentiful and powerful which imho would make HD650:s raised bass moot. Listening to Dream Theater "Scenes ..." right now and Myungs bass usually is a little hard to follow deep in the mix, not here ...

What amazes me is that the sound balance and overall tonal quality is pretty much like my 2.1 speaker system(HiFi-speakers+Sub, not PC-speakers), the texture of sounds are like they have travelled a distance through air to reach the ear like at a concert or like when listening through good speakers. Not like when having a speaker next to each ear as in normal headphones. Quite impressive imho :D
 
Feb 18, 2013 at 6:16 PM Post #2,634 of 23,418
I started another thread asking about the cardas cables for the 600, but no answers yet so I'm reposting it here:
 
 
Have had my 600s for a few days and it just gets better every day, especially now that I've started using the amarras sound program to drive the audioengine D1 amp for the 600s....
 
I've went ahead and ordered the 650 upgrade cables because I heard they give the 600s a bit more punch to the bass, which is what I like.  But I've been hearing good things about the cardas cable...I see one on ebay for $155...that is alot of money for a freaking cable upgrade.  Is it worth it?

 

 
Feb 19, 2013 at 3:59 PM Post #2,635 of 23,418
Cables are very much something I would only spend that much money on if I had too much money and everything else in my rig was already as good as it could possibly be. I think dropping $155 for a cable is a bit overkill personally.
 
In other news: My Objective2 is set up and ready to go, and my god is it a marvelous experience.
I was driving my HD600 from my FiiO E17, simply because I didn't have anything else at the time. But now I have the O2 and it is amazing. The soundstage has become much better, the highs more crisp, the bass more tidy and it now sounds a lot faster. 
 
All in all, this headphone sounds absolutely amazing, and I love it to bits. 
Now I just need to sell my E17 to someone and get an external soundcard for both professional and audiophile purposes ;D
 
Feb 19, 2013 at 5:32 PM Post #2,636 of 23,418
Quote:
Cables are very much something I would only spend that much money on if I had too much money and everything else in my rig was already as good as it could possibly be. I think dropping $155 for a cable is a bit overkill personally.
 
In other news: My Objective2 is set up and ready to go, and my god is it a marvelous experience.
I was driving my HD600 from my FiiO E17, simply because I didn't have anything else at the time. But now I have the O2 and it is amazing. The soundstage has become much better, the highs more crisp, the bass more tidy and it now sounds a lot faster. 
 
All in all, this headphone sounds absolutely amazing, and I love it to bits. 
Now I just need to sell my E17 to someone and get an external soundcard for both professional and audiophile purposes ;D

The O2 is a fantastic match for the HD600s, I truely love it
 
Feb 19, 2013 at 10:00 PM Post #2,638 of 23,418
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There's that word "faster" again...I keep seeing it pop up in relation to the 600s...I asked this in another thread, but what does it mean?

 
http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/bbs/stereophile_audio-glossary.html
 
http://www.head-fi.org/a/describing-sound-a-glossary
 
 
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Feb 20, 2013 at 1:11 AM Post #2,639 of 23,418
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There's that word "faster" again...I keep seeing it pop up in relation to the 600s...I asked this in another thread, but what does it mean?

 
In addition to what's in the glossary on the link above, here's an example* : play Lil Jon and the bass goes BOOOOOM BOOOOM then on Skrillex it goes WUUUB WUUUB WUUUB. Then when you play, say, Dream Theater the double pedals should go thudthudthudthudthud, which is generally "fast," but then it goes ThwUuBbThwUuBbThwUuBb instead; or when playing Deftones the kick pedals should go "THUDww (lyrics) THUDww (lyrics)" but instead go, "THWUUDww(lyrics)wTwHwUUDww(lyrics)w," you're using a headphone or speaker with unnaturally enhanced bass, or it's too much of a complex load for a given amplifier**. Fast is generally the ideal reproduction of the bass drum for those bands, but that's not always clear cut either since sometimes it can be more like "thuthuthuthu" (d's missing) or just THUD, which basically can be too fast that it either doesn't have enough on the decay on the trailing edge of the note (or it just doesn't reach down low enough on the bass freqs to begin with, if even at the start of the note it seems too weak or not deep enough). That perception on what fast and natural means is basically why people can't agree on whether the K70x or the HD6xx is more natural, which personally is too trivial for me already and just gets in the way of enjoying the music.
 
 
 
*which I hope doesn't confuse you further, but it's worked on my friends, although admittedly they're my former bandmates so they'd be really familiar with instruments outside of recorded material

**this happens less often than people think
 
Feb 20, 2013 at 1:23 AM Post #2,640 of 23,418
Quote:
 
There's that word "faster" again...I keep seeing it pop up in relation to the 600s...I asked this in another thread, but what does it mean?

If you have a background in music I think a good way to describe it would be playing on the front of the beat vs. the middle or end.  It produces a more lively arguably cleaner sound.  If you are not of the music-playing persuasion feel free to ignore this.
 

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