[Kossamu]

Hi! I have been a little obsessed with these premium headphones for a while now, and decided that I must have one. The ones that I have caught my eye is the HD600 and HD650 (and possibly HD660s). I have read a ton of reviews of the 600 and 650, and I just go back and forth between them thinking one of them is the better one. Now though I have had enough of this hesitation and wanted to ask you based on my taste of music.

Examples of music I like:

• Pop (Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Alphaville etc.)
• Rock (Queen, Journey, ACDC etc.)
• Movie scores (John Williams, Hans Zimmer etc.)
• Sentimental ballad (these beatiful songs with a powerful voice)

Examples of music that I am not particularly interested in (though I might like some popular songs from the genre):

• Heavy metal (You know the screaming rockers)
• Electronic music (OBS mostly the overedited with few vocals and alot of strange sounds)

-----There might be some more that I have missed but these came to my mind-----

Listening habits of me: I like to dream away thinking I am listening there live and sometimes I might imagine I am part of the orchestra. I do pay alot of attention the the singer, or vocals as I think you audiophiles would say.

It looks like I will use a Fostex HP-A3 so drive the headphones. I looked at some reviews and it got a really good score and powered a HD600 perfectly according to the reviewer.

I have looked a little into the HD660s but the price make me turn my head away. But if you people think those are really justified in my case I might strech the wallet to buy them if it really makes a differens. If there is important thing I need to say let me know so I can edit the post. Have a good day or night!

Regards

 

[Rhamnetin]

I would heavily recommend the HiFiMan Sundara which can often be had for $450. I have the HD 6XX which is a rebranded HD 650, and have listened to the HD 600 and 650 a ton as well as the HD 700 but never the 660S.

The Sundara sounds more transparent than all of the Sennheisers, more open and articulate with great imaging, deeper and punchier and better textured and more full bass, better mids to treble transition with more refined upper mids/lower treble, it wins in every technical way I think but does have a more distant presentation in comparison. I honestly cannot recommend the HD 600/650 anymore personally due to headphones like the Sundara.

Otherwise, the sonic differences between the HD 600 and 650 are fairly small, both have the same genre strengths and weaknesses (both are weak for rock due to lack of impact and the treble is too laid back for me).

 

[Kossamu]

Yes they do seem like good headphones. They are however alot more expensive where I live. In fact even more that the HD660s, so unfortunately they arent really an option for me. Where I live these headsets costs converted to dollar: HD600 - $322, HD650 - $378 and HD660s - $529.

 

[serman005]

Of the two you list, I think the HD650 would be the preferred for the music you like. FWIW. Just my take and YMMV. I own both, BTW. Listening to my HD650 right now (movie score).

 

[Kossamu]

Ok, thanks for the info. Read a review that said HD600 is a great headphone for critical listeners while HD650 is more for enjoyment, me belonging to the latter category. If anyone wanna say something more then please do so since all are welcome to share opinions here!

 

[Monsterzero]

Read a review that said HD600 is a great headphone for critical listeners while HD650 is more for enjoyment,

I think that is a fair,simplified description. Ive owned both,and only the 6xx(650)remains,and contrary to the above comment,I do not find the HD650/6xx "weak" for rock in the least. Its certainly not my go to rock headphone,but it doesnt fall on its face either.

Examples of music that I am not particularly interested in (though I might like some popular songs from the genre):

• Heavy metal (You know the screaming rockers)

You poor thing...You need to come to the dark side

 

[Kossamu]

Hahaha nono I wont

 

[thecrow]

For $200 the massdrop hd6xx would be the way to go from those two options.

Thanks f not avaible soon then just wait for it to come up again

It essentially is the hd650.

The hd600 is a little bit more relaxed - a comfortable sound like an on old favourite jumper one puts on from time to time.

Th hd650 has a bit more detail and a bit more solid. It can have a sound that has a dark tilt (not over the top just that that it’s sound - still good) if not driven with optimal power. But when there is enough power it is very much closer to neutral but still rich. You may see those two different views on reviews based on what gear people have reviewed it with.

For $200 exceptional value. When you get to $400/500 plus then there are more options to get confused/ worried about.

You could probably sell it down the track if you choose to change for $150 so there’s not mich risk in it (or $175 if you want to sell pretty quickly if you think you want more)

All the best

 

[Guidostrunk]

I'll throw you a curve ball and save you some money. Read the first page of this thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-review-measurements.867972/
I've owned the 600's, 650's, 700's, and 800's at one point in this hobby. After reading the entire 58x thread. It saved me from wasting money on the 660's. The 700's will always be my fave of the bunch, but these 58x's come damn close for $150. Ppl are selling them on here for about that price. I've scaled back on gear these days. And honestly, there's a point of diminishing returns moving up the ladder. Definitely give the 58x a look if you want Senns on a budget. A lot of folks found minimal differences between them and the 660s.
Cheers

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi! I have been a little obsessed with these premium headphones for a while now, and decided that I must have one. The ones that I have caught my eye is the HD600 and HD650 (and possibly HD660s). I have read a ton of reviews of the 600 and 650, and I just go back and forth between them thinking one of them is the better one. Now though I have had enough of this hesitation and wanted to ask you based on my taste of music.

