[MH79]

Hi all, 1st post and all.

I've been looking to get some of these, and I can pick up the hd600's for quite a bit less than the hd650's. Is there much different in sound quality between these two models?

 

[Varcharz]

Yes. Try searching, there are a lot of topics on both of these models.

 

[jcn3]

they both have the sennheiser house sound, but are a bit different. the hd600s are typically characterized and the more neutral of the two. the hd650s are considered to be warmer and more refined.

both headphones are highly scalable and can continue to get better as your source and amps get better. there are significant additional sonic benefits when you go balanced.

bottom line -- you can't go wrong with either. as a former hd600 owner, i'd say get the hd600s if the price difference is significant. the extra $ in your pocket could fund a cable upgrade.

 

[MH79]

Thanks - I forgot to mention I will be using them for music production as well as normal music listening, so the more neutral the better. I think I'll go for the hd600's.

The only difference I could see on the spec sheets is that the hd650's frequency range bottoms out at 10hz as opposed to 12hz of the hd600. I won't really be able to hear much below 20Hz anyway, so I'm not too worried about this.

I'll check out a few more reviews, I'm planning on amping them also, once I can afford to.

EDIT: Is there anything I should look out for if buying a used pair of hd600's?

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeHunt79 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks - I forgot to mention I will be using them for music production as well as normal music listening, so the more neutral the better. I think I'll go for the hd600's. The only difference I could see on the spec sheets is that the hd650's frequency range bottoms out at 10hz as opposed to 12hz of the hd600. I won't really be able to hear much below 20Hz anyway, so I'm not too worried about this. EDIT: Is there anything I should look out for if buying a used pair of hd600's?

Hi! And welcome!

One thing you will probably pick up on fairly soon around here is the utter disregard of the specs sheets!

Buying used can be lots of fun. I bought mine from a fellow Head-Fier who used them in the production of some of the CDs now in my collection...he sent them along with the cans!!

So obviously I'm rather attatched to my phones. But yeah; the HD600 can, and are; used in music production.

As far as who does and who doesn't like the HD600; compared to the HD650; if you look at the polls; for every ten listeners who prefer the HD650, there are about five others who like the HD600 better. So it's a pretty substantial group of folks who are HD600 fans even in the face of the apparent superiority of the HD650.

About the only thing to watch out for when buying a used HD600 is that the seller may soon realize his/her mistake and want them back!!

 

[MH79]

Thanks for the info - I've only really been looking on e-bay so far, but I think I may have found a pair locally that I can go and hear before buying them.

Once I have these, then it look like a slippery slope as I'll then have to get an amp, then a dac.

 

[F107plus5]

Yup! Slippery Slope indeed!

Or; to finish the remainder of the Traditional Head-Fi Welcome:

"Welcome to Head-Fi, and Sorry 'bout your Wallet!!

 

[Agnostic]

If you really wanna make them happy you'll have to buy your HD600 a tube amp!

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeHunt79 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi all, 1st post and all. I've been looking to get some of these, and I can pick up the hd600's for quite a bit less than the hd650's. Is there much different in sound quality between these two models?

I own the 580's with 600 screens and an upgraded Oehlbach replacement cable, a 600 with an Oehlbach replacement cable and the 650 with an Oehlbach or Enigma Audio Oracle replacement cable. I prefer either the 580 or 600 most of the time. I find the 650 to colored .... to much bass and not enough treble extension using tubes or SS.

The 650 improves noticeably with balanced operation but so does the 600. Bottom line .... the 600 sounds better to me period .... single ended or balanced. Consequently, I would recommend the 600.

 

[jterp7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeHunt79 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info - I've only really been looking on e-bay so far, but I think I may have found a pair locally that I can go and hear before buying them. Once I have these, then it look like a slippery slope as I'll then have to get an amp, then a dac.

A member on this forum offered me his HD600s for 200shipped when I was looking for a HD650, which go for 250-260shipped typically. You're fairly lucky to be able to try them out before you buy, I bought based on my twin bro's, a friend's, and in general the forums opinion since there were no local stores with it. Be prepared to get recommendations about picking up amps/dac or combos that cost twice the amount of the headphones itself. There's a huge thread in the amp forum for you to peruse anyways lol. I personally recommend the skylabs and the mrarroyo ebert/roeper style reviews

 

[rlanger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agnostic /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you really wanna make them happy you'll have to buy your HD600 a tube amp!

X2. An amp, and especially a tube amp, will really make the HD600s come alive.

