Sennheiser HD 600 - Audiophile Hi-Res Open Back Dynamic Headphone

These are hands-down incredible headphones for non-bass heavy genres. They have a way of letting you hear things in music that you've just never heard before, and might just make you cry. It's truly an experience, and I adore them for it. They're comfortable (though a bit tight-fitting at first), well-made, the cord is good and long. They feel solid but they're not too heavy.The one downside is they do have a significant bass roll-off, meaning they don't perform as well for genres like rap. Everything sounds fine; they're just a bit too 'polite' for music that's meant to have a lot of punch or heavy bass, so if you're looking for that, look elsewhere. But for most other music; rock, pop, classical, some electronic, the experience is -phenomenal-. If you've never experienced a good pair of Senns, you're in for a treat.You will need a DAC/headphone amp to power them, as they are high-impedance headphones. I went with the Topping DX3 Pro+, which works just fine, though I had to use the high gain setting to get the full power out of these. Also, although they sound great out of the box, a little EQ will really let these shine - in Windows, Peace on top of EqualizerAPO will let you choose some great AutoEQ settings that you can then tune to your liking.

What can I say about these headphones? These are the best cans for their price and honestly well above it. When you first put them on you're greeted by a heavy clamp. To fix this, I extended the metal piece to adjust the headband and bent them outwards. The metal is what can withstand this so don't bend the plastic headband, it'll snap! The thick velour still gives a bit on a grip as your ears will certainly be making contacting with it but because the cans are oval shaped it shouldn't be too bad.After you get over the clamp, you realize how smooth and forward the mids are. It was fun and great and all but it sounded so muffled. I was disappointed to begin with. From there, I ran some pink noise for only about 20 hours or so to burn them in. Did it change the sound significantly? No. But what it did help with is to bring out some detail and helped me get used to the sound faster. The biggest change you'll have to get used to coming from bright headphones is the clarity is not forward and sharp, but rather it's present but not the star of the show. You'll hear pretty much all the detail you'd care for but it's much quieter and subdued in the background. This leaves you with just the vocals, and boy do they sound silky smooth. You'll be able to easily hear every word and jarring treble or poorly mastered tracks will be greeted with forgiveness on these. Basically, all your music will sound good.Jazz sounds particularly good with these as do slow songs as they fit it's personality great. Pair these with a good amplifier, I recommend the Valhalla 2 for an entry level or a Ragnarok if you can afford it for solid state. Honestly, these could be your end game if you prefer the sound signature.For me, I still wasn't convinced as I knew the comfort could be improved and I wanted more detail. I ruined a good thing by doing so. The rings that hold the pads onto these cans are glued so I took some scissors and ripped them off. I replaced these cans with the HD700 pads just to try. The comfort instantly increased but the bass quantity went way down (while the quality of the bass picked up, it was much more speedy and less bloomy than with the stock pads), the detail and treble went way back up and to my surprise the mids recessed a tiny bit but not by much. This could probably be fixed with tubes. Doing this pad swap though took away everything that made the 650s magical to begin with. They really do change the sound so I recommend sticking with the stock velours or equivalent if you like the bassy/warm mid forward sound signature of the stock 650s. I certainly do so I will be buying them again (they are overpriced though, they basically are velour stitched over memory foam that you could take off some old packaging, $50 is a bit too much for pads but I guess they had to add up the costs to equal the total sum they're charging for this can).So who is the 650 for? If you can't afford $1,000 cans but want sweet vocals and impactful bass (not crazy deep but rich and heavy when necessary) then the 650s are definitely up your alley. It's super forgiving so lossy files will not be a problem here nor will poorly recorded music (which is a good thing in my books as it gives you time to build up your higher quality collection). I would not recommend these headphones if you want airyness, lots of detail or clarity. Those are best reserved for the 600s, 700s or 800s.Where's the upgrade from here? Pre-fazor LCD2 or LCD2-C or the Atticus. You'll need some beefy hybrid/SS amps for those but they are indeed a better upgrade as their soundstage, mids, and overall bass are better with a bit better clarity (not night and day).To wrap things up, the warm sound is not for analyzing your music. It's for relaxing as you go about your day, it's for enjoying lyrics, it's for sipping some coffee while writing up a paper. Details are fun but I finally have found my preferred sound signature. Bright sound signatures will fatigue your ears after a while with all the detail and glaring sharpness and as a result, I think a warm sound will fit most everyone's preferences unless you're in the camp that wants to hear every last detail in your music. I'm just glad I heard truly warm cans and not just cans outfitted with some warmth to truly get an idea of the experience you get and that is one of just fun, relaxing, shivers down your spine with well recorded music. These things will love tubes! Get some Mullards, Telefunken, Philips Milliwatts, or Gold Pin 6NPC's for some additional warmth and less of a dry sound. Pour that syrup!

