Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread

[Charade19]

I gave my m50x away last month to a friend, my cheapest headphones now are - the HD6xx. sure they sound good, but I just can not understand for the life of me where the fanbase comes from. the only thing they ever did that is of note (in my opinion) is to be not good or bad in every category, OK across the board. most headphones have low points, these don’t, they just don’t have a high point to their name. I would just rather listen to any of my other headphones, excluding the momentums, in 9/10 scenarios.

I do not have lots of expensive headphones, but out of the 6 pairs of headphones I own that are even worth a mention, I would pick the 6xx second last, even after the HE400

That's a fair criticism and I respect it. The 6xx are not your taste. I can also empathize with your difficulty to understand why people would use a $200 headphone with $2-$3k worth of equipment and obtain so much enjoyment. My sister doesn't understand it either. My wife also at times thinks I should use pricier headphones with the higher gear.

I will just delineate here what I shared with my wife. I love my 6xx and I think it is my favorite pair from the 10 headphones I have, including my most expensive headphone which is over 5 times the price of the 6xx. With my OTL tube amp on NOS mode on my multibit DAC, there is just pure magic. I cannot describe it any other way. The way it makes Coltrane more spiritual, BB more clinical, Albert more raw, Mahler more neurotic, Brahms more lyrical, Dire Straits more euphonic, and Miles more cool.

The 6xx works with all the genres of music I enjoy and makes me fall in love with the power of music every time, and reminds me of the therapeutic impact music can have.

 

[WILLJS]

That's a fair criticism and I respect it. The 6xx are not your taste. I can also empathize with your difficulty to understand why people would use a $200 headphone with $2-$3k worth of equipment and obtain so much enjoyment. My sister doesn't understand it either. My wife also at times thinks I should use pricier headphones with the higher gear.

I will just delineate here what I shared with my wife. I love my 6xx and I think it is my favorite pair from the 10 headphones I have, including my most expensive headphone which is over 5 times the price of the 6xx. With my OTL tube amp on NOS mode on my multibit DAC, there is just pure magic. I cannot describe it any other way. The way it makes Coltrane more spiritual, BB more clinical, Albert more raw, Mahler more neurotic, Brahms more lyrical, Dire Straits more euphonic, and Miles more cool

The 6xx works with all the genres of music I enjoy and makes me fall in love with the power of music every time, and reminds me of the therapeutic impact music can have.

I respect and acknowledge all this, but, being as unbiased as possible, wouldn’t this hold true with better headphones on the same equipment? I may not be running thousands of dollars worth but I do have an almost $2k DAC/Amp which I use most of the time. I also understand the point of system “synergy”, with both my elegia and sundara coming alive on the WA11 vs my previous daily amp, a Topping L50. might be something to do with higher output impedance, which would happen to increase bass and warm up the sound of both, something they need in order to reach optimal sound in my opinion. Note weight is increased on the elegia, as is the detail retrieval (regardless of a much higher noise floor than the L50). some things just work together, maybe just in my case, that isn’t the HD6XX to the same degree as some. don’t get me wrong, I like my 6xx a lot, especially for the $100 (~$65 USD) i paid for them and a drop 02 (which i later sold with my 770s). I just barely ever find myself reaching for the sennheisers over my elegias or stax or sundara, or the he400 for that matter.

 

[jonathan c]

I just barely ever find myself reaching for the sennheisers over my elegias or stax or sundara, or the he400 for that matter.

.... because of what you hear, of how you react, and of what you prefer. All these elements can / do vary across listeners -- even with one headphone.

 

[Charade19]

I respect and acknowledge all this, but, being as unbiased as possible, wouldn’t this hold true with better headphones on the same equipment? I may not be running thousands of dollars worth but I do have an almost $2k DAC/Amp which I use most of the time. I also understand the point of system “synergy”, with both my elegia and sundara coming alive on the WA11 vs my previous daily amp, a Topping L50. might be something to do with higher output impedance, which would happen to increase bass and warm up the sound of both, something they need in order to reach optimal sound in my opinion. Note weight is increased on the elegia, as is the detail retrieval (regardless of a much higher noise floor than the L50). some things just work together, maybe just in my case, that isn’t the HD6XX to the same degree as some. don’t get me wrong, I like my 6xx a lot, especially for the $100 (~$65 USD) i paid for them and a drop 02 (which i later sold with my 770s). I just barely ever find myself reaching for the sennheisers over my elegias or stax or sundara, or the he400 for that matter.

