Sennheiser HD600 Review (Headphone)

[antdroid]

I recommend changing Conclusions to this:

I don't know what is supposed to be different between a 21 year old HD600 and HD650. Based on both objective and subjective testing, these two headphones perform the same based on the samples available, which are not new units

.

it would help the pending uproar of critics

I do think the pad wear makes the 600 sound closer to the 650, owning both before and currently owning the 600 as my reference set for comparisons.

Here's my measurement:

 

[garageband]

I bought a 2020 pair of HD600 & 6XX and they are share the same family sound but they differ. The 600 has less refined highs and lean bass. The 6XX is the more refined, modern version of the two. The HD 660 S continues Sennheiser's tradition of keeping the same sound signature but improving it. The 660 S is better than both the 600 & 6XX in every way.

 

[Fernando]

I would say that the differences that you speak also appear between two different units of the same model hd600, or the hd650.

 

[Veri]

The 660 S is better than both the 600 & 6XX in every way.

Bold statement. It is in fact a little different, not everyone would agree the 660S is the winner. I wouldn't.

 

[garageband]

Bold statement. It is in fact a little different, not everyone would agree the 660S is the winner. I wouldn't.

It's interesting how history is repeating itself The audiophile community was divided on the 650 when it first came out. Some said the 600 was still the better headphone. I think people will come around on the 660 S in 10 years and view it as the best of the lineup. It happens with everything that's new in life - it takes time for people to re-evaluate and recontextualize things.

 

[Robbo99999]

I bought a 2020 pair of HD600 & 6XX and they are share the same family sound but they differ. The 600 has less refined highs and lean bass. The 6XX is the more refined, modern version of the two. The HD 660 S continues Sennheiser's tradition of keeping the same sound signature but improving it. The 660 S is better than both the 600 & 6XX in every way.

Generally, the HD600 is "more refined" than the HD650, as the HD650 has a little more upper bass, lower mid bloat, so I'm a bit surprised by your observation.....but it could be that you find the HD600 overly harsh due to your HRTF differing from the majority, you may find many headphones harsh in the treble....that's what I'm thinking based on what you've said, because generally the HD600 is closer to the subjective "more refined" moniker. HD600 does have leaner bass like you say though.

Going onto the HD660s that you mentioned:
HD660s:

HD600:

HD600 has a lot less drama going on in the treble (peaks/dips), and is closer to the Harman curve than the HD660s, so there's nothing to indicate superiority of HD660s, in fact the opposite. But again, it could be you're sensitive to treble due everyone's anatomical differences, therefore you may find HD600 just too harsh even though generally the 660s wouldn't be considered a superior headphone from the frequency response. It doesn't invalidate your experience though due to the fact that we all hear headphones quite differently (anatomical reasons), less so with speakers.

 

[jcebedo11]

If you can get the Denon AH-D2000. Would love to see a review. The Sennheisers HD-600 was my longtime reference until the denon came along. Basically fixed all shortcomings of the HD 600. Deep strong bass to 30hz, maybe lower. just as neutral of midrange but just a tad more treble energy from neutral. It been long discontinued so these maybe very rare item.

 

[paolomo]

I’m being facetious, but I like thinking that the Sennheiser people changed the finish, added 50 to the name and have been enjoying the show since 2003

 

[garageband]

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If you look at the frequency response of the 600 & 650, they might as well be the same headphone but frequency response graphs don't tell the whole story. The 600 is more even in the highs and that would be perfect for studio use but that doesn't mean it's desireable for recreational listening. A flat response like the 600 in the upper mids/treble can come across as harsh if the headphone doesn't have a slighty more present bass response to give some meat to the sound. Sennheiser realized this so they gave the 650 and 660 S some warmth.

 

[Doodski]

On a different I like my newly acquired HD560S a lot. They have the best tonality amongst the open headphones I have tried till now. Would love to see them being measured by @amirm

It's too bad that Sennheiser does not include the 1m, 4 pole, 3.5mm, with inline microphone cable with the HD open back headphones. I used my HD 598SR on the cel tel and they sounded wonderful and went loud.

 

[Robbo99999]

I’m being facetious, but I like thinking that the Sennheiser people changed the finish, added 50 to the name and have been enjoying the show since 2003

Noooooooo!

If you look at the frequency response of the 600 & 650, they might as well be the same headphone but frequency response graphs don't tell the whole story. The 600 is more even in the highs and that would be perfect for studio use but that doesn't mean it's desireable for recreational listening. A flat response like the 600 in the upper mids/treble can come across as harsh if the headphone doesn't have a slighty more present bass response to give some meat to the sound. Sennheiser realized this so they gave the 650 and 660 S a beefier bass response.

You're right that bass balances out with treble, so there's a balance to be struck, but even so my general comment on 650 vs 600 hold in terms of the measurements and the general experience for most people, (and they are definitely different headphones). I tend to disagree that you want a different frequency response for studio vs recreational use. In my mind the best sound is the most accurate sound which for headphones is harder to achieve, but that's the aim for me & a lot of people....in my experience accuracy in studio monitors and headphones equals enjoyable recreational sound too, I don't make a distinction between the two & I think theoretically there shouldn't really be a difference either.

