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Drop + Sennheiser HD6XX US$189 (~A$286) Delivered with New User Signup @ Drop
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which did you like better? these or the HD600s
hard to compare now as the 600s were modded somewhat which changed their sound signature.
The 6XX are darker in signature though from reviews.
I use the 6XX to mix and master, 600s would be more preferred for neutral sound signature but I woul dnever spend $500+ when I could get the 6XX @ almost 1/2 price.I just replaced the ear pads on the 6XX and bass response is much lower than what it used to be. Those earpads cost me $10 lol.
I have a bunch of headphones, the 6XX are far the best I have owned vs $ for sure.
What pads did you get? When you say “bass is much lower”, do you mean deeper? Or less bass? Trying to decipher if you mean it’s better or worse after changing pads 😂
thanks for the detailed reply. i currently used 600s for mixing too, but have considered the 6xx as a backup or when someone else is in the studio with me. great to hear the perspective from a fellow musician
For others reading you really shouldn't change the pads on the 6xx because it will change the tuning significantly. Usually for the worse.
@zjz93: So what you're saying is if your pads are worn, don't change them because the already altered sound signature due to the leakage, you should not change the pads to suit accordingly?
Do you just make bs up?
You know you can get original replacements from the 650 which will give you the same exacting sound signature that the 6XX give you.
There are other, better pads like the Dekoni that actually improve the sound signature.@[Deactivated]: No I mean change it with stock pads when it wears down, not your random ebay leather pads which have unpredictible effects.
Also the dekoni pads you sent reduce the pinna gain by a whole 8 decibels! That changes the headphone's sound signature completely as it muffles the vocal clarity.
@zjz93: I don't think you know anything about Fletcher Munson curve.
Who ever mentioned leather pads?
@[Deactivated]: I do in fact know what the equal loudness contour is. However I'd like you to elaborate on how this supports your suggestion on the dakoni pads.
How did you stretch yours out? I got a pair last year, and don't use them every day, but still find them too tight for my head.
You know where the adjustments are made for the length? That band is metal, it can be encourage to flex which either way you want, just make sure you're doing it to the band and not holding the plastic portion.
Imagine a metal ruler and how you would want to make a small curve, you don't need much pressure to do so and make sure you expand the ear cup all the way so you have plenty to work with.
Been around this price point +/- $10 for the last 5 months.
Yeah been $199 USD + $20 USD shipping for the last few weeks ish, been keeping an eye on it. So roughly $30 USD less than buying any other time since I’ve been watching it.
Yes the normal special is $199, $179 if lucky.
Got hit up for taxes.Excellent headphones.
These are great, got them with the nicer ear pads, balanced cable and power them through a Schitt headphone amp (Jotunheim) and Schitt Bifrost DAC -> Computer.
What ear pads did you get?
sheepskin pads, really nice.
Not so much for the sheep.
@jackspratt: Agreed, pretty irresponsible and those would definitely change the sound too much, and irritating.
This guy schitts
That's my exact setup too. Dekoni pads?
How do these stack up against the phillips X2HR?
I have both, these run rings around the Phillips, I have the V1 of the Phillips too, the X3 are the worst.
The X2 are big/bulky but not heavy, they have a wide soundstage and great for movies but I prefer the overall presentation of the 6XX which deliver more for similar $.
I found i didnt need an amp to run these on my PC.Its an Z490 AORUS PRO AX with the ALC1220-VB with 'smart headphone amp' - i always found the sound to be a little muddy, but was loud enough. I am also using a xonar DX (no amp) which sounds much cleaner than the onboard, and also plenty loud enough. So you may or may not need an amp on a PC.
The included cable was too short (my pc case is on the ground), its also kinda stiff. I i got a cheap ugreen extension to fix the length issue. I'd assumed it was same length as on the hd518, bit it was shorter enough to be a problem.
Needed to flex the headband metal out to get a comfortable fit. These replaced my HD 518's and i prefer the HD 6xx sound.
I got these november last year on special for $169usd, and $10 off coupon (may have been for joining drop). Shipping was $20 and i didnt pay any tax (all up shipped was $179) - very happy witht he puchase!!
