Sennheiser HD-600 Headphones

[Dr. Music]

I got my Sennheiser HD-600s about a month ago at this point and they have sat patiently in their beautiful box waiting while I built around them so to speak, asking you good people about amps and CD players and trying to make intelligent vintage audio purchases, buying what I feel is a quality amp and a solid CD player with which to truly give them an opportunity to impress me when I felt ready to audition them.

Just a little background. I've been a headphone lover since I was a teen but could never get myself to pull the trigger on a truly wonderful set of cans.... the price always stopped me somewhere in the middle of the Sennheiser or AKG or Denon line. I've owned at least 5 sets of Sennheisers, AKG 240s, a very good sounding set of Denons in the 90's, even crummy early models by Pioneer, Technics and Sony... at age 49 I finally decided it was time to give myself and the music I love it's long over due!

Of late I had been listening to my old Sennheiser 212Pros through the CDP line out and was happy enough with the sound there, so, like the dork I am who had yet to own WONDERFUL headphones, I figured I would try that first with a recording I know and love.... "The Manhattan Project", a live session with a band comprised of Wayne Shorter, Michel Petrucciani, Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Gil Goldstein and Pete Levin. Slid them over my head and frankly was unimpressed. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nice fit, really really comfortable, but thats not what I was buying these for. Nope, this was not how TOTL cans should sound. Cranked em a bit, no difference. Therein was the problem..... these puppies need to be DRIVEN, and the little line out section on the Sony ES CDP wasn't doing that. Plugged them into my Kenwood KR-6030 and BAM!

OH....MY....GOD. Yeah, these puppies DO need to be properly amped, because when properly amped they will respond with a positively vicious desire to please the listener. Incredibly wide soundstage, wonderful separation/imaging, intricate interpretation of all the instruments one would expect to distinguish in order to be called audiophile equipment...... okay, the lows aren't down in the basement low, but they aren't supposed to be with the 600s and I knew that going in. I've got the Kenwood on 10 o'clock and they opened right up immediately, wide staging and now are throwing a concert at my head. If these puppies aren't fed wattage they aren't going to do the job; give them some power and they will respond. Fast and more than capable of blowing my little music starved mind. Ohhh, what I have been missing....... either the phones themselves or the Kenwood toned that bit too bright sound of the Sony deck right down! My next plans are to add a DAC of some sort and probably incorporate a universal player as well; and of course be on the lookout for other beefy amps and receivers that might do the Senns justice

 

[Arkay]

That's great that you are having this experience. :thmbsp: There is little in audio that can be as potentially pleasing as good headphones.

The top ones seem pricey, but when you compare them with speakers, to get similar-quality sound you need to go to extremely costly (and/or rare) speakers, PLUS have a good listening environment, etc... By comparison, even pretty expensive headphones are a bargain.

Some people are bothered by the "inside your head" aspect of headphones, but in my experience the better the cans, the less distracting that is. You can get an excellent and precise soundstage from good 'phones, even if it isn't the same placement you get with speakers in a room.

Personally, I'm okay with my current Beyerdynamics, and in fact felt much the way you describe when I first started using them, but I still intend to upgrade to something better (Maybe Stax or TOTL from another good brand), soon. I used to have higher-end (second or third from TOTL) Sennheisers, but foolishly (in retrospect, now that I know how to repair them) got rid of them when they got old and battered and began having problems. On my list of audio goals for the coming year or two is definitely to upgrade the headphones! :yes:

 

[Jupiter1610]

I have had my HD-600s for over 7 years now. Great pair of cans. Very open, smooth, and comfortable. Do require quality amplification to get best results though, ipod jacks need not apply. I have used mine with various dedicated headphone amps, now settling on the jack on my McIntosh 4100 receiver. Congrats on the 600s.

 

[onemug]

I don't have much experience with headphone amps, but did buy a Headroom model years ago for my HD-600s. I do like the crosstalk (crossfield?) feature, which is defeatable. For instance, on John Klemmers "Touch" cd, I need it.

Do any of you guys favor the 600s over the 650s? I do.

 

[Dr. Music]

I have had my HD-600s for over 7 years now. Great pair of cans. Very open, smooth, and comfortable. Do require quality amplification to get best results though, ipod jacks need not apply. I have used mine with various dedicated headphone amps, now settling on the jack on my McIntosh 4100 receiver. Congrats on the 600s.

Thanks, Jupiter ..... there is nothing like a new speaker (in this case two of 'em sitting atop my head) to give you the desire to revisit music you've loved most of your life!

I spent quite a bit of time at a popular headphone forum before buying the HD-600s and it seemed like most everyone was throwing more money at building around their headphones than on the cans themselves in the way of amps as well as devices that afforded the wearer better sound while mobile. I'm not completely against picking one up at some point; I probably will pick one up off that auction site when I see one at a price that is too good to pass up..... but I am being admittedly old fashioned about the premise. I know why there is a need for them; because the makers of receivers and amps these days tend to skimp on the amp section of their products.

The original reason I wound up at AK was to find a good old school amp or receiver that would properly drive the Sennheisers. My opinion is, if they were still building quality amps today the way they did 30 years ago the need for a dedicated headphone amp would be much diminished! I wound up starting with a Kenwood because I remember being much impressed with the overall build quality and the lush sound of their units in the late '70s. Having tried the HD-600s with my Kenwood I'm happy to say I haven't been disappointed.

