[jto168]

One Week Impressions
These are definitely fun headphones. I haven't listened to the ATH-M50 for over a month as I have been bassheading with the HFI-580 for the last while. As I was burning and listening to the HTF600, I was rotating between headphones (M50, HFI-580, HD555) to clean my ear's palate so to speak. Source is PC (foobar -> WASAPI -> Fiio E7/E9) and files tested are the usual 320kbps MP3, FLAC, and a few CD/EAC.
 
Impressions are based on SQ alone.
Observations about build quality, comfort, etc., will come at a later date.

HTF600 vs M50
Mids are forward, more so than the M50. At first it sounded veiled like others have stated, but over time it did not sound that way. Things started to open up and I could really appreciate the vocals from Adele, The Guess Who, and Florence + The Machine.
 
Highs are easier, not as harsh as the M50. They roll off and don't cut into my ears as bad as the M50 can in some cases.
 
Bass is consistent with the M50 but I find it's tighter and not as muddy.
 
The differences could be due to burn in, as the M50 have several hundred hours of burn in already and the HTF600 are still new. At the time of this writing, I would say they have been burned for about 72 hours.
 
There are some songs that sound better with the M50. I would be lying if I said there is a night and day difference, because there is not.
To put things in perspective, if a blind test reveals negligible differences perception of sound quality between the HTF600 and the M50, it would be safe to assume that the M50 is over valued in terms of its performance while the HTF600 is under valued in terms of its performance.
 
What does this mean?
 
The HTF600 is major bang for your buck in you assess the headphone based on SQ alone.
 
HTF600 vs HFI-580
 
The poor man's Ultrasone Pro 900 aka Ultrasone HFI-580; this is my go to can for bass.
 
When Dsnuts told me the HTF600 rivals the 580 in terms of bass, I was intrigued.
 
After a week of listening to a lot of Deadmau5, Markus Schulz, and getting goose bumps and flashbacks of days past as I tore though my EDM library, I found myself loving the HTF600.
 
The bass extends low, hits hard, and has just enough bass reverb to feel like a good sealed subwoofer. The sometimes flubbery, ported style subwoofer bass of the M50 turned me off and that was the reason why I jumped on the HFI-580.
 
It's hard to pick between the HTF600 and the HFI-580 when it comes to basshead satisfaction. Each represented the bass in different yet subtle ways that made me smile.
 
If I had to pick one right now, it would be the HFI-580. The Ultrasone sound signature, perhaps even the S-Logic technology, and the PrAT-ness of the HFI-580 makes me put down the Pannys in favour of the HFI-580.
 
The HTF600 was close to dethroning my beloved HFI-580 in this regard.

I'll say it again, but I think the only headphone that will make me forget about the 580 forever will be the Ultrasone Pro 900.
 
Preliminary Conclusion: The HTF600 is a capable budget basshead headphone. But it is versatile enough to be used for music that isn't bass oriented: rock, pop, acoustic, metal, soul. The highs are presented beautifully; not harsh and not too bright. The mids are forward and I love that because my other headphones are mid recessed. It's really nice to feel the vocals as oppossed to just hearing it. As far as the bass goes, it will satisfy the hungry basshead. 

 

 

[crinacle]

 
Quote:

One Week Impressions
These are definitely fun headphones. I haven't listened to the ATH-M50 for over a month as I have been bassheading with the HFI-580 for the last while. As I was burning and listening to the HTF600, I was rotating between headphones (M50, HFI-580, HD555) to clean my ear's palate so to speak. Source is PC (foobar -> WASAPI -> Fiio E7/E9) and files tested are the usual 320kbps MP3, FLAC, and a few CD/EAC.
 
Impressions are based on SQ alone.
Observations about build quality, comfort, etc., will come at a later date.

HTF600 vs M50
Mids are forward, more so than the M50. At first it sounded veiled like others have stated, but over time it did not sound that way. Things started to open up and I could really appreciate the vocals from Adele, The Guess Who, and Florence + The Machine.
 
Highs are easier, not as harsh as the M50. They roll off and don't cut into my ears as bad as the M50 can in some cases.
 
Bass is consistent with the M50 but I find it's tighter and not as muddy.
 
The differences could be due to burn in, as the M50 have several hundred hours of burn in already and the HTF600 are still new. At the time of this writing, I would say they have been burned for about 72 hours.
 