Cheers
Recently bought the 599se via the Amazon sale. How do these compare?
I'm in the same boat, so I had a quick look at some reviews.
When I bought the 599SEs the general consensus in reviews was that they had a flat, neutral sound - pleasing, but they didn't punch up the bass the way
plebconsumer headphones do.A quick look at the comparison reviews, though, suggests that the HD6XX have a flat, neutral sound; and while they sound better, they don't punch up the bass as much as the 599SEs now apparently do.
TL,DR: More dollars, more better; but I'm not sure how much of that is psychological.
I prefer neutral headphones too. The dumber people are, the more obsessed they are with low frequencies that synchronize with their low brain wave activity. Virtually every music player software has some sort of equalizer functionality; my Creative sound card driver has one too but I never use it. I assume BassHeads are too decerebrate to be able to figure how how to configure an Equalizer, even though it is often just a matter of moving one or more sliders up. When listening to classical music I push the bass frequencies down a little (they contain mostly rumble) and the higher frequencies up from 8 KHz+ (because I have moderate hearing loss in higher frequencies).
There is apparently a song "All about the bass; no treble"; it is the best 1 sentence summary of modern music. In my text file collection of quotations and interesting articles, I found another by an unknown audio engineer: "Much of the music we listen to today is nothing more than distortion with a beat. Great music is suffering because it lacks dynamic range." The loudness war never really ended. The same people who worship low frequencies and drum machine driven music are the ones who think louder is always better.
Plenty of good music around besides the top 40 dance songs, just have to look for it.
Most youngsters wouldn't care about hi-fidelity and dedicated cabled setups, just like Spotify, YouTube and Snapchat.You have moderate hearing loss, you're the last person to be giving an opinion on how people should listen to their music.
Classical contains mostly rumble, what bullshit statement is this?
A good engineer just uses a high pass filter in final stages, you would know this from your so called extensive knowledge on "the loudness wars", which apparently has never stopped given your inaccurate assessment.The 6xx are pretty 'neutral' anyway, everything I throw at them sound good. They are a favourite amongst audiophiles in case you hadn't noticed.
I actually like them for their great kids, particularly good for classical and vocals, not covered up my strong mid bass and boomy like many others.
Not sure what sick bass you're taking about..
These punch well above their price point, while the 599 is reasonably priced at $130-$140.
Different levels of detail retrieval, but the 599 would have a wider soundstage and more precise imaging, particularly if you're not really sporting a decent amp and DAC.
6XX/650 is an extremely well-regarded headphone but they take a little bit of work in your setup, while the 599 is an old high-brow gaming recommendation. I personally think the 58X and 599 are dated recommendations, and you'd probably get more enjoyment out of a HIFIMAN HE400SE non-Stealth/v1 for under $100 unless you're playing super competitive shooters.
The 6XX remains an absolute bargain.
Been eyeing the 400se but found there were differing opinions between the v1 and v2. Have you had a listen to both? Which would you prefer and why?
Haven't heard the v1, but the 12kHz spike in the v2 is well known, and thje comparisons have been done by a lot of trusted review sources. Nature of the 400SE is such that you're not getting as much out of the stealth magnet as the more refined Hifiman designs (eg. the Edition XS, the Arya Stealth, the Ananda Nano), though there is a tape mod for correcting the treble zing that some recommend.
But honestly it's just less than half the price, so get the v1. If you're looking at the $200+ range, you really should just keep going to this 6XX deal and have it as a staple in your headphone collection.
Have had both and kept the 599. WAY comfier. Maybe not technically as good but easy to drive, light and I enjoy them.
These are open design so they will spill a lot of sound. Whoever is sitting next to you will hear what you're listening to.
Depends on the ambient sound, took mine to work to test with USB C DAC and wasn't an issue in a quiet office. They may be too loud if they are leaking a lot of sound. If you are sitting 1m from someone on a bed they may hear it but hardly a reason not to get them.
remember when they were like $200, damn inflation
$220 due a discount double up that they honoured, but otherwise the ATL would be around $260.