Having said that, I would appreciate any and all suggestions on how to make improvements to my method of madness, be it other suggestions on good amps that also boast beefy headphone sections or straight talk on good dedicated headphone amps that won't break my bank account. :yes:

 

[orionkc]

Had some HD 600's and traded them for some AKG K-601's. Never looked back.

 

[Dr. Music]

Had some HD 600's and traded them for some AKG K-601's. Never looked back.

Bought a brand new pair of AKG 240s that gave me trouble with a faulty cord pretty near from the time I bought 'em. You know how it is, you have a bad ( and costly ) experience like that with your first try at a particular brand and it puts a bad taste in your mouth. I went back to the Sennheiser line and I've never looked back either :thmbsp:

 

[yamahammer]

ahh trouleshoot get yourself a tube headphone amp a nice one like a Bottlehad S.E.X. makes a great headphone amp

 

[Jupiter1610]

I have used my HD600s extensively with Musical Fidelity X-CansV2 and Corda HA-1 headphone amps, and auditioned with a Rega EAR and a Furmann model which I do not recall specifically. I have also used them off the jacks of various other integrateds and tuners from Sansui, McIntosh, and Kenwood. The dedicated headphone geeks over at Headfi would consider the headphone amps I used "entry level", but even these bested the jacks on vintage Sansui and Kenwood pieces I have used (with the exception of the Kenwood 700T). The jack on my McIntosh MAC4100 receiver plays at about the same quality of the headphone amps mentioned above with maybe a little less detail but a much blacker background (strangely enough). The pairing that really knocked my socks with the HD600s was when I used them with a McIntosh MA230 tube-hybrid integrated (SS pre, tube amp). Absolutely phenomenal! I have tended to shy away from tubes in favor of SS as I have gotten older, but must say both the MA230 and 1500 receiver always impress me with how natural they sound. Someday I would love to pick up one of those two just for headphone use in my office. What I am getting at here is, I have found even "entry level" headphone amps to surpass the headphone performance of mid level vintage gear (say like a Sansui AU-517) until you get to the TOTL models or marque brands (McIntosh, Accuphase, etc...).

 

[twc5964]

I agree with other posters regarding a decent quality headphone amp.I've been an avid fan of decent headphones for years and Senns need to be properly amped to show their true nature.A very good amp on the cheap for $200 bux is a Little Dot MKIII(TUBE HEADPHONE AMP). A great solid state amp that pairs well with Senns is the Headamp Gilmore Lite as my recommendation as I've owned both of these.

I sure would like to hear the Bottlehead amp and it's been on my shortlist if I can ever scrape up the money to buy one.

 

[musichal]

I was very interested in reading about your headphones, but then you mentioned the Kenwood KR-6030 and I got derailed to that because I bought one new way back when and loved it. Have been keeping an eye out; is the tuner section as good as I remember, or is that wishful thinking? Also, I would be very interested to know what yours set you back, though if you don't want to share that, I totally understand. Some folks don't mind, some do; I respect both positions.

That said, you are really giving me the bug to upgrade my crappy BOTL Sony headphones. The budget rec on AK is the Grado SR-60, but maybe I need to save my pennies for a little longer...thanks for the post.

 

[Dr. Music]

Thanks, fellas ....I've heard good things about the Little Dot quite often and might pick one up soon. It is CLEAR to me that the 600s need to be properly driven in order to really open up.

My problem with the dedicated headphone market is I'm an old audio guy in a new audio genre where there are as many opinions as there are users, and there are more users opinions than I can possibly wrap my head around, so to speak. Hours and days and weeks or research and I'm still a bit in the dark as to what way to go, and its not as if I can make a drive to my local headphone amp dealer and audition before buying, so these days I'm trying to make an informed purchase. Thats one reason why I'm asking here, because the opinions here are more down to earth and dumba** friendly, ME being the dumba** in question .

At some point you just want to forget all the research and reading and enjoy the music, you know?

 

[Dr. Music]

I was very interested in reading about your headphones, but then you mentioned the Kenwood KR-6030 and I got derailed to that because I bought one new way back when and loved it. Have been keeping an eye out; is the tuner section as good as I remember, or is that wishful thinking? Also, I would be very interested to know what yours set you back, though if you don't want to share that, I totally understand. Some folks don't mind, some do; I respect both positions.

That said, you are really giving me the bug to upgrade my crappy BOTL Sony headphones. The budget rec on AK is the Grado SR-60, but maybe I need to save my pennies for a little longer...thanks for the post.

Musichal, I have a buddy who has the SR-60s and he likes them, but he's steering towards upgrading. Lots of great phones out there at midlevel prices; I've had SO many of them at this point, I just decided to finally shoot for the stars a little and go after a set that are really revered by lots and lots of audiophiles.

Don't mind talking what I pay for gear at all. The Kenwood KR-6030 set me back $61 plus shipping; I also made a new audio gear pal in the purchase which made it an even better buy; its in wonderful shape and was thoroughly gone through by the seller before I got my hands on it. The headphone section on the amp is very beefy, which is another reason I'm debating on buying a dedicated headphone amp. As for the tuner section, alas, I haven't even tried it yet. I live in the sticks with hills all around me and its always been a lousy location for FM reception.

 

[wrunow]

I've had the HD600's for about 4 years, and because I listen to a variety of music genres they are perfect for me. My two Yamaha receivers (cr1020,cr2020) seem to drive them pretty well, although I generally use them in conjunction with a ASL MG Head tube amp and a vintage sony CDP0x777es and find the sound to be really nice.