Sennheiser HD-600 & HD-650 comparison video

[HiFiGuy528]

If you are on the fence on which to get, I hope this video will help with your buying decision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZU7sgKQFQ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[dalethorn]

If you are on the fence on which to get, I hope this video will help with your buying decision.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZU7sgKQFQ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I had both headphones purchased in 1999-2000. What has Sennheiser changed since then? Don't you think buyers would be better off with a more modern and higher fidelity headphone like the Shure 1440 or 1840?

 

[TerryO]

If you are on the fence on which to get, I hope this video will help with your buying decision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZU7sgKQFQ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'm sold on Sennheiser! They aren't some fly-by-night outfit and offer up-to-date, modern SOTA sound at a reasonable cost.
:thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp:

Best Regards,
TerryO

 

[dalethorn]

I'm sold on Sennheiser! They aren't some fly-by-night outfit and offer up-to-date, modern SOTA sound at a reasonable cost.
:thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp: Best Regards, TerryO

Speaking of fly-by-night outfits, Shure was incorporated as Shure in 1925. Sennheiser was incorporated under a different name in 1945, 20 years later.

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/comp...ectronic-GmbH-amp;-Co-KG-company-History.html

http://www.shure.com/americas/about-shure/history/index.htm

 

[Jo6Pak]

i've owned 650s for the past five years and i'm perfectly happy with them, 'veiled' or otherwise...

 

[dalethorn]

i've owned 650s for the past five years and i'm perfectly happy with them, 'veiled' or otherwise...

Me too. Purchased in 1999 and then donated to musicians in 2009 when the HD800 arrived.

My questions which have not been addressed so far I'll repeat:
Has Senn changed the sound of the 600 and 650 in all these years? I hear that they have. So, exactly what sound are people getting when they get a "new" 600 or 650? Any guarantees on that?

 

[gogofast]

i'm very happy with 600. very flat response with nothing overly added. don't know about shure, but have you heard one of those hip hop artist made/endorsed headphones, what garbage they are. tried one at best buy and it reminded me of car audio with overly emphasized bass.

 

[dalethorn]

Senn's

My Sennheisers were always good. Today when most people mention headphones they think Beats are the ultimate.

 

[nrap]

I had both headphones purchased in 1999-2000. What has Sennheiser changed since then? Don't you think buyers would be better off with a more modern and higher fidelity headphone like the Shure 1440 or 1840?

i thought the 650s weren't released until like 2004 or 2005?

I don't necessarily think all buyers would be better off. the 1840s are 700$, and the 600/650 i see often on sale for 300 to 400 respectively.

I bet the 1840s do sound great though.

I've heard both the 600/650 and thought they both sounded phenomenal for their prices. very enjoyable.

Nice video btw. I agree that the 650 is very easy to listen to. Both of them in fact. But i sit on the opposite side of the fence. I prefer the 650. I like that little bit of xtra bass. But really like them both.
Thanks for sharing

 

[dalethorn]

The 650 was released more than 8 years ago, and based on what expert reviewers are saying, the sound has changed a lot. When I got mine they were nearly identical to the 600 in sound. Not today.

And there is a good reason they are on sale. Lower fidelity.

BTW, if you look at my mod for the 1440, you can make them sound nearly like the 1840, and they are only $400. Much better deal than 650.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

I am very interested in the new Shure. I reached out to Shure for review units. Hope they will reply.

 

[dalethorn]

I am very interested in the new Shure. I reached out to Shure for review units. Hope they will reply.

I buy them with my own money, so you can rely on my review to be unbiased.

 

[nrap]

The 650 was released more than 8 years ago, and based on what expert reviewers are saying, the sound has changed a lot. When I got mine they were nearly identical to the 600 in sound. Not today.

There seems to still be a great many people on other headphone message boards that still quite like both the 600 and 650. In fact from my reading they seem to be much more popular than the 1440. But then again everyone has their own tastes. Initial response to both the new Shures was shaky at best.

 

[dalethorn]

There seems to still be a great many people on other headphone message boards that still quite like both the 600 and 650. In fact from my reading they seem to be much more popular than the 1440. But then again everyone has their own tastes. Initial response to both the new Shures was shaky at best.

As I said before and it's worth repeating - my 600 and 650 sounded almost identical, just a hair of difference. But based on many reviews in recent days and months, the sound has changed significantly, for the 650 at least. So users may expect one thing and get another.

The problem with the Shures isn't the headphones. They are certainly as good or better than the Senns. The problem is, todays (2012) market is radically different from 2004 when the 650 was introduced. Today nearly everyone is a bass freak, and there are a hundred new buzzwords used in today's reviews that don't really mean anything. It confuses people, who are already confused.

If the bassiness of the "new" 650 appeals to a lot of folks, that's not a good sign.

 

[Rapidan]

I buy them with my own money, so you can rely on my review to be unbiased.

Why would that make your review unbiased? It's been my experience that people tend to defend their own purchase decisions tenaciously. Not saying that applies to you, but I don't see how buying them removes bias.

 

[nrap]

i think everyone being a bass freak is relative to the number of kids getting into this hobby.

I would however love a pair of 1840s. I quite liked both the srh840 and srh940.

I bet the appeal of the 650 is still the same. Its smooth and relaxed sound signature.

 

[dalethorn]

Why would that make your review unbiased? It's been my experience that people tend to defend their own purchase decisions tenaciously. Not saying that applies to you, but I don't see how buying them removes bias.

My review is unbiased because I didn't buy my headphones just because I wanted to have the best I could afford to listen to. I had all of that for years now. I bought all my latest headphones to review them. That's all. You can see those on Youtube and Stereophile, plus my own website. So far I haven't been paid or gotten any free samples.

 

[dalethorn]

i think everyone being a bass freak is relative to the number of kids getting into this hobby.
I would however love a pair of 1840s. I quite liked both the srh840 and srh940.
I bet the appeal of the 650 is still the same. Its smooth and relaxed sound signature.

The problem is, there is only one 940 and 1440 and 1840 so far, but (apparently) there are versions of the 650, and nobody knows what you get if you buy a new one. Or even if what you get is new, meaning manufactured in the last few months or year.

 

[TerryO]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~snip~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can see those on Youtube and Stereophile, plus my own website.

Any links available?

Thanks in Advance,
TerryO

 

[dalethorn]

This link is to the all-headphones topic, and you can see that most are mine:
http://www.stereophile.com/forums/audio-hardware/headphones-headphone-accessories

And this link is to my Youtube page reviews. Just the first 15 or so videos:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?desk...feature=mhee&user=dalethorn2&gl=US&nomobile=1

EDIT: Some of the videos are in two parts - the initial review and then a sound quality or modification review, etc.