There are some songs that sound better with the M50. I would be lying if I said there is a night and day difference, because there is not.
To put things in perspective, if a blind test reveals negligible differences perception of sound quality between the HTF600 and the M50, it would be safe to assume that the M50 is over valued in terms of its performance while the HTF600 is under valued in terms of its performance.
 
What does this mean?
 
The HTF600 is major bang for your buck in you assess the headphone based on SQ alone.
 
HTF600 vs HFI-580
 
The poor man's Ultrasone Pro 900 aka Ultrasone HFI-580; this is my go to can for bass.
 
When Dsnuts told me the HTF600 rivals the 580 in terms of bass, I was intrigued.
 
After a week of listening to a lot of Deadmau5, Markus Schulz, and getting goose bumps and flashbacks of days past as I tore though my EDM library, I found myself loving the HTF600.
 
The bass extends low, hits hard, and has just enough bass reverb to feel like a good sealed subwoofer. The sometimes flubbery, ported style subwoofer bass of the M50 turned me off and that was the reason why I jumped on the HFI-580.
 
It's hard to pick between the HTF600 and the HFI-580 when it comes to basshead satisfaction. Each represented the bass in different yet subtle ways that made me smile.
 
If I had to pick one right now, it would be the HFI-580. The Ultrasone sound signature, perhaps even the S-Logic technology, and the PrAT-ness of the HFI-580 makes me put down the Pannys in favour of the HFI-580.
 
The HTF600 was close to dethroning my beloved HFI-580 in this regard.

I'll say it again, but I think the only headphone that will make me forget about the 580 forever will be the Ultrasone Pro 900.
 
Preliminary Conclusion: The HTF600 is a capable budget basshead headphone. But it is versatile enough to be used for music that isn't bass oriented: rock, pop, acoustic, metal, soul. The highs are presented beautifully; not harsh and not too bright. The mids are forward and I love that because my other headphones are mid recessed. It's really nice to feel the vocals as oppossed to just hearing it. As far as the bass goes, it will satisfy the hungry basshead. 
 

Hi five bro. Got the exact same impressions

 

[Astrozombie]

I saw something somewhere but i didn't want to take the flamebait and post there so i thought i would do it here........
 
"Hi-Fi" eh? Well i've been to a meet and listened to those $500 headphones with $1000 amps + power supplies (who knows about the cables) and what i heard was a laid-back veiled sound which was not suited for Metal. Which makes sense, i don't think that would be the target demographic for expensive headphone companies, most likely those folks listen to Jazz or something or other. In the end that "Hi-Fi" was not "Hi-Fi" to me at all.
Now the day i try a high-end Grado is something i look forward too.....

For now the Panasonic sounds like a SR60 with Bass so it is a good fit for me and worth way more than $30.

 

[Dsnuts]

@jto168.. Very nice impressions.. I think you nailed it on the head for what the HTF600s are..I think it is when you look at the headphones and you realize what you just payed for them is when the What moment happens. It did for me, several times.. I am glad these can compliment your group of cans and do something different for you..I also own many cans with mids that are either laid back or recessed. It took me by surprise the forward presentation of the HTF600s with the big bass came out to play. Threw a smile on my face.
 
Ultimately that is why these might grow on many.. Versatile, which is more than what you can say about cans that cost way more...I remember trying to game with my M50.. You get that not so fresh feeling in your gut like you are trying to hold your gas in on an airplane flight from eating too much peanuts..I think the M50 would be so much better if the stage of the cans was wider and the highs was less artificial...I clearly like my HTF600 more..
 
@Astrozombie Glad you are liking your new cans..Well for the most part I think it is safe to say these are getting a good rep and was worth opening a thread for here at headfi. I truly hope some other manufacturers take note of what Panasonic has done and give us some offerings that offer more for the money vs less..I think most of the guys will agree. These are great for the cash..If anything if you don't like them, I can certainly guarantee the person you give them to will love them.

 

[vodkex]

Hi guys, I can't seem to find the HTF600 anywhere here in Argentina, but I can get the HTF560... they're the same headphone on the outside (apart from the different model number), they also have the 50mm driver according to the packaging.. Should I give these a try? They're certainly cheap. I have the samson SR850s right now (modded), I guess I could try something different! What do you think?
 
 
In case I don't like the sound of these I could always try the SR850 drivers in the HTF560 body, since they're both 50mm drivers..

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

Hi guys, I can't seem to find the HTF600 anywhere here in Argentina, but I can get the HTF560... they're the same headphone on the outside (apart from the different model number), they also have the 50mm driver according to the packaging.. Should I give these a try? They're certainly cheap. I have the samson SR850s right now (modded), I guess I could try something different! What do you think?
 