(I certainly listen to all my headphones with EQ, and all open backed headphones of mine get a bass boost to Harman, so that marries with your bass vs treble balancing comment, although of course different levels of bass boost are preferred depending on person, but I've found Harman spot on personally with the exception I've recently found boosting 2kHz by a couple of dB is closer to my studio monitor flat sound so I have my own target curve as a variation on Harman).

 

[frogmeat69]

It's interesting how history is repeating itself The audiophile community was divided on the 650 when it first came out. Some said the 600 was still the better headphone. I think people will come around on the 660 S in 10 years and view it as the best of the lineup. It happens with everything that's new in life - it takes time for people to re-evaluate and recontextualize things.

You think it's the best of the bunch, but Tyll from Inner Fidelity looked like he was gonna cry, because he was so disappointed in that he thought there was a step back in quality. He was clearly upset about it.
I like the 660, but don't think it's any better than the others.

 

[Leporello]

If you look at the frequency response of the 600 & 650, they might as well be the same headphone but frequency response graphs don't tell the whole story. The 600 is more even in the highs and that would be perfect for studio use but that doesn't mean it's desireable for recreational listening. A flat response like the 600 in the upper mids/treble can come across as harsh if the headphone doesn't have a slighty more present bass response to give some meat to the sound. Sennheiser realized this so they gave the 650 and 660 S some warmth.

It's funny. Twenty years ago I felt that HD600 was overly bassy and veiled. Harsh? No way with the "velvety fog" sound of the HD600. Now, with a new pair of HD600s I occasionally wonder if the rumoured changes in sound signature (black vs white elements etc) were actually true. Perhaps my perception of sound has also changed over time.

 

[PierreV]

But again, it could be you're sensitive to treble due everyone's anatomical differences, therefore you may find HD600 just too harsh

Age could play a role as well. I bought my 600 around 2008 and hated it immediately. Way too bright and very tiring. I couldn't listen to it for more than 40 minutes before wanting to throw it against the wall... So it went back into its box and slept until last year. Today, I find it and absolute delight.
I think that what has changed is my ability to hear above 14 Khz. I still find them bass light though, but that's probably because my in-ears are bass boosted for exercise and outdoor rides.

 

[buz]

Also, the cable shown is the stock cable of the HD650 not the HD600. The cable for the HD600 is thinner and uses smaller connectors and terminates into a 3.5 mm plug with an adapter to 6.35 mm.

Not so sure. My HD600 were bought around 2013 and came with a 6.35mm termination. I like the cable (much more so than the one on the HD800s I recently got), except for the sheer length.

 

[Angsty]

Thanks for the review, Amir! By the way, would Karman happen to be a portmanteau of “Harman Kardon”?

You know you’ve had too much ASR when real people’s names appear to be combinations of audio brands. …

 

[Robbo99999]

Age could play a role as well. I bought my 600 around 2008 and hated it immediately. Way too bright and very tiring. I couldn't listen to it for more than 40 minutes before wanting to throw it against the wall... So it went back into its box and slept until last year. Today, I find it and absolute delight.
I think that what has changed is my ability to hear above 14 Khz. I still find them bass light though, but that's probably because my in-ears are bass boosted for exercise and outdoor rides.

It's possible that there were some peaks above 14Khz that disturbed you beyond what you perceived as flat sound....(I can hear up to 15.5kHz at my normal relatively low listening levels and HD600 is still my best headphone when not EQ'd). Although generally I don't think hearing loss (perhaps within reason) is really an argument for different target curves....afterall we get used to our natural hearing abilities through all the frequency range just through living our life, so boosting areas of the Target Curve to compensate would essentially be creating an unnatural experience from your everyday "auditory balance". I understand that hearing aids boost certain frequencies in order for people to just understand speech sometimes, so perhaps for those people then they could listen to headphones without hearing aids and instead EQ up the exact areas that their hearing specialist has identified for their hearing aids - as a modification to the Harman Curve as a thought. I think you're totally correct in finding the HD600 bass light....pretty much all open backed headphones are bass light.

 

[StevenEleven]

Interesting review. HD580s came out in 1993. I’ve got an old pair of HD580s that have stood the test of time. Never could find an “upgrade” in the Senn line for my ears, and I‘ve tried several times.

 

[jhaider]

He is wrong that they sound the same, plain and simple. Fortunately the measurements say differently, as pointed out by Solderdude.

Do they?

Here are measurements for the whole "family" (580-600-650) from a common source, using that great resource @JIW shared.

Honestly the differences look to me as much like unit-unit variation as anything else.

Maybe someone could do the same kind of overlay with the 600 and 650 measurements here.

 

[Robbo99999]

Do they?

Here are measurements for the whole "family" (580-600-650) from a common source, using that great resource @JIW shared.

View attachment 128865

Honestly the differences look to me as much like unit-unit variation as anything else.

Maybe someone could do the same kind of overlay with the 600 and 650 measurements here.

I was gonna say you've not zoomed in on the graph, but even when that graph is zoomed in there's not much difference:

Although I wish I could select solid lines rather than dashed lines, as it's harder to see the differences when the lines are dashed. Astounding how similar they are in general terms. Still some small consistent differences in HD600 vs HD650, but really all those are clearly similar.

Interesting review. HD580s came out in 1993. I’ve got an old pair of HD580s that have stood the test of time. Never could find an “upgrade” in the Senn line for my ears, and I‘ve tried several times.

I guess that's the reason why Steven!