If the same deal came up today with the same exchange rate and the bump in delivery cost but no coupon mistake, it would be $246. Purely an issue of exchange rates.
I've been using the HD58X for mixing for a while now, they are amazing headphones.
Mate currently has the 58x. Lent him my Pula 02 iems yesterday and he messaged me an hour later very surprised. He said they made the 58x sound like a pair of budget headphones. He hadn't realized how dark and veiled the 58x are.
Each to their own of course, if you love them thats great.58X and 6XX are two notably different drivers, and 6XX really do need a good audio stack to shine. If the amp can't power and control the signal well, and the DAC cuts too many corners, they will sound veiled and even a little thin.
It's not as simple as the ASR forums and a bunch of sites/channels would have you believe so you click their referral links, but it is slowly getting cheaper to get a good baseline.
Oh 100%. I've owned the 58x on a schiit stack and my impression was that it was a warmer headset with that Sennheiser veil.
The 6xx is a more reference sound yeah? Always wanted to have a listen but went with the 560s instead.@Necrosis: Compared to the 560S, the 6XX will sound a little warmer with slightly slower bass tones, and with a little less treble extension, but vocal and piano timbre - which are hard to do - will be better, extremely natural.
The 560S has better imaging with a few weird spots, and will have a wider stage. The better your amp and DAC situation, the more the 6XX pulls back at the strengths the 560S has over it, and the more it enhances its own, but the real entry level for that is probably starting at $80 to $300ish for a high quality USB-C dongle, the latter end of that spectrum really delivering that spatial/staging elements that can fall apart while being highly detailed.
That number is steadily dropping though, just reflects the 6XX has the bones of what was once a much more expensive - and flagship - headphone for Sennheiser.
@Necrosis: The 58X is supposed to go lower than the 6XX and be a tad flatter, 58X should be darker and 6XX should be brighter. I think the 6XX is harder to drive.
I've never seen referral links in ASR forums but they can be their own worst enemy so to speak.
@JPerez: I doubt they'd allow it on the forums, but I haven't looked much into Amir's YouTube presence. More referring to the review links posted.
I've never heard them or have heard of them so I don't have any comment to make but looking only at the chart that looks like a more hyped spectrum which I won't necessarily pick for mixing. Headphones are probably more sensitive to the amp driving them than IEMs. I'm fine with my Sennheiser I'll keep making millions streams until I pick the Audeze MM500.
HD560s for me, also extremely happy with them. Sennheiser are hard to compete with at this pricepoint (HD560s, HD6xx, HD58x)
Great price, keep in mind you'll likely need to account for an amp with these too.
I got a LXDAC A01 ALC5686 USB Type C to 3.5mm Angeldac adapter from AliExpress ages ago, it sounds pretty good. Out of interested I plugged in my HD 6XX and was suprised how good they sounded, weren't under-volumed or anything (pixel 8). Wavelet picked up the model from AutoEQ but may prefer them natural. Either way excellent for $8.
I was expecting them to be underpowered or lacking volume without an amp but they are fine.
What’s a good headphone for movies and ASMR? I don’t really listen to music.
Any..
An AirPod pro is better for movies.
Recommendations on a budget DAC/AMP that will be good for these please team? Trying to find a good dac under $200 on a deal but finding them hard to come by.
Qudelix 5k or the ifi zen air
Thanks for your response, I've see a lot of good reviews on ifi zen dac v2. Any idea if its much of an upgrade on the zen air?
I have the ifi Zen DAC v1, was $200 years ago, I think they are $300 now. They sound best with a separate amp.
I'd look at the topping dx3 pro+ , Darko has a video on it. Pretty versatile and even has a remote.
SMSL C200 is $239 on Amazon after $60 voucher. I have this, which replaced a Topping dac and amp setup. Really happy with it. Use it with Senn HD600 and Drop Dan Clark Closed X
I’m interested in the SMSL DACs which I’ve seen popping up on YT including the SU-9Pro and SU-10 with the both a bit out of my price range once converted at AUD but seems people are particularly keen on these but of course everyone will have an option on a DAC and what you should expect to pay for a unit. Work out a budget and then start doing research. SMSL have some entry level which might be an OK place to start. But there are a lot of different brands out there - finding something under $200 which will meet your expectations might be a hard ask. However there are probably more people on this threat that might be able to recommend this.
