Sennheiser HD 600 Audiophile Quality, Open Hi-Fi stereo Headphones

After using my Sennheiser HD595 headphones for 10 years, I thought it was time for an upgrade and decided to purchase these. Music sounded "boring" for lack of a better word. After more than 16 years since these were released, these are still considered to be amongst the best headphones you can get (bar the Orpheus and HD800 supposedly). Sennheiser looks after its customers so well by offering a full range of replacement parts for the HD600, and I think this is a testament to a company that released these headphones so long ago. A good pair of headphones is an investment and should last you 10+ years if you look after them. I'm sure that in 10 years time, you'll still be able to buy replacement parts for these. The clamp force is definitely a bit tighter than the HD595s, but it's by no means uncomfortable. After a week or two, they'll feel even better. Immediately, I noticed the improved bass response over the HD595s and greater detail and clarity. I can hear lots of subtleties in songs which I hadn't been able to hear before, and it's almost like I am "listening for the first time". Background vocals are distinctly heard, cymbals clash and reverb with precision, the sound of triangles is subtle but noticeable. Even if you're not a fan of R.E.M., listening to "Man on the Moon" is such a pleasure as not only the quality of the recording is fantastic, but also the song shows off the many vocals and instruments used. And on these headphones this song really does shine. My setup: I've paired these with an SMSL SD793-II DAC & Headphone Amplifier, and I only need to use them at the 11-12 (Roughly about one third volume) o'clock position before it gets a bit too loud (or complaints from the wife!). These do require an amplifier to drive them. I have used them on my iPhone without an amplifier and at full volume, the sound is a little quiet and a little restrained. I also use them with my Onkyo TX-RZ810 receiver and listen to FLACs - mainly Rock - from Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Zeppelin, as well as some pop such as Adele, Michael Jackson and Elton John. They all sound magical.

These headphones made me cry. More on that later. They come in a sturdy wood-ish type box - not posh polished wood, but sturdy enough and covered with dark brown lining. The phones are nestled in protective grey foam, cut to the shape of the phones to keep them safe during transit. A manual accompanies them, although I just dived in and started listening. I love the sound of a piano so I had plenty of classical themed music to run through these 600s. First up was an old Naxos 1980s Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 CD. Hmm. The sound was dull across the entire range. The playing is fantastic though and led me to buy the sheet music, which I never could play. To be fair it never sounded great through any headphones, but I was expecting some kind of magic. Let's try something recorded more recently. Second up was Yundi Li's "The Art of Yundi" (a fantastic collection of piano pieces - many new to me a few months ago). Flipping heck! What a difference a good recording/sound engineer makes! I heard nuances in individual notes I'd not heard before. I even heard accidentals/accent notes I'd not noticed before. The clarity from top to bottom was simply outstanding. Sparkling brilliance in the upper registers and warm dark sonorous tones lower down. My love of piano music led me to buy an electric piano, 15+ years ago now. It went "pop" a year or so ago and died on me. I was sad but kept it as it's handy for my home theater speakers. When I've saved up I'll buy another. Back to Yundi. Liszt's Rigoletto was one of the pieces that was new to me. I must have played it 100 times on the train to work, using my mobile + headphones. It's an addictive piece and I know it quite well now. Again there were notes/timbres/nuances that sprang into life, as though rescued from the cracks that lesser headphones would leave behind. It was like listening to a completely new recording. Rigoletto draws you in slowly, then makes you addicted with its clever ever complicating recapitulation, then exits the stadium with magnificent massive virtuoso chords crashing down the keyboard. And then silence. But there isn't. For a few seconds through these headphones you can hear the soundboard and frame of the piano ring and undulate as the brilliance of