 
In case I don't like the sound of these I could always try the SR850 drivers in the HTF560 body, since they're both 50mm drivers..

I am actually certain that they are indeed the same phones..The HTF560 came out before the HTF600s. My HT770s are the same as the HTF890. Kinda confusing but Panasonic just renamed the cans to HTF600. Give them a try. They should perform exactly the same as the HTF600..

 

[captouch]

I didn't really notice the rolled off highs until I tried the EQ settings proposed by RPG and others.  It does sound more complete than without, but, to me, they don't sound deficient w/o the EQ. . .just better with them if you have EQ available.
 
If I'm at my full HP setup with amps available, I probably wouldn't reach for these often  because I don't get a better SQ experience than with my DT880's or HD650's (though I wouldn't expect to given the $30 price).  

But they're definitely worth keeping because they can be driven with anything (unlike the 600ohm DT880's or 300ohm HD650's) without SQ degradation, so if I'm listening just out of my iPhone or laptop and don't want to stick the IEMs in my ears, they're perfect for that.  Plus, they do do things my IEM's don't do: I think they just plain sound better than my TripleFi 10's (bass is tighter and mid are better) and have more bass impact than my ER-4P's - so these I would reach for depending upon mood or music even if the IEMs were within reach.

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

I didn't really notice the rolled off highs until I tried the EQ settings proposed by RPG and others.  It does sound more complete than without, but, to me, they don't sound deficient w/o the EQ. . .just better with them if you have EQ available.
 
If I'm at my full HP setup with amps available, I probably wouldn't reach for these often  because I don't get a better SQ experience than with my DT880's or HD650's (though I wouldn't expect to given the $30 price).  

But they're definitely worth keeping because they can be driven with anything (unlike the 600ohm DT880's or 300ohm HD650's) without SQ degradation, so if I'm listening just out of my iPhone or laptop and don't want to stick the IEMs in my ears, they're perfect for that.  Plus, they do do things my IEM's don't do: I think they just plain sound better than my TripleFi 10's (bass is tighter and mid are better) and have more bass impact than my ER-4P's - so these I would reach for depending upon mood or music even if the IEMs were within reach.

They do add to peoples collections and as taken as so they are great for what it is. And to that I say listen to this! Crank! It

Crank! IT!!

 

[Ouspensky]

Quote:

Hi guys, I can't seem to find the HTF600 anywhere here in Argentina, but I can get the HTF560... they're the same headphone on the outside (apart from the different model number), they also have the 50mm driver according to the packaging.. Should I give these a try? They're certainly cheap. I have the samson SR850s right now (modded), I guess I could try something different! What do you think?
 
 
In case I don't like the sound of these I could always try the SR850 drivers in the HTF560 body, since they're both 50mm drivers..

I think they are the same headphones, everything in the specs seems to indicate that.

 

[Dsnuts]

So my 3rd HTF600 I got just so I can try a few mods. I get the brand new box all nice n shiny. I think to myself. Damn this is nice..I have been purposefully keeping these a secret from my friend who lives in Vancouver.. He has become a headphone addict because of me. But this one I kept under wraps until it was the right time. So his birthday comes around. Just at the same time I get this brand new HTF600s.. I had to do it. I sent him this new HTF600. I know it is more difficult to get these in Canada so what better gift than these..
 
He just got them 2 days ago. Is now loving these..It is one of the best gifts I have ever sent to anyone. Versatile they make some of the best gifts anyone can give.. Nothing says happy birthday like a brand new pair of HTF600s..I sent him the link to this thread.. Needless to say he is more than impressed with the HTF600s..

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Yea if only Panasonic HTF600 upgraded the build quality (especially better diaphragm especially to avoid the drivers locking into wrong position) and maybe less plasticky and improved design and better stock pads I'd buy that in an instant. For the sound you're getting can't complain about that, very difficult to find such a forward midrange and bassy headphone at the same time in any price category.

 

[captouch]

 
Quote:

So my 3rd HTF600 I got just so I can try a few mods. I get the brand new box all nice n shiny. I think to myself. Damn this is nice..I have been purposefully keeping these a secret from my friend who lives in Vancouver.. He has become a headphone addict because of me. But this one I kept under wraps until it was the right time. So his birthday comes around. Just at the same time I get this brand new HTF600s.. I had to do it. I sent him this new HTF600. I know it is more difficult to get these in Canada so what better gift than these..
 