First, I am sorry if my message came across as pedantic when making reference to equipment. I certainly don't think you need pricier equipment to get unadulterated enjoyment out of music. I just wanted to highlight why I like to pair of less expensive headphone with pricier headphone amp and DAC. But in no way do I believe that pricier source gear is a requisite for musical enjoyment.

With that out of the way, I cannot disagree with you on what you have written. Putting measurements and monetary value aside, taste is such a highly subjective quality. My wife couldn't tell the difference between one headphone from another connected to one headphone amp to another if it came to a blind sound test. Maybe it is solely cerebral, but my planar doesn't sound right to me on the particular source gear I use with the hd6xx. I also don't find my planar headphone to be as adorable as compared to the hd6xx.

However, I will not impugn anyone for having a preference for a planar headphone with an OTL tube amp and pontificate to them to do better. Without wanting to come across as standoffish and obstinate, I was taken aback with your all caps post addressed to jonathan c. Dare I even intimate that some other members felt the same indignation I felt and took umbrage. Whether it was made in jest or not, the message did not come across as constructive criticism. However, I do thank you for expanding on it, and I hope that other thread participants will garner a richer approach to further discussion.

I think I have a better appreciation of your position. Thank you for engaging in this dialogue.

 

[WILLJS]

First, I am sorry if my message came across as pedantic when making reference to equipment. I certainly don't think you need pricier equipment to get unadulterated enjoyment out of music. I just wanted to highlight why I like to pair of less expensive headphone with pricier headphone amp and DAC. But in no way do I believe that pricier source gear is a requisite for musical enjoyment.

With that out of the way, I cannot disagree with you on what you have written. Putting measurements and monetary value aside, taste is such a highly subjective quality. My wife couldn't tell the difference between one headphone from another connected to one headphone amp to another if it came to a blind sound test. Maybe it is solely cerebral, but my planar doesn't sound right to me on the particular source gear I use with the hd6xx. I also don't find my planar headphone to be as adorable as compared to the hd6xx.

However, I will not impugn anyone for having a preference for a planar headphone with an OTL tube amp and pontificate to them to do better. Without wanting to come across as standoffish and obstinate, I was taken aback with your all caps post addressed to jonathan c. Dare I even intimate that some other members felt the same indignation I felt and took umbrage. Whether it was made in jest or not, the message did not come across as constructive criticism. However, I do thank you for expanding on it, and I hope that other thread participants will garner a richer approach to further discussion.

I think I have a better appreciation of your position. Thank you for engaging in this dialogue.

I didn’t mean it in mockery of your message I was just clarifying my setup.
idk I haven’t had much sleep and was honestly just spamming hate for no reason

my apologies for being an asshole

In actual fact I enjoy the hd6xx, just not as much as some other headphones which naturally causes me confusion at the love other people hold for it. that is all. as a $300 (australian) headphone I would promote it, just not as a summit-fi beater. that’s preference I guess. I get with some classic hifi, enter bose 901 and sansui 555, the difference there is people also charge a fortune for them. at least the 6xx is priced right

 

[razoredge]

.... test by using the very same earpads on 650 and 6XX .... ? Check for differences between 650 and 6XX in the earside foams .... ?

… cross-check a few units of each headphone with the very same pads to make sure any inter-headphone differences are of greater magnitude than intra-headphone unit variation…?

 

[WILLJS]

I was forced to go back to the HD6XX, and…

my impressions were the same. excellent at their price point, not a giant killer.
however, I will say that none of my other headphones do metal quite as well as these . they manage to remain balanced, control distortion, and never colour or muddle the sound, or have added harshness.