Liszt, through Yundis fingers, evapourates into the ether. That little piece of magic made me cry. It made me look at my beloved piano, now senza voce, and want to play it. But I could not, ever again. It made me remember all the good times, the bad times, the frustrations, the rare accomplishments but most of all my love of sound itself. Welcome back, my friend. Let's not get too emotive - it's just a pair of headphones after all. However, music makes us emotional. Third up was Bachs Toccata & Fugue in D Minor. These phones pick up everything, including quirks of an old air powered Church organ. You could almost hear the beast breathing through its nostrils. At full pelt in the "fff" passages with every single bank of notes from foot to teeth being tormented these phones did struggle. The music got lost as if overwhelmed. To be fair it's a cruel test as none of my headphones ever succeeded either. You have a huge Church organ pumping gallons of air to make those fat boy pipes play and expect a little piece of tech to replicate that? We need to be realistic in our expectations. However, the different registers/instruments the organ sounded were simply sublime through these. Really sweet. Fourth up was a new addiction of mine. Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies. Played by the brilliant George Cziffra. Recorded in the early 1970s I didn't expect much from this CD. In fact I was worried these 'phones might highlight the fact microphones were not as sensitive then, tape noise, that kind of thing. Oh my - what a blast! Yet again I'm hearing those accidental notes (not really accidental - they are very brief deliberate embellishments and fiendishly difficult to play without whacking). Yet again I feel like my ears have been cleansed or I'm listening to a new digitally remastered release. Brilliant. These 'phones give your ears exactly what's on the plate. If it's a poor recording then they won't make it better. If it's a good one then your ears, brain, body and soul will be overjoyed. Yep that's the word. The music I have gave me joy. Now it's joy++. Overjoyed. These initially feel tight to wear, but soon you realise you've gotten used to slack ill fitting headgear. They encompass the ear (unless you are Vulcan) and fit nicely against the head, instead of pressing into parts of the ear. I find them very comfortable. After a few minutes you forget you are wearing them. My first pair of "opens". Highly recommended. Closed gives me that "sea shell" experience of hearing my own bloodstream or something. Plus my ears now remain cool, they weigh less and I feel part of the environment rather than in some sensory deprivation chamber. A huge plus when it comes to listening to a concerto where you want to be in the audience, not isolated. Having listened to much piano tonight I noticed sound engineers don't follow any particular rule regarding left/right; some make you the listener - you are facing the piano being played so high notes come through the left ear and low notes through the right. Very disconcerting if you are a player. As the player you hear low through left and high through right. I'm not a player, but have tried and like to be "in the seat" when I'm doing air piano. Others seem to give a cross-fade which is even more disconcerting. For the wrong-way-round listener experience I found a fantastic tweak you can do to these HD 600s. If you absolutely want the player experience where low=down and high=up then make the following adjustments to these cans. Yes I know these are very expensive, but the modification is reversible: 1. Take them off 2. Put them on the wrong way round Immediately you are transported from audience to player. As these phones are symmetrically flexible they feel just as comfortable either way around. Worth the money? If you're going to do something, do it once and do it properly. With a frequency response of 12Hz-40500Hz it should cover most needs. Oh nearly forgot! So many questions out there about impedance. 32/80/300/600 Ohms. Will my X phones work in a Y thing? There's lots of "info" about needing to buy a specialist headphone amp if > 32 ohms. These HD 600s are 300 ohms. I have them plugged into my Denon 4300 AVR. My CD is a Panasonic Blue Ray player. They are more than loud enough at 5/10. 3/10 would be my listening preference. These just tell it like it is to be fair. No magic. No pseudo science. Simple transparent acoustic honesty. No regrets at all.