I’m still deciding on whether I buy the Sennheiser 599SE headphones or spend a bit more. I’m likely to only use them in private do the open back design isn’t as big of an issue but looking at other models which aren’t that much more and the quality jumps dramatically with better drivers etc.
Quality audio doesn’t have to cost the earth but right now with exchange rates etc all of us are stuck on what we can afford and try to get the best advice so we spend what money we have as wisely as possible.
DACs make less difference than a lot of people like to say. Especially if you aren't listening to music analytically and just enjoying it. The headphones, EQing and music itself will make the biggest difference in the audio chain, so make sure you don't go too far into dimishing returns territory. Even a good motherboard amp/dac will be just enough to run the 6xx.
Some truth to that but I think everyone knows in onboard sound is horrible (people used to buy sound blasters remember, prob more acceptable these days).
Agreed that the headphones make the most difference but you may as well. Not even buy expensive ones if the source isn't any good and you don't benefit from them.
At least get a DAC if you don't want a discrete amp too.
Something like a topping dx3 pro+ isn't that expensive and would pair up very nicely with these, good entry Level solid setup. Not everyone is that fussy about audio though, and in that case shouldn't be buying these either.Sound cards are unnecessary for the vast majority of users now. If your motherboard has a good enough sound chip you can absolutely run the 6xx's as long as you only listen at a normal volume, which you should be anyway. My motherboard goes uncomfortably loud with them. I've A/B tested the 6xx's with a motherboard ALC1220 chip against a Schiit stack and against a SMSL AO300 just then. There's really barely any difference. if someone's asking for recommendations without wanting to spend too much I think it's irresponsible to upsell them on something they don't need.
@GibbledyBobber: Just get whatever works, I don't really mind just offering reasonable bundles and upgrades, not excessive by any means, people could get much cheaper headphones too with that logic. I'd agree if you use optical out of mainboard then yes it wouldn't matter as much.
Fantastic headphones, pretty sweet price point before you start to hit massively diminishing returns on quality. Bear in mind the ear pads need to be replaced every year or two depending on amount of use. I really like the ZMF Suede Pads. EQing can also do a lot. Oratory1990 and autoEQ have good presets that can increase the bass which tends to be low.
Thanks, got it. Really messy to get the $10 discount
Can anyone tell me how these would sound compared to the Sennheiser hd560s. I have the 560's and absolutely love them. Have always wondered if these are an upgrade. I'm using the fiio btr5 to power them and don't really plan to get anything more than that. Apart from maybe the btr15 which i think is a bit more powerful. For more info i had the sennheiser hd58x first and absolutely hated them. Found them super boring so not sure if the 6xx would be closer to those or closer to the 560s's. Man audio can be confusing!! :)
The 6XX has a more natural treble, but they're also harder to drive, and you might not notice as much of a gap as there is between the two until you upgrade your audio chain far further.
560S has a wider soundstage, sometimes better imaging (but not really as you scale), and has better bass and treble extension (ie. low/sub bass quantity and upper treble quantity, but not quality).
Thanks for that info mate. Sounds more to me like it's probably not worth the upgrade. I am happy with my 560's and was trying to see what the next step up was. Without having to upgrade the amp/dac side of it. I'm considering upgrading my fiio btr5 to the newer btr15. Apparently it's got a bit more power available.
There's better upgrades out there for similar or slightly more. Check out the Cayin RU6 and RU7, as well as AndyAudioVault on YouTube.
They are double the price of the btr15 though.
These are great cans, had my OG HD600s for 20 years still going, got these to update.
Cheapest cans I've ever bought and are stellar for gaming.
They're a tight fit but because of the metal band, you can flex them out to suit your head.
These need an amp which I got cheap too.
SMSL HO100 Balanced Headphone Amplifier paid $170 and is DACless but Ialready have an interface which does that duty.
This runs my low impedance Planar so could not be happier.