[nikp]

Quote:

 
Got to disagree on a few of these points.
 
1. I find the htf600 very portable and use it often just for that purpose.
2. It is not at all "heavy." Compared to what? Which full size, over the ear is lighter exactly. Don't understand that point at all.
 
 
The htf600 is what it is for $30. I'd like to get the same level of enjoyment and satisfaction based on the cost for hp's that I've spent $500 bucks from. 

 
It's the reason why I marked it as personal since I highly doubt that others may not experience a pressure on their heads. The problem to that pressure, imo, is in the ergonomics and I did not say anything about it being heavy overall. Then again, it's strictly "personal".
 
On portability, hmm... I assume you want a private listening experience, that is, to isolate your music from the external noise or to keep your music to yourself (not annoying those around you). And also, folding is not an option and its size is a little large and bulky. Oh, and the cable is really really lengthy (3 metres?).

 

[MattTCG]

The htf600 is just barely open with those tiny slots just behind the armature of the cups. They don't leak like a fully open can. I'm as sensitive to clamp, weight and pressure from hp's as anyone on the planet tbh. They do not bother me in the least.
 
I just don't people to miss out on the bargain gem because they take some comments the wrong way. 
 
As for the "lengthy cable." I just braid mine at the bottom to get the custom length that I'm after. Of course it could also be reterminated also, but that would require soldering and you couldn't go back to a longer length if you ever wanted it.

 

[KimChee]

Heh, I just bought another set of these for when I want to listen to music out, it's a great can.

 

[cpnfantstk]

Quote:

Something potential buyers need to know about the HTF600.
 
- Semi-Open. Not portable. Feel free to use it outside but it leaks sound.
- (personal) The headband is kind of heavy on my head like the Shure SRH940. Ears becomes hot after some time.
- (personal) Build quality isn't very good. Right channel goes out of balance and I needed to push the cups than slowly release.
 
Sound
- Bass heavy. Some/most of the time, bass half drowns out the mids.
- Rolled off treble. Veiled/non-fatiguing/dark/muddy/etc.
- Not analytical. If you expect a lot of details from it, I just popped your bubble.
- Soundstage is okay. Neither big nor small. Instrument separation is mediocre at best.
 
Good SQ for a $30 headphone. When some users here say it's amazing, it's probably the "value" we're talking about. Compared to higher end headphones, it does not stand a chance. Is it even close to the HD650? No. What about the SRH840 or the ATH-M50? No. My first impressions of the HTF600 is: Wow, for $30, these boys can sing and have lots of bass. But over time, I grew tired of the  (points I mentioned above + I am not a basshead). It's not bad, but I honestly think it's overhyped. 

I was not very impressed with the HTF600s at first. I thought they were muddy as well. I did give it some time to burn in (100 hrs) and now I just love them.Your opinion is detailed and appreciated though . LJokerL gave the sound a score of 7.75 and he doesn't seem the type of reviewer to be swayed by hype. Differing opinions are to be expected with anything I suppose.
 
Funny that DSNuts mentioned his portapros gathering dust. Mine are too. I prefer my Kramer modded KSC75s for portable use and my pannys for home use. 

 

[nikp]

Quote:

I was not very impressed with the HTF600s at first. I thought they were muddy as well. I did give it some time to burn in (100 hrs) and now I just love them.Your opinion is detailed and appreciated though . LJokerL gave the sound a score of 7.75 and he doesn't seem the type of reviewer to be swayed by hype. Differing opinions are to be expected with anything I suppose.
 
Funny that DSNuts mentioned his portapros gathering dust. Mine are too. I prefer my Kramer modded KSC75s for portable use and my pannys for home use. 

 
My HTF600 has well gone through hundreds of hours. I wanted to believe in burn in, I really do, but sound doesn't change much. Honestly, I myself agreed with Joker only on his high end universal IEM reviews. By the way, his rating system doesn't include high end or even mid level headphones. If the HD800 is in the rating system, it is likely over 10 because the difference with the HD25 is too massive. I agree with most of his points on the HTF600 aside from the "well balanced but boosted low end?" comment. And keep in mind that everyone including reviewers has his own personal tastes and bias.  
 
Well, I am not a basshead and my idea of a good standard IEM/headphone is that it has good clarity, separation and no muddy FRs. Just saying, classical on the HTF600 is horrible. On other genres, I can only say the HTF600 isn't clean enough for me to enjoy them. Weighted on a universal scale, they are mediocre but since they're $30 what more can I expect?

 

[Kerry56]

I disliked the HTF600 more than I am allowed to say on a civilized forum.  Completely muddy bass despite 70+ hrs of burn-in, recessed mids, distorted highs...just poor value even at $30.  I was really surprised at ljokerl's review of them seeing that we listened to the exact same pair of headphones (I traded mine to him for the review).
 
I wouldn't advise anyone to buy them for any purpose whatsoever, so if nothing else, this shows we all have distinctly different ways of hearing and judging sound from various headphones. 

 

[vodkex]

These headphones have some really good drivers. REALLY good ones... they love having lots of air behind them to move... the problem is that the cups don't have much breathing room for them... nothing can be done that won't change the cups.. perhaps peeling off that black screen on the LEFT and RIGHT parts of the cups, that's in the inside.

Another problem is that the ear chamber is sealed airtight, that's why sometimes if you push the cups towards your head, you can hear the diaphragm do strange sounds and go out of place.. That can be solved by drilling a little hole in the baffle so that there's some air pressure equalization between the ear chamber and the back of the headphone.. It takes under a minute and a tool like a dremel, and it's an "under the hood" mod. Nothing more.