Examples of music I like:

• Pop (Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey, Alphaville etc.)
• Rock (Queen, Journey, ACDC etc.)
• Movie scores (John Williams, Hans Zimmer etc.)
• Sentimental ballad (these beatiful songs with a powerful voice)

Examples of music that I am not particularly interested in (though I might like some popular songs from the genre):

• Heavy metal (You know the screaming rockers)
• Electronic music (OBS mostly the overedited with few vocals and alot of strange sounds)

-----There might be some more that I have missed but these came to my mind-----

Massdrop has alternatives for those so check there first. HD6XX is the HD650, unchanged; HD58X is the HD600 with a 150ohm impedance but not markedly lower sensitivity.

There's also the HiFiMan HE400S which has the same sensitivity as the HD650 but at a low enough impedance that you don't have to worry about amplifiers dropping output at high impedance loads, although even with a planar driver you'd have to make sure the amp has a low output impedance given its very low nominal impedance.

Listening habits of me: I like to dream away thinking I am listening there live and sometimes I might imagine I am part of the orchestra. I do pay alot of attention the the singer, or vocals as I think you audiophiles would say.

If you don't care about imaging - ie instead of everything laid out as close as possible to a miniaturized stage, but you want to be mixed in where the instruments are - you might be better off with a Grado SR225e. Maybe with a sock mod on the earpads for comfort as well as to tame some of the highs (although the e series is smoother at the top than previous versions). Vocals tend to be pushed closer to you on Grados also given they fire directly into the ear canals instead of how other headphones try to position them off center (ie those Sennheisers) or put them at an angle (AKG K701/702, Sennheiser HD800/700, Beyerdynamic T1/T5; angled earpads on HD6xx series; etc).

If you want to splurge there's the RS2e.

It looks like I will use a Fostex HP-A3 so drive the headphones. I looked at some reviews and it got a really good score and powered a HD600 perfectly according to the reviewer.

With max output of 100mW at 32ohms you might do a lot better with the Grados, or the HE400S, if at least in terms of amplification, which you probably shouldn't ignore since your listening style lends more to listening at fairly louder levels.

I have looked a little into the HD660s but the price make me turn my head away. But if you people think those are really justified in my case I might strech the wallet to buy them if it really makes a differens. If there is important thing I need to say let me know so I can edit the post. Have a good day or night!

You'd have to stretch even more for a differnet amp though.

 

[Mhog55]

I'll throw you a curve ball and save you some money. Read the first page of this thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-review-measurements.867972/
I've owned the 600's, 650's, 700's, and 800's at one point in this hobby. After reading the entire 58x thread. It saved me from wasting money on the 660's. The 700's will always be my fave of the bunch, but these 58x's come damn close for $150. Ppl are selling them on here for about that price. I've scaled back on gear these days. And honestly, there's a point of diminishing returns moving up the ladder. Definitely give the 58x a look if you want Senns on a budget. A lot of folks found minimal differences between them and the 660s.
Cheers

I agree with this. 58x for the win. Definitely best of the bunch for rock imo. Sounds great with pretty much everything. It's not a 600 or a 650.

 

[Kossamu]

Okay, so the Fostex will not work? I haven't bought it yet so should I drop out of it? It looks like I save some money if I puchase on massdrop, even with all the customs when importing from USA. Is there some Amp/DAC combo you would recommend from the Massdrop site?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Okay, so the Fostex will not work? I haven't bought it yet so should I drop out of it? It looks like I save some money if I puchase on massdrop, even with all the customs when importing from USA. Is there some Amp/DAC combo you would recommend from the Massdrop site?

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-cth-sdac-dac-amp

Or you can just get something from Europe. Order an O2+ODAC from Head N HiFi in Switzerland, or just the ODAC and then a Meier Rock or Jazz FF headphone amp from Meier Audio in Germany.

 

[Kossamu]

Thanks alot for all of your responses. This insanity started with me wanting to get a soundcard for my computer and from there I read about this "sacred world" of sound that I so much want to be a part of. I am thankful for all the help I have recieved here and I will continue read all of your responses.

 

[buke9]

Thanks alot for all of your responses. This insanity started with me wanting to get a soundcard for my computer and from there I read about this "sacred world" of sound that I so much want to be a part of. I am thankful for all the help I have recieved here and I will continue read all of your responses.

I got one better a few years ago I did a search for better headphones than HD-280 Pros that I had and that started my way down the rabbit hole. Now I have like 14 headphones 4 or 5 amps and 15 or so iems ( most cheap models) and a pair of Abyss which I love. It only gets worse sorry ; )