He just got them 2 days ago. Is now loving these..It is one of the best gifts I have ever sent to anyone. Versatile they make some of the best gifts anyone can give.. Nothing says happy birthday like a brand new pair of HTF600s..I sent him the link to this thread.. Needless to say he is more than impressed with the HTF600s..

 
Yup, really looking forward to giving these to my nephew for Xmas.  Perfect gift for music fanatic who's never given a thought to better cans than stock ear buds.

 

[Pacorrin]

Real time update on my burn-in and first impressions
 
- 3 hrs: Sound still muffled, but bass is starting to open up. It is beating my CAL!s on amount and impact.
- 6 hrs: Where did the bass go? I notice a reduction in bass, but the mids and highs are starting to open up.
- 14 hrs: They are starting to sound better, highs are clearer, vocals still a little muffled, some of the bass came back. I am starting to have trouble differentiating between the Panasonics and my CAL!s.
- 24 hrs: Most of the bass is back, vocals are clearer but overall a little bit darker than my CAL!s.
- 36 hrs: Not much change
- 50 hrs: No immediate noticeable change
 
Thoughts from a complete newbie: First of all, excuse my lack of headphone experience, as I only have the KSC75, CAL!s and the HTF600. I was initially going back and forth between the CAL!s and the HTF600 and I was noticing the brighter nature of the CAL!s. However, I also notice that in bass heavy songs, the CAL!s bass was a little muddy, especially during impact. The HTF600 handles all bass gloriously, impact is clean with a little reverberation that I find very fun.
Then I started playing with the equalizer and found that the HTF600s respond well to adjustments, and I can make them sound *almost* as bright as my CAL!s but this typically sacrifices a little impact. So definitively a clear advantage for the HTF600s on bass.
Regarding mids and highs, I find the CAL!s a little clearer and having better definition on vocals/cymbals or instruments in the background. Do not get me wrong, I still find great definition on the HTF600 especially if playing with the equalizer.
 
Overall, it is a great great find & great buy. Although they do not feel high end on your hand, I have absolutely no complaints regarding sound and comfort, but I am finding the leakage difficult to live with. I typically listen to music around other people and this is annoying to them. I am thinking about modding them just to prevent some leakage. Any ideas?
 
 

 

 

[SobbingWallet]

How loud do you listen to music?  If I take the headphones off my head and simply place them two feet away completely uncovered, I can only hear them at all if I have them set relatively loud.  If people around you are actually getting irritated, it could be a sign you're damaging your hearing.  Then again, maybe the pads just isolate my particular set of ears so well that even lower volumes sound loud to me.
 
If you want to mod them, I suppose your goal should be to make better seals between the pads and the plastic, and between the pads and your ears.  They're closed headphones after all, so any leakage is coming from gaps in those seals.  If you try pulling the pads off (note that they can take a couple minutes to finesse back on), you'll see where sound could potentially be leaking out.  If you want a ghetto mod to close this crack, you could tape the pads to the plastic with electrical tape or something.
If leakage is still a problem, you could cover the outside of the pads with peanut butter or sticky wet candy before pressing them against your head.

  Aside from some kind of adhesive like that, you could try thickening the pads by putting a ring of tissues or cable underneath them on the inside.  It'll change the sound signature a bit, but it's worth a shot.  You might also want to look into comments about other pads, though I presume the Beyer velours would provide worse isolation due to the holes.  (Look for Smeggy's post on the general characteristics of different pads.  His comments might only apply to the Thunderpants though.)  Short of that, you could try adjusting the length of the headband so it's pressed harder against the top of your head; this could add a slight bit of clamping force on the sides.  Actually, you may also be able to add clamping force by retrofitting LFF's T50RP headband mod to the HTF600, but that would require some creativity given the HTF600's less accomodating design.

 

[Pacorrin]

I probably listen to them louder than I should

 
But I thought these phones are semi open, actually you can see quite a few openings on the cups which is where I believe most of the sound is escaping. Any other ideas besides the peanut butter? - HELP Appreciated.
 
By the way, I just had my What moment this afternoon! I listen to them primarily on my Ipod Touch, and I downloaded a music app that allows me to customize the equalizer quite a bit. OMG, what a difference it made. It is now blowing my CAL!s in pretty much every genre now.
 
Again, If I could decrease the leakage this would be my go to cans. I actually ordered today the M50's to increase my collection, but also for their excellent isolation and little leakage.