These are a part of “knights of the round table” headphones. Let me get something straight — there is no one perfect pair of headphones. It’s a curse to the wallet but yet it’s a blessing in the sense that headphones are a magical journey of taking two of your senses (hearing and touch) to whole new levels you may never experience by simply just by being in it. With so many headphones out there, there’s that many ways to explore audio and more! Exciting, right?I am an audiophile and have a room dedicated to my headphones as well as listening. Audio is an incredible passion of mine and I want to share my take on these 650s!1: So, Sennheiser is among the crem-de-la-crem (pardon the spelling) of headphone producers.2: Sennheiser is a great brand to get into headphones when you’re new to it. It’s also got great value for performance. You honestly can’t go wrong with them.3: If you’re on a budget and can really only afford to just have that one or two pairs of headphones. The Sennheiser 650’s are a jack of all trades with its sound profile. They are a definite buy for sure! Paired with a Khadas Tone Board and JDS Labs Atom, you can have a pretty top tier, affordable setup. For real sides!4: These work well with so many different types of DACS and amps. I personally pair them with THX789’s from Mass/Drop, Khadas Tone Board, or my Okto Research 8’s. The THX 788 made by Monoprice is a nice combo DAC/AMP.5. In terms of the Sennheiser line, there’s the boss tier (not necessary at all to own) like 800 and 820s. There’s the studio recording line denoted by PRO. There’s the lower end with the 598 and below. The 600 range (where these headphones sit at) is the sweet spot of excellence.If you want a bass-y emphasized performance, go with the 58X from Drop.com. They’re the resurrected Jubilees which are an updated, updated version of the HD580s. These are super solid, great for listening for long periods. You can’t go wrong. You can plug these into a device without an amp and get great volume.If you want super duper separated sound with ridiculous detail with more revealing performance in the highs and mid/highs, the 600s are your go to headphones! They’re very objective (an audiophile term generally meaning “as-is” or “unemphasized” as possible). With the wrong setup, they can sometimes even be a little sibilant.The 650s are truly the Goldilocks of the HD600 line. These emphasize the mids much more than the others. It’s often considered a sin by some audiophiles to use EQ functionality to adjust the sound. I can say that the 650s are at that point where they can be lightly EQ-ed to offer more bass and treble response.Now, onto the last thing that I think is important to mention — these have been replaced and succeeded by the Sennheiser 660s. They’re a worthy successor to replace the 650s. They are pretty close in frequency response. However, the upgrade comes with the comfort (clamp force) and the consistency of the drivers to produce frequencies. What does that translate to?- The HD660s really do a good job of sounding good with vocals, slightly less warm, and sound good without a lot of readjustment on your ears. They’re on the brighter side than the HD650. The brightness is a personal preference kind of thing. For some, they might like this for classical music. For some, they may find themselves hitting user fatigue sooner than the 650.My opinion: The HD650 are still my go despite the update with the 660s. I think that the 660s is wonderful but I prefer to stick the HD650s because of their versatility. I can listen to them for hours! It’s a great starting spot for audiophile tier headphones that will always, always be my daily headphones for all kinds of music. They’re also a great starting spot as well as a great spot to end on.Additionally, I would check out the Sundara by Hifiman if you’re wanting to explore planars. They’re very much like the 650s of planar headphones. Enjoy and happy listening! :)