Editado el 21 de junio de 2023: Llevo siete años con estos auriculares (desde 2016) y siguen siendo mis favoritos. He probado otros auriculares más caros (HIFIMAN Edition XS, Sennheiser HD 660S2) pero no hay otros que tengan este timbre tan realista, la neutralidad que ofrecen y la respuesta de agudos tan refinada. Lo único que puedo aconsejar para mejorarlos un poquito más es amplificar con ecualizador los subgraves (por debajo de 100 Hz). Estos auriculares son una maravilla que vale cada euro y que te pueden durar más de diez años sólo cambiando las almohadillas. ----- Editado el 25 de septiembre de 2020: Han pasado cuatro años y medio desde que los compré , y todavía los disfruto muchísimo. Hoy los he estado comparando con unos Fidelio X2HR de Philips y he podido comprobar cómo estos Sennheiser tienen los agudos más refinados que he escuchado en unos auriculares. La única pega que he tenido con los HD 600 es que he tenido que cambiar las almohadillas este año, y son bastante caras... Aun así éstas aguantan hasta 3 años de uso exhaustivo. He añadido la imagen de una medición de la respuesta de frecuencias en el rango de los agudos, comparándola con otros modelos como los Philips X2HR y los Beyerdynamic DT 880. Esta es una de las razones por las que me gustan tanto los HD 600. La respuesta de los agudos se siente de buena calidad, suave y detallada, porque no sufre ningún pico irregular, al contrario de tantos otros modelos. ----- Después de haber usando los Beyerdynamic DT880 durante tres años, hace un mes decidí probar estos auriculares, ya que había leído que eran sinónimo de neutralidad. Me arrepiento de no haber comprado estos tres años atrás. Me han encantado desde el primer momento. La comodidad es excelente (los DT880 son también muy cómodos, pero prefiero estos por ser completamente abiertos). El sonido es tan detallado como en los Beyerdynamic pero, además, puedo disfrutar de una respuesta de frecuencias neutra. Estoy de acuerdo en que algunas producciones pueden parecer planas, "aburridas", pero desde mi punto de vista eso es problema de la producción y no de los auriculares. Además, siempre se puede remediar con un ajuste de ecualización. Estos auriculares ganan presencia en los medios comparado con los DT 880 y no me cabe duda en que el sonido es en su conjunto más natural. No producen nada de fatiga auditiva. El único público al que no recomendaría estos auriculares es a quienes buscan sólamente bajos explosivos de pistas electrónicas. No estoy diciendo que estos auriculares tengan mala respuesta de bajos, de hecho me parece correcta, pero de ningún modo llegan a ofrecer sub-bajos "aniquilantes". En esta opinión intento ser objetivo, pero tened en cuenta que en el mundo del sonido toman también mucha importancia los gustos, y si bien yo disfruto los HD 600 por encima de los Beyerdynamic DT 880 y los considero una mejor opción, a otra persona le puede parecer lo contrario. Pero no cabe duda de que los Sennheiser ofrecen una respuesta más neutra. Y, desde el punto de vista objetivo, neutralidad y fidelidad son sinónimos. Añado que en realidad no son tan llamativos como parece en la fotografía, sino que son más discretos y elegantes. El color azul es muy suave, casi gris. Esto para mí ha sido una agradable sorpresa (esto lo escribí hace años, ahora el diseño es gris oscuro...).

It would seem that my review has turned out to be a sort of comparison of the Sennheiser HD 598s to the HD 600s. While it wasn't where I intended to go, I think the comparison is valid when deciding if the $200 premium is worth the payout (it is). I have owned/auditioned a ton of headphones over the years, and I currently have a pretty decent assortment in my stable. But these HD 600s are probably going to have all those other pairs collecting dust. About a month ago I had purchased a pair of HD 598s and they were the pair of cans that finally sold me on open phones. I really like the 598s, and they are excellent for classical, jazz, classic rock, and many other genres music. However, when it came to listening to contemporary popular music they just seemed to come up short. The HD 600s are a much better "all around" headphone, and well worth the additional $200 (in my opinion). Their superiority