That will also improve sound quality a lot, it's really noticeable with complex passages in songs where the headphone seems like it's not able to keep up and becomes muddy... yes it can, without breaking a sweat. It just needs that little hole... You won't lose that delicious bass, it'll just get better... trust me.


It's frustrating to see such good drivers held back by such a crappy housing, one which can be made much better with two or three tweaks...

 

[geetarman49]

can you show us some pix, pls?
 
Quote:

... That can be solved by drilling a little hole in the baffle so that there's some air pressure equalization between the ear chamber and the back of the headphone.. It takes under a minute and a tool like a dremel, and it's an "under the hood" mod. Nothing more.
...
It's frustrating to see such good drivers held back by such a crappy housing, one which can be made much better with two or three tweaks...

 

[kenchi1983]

Quote:

I disliked the HTF600 more than I am allowed to say on a civilized forum.  Completely muddy bass despite 70+ hrs of burn-in, recessed mids, distorted highs...just poor value even at $30.  I was really surprised at ljokerl's review of them seeing that we listened to the exact same pair of headphones (I traded mine to him for the review).
 
I wouldn't advise anyone to buy them for any purpose whatsoever, so if nothing else, this shows we all have distinctly different ways of hearing and judging sound from various headphones. 

 

hey, looks like we have similar headphones. I own the CreativeAL!s, sportapro, and sr80. I've put off purchasing the htf600 because of comments like these where people say it's muddy.  How will you rate the htf vs the CALs? If the CALs is a 10, how will you rate the panasonics?

 

[gelocks]

I still find the pannies completely usable! In fact, use them everyday at home on my PC (connected directly to the sound card) to play games (Diablo III right now) watch movies/boxing + listening to music. And yes, I have more refined/expensive gear at home but still I like the pannies! So, everyone "hears" differently... thank God!

 

[Kerry56]

Quote:

 

hey, looks like we have similar headphones. I own the CreativeAL!s, sportapro, and sr80. I've put off purchasing the htf600 because of comments like these where people say it's muddy.  How will you rate the htf vs the CALs? If the CALs is a 10, how will you rate the panasonics?

I find the CAL to be completely superior to the HTF600 in every way.  I'm not a basshead, so the quantity of the bass from the CAL is plenty for me, and the quality, though not completely tight, is much better than the Panasonic.  The bass doesn't overshadow everything else.  The CAL also has slightly recessed mids, but not nearly to the extent of the Panny's, and the highs are clearer to me.  Comfort levels are also much, much better with the CAL, as the original pads on the HTF600 are terribly sweaty.  I don't normally rate headphones on a ten point scale, but if you use the CAL as the upper limit, I'd put the HTF600 somewhere near a 5.5 or so. 
 
The HTF600 isn't the worst headphone I've used for any length of time.  That "honor" goes to the Sony MDR V150.  But they are closer to the bottom of my list of headphones than the middle.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I wouldn't put HTF600's mids as recessed, if anything they sound more on the forward side of neutral and bass quality is good for the price, only very slightly overshadowing. Most of the time especially male vocals take the center attention from the listener. The resolution /microdetail/transparency etc isn't by any means topnotch and neither its strongest point but its charm is the both quite bassy (the punchy, fast type) as well as reasonably forward mids paired with excellent soundstage and musical sounding for the price. This headphone isn't for people looking for detail as priority #1 but fun, engaging listening. For many people fun & engaging listening experience wins over detail to some extent so it depends what's your priorities. I belong to the category where fun & engaging sound is very important, there's a huge chance I'd even enjoy HTF600 over say something like a highend Sennheiser HD 800 because it's not the sound I'm looking for. Some people want the the ultimate foot-tapping experience, others find it interesting to analyze the music for details, pick your preference.

 

[vodkex]

can you show us some pix, pls?

Sure! I've modded mine a lot, to be completely open (and they now leak accordingly, they are like mini speakers now, I have to listen to them in my bedroom with the door closed but it's worth it...at least for me they now sound like the headphones I've always dreamed about ) and they may not seem familiar to you guys anymore...

However, you can see where I've drilled that little hole... You can appreciate that it's in a place where it won't be sealed by the ear pads, nor by your own ears.. Try drilling that little hole, it'll work with the stock cups. Plus you'll solve the problem with the drivers going out of place. If you don't like the effect, you can always close it with a little putty or even a little piece of duct tape. If you have removed the foam on the drivers like I have, please seal them off with some tape before drilling, you don't want any plastic bits on them.

http://www.imagebam.com/image/d930cc192818110
http://www.imagebam.com/image/a179ad192818153
http://www.imagebam.com/image/b5b7f7192818191
http://www.imagebam.com/image/985e14192818218

Please don't mind the cracks in the pads, these headphones have at least 8 months of daily use and that pleather just cracked... fortunately comfort isn't affected, just looks, and the camera flash makes it look worse than it is. I'll have to get some replacements someday...

 

[Kerry56]

I like the Grado sound.  Doing a direct comparison between my SR60i and the HTF600, the Panasonics are very recessed in the mid range.  To the point of becoming sonically invisible behind the bass.  I couldn't stand to listen to them for music.  The only thing I could use them for was gaming, and the pads made that unbearable too. 
 
Just not a headphone that suits my tastes.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

I like the Grado sound.  Doing a direct comparison between my SR60i and the HTF600, the Panasonics are very recessed in the mid range.  To the point of becoming sonically invisible behind the bass.  I couldn't stand to listen to them for music.  The only thing I could use them for was gaming, and the pads made that unbearable too. 
 
Just not a headphone that suits my tastes.

 
Did you burn it in? The most drastic change happens to the midrange which is greatly brought forward after around 50 hrs of use. Saying it's "invisible" behind the bass is just absurd, sounds like you haven't had enough diverse experience of different sounding headphones.