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Sennheiser HD-600?

Being lured back to HD600 ..... but for much different reasons. Definitely aging ears and need best /affordable Open-Back Fones to provide most 'home studio' Mixing help ( supplemental to Yamaha Powered monitors ).
Will not get future chances as 'time marches on' and now considering even Beyerdynamics DT1990 Pro, as well.
Diminishing returns surely apply here, and no solid basis for choosing at $300. up to $400.+
Will drive with Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 (3rd Gen) or dedicated HDfone Amp ..... as needed.

Any advices for this very personal home studio need (Orchestral / Piano / +) ?
Many hours daily and hoping for some improvement.
 
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barteredbride said:
Soooo....now I´m confused!

I was set on getting some HD600s for mixing, but if it misses low bass frequencies, what can I do?

:confused:

Is there any headphones like the HD600, but with bass detail?
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All of the headphones mentioned here are more than capable for mixing. There aren't perfectly flat flawless headphones - that's where software like Sonarworks correction comes in handy. Pair DT 880 Pro, HD600/650, AKGs, Audezes or any quality open-back cans with Sonarworks and a good crossfeed plugin such as this and you're good to go.
 
Tim_Wells said:
Are the Drop Sennheiser HD6xx 100% equivalent to the Sennheiser HD650s? I ask because I would want to use them with Sonarworks and if there were small differences, it may throw the calibration off.
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Sennheiser made the Drop HD6xx.

Other than the change in color and cable, they are the exact same headphones.

I just bought them and I love them. Never had the experience before of wondering if the sound was actually in the room as opposed to in the headphones. They are that good, to me.

I use with the SonarWorks.
 
sostenuto said:
Being lured back to HD600 ..... but for much different reasons. Definitely aging ears and need best /affordable Open-Back Fones to provide most 'home studio' Mixing help ( supplemental to Yamaha Powered monitors ).
Will not get future chances as 'time marches on' and now considering even Beyerdynamics DT1990 Pro, as well.
Diminishing returns surely apply here, and no solid basis for choosing at $300. up to $400.+
Will drive with Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 (3rd Gen) or dedicated HDfone Amp ..... as needed.

Any advices for this very personal home studio need (Orchestral / Piano / +) ?
Many hours daily and hoping for some improvement.
Click to expand...
Even if you want to go all out with money the HD600s are imho the best for the job really, as for an amp, I'd either get the Magni Heresy (best bang for the buck) or (again if budget is no problem) the Drop THX AAA 789.
 
Side question: is driving Senheiser HD6xx with an Apogee Quartet headphone out acceptable? I hadn't really considered buying a separate headphone amp, but if the Quartet's amp is decent I won't worry about it.

Thx
 
Thundercat said:
Side question: is driving Senheiser HD6xx with an Apogee Quartet headphone out acceptable? I hadn't really considered buying a separate headphone amp, but if the Quartet's amp is decent I won't worry about it.

Thx
Click to expand...

Not knowledgeable to advise, BUT many searches and communications with 'theoretically' solid resources. One confusing discussion dealt with 'mastered' audio sources versus (my scenario) monitoring DAW recording, processing, editing, mixing, etc. , versus audiophile 'listening'.
Was left with uneasiness that many HDfone dac/preamp/amp solutions are not 'ideal' for this studio work.
One capable source steered me away from 'tube' amps due to 'coloring' of sound when goal is studio headphone performance to supplement studio monitors. ( eg. Magni 3+ vs Vali or Valhalla _ for Beyer DT880 Pro )


Would truly like to get professional comments on this aspect of Studio /DAW Headphone sources ! Leaves much confusion per @ Thundercat inquiry. Was assuming Audio I/F would be fine; now unsure.
Drop THX AAA 789 mentioned earlier, has tube and perhaps not best for studio application ????
 
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SupremeFist said:
Not here they don't. (Audient id14.)
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6XXs are highly amp dependent and scale better than most other headphones. They can be driven loud enough with most sources but they'll be veiled and will offer less detail. The 600s are less problematic in that sense.

Maybe you're right, you'd probably have to a-b test with a dedicated amp to notice, some people are perfectly happy with actually underpowered 650s, I'm quite a pedantic audiophile tbh... :thumbsdown:




Ps. The 6XXs/ 650s were the reason why people were complaining about the famous Sennheiser veil as far as I know. (Back in the day a decent amp to power them was really expensive.)
 
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SupremeFist said:
Not here they don't. (Audient id14.)
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Adds to my posted concerns ! Intended solution has been Focusrite Scarlett 4I4 - 3rd Gen. Currently use older Senn(s) with Saffire Pro 14(s) and no volume problem ..... but what about other goals of supplementing studio monitors due to hearing (hi-freq fall-off) issues ??
Alternative was Clarett 2Pre USB, but still unsure vs Schiit Magni 3+ (for example).
Audient iD4 is under consideration as well.
 
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Instrugramm said:
Yup, definitely needed, commented on that fact in another thread on here, I d' suggest getting the Magni 3+ or the Heresy by Shiit.
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Would you say a dedicated amp in addition to the Apogee Quartet headphone output? It's a pretty high quality unit overall, but I don't know about the headphone amp within...

