[Stephen Murphy]

I love the sound of the 600s. They convey the magic of the music without extra bass or other tricks. I have the Cardas cable upgrade, which is a good one. I like the marble look as well. They are a winning set of phones and I am keeping them!

 

[Lightnin Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mateo05 Face it, looks matter even to the intelligent, knowledgeable crowd (read: those who don't use Apple). How can you fully use something intended for your personal enjoyment if it bothers you every time before you put it on or take it off? [size=xx-small]Sorry bout the little jab there, couldn't resist [/size]

Easy: Sound first. Fit/comfort second. Other considerations aren't worth my time. Industrial design is all well and fine but I'm not gonna buy a different, possibly inferior set of headphones because they look better. If you're an aesthete you may disagree. Fine. You are you and to quote P. Sailor "Iyam what Iyam.

LJ

 

[mateo05]

When sound and comfort are equal or very very near-equal, other factors will come into play. I tried to clarify myself before, I'll leave it at this now.

 

[Teerawit]

I must be in the minority, but I kinda like the marbled look. Some pics online tend to blow the marbling out of proportion.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoZX I too prefer the sound of the HD-650s. To me the HD-600 is the more neutral phone but the highs are a little grainy and they aren't as resolving as the HD-650s. I also like the extra bass impact of the HD-650s.

This is an interesting point. When I demoed the 580s and 600s I found the 580s to be even grainier in the highs. That is one of the reasons why I bought the 600....and this was before the 650 came out.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by augustwest By the way I prefer the marbled finish, to that of the 580 & 650. viva la 600! - augustwest

Yes, I will admit. The marble finish of the 600s is a lot better than the marble effect of both the 580s and 650s, they are much too subtle.

In fact the marble effect on the Sennheisers puts work surfaces in kitchens made by IKEA to shame.

 

[Lightnin Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mateo05 When sound and comfort are equal or very very near-equal, other factors will come into play. I tried to clarify myself before, I'll leave it at this now.

I understand. What you said holds true for you. Not for me. As far as the SQ being = or ~= no two makes or models of HP's really sound the same. If I like the Senn 600 sound over the Grado sound I'm not going to buy the Grados' just because I like the way they look over the Senns'. The quality of their sound may be equal but the sound is still different, no? I'll put it straight up: If you preferred the 600 sound over x (~equal class/price/comfort phones) sound but you liked the look of x better the 600s what do you do? My thought matrix comes up with the 600 every time. BTW I do like the marble finish as it is.

LJ

 

[mateo05]

I simply don't buy that the 600's sound any different from modded 580's. They're the same drivers, the same enclosure made of a slightly different material (which since they're both ridiculously open cans I think makes such an insignificant difference that it can be ignored), same stock cable. If there were differences I would suck up the marble and go with the 600's.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightnin Joe I understand. What you said holds true for you. Not for me. As far as the SQ being = or ~= no two makes or models of HP's really sound the same. If I like the Senn 600 sound over the Grado sound I'm not going to buy the Grados' just because I like the way they look over the Senns'. The quality of their sound may be equal but the sound is still different, no? I'll put it straight up: If you preferred the 600 sound over x (~equal class/price/comfort phones) sound but you liked the look of x better the 600s what do you do? My thought matrix comes up with the 600 every time. BTW I do like the marble finish as it is. LJ

D'oh, no. The whole point of the argument was if two things are the same in function other criteria comes into it, like what they look like.

If you bring Grado V Sennheiser into this, the whole crux, i.e. being similar sounding is no longer an unimportant point. Their sound outweighs ANY other factor.

 

[Lightnin Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mateo05 I simply don't buy that the 600's sound any different from modded 580's. They're the same drivers, the same enclosure made of a slightly different material (which since they're both ridiculously open cans I think makes such an insignificant difference that it can be ignored), same stock cable. If there were differences I would suck up the marble and go with the 600's.

Ok. You've made your decision. You've stated your opinion. Do what you want. No one is stopping you. I picked the HD-600 out of a lineup based on the fact that I preferred its sound over all the others. You can go on and on about what you think and what you like but that isn't going to change how a certain set of cans sound to MY ears. Bask in the light of diversity.

 

[Lightnin Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed D'oh, no. The whole point of the argument was if two things are the same in function other criteria comes into it, like what they look like. If you bring Grado V Sennheiser into this, the whole crux, i.e. being similar sounding is no longer an unimportant point. Their sound outweighs ANY other factor.

Ah, yes, that changes things slightly. Give me a red M5 or a black M5 and I'll pick the black one any day. Not sure if it applies as Mateo thinks being that the 600's have a carbon-fiber band to keep down resonance and I don't think the earlier model does. Same driver + modified enclosure + different band = apples : oranges, regardless of whether they are "ridiculously open," which I think is a very weak statement: they were designed to be open, not semi-open, not sorta-open, not quasi-open. Sorry. But if say the 600 was available with either the stock marble or a cool carbon black or something (eg. everything else being the same) I would be tempted to go with the black.

LJ

 

[catscratch]

I like the HD600 over the HD650 too. The HD600 has a more accurate tone and a nearly perfect tonal balance. I only wish it had more detail. I find that the bass is too muddy and unresolved, and on the whole they are too slow. They sound great with jazz and more minimal classical, with their accurate tone and marvellous decay, but ask them to play something fast and dense with lots of layers and they start tripping over their feet.

I suppose that running them balanced will fix that.

If I had an HD600-like tonal balance with electrostatic resolution, it would be my ideal phone. Oh wait... Omega II! Hmm...

The SR-001 is also in many ways like the HD600 and even more like the HD650. It has a warm tonal balance, is very smooth and enveloping, and utterly fatigue-free. The HD600 has a far more natural tone and more bass impact, not to mention greater treble extension, but the SR-001 ups the resolution greatly and has a crisp, deep, defined and powerful bass that is to die for, and the best midrange this side of the R10. If I had the SR-001 sound in an HD600 enclosure, I wouldn't mind that either.