Sennheiser HD600 the best?

[matbon0013 0]

Jan Meier says the pre production HD650's run he is getting will be out sometime in August, full production is HD650's is expected to be available in December. Second last post on this page.

Edited July 28, 2003 by matbon0013

[razerx 0]

I would give the Grados an audition if possible. I have the RS-1 and the HD600/Equinox and find the RS-1 to be the better headphone for rock, vocals, electronica and jazz. I just plugged the HD600 into the Gilmore v2 SE and put on Back in Black, and 45 seconds into Hells Bells I swapped it for the RS-1 and difference is apparent. The HD600 seems to get on well with the X-Cans V2/X-PSU though. I think most people buys the Sennheiser just to realize something is missing but don't know why since it is a highly rated headphone so it must be the missing $300 cable...and it just never ends. Just buy the Grado.

[matbon0013 0]

razerx, that is a very intuitve analysis of the characters of this two headphones, I suppose you own both and can really justify.

My experience with both have been at best very brief (Grado RS-1 and HD600+Clou Red, the later having more mileage and better source).

For me it will boil down to source dependancy, both are capable "Cans" given a chance!

We are talking subjectively of course

[razerx 0]

My first "real" headphone was the HD580 which I still have and enjoy. I liked the sound enough to get the HD600 which IMHO really didn't make enough of a sonic difference to justify the purchase (but the HD600 does have slightly tighter bass). I then got the Equinox cable mostly due to rave reviews on Head-Fi. For the longest time I only had the X-Cans/X-PSU and thought the HD600 sounded quite remarkable with it. The Grados sounded just awful with the X-CANS. My latest amp is the Gilmore and both HD600 and RS-1 really sound their best. A good source does bring out the best in your equipment down the line. I think for loud music the differences between the Grado and the Sennheiser is really obvious. The RS-1 sounds spacious while the HD600 sounds flat, uninvolved. For other music such as strings, symphonies the HD600 excels while the RS-1 is too shrill. Well...it is all subjectly like you say and we are all very lucky to have these toys to play with.

[jasonhanjk 0]

The lower HD580 will be considered good enuf for newbies...

[Blues 0]

yeah.. 580, then the rest of the money can be used for aftermarket cable. Better than 600 with stock cable.

[jasonhanjk 0]

Too bad Singapore is not selling anymore HD580.

[Blues 0]

sennheiser ASIA no more meh?

I thought they still put up so that means they still selling?

not sure.. but I prefer the look of hd600 though.. hd580 too much plastic

[jasonhanjk 0]

Ya lol. Too much plastic on your face too after your plastc surgery... (JK:P)

 

I still like to use HD600 for classical. Still trying out other combo..

[jarthel 0]

why not cd3000?

[antness 0]

I agree that any of the Grados are superior over the HD600 for rock. Some rock songs especially fast ones just fall apart with the HD600.

[Rameish 0]

Lots of you already know my opinion on the HD-600. To me and IMO, the Senn HD-600 is great for big classical orchestra recordings. However, there's another contender - the Beyer DT-931. It has alot of air. Unfortunately it can't touch the Grado SR-225 or SR-325 for rock. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that 1 headphone foe everything is just not possible. The only major headphone model that I have not tried is the Sony R-10. However,another alternative is to have 2 to 3 headphones - each for a few types of music. For an all-rounder headphone, I would pick either the Beyer DT-931 or the Beyer-880 or Grado RS-1. They have shortcomings but are nice all rounders. The HP-1 is of course a nicer alternative but IMO is not as good as the RS-1 in some areas - esp resolution and air/atmosphere. As such, after living with an HP-1 for 6 months, I sold it. I also sold the RS-1. To me a headphone in the S$1,000 plus category needs to be, if not perfect, then damn near perfect. Otherwise I'll just use the S$1,000 plus towards 2 or 3 headphones - each doing a great job in one or two music genres.

 

So for pop.rock.heavy metal etc: Grado SR-225 or SR-325

For big classical recordings: Senn HD-600

For Chamber music/folk/ small acoustic stuff: Beyer DT-931 or DT-880

 

Note: Let me add that the Beyer DT-931 is not for everyone - it's a bright can that I tame by using the 120 ohm output jack on my Corda HA-2. If you have an amp that's bright in nature - stay away. The DT-880 may be the ticket for you. As always pay close attention to system synergy including the ICs, power cords etc. These do affect the sound and can be looked upon as tone controls for your system.

[iconic 0]

hey Rameish, thank you for the great post. do you recommend the mg head for grado headphones? or is the ra-1 vastly superior considering it's low price DIY

 

i think i may scrap a closed can for another open one!

[Rameish 0]

Have not heard the MG Head/Grado combo. The Grado amps works fine with the RA-1, in fact it works fine with the Senn HD-600 as well. The one issue with the Grado Amp is as the battery voltage drops to 7 volts each you start to notice sonic degradation. As such I would recommend rechargeables as they generally discharge very quickly towards the end of charge life.

 

The Grado Amp is a good amp that can be cost effectively built (using premium parts).

[N@Z 0]

I have used my RS-1 on the MG Head (didn't get a chance to try the SR-80). With the stock output tubes (12AX7) it sounded a little harsh & I could only use it below 9 o'clock on the volume control which is not ideal. However after swapping it with some tube variations with lower gain e.g. 12AU7 & 5751 the sound is alot better & I have more control over the volume around 9 to 10 o'clock. However I can only use it on the Trans socket on OTL the bass is too muddy. It's a whole lot different with the HD600 which sounds fabulous on the OTL (with the Clou Red upgrade cable, stock cable was not as good). I quite like using the HD600+Clou Red with rock. Although the RS-1 sounds alot more upfront & faster.