Thx
 
Instrugramm said:
Ps. The 6XXs/ 650s were the reason why people were complaining about the famous Sennheiser veil as far as I know. (Back in the day a decent amp to power them was really expensive.)
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In my research the "veil" referred to early versions of the headphones; not whether they were driven by an amp. Supposedly the newer ones are better and clearer and that issue is gone...
 
Thundercat said:
In my research the "veil" referred to early versions of the headphones; not whether they were driven by an amp. Supposedly the newer ones are better and clearer and that issue is gone...
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The earlier HD 600s had a darker tone if I'm not mistaken (black driver) but the veil is a result of poor amplification. It's best to test in all honesty but I guarantee, that 650s will sound ok on a cheap amp, great on an expensive amp and even better on a really expensive one.

The 600s seem easier to handle because the mids and bass are less pronounced. I wouldn't drive any of my headphones over the interface but then again I'm the kind of person who wants to buy 900 dollar headphones and thinks about getting Stax, so my expectations may be different from yours...
 
Instrugramm said:
The earlier HD 600s had a darker tone if I'm not mistaken (black driver) but the veil is a result of poor amplification. It's best to test in all honesty but I guarantee, that 650s will sound ok on a cheap amp, great on an expensive amp and even better on a really expensive one.

The 600s seem easier to handle because the mids and bass are less pronounced. I wouldn't drive any of my headphones over the interface but then again I'm the kind of person who wants to buy 900 dollar headphones and thinks about getting Stax, so my expectations may be different from yours...
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Are you stating this as also applying equally to Studio /DAW scenarios with more audio transient content (unmastered) and goal of accuracy vs pleasing audiophile listening ... including genre preferences ?? These differences in daily application remain uncertain as choices are being made.
 
Instrugramm said:
6XXs are highly amp dependent and scale better than most other headphones. They can be driven loud enough with most sources but they'll be veiled and will offer less detail. The 600s are less problematic in that sense.
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I don't understand the actual electronics theory so maybe I am missing something but if my interface can drive the 6XX to hearing-damaging volume (which it can), in what sense could they still be somehow "underpowered"?
 
SupremeFist said:
I don't understand the actual electronics theory so maybe I am missing something but if my interface can drive the 6XX to hearing-damaging volume (which it can), in what sense could they still be somehow "underpowered"?
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There's amp scaling in general, again a question of which headphone and amp you use in combination. And then there's the additional problem, that amps rarely scale in volume in a linear fashion, it's actually quite complicated. If you want an ideally flat response you might really want to get a THX certificated amp (drop 789, or smsl sp200). They're the most "linear" ones.
 
sostenuto said:
Are you stating this as also applying equally to Studio /DAW scenarios with more audio transient content (unmastered) and goal of accuracy vs pleasing audiophile listening ... including genre preferences ?? These differences in daily application remain uncertain as choices are being made.
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Mostly yes, but then again mastering is always approximation, you can "reference" music (with other tracks of music you like) on your headphones and then mix accordingly and sometimes hearing every detail isn't vital as you need to keep in mind, that most people won't listen in lossless FLAC on 1000 dollar headphones and 1000 dollar amps...^^
 
Some of
Instrugramm said:
Mostly yes, but then again mastering is always approximation, you can "reference" music (with other tracks of music you like) on your headphones and then mix accordingly and sometimes hearing every detail isn't vital as you need to keep in mind, that most people won't listen in lossless FLAC on 1000 dollar headphones and 1000 dollar amps...^^
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For sure ! But one 'trusted' source left me uncomfortable with one solution I use; which is Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 (Firewire) driving NAD Integrated Stereo Amp ( C 356BEE ) and using its Headphone output rather than Saffire Pro 14's. This still in DAW /Studio setting, not for audiophile pleasure listening.
 
sostenuto said:
Some of

For sure ! But one 'trusted' source left me uncomfortable with one solution I use; which is Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 (Firewire) driving NAD Integrated Stereo Amp ( C 356BEE ) and using its Headphone output rather than Saffire Pro 14's. This still in DAW /Studio setting, not for audiophile pleasure listening.
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It's a lot about experimenting tbh. Check your mixes on as many sources as possible, export them in different formats, listen to them on headphones, monitors and on a phone for example.

In my experience a good solid state amp with HD600s (without Sonarworks) yielded the best results in general but your mileage may vary.
 
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Instrugramm said:
It's a lot about experimenting tbh. Check your mixes on as many sources as possible, export them in different formats, listen to them on headphones, monitors and on a phone for example.

In my experience a good solid state amp with HD600s (without Sonarworks) yielded the best results in general but your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...
A question then - my Apogee Quartet has a 1/4" headphone out, and 1/4" speaker outs. Nothing else.

Would I use the Quartet headphone out to the headphone amp in? If I was to get the Heresy, this is RCA plugs (yikes!). I can't imagine using the speaker outs...

In this scenario I'm still using the Apogee internal headphone amp. Then I'd have 2 volume controls, one on the Quartet, and one on the Heresy. Somethings seems amiss here...

Thx,

Mike
 
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