 

[frkasper]

Woow... 4 pages in a day? This thread has been quite boring actually, and it could benefit from this kind of stir.

 

[headstef]

I didn’t mean it in mockery of your message I was just clarifying my setup.
idk I haven’t had much sleep and was honestly just spamming hate for no reason

my apologies for being an asshole

In actual fact I enjoy the hd6xx, just not as much as some other headphones which naturally causes me confusion at the love other people hold for it. that is all. as a $300 (australian) headphone I would promote it, just not as a summit-fi beater. that’s preference I guess. I get with some classic hifi, enter bose 901 and sansui 555, the difference there is people also charge a fortune for them. at least the 6xx is priced right

You are not alone in these views about the HD 650 (and HD 6## series generally). As much as I love my (two) HD 650 and having chosen them over the HD 600, I cannot deny that they are not getting much listening time since I bought the NDH 30. For too many years I thought that headphones can't sound significantly better than the HD 650 but I was wrong.The Neumann win hands down in resolution, timbre, bass quality, bass extension, intimacy, naturalness. Clearly, headphones don't stop at the HD 650 territory of performance. I can enjoy music for hours with the HD 650 and they scaled impressively when I bought my Lehmann Linear or the Chord Qutest but when I pass from the HD 650 to the NDH 30 the sound improvement is just as audible as image improvement is visible when you pass from an excellent Full HD TV to an excellent OLED 4K TV. It is another level, period. The best electronics will not unfold all they have to give through the HD 650.
However, I can't think of anything much better or more complete than the the HD 650 at their price range. Also, l love them so much that I bought for them a pair of Custom Cans copper weights to try (and one for my HD 580 Precision, too), hoping to improve them slightly. Currently I am taking measurements with a miniDSP Ears to evaluate the differences between my two HD 650 (made in 2003 and 2022, both in Ireland, black paper mesh and silver metal mesh) and between two slightly different versions of new earpads. Then I shall measure and listen for the effects of the copper weights and the little cylindrical foams that come with them. The point is to find the best or my most liked configuration, it could be the stock one, don't know yet.
Having said all that, the HD 650 will always be near me but it cannot be my reference anymore or a tool for demanding evaluation of source upgrades.

 

[YtseJamer]

.... no ZMFs driven by HP8?

The HP8 is still my main amp, but I recently sold all my ZMFs. Like I mentioned, I just don’t have much headphone time these days, and I didn’t want those expensive headphones just sitting around gathering dust. I figured switching back to the HD6XX after using the Atrium as my daily driver for the past couple of years would feel like a step down… but honestly, no complaints so far. Maybe it’s the synergy with the HP8, but I don’t remember the HD6XX ever sounding this good on my older setups.

 

[MattTCG]

You are not alone in these views about the HD 650 (and HD 6## series generally). As much as I love my (two) HD 650 and having chosen them over the HD 600, I cannot deny that they are not getting much listening time since I bought the NDH 30. For too many years I thought that headphones can't sound significantly better than the HD 650 but I was wrong.The Neumann win hands down in resolution, timbre, bass quality, bass extension, intimacy, naturalness. Clearly, headphones don't stop at the HD 650 territory of performance. I can enjoy music for hours with the HD 650 and they scaled impressively when I bought my Lehmann Linear or the Chord Qutest but when I pass from the HD 650 to the NDH 30 the sound improvement is just as audible as image improvement is visible when you pass from an excellent Full HD TV to an excellent OLED 4K TV. It is another level, period. The best electronics will not unfold all they have to give through the HD 650.
However, I can't think of anything much better or more complete than the the HD 650 at their price range. Also, l love them so much that I bought for them a pair of Custom Cans copper weights to try (and one for my HD 580 Precision, too), hoping to improve them slightly. Currently I am taking measurements with a miniDSP Ears to evaluate the differences between my two HD 650 (made in 2003 and 2022, both in Ireland, black paper mesh and silver metal mesh) and between two slightly different versions of new earpads. Then I shall measure and listen for the effects of the copper weights and the little cylindrical foams that come with them. The point is to find the best or my most liked configuration, it could be the stock one, don't know yet.
Having said all that, the HD 650 will always be near me but it cannot be my reference anymore or a tool for demanding evaluation of source upgrades.

