I just received a pair of HTF600's today, and these are my initial impressions at the very beginning of the burn-in process:
I'm coming from bass-light HiFiMan Re-ZERO's, so I was expecting the bass on these to be shocking or borderline overwhelming. Instead of being totally insane, the bass actually seems very well balanced with the mids. Since these are being labeled as basshead cans, I'm very curious whether this is nearly as bassy as it get for headphoness, or whether the XB500, Ultrasone HFI-580, and Ultrasone Pro 900 have significantly more impact. I mainly wonder because I have an über-basshead cousin who is bound to waste money on the Beats Studio unless he's shocked and awed by another pair of headphones.
That said, the bass is in no way lacking for any normal listener. It's very satisfying to me, and I might even be a closet basshead: I do own a set of Logitech Z-5500's, after all. Aside from the missing bodily impact, it almost sounds like I'm listening to speakers. In fact, the bass seems to have a more visceral impact than it did when I first started listening to them. I was originally slightly disappointed after expecting to be blown away, but I'm gradually getting more impressed with the bass as time goes on. It definitely extends very low, and it still has quite good volume in the 30-35Hz range. The bass also pretty high-quality to my ears, and it can hit quickly and decay much faster than what I'm used to (boomy Z-5500 bass). It might bleed into the midrange a little, but it doesn't seem to be a problem so far in my listening. All in all, I think the bass is excellent for headphones in general, let alone a model this inexpensive.
The mids are quite prominent on these headphones, and they balance out the bass very well. My only real complaint with the mids is that the upper mids can be harsh in certain frequencies. They seem to have a spike somewhere (or some ringing, or intermodulation distortion, or something), but my graphic equalizer is too coarse to pinpoint and correct it. This may be the "sibilance" that people refer to on these boards, and it's really the limiting factor for the volume these headphones can be played at. I noticed it in quite a few tracks, and it also seemed present in Olivia Ong's voice in her How Insensitive track (which Wind06 posted
here to showcase the HD598's).
Other than the spike in the upper mids, the highs are the HTF600's biggest failing. I was too interested in the mids and bass at first to realize what was missing, but after some time it became apparent that the highs are VERY rolled off and distant sounding. It's not subtle at all, and it makes the music sound muffled and hollow, like you're listening to speakers or a live performance through a [thin, light] wooden door. Thankfully, a bit of very coarse equalization can open them up tremendously: If I add about 5dB to everything around 2kHz and up, the highs become pretty well balanced with the bass and mids.
In terms of texture and detail, the HTF600's are definitely not high-fidelity, but pretty much everyone agrees there. My Re-ZERO's have far more texture and definition to them, whereas the HTF600's seem significantly smoother, slower, and warmer. The much stronger bass adds atmosphere and impact that the Re-ZERO's are lacking (without equalization) though, because the bass is so light on those that low-frequency detail is usually too faint to notice. Despite the muffled highs and smoothed away detail, the HTF600's provide pretty good clarity and separation for the elements that are present. The soundstage is better than I expected for my first closed headphone, and the imaging is much better than my Re-ZERO's (which are said to have "hazy" imaging, a characterization I totally agree with).
One very strange thing about the HTF600 is that I'm getting "crackling" sounds every once in a while. I'm not sure if those are from the driver flexing or changing, or if they're part of some sources, or if they happen when the driver gets overwhelmed with complexity, or what...but it was something I noticed, and I hope it goes away.
Overall, my initial opinion on the HTF600 is mixed: On the one hand, I'm very impressed with what they CAN do. I have six points of reference:
- HiFiMan Re-ZERO's
- Logitech Z-5500 speakers
- iPod earbuds
- Horrendous RCA HPNC100 headphones for $19.99 (I think I paid $29.99 a few years ago though)
- Some pretty good budget headphones I bought in the early 2000's for ~$20 and used for years until they were broken beyond repair, because they kicked the crap out of other headphones I had heard. I have no idea what the model was though.
- Real-life acoustic performances
Given my reference points, the HTF600's roughly equalized sound definitely reaches the level I'd expect from a product that's around $100 or more, not $30...especially given the fully satisfying bass. If I had the usual expensive reference points like the Sennheiser HD600 or HD650, I might even adjust that upward (though I'd only know for sure if I could actually compare). However, I'm also disappointed with the HTF600's shortcomings so far, especially the weak highs. Their unequalized sound is much more limited and prevents them from being fantastic overall performers out of the box...or with sources that can't be equalized.
I'm definitely reserving final judgment for a LONG time though: These babies have a strong weakness out of the box, but I'd like to see if burn-in helps to alleviate it. Hopefully it does...I love these headphones with equalization (they'll never have hi-fi detail, but they have a very musical and fun sound), but it would be very nice to enjoy them as thoroughly without it.