When I first listened to them, it was in a store in Japan that had a giant headphone wall with all of the cans that they had for sale. My guess is that the source/amplification was less than adequate, so I came away thinking, "those aren't so good?"

Fast forward to my first head-fi meet, and I was suitably blown away by them when they were paired with proper amplification.

BTW, I'm one who definitely prefers the 600s to the 650s. Had a chance about a month ago, to spend a couple of weeks with both cans in my system. Needless to say, I'm sticking with the 600s.

 

[audiomagnate]

I prefer the 580/600 (same can), but there must be a reason they made the 650.

 

[MH79]

Well the one's that I thought were available locally turned out to be 150 miles away.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agnostic /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you really wanna make them happy you'll have to buy your HD600 a tube amp!

Don't tempt me! I'm plan on going with a normal amp first, but a tube amp would be lovely but I my wallet would not be able to cope right now!
Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif I own the 580's with 600 screens and an upgraded Oehlbach replacement cable, a 600 with an Oehlbach replacement cable and the 650 with an Oehlbach or Enigma Audio Oracle replacement cable. I prefer either the 580 or 600 most of the time. I find the 650 to colored .... to much bass and not enough treble extension using tubes or SS. The 650 improves noticeably with balanced operation but so does the 600. Bottom line .... the 600 sounds better to me period .... single ended or balanced. Consequently, I would recommend the 600.

Nice! I think for music production I need the sound as uncoloured as possible, so the more I think about it the more the 600's seem to be the ones for me. I always assumed the 650's would better (as they are more expensive) but the turn "better" is subjective really I guess.
Quote:

Originally Posted by jterp7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif A member on this forum offered me his HD600s for 200shipped when I was looking for a HD650, which go for 250-260shipped typically. You're fairly lucky to be able to try them out before you buy, I bought based on my twin bro's, a friend's, and in general the forums opinion since there were no local stores with it. Be prepared to get recommendations about picking up amps/dac or combos that cost twice the amount of the headphones itself. There's a huge thread in the amp forum for you to peruse anyways lol. I personally recommend the skylabs and the mrarroyo ebert/roeper style reviews

Thanks for the figures - I assume that in dollars, which does seem good as I have yet to see them for less than £180 ($360) over here. I'll keep an eye out for some.

As for amps, I may go for a DIY one as I quite like soldering... but I need to do a bit more research into dac's and things. Ideally I'd like SPDIF output > DAC > balanced analogue > AMP > HD600's, but I'll get the headphones first.
Quote:

Originally Posted by rlanger /img/forum/go_quote.gif X2. An amp, and especially a tube amp, will really make the HD600s come alive. When I first listened to them, it was in a store in Japan that had a giant headphone wall with all of the cans that they had for sale. My guess is that the source/amplification was less than adequate, so I came away thinking, "those aren't so good?" Fast forward to my first head-fi meet, and I was suitably blown away by them when they were paired with proper amplification. BTW, I'm one who definitely prefers the 600s to the 650s. Had a chance about a month ago, to spend a couple of weeks with both cans in my system. Needless to say, I'm sticking with the 600s.

I'll definitely keep this in mind... I'm sort of looking around at amps right now, but I can't really afford both the cans and the amp right now.
Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomagnate /img/forum/go_quote.gif I prefer the 580/600 (same can), but there must be a reason they made the 650.

Yep, I'm also keeping an eye out for hd580's, as by the looks of it the grills is the only difference between the two.

It's far to easy to spend hours on these forums I find, I don't know what half of it is, but it looks expensive!

 

[boomana]

I have and like both, but you'll definitely want to get an amp or you won't be hearing them as they should sound. Get the headphones first, and know that you'll have something to look forward to down the line. When you go for an amp, though, do some research, and be careful about pairing them with some of the budget recommendations out there, and check out the profiles of those who are giving the advice. Just because someone says something sounds great, doesn't make it true, especially if they've not heard better. It might be best to save your money and buy used to get a good amp that is known to drive the HD6X0s well rather than pick up on the new FOTM portable whatnot. Same goes with sources. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeHunt79 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi all, 1st post and all. I've been looking to get some of these, and I can pick up the hd600's for quite a bit less than the hd650's. Is there much different in sound quality between these two models?

Hate to tell you this, but one of your boobs is leaking

As for the headboobs... er... headphones, I've only tried the HD600 and I like 'em once I got used to the sound signature after 10-20 minutes. The first 20 minutes were a little bland.