was evident from the moment I put them on and plugged them in. I played Chris Isaac's "Wicked Game" and I literally had a chill run up my spine. More bass than the 598s? Yes; but it's not unnatural in any way whatsoever. It just adds to the richness/quality of the overall sound. These make everything just sound more real, and they seem to do it almost effortlessly. After listening to the 600s for an extended period and then going back to the 598's, the differences become more noticeable. Again, where the 598s start to struggle, the 600s just power through. I completely understand why so many people consider these to be some of the best phones ever produced. I have also been tricked into looking around the room for that noise I just heard only to realize it was part of the recording. If you need to stick to a budget, the 598s are an excellent choice and a fantastic bargain (just watch and wait for the price to dip). However, if you can afford the premium price, the HD 600s are worth every penny. My listening setup consists of a variety of digital files played from my computer, an Onkyo C-7030 CD player, and a Nuforce Icon DAC/Headphone Amp. I should also add that I don't use any equalization with my phones. I messed around running the phones directly off the computer's headphone jack, and I have to say that I highly recommend a good DAC/Amp to get the most out of these cans, as the added power really brings them to life. And remember that to truly "Listen" to these phones you need to be in a quiet environment. A few other observations: The 600's clamp quite a bit tighter than the 598s, though they do seem to be loosening up a bit with use. I think the 598s actually sound a bit wider and a touch brighter, but my 600's only have about 15 hours on them at this writing and like the 598s, I expect them to open up after more time. I may invest in a better cable in the future, but the included cable gets the job done, and it's more flexible than the one for the 598's (which I also replaced). I had thought about comparing these to some of my other closed phones for my review, but really, I don't feel that any of them even comes close to these 600s. I've also noticed that with the 598's it is important to find that sweet spot in the volume where the sound really starts to shine, while the 600's play much better and more balanced over a wider range of volume (high and low). I am looking forward to enjoying these headphones for many years to come. If you have any comments or questions I welcome them and will try my best to answer. I did extensive research prior to this purchase, so if I can't answer a specific question I may be able to point you in the right direction. Update 1: After probably 20 more hours of listening I can clarify my comment about the 598s being a little bit brighter. On certain pieces when I hear a high-hat cymbal on the 598's, I hear it as one sound, and mostly the sound of the cymbal. On the 600's you clearly hear the stick hitting the cymbal, and the sound of the cymbal itself. So, I would say the high end of the 600s may not be perceived as being as bright as the 598's, but it is much more defined, clear, and controlled.

ゼンハイザーの撒き餌ヘッドホン？であるHD599SE購入からまんまと釣られてグレードアップとしてこちらの商品を購入しました。 私はオーディオマニアではありませんが、HD599SEで開放型ヘッドホンの装着感の軽さ、長時間つけてても蒸れない気楽さにハマりました。 HD599SEはとても気に入っていたのですが、１年ほど使用していてもう少し音質の良いものが欲しくなりこちらのHD600にたどり着きました。 以下、HD599SEとHD600を聞き比べてみた個人的な感想です。 【HD599SE】 比較してみて初めて感じたのは、HD599SEは半開放型とでも言いましょうか、ヘッドホンとは耳元でギュッと密閉された空間で音が鳴るものである。というイメージから離れすぎない鳴り方に感じました。 ですので、開放型で気楽な装着感でありつつ耳元に音が近く、多少音楽に迫力も欲しい。そういうヘッドホンが好きな方はHD599SEのほうが好みかもしれません。 しかしHD600と聞き比べると構造的には開放型なのかもしれませんが、音的な解放感はいまひとつです。 【HD600】 比べてHD600は、まさしく開放型ヘッドホンです。という鳴り方です。 イヤホンで音楽を聴くと頭の中で音が聞こえるような印象を感じることがありますが、あの感覚に近いですね。そしてその上で音がこもる感じがなくスッキリと広がっていくというか。 うまく言えないのですが音がずっと耳の近くに居続けない感じですね。耳元で鳴るスピーカーのような。 HD599SEよりは音場も広いと思いますが、用語に詳しくないので上記は音場が広いというのとはまた別の感覚かもしれません。 音質は、まずシンプルにHD599SEよりもきめ細かく感じました。 鳴っているそれぞれの楽器の音を聴き分けができるくらい音のひとつひとつの解像感も高いのですが、その上でヴォーカルが埋もれない綺麗な聞こえ方をします。変に前に出てくる楽器がない感じです。 ですので、何か誇張をしたり劇的に音が変わるのではなく、それぞれがそれぞれとしてちゃんと聞こえるという印象です。 それゆえに人によってはあっさりした音だと感じるかもしれません。 まとめると、HD599SEと同様に長時間使用しても疲れが少なく、HD599SEよりもう少し音のきめ細かさや解像感のある音質と、音としての広がり、解放感を求めていた私にはイメージ通りで追加で買い足して後悔のない商品でした。 なお、こちらのHD600はよく据え置きアンプ必須のようなレビューを見かけますが