Really? Nah, not IMHO. The NDH 30 is a good headphone but in no surpasses the hd650 according to my ears. The NDH 30 has a bent towards studio use whereas the 650 is more tuned for musical enjoyment. I guess we all have different expectation and opinions.

 

[jonathan c]

Oh dont worry protoss got that cover...
I have my HD6XX with a custom cable with a **dual 3-pin xlr cable** on my beautiful gsx-mk2.

** where? ... only a single 4-pin XLR cable .

 

[pk4425]

I would have done if i hadn’t been slandered a bunch of times.

I’d think you’d have been grown up enough to let it go

Slandered? It's pretty tough to slander an opinion. This is worse drama queen BS than high school.

Did you expect to enter a thread of HD 6XX enthusiasts, defecate on the headphone and expect to slip away without any retorts? That's adorable.

I didn’t mean it in mockery of your message I was just clarifying my setup.
idk I haven’t had much sleep and was honestly just spamming hate for no reason

Fair enough. Hit the sheets and skip the keyboard next time you're exhausted.

Onward!

 

[razoredge]

I was forced to go back to the HD6XX, and…

my impressions were the same. excellent at their price point, not a giant killer.
however, I will say that none of my other headphones do metal quite as well as these . they manage to remain balanced, control distortion, and never colour or muddle the sound, or have added harshness.

I agree with you on the whole. I’m fairly new to the head-fi world (2 yrs and half) and very new to HD6XX ownership (a month). I was already spoiled by high end Meze headphones before coming to the 6XX, and wanting to find out what all the fuss was about. I did notice the reverent mythologizing around the HD6 series as well when I started out. I am theorizing here, but… I think some of this admiration comes from the fact that Sennheiser basically nailed the FR of the HD6 before the Harman research demystified and popularized what widely acceptable response looks like. Nowadays it seems silly, because you can get this balanced tuning even on a $20 Chinese IEM but it must have felt amazing back in the day! The status of the HD6 was already cemented and now is part of audiophile lore and, it’s just part of the culture to pay your respects to a HD6 variant. I think this sociological aspect explains the phenomenon of folks with otherwise TOTL headphones plugging the HD6XX/650/600 into a $10K amp and singing its praises. It’s a rite of passage!
Just some lazy theorizing but let me know if any of this rings true.

 

[WILLJS]

I agree with you on the whole. I’m fairly new to the head-fi world (2 yrs and half) and very new to HD6XX ownership (a month). I was already spoiled by high end Meze headphones before coming to the 6XX, and wanting to find out what all the fuss was about. I did notice the reverent mythologizing around the HD6 series as well when I started out. I am theorizing here, but… I think some of this admiration comes from the fact that Sennheiser basically nailed the FR of the HD6 before the Harman research demystified and popularized what widely acceptable response looks like. Nowadays it seems silly, because you can get this balanced tuning even on a $20 Chinese IEM but it must have felt amazing back in the day! The status of the HD6 was already cemented and now is part of audiophile lore and, it’s just part of the culture to pay your respects to a HD6 variant. I think this sociological aspect explains the phenomenon of folks with otherwise TOTL headphones will plug the HD6XX/650/600 into a $10K amp and sing its praises. It’s a rite of passage!
Just some lazy theorizing but let me know if any of this rings true.

perhaps it does, and as I said, I enjoy the 6XX, just I think the hype is misplaced, much like as I mentioned before, in the hifi world, the Bose 901, Sansui 555, Gale monitors, etc. these cult following have continued on from a time period in which these were, perhaps not the pinnacle, but extreme value for money. these days they just don’t hold up IMO, having tried each (this is how I made the money to buy headphones before having a solid source of income, selling hifi). the main difference is these are still current, therefore prices stay low. if ever sennheiser discontinue the series (if they were relieved of their sanity), prices would go right up and people would convince themselves that their $500+ 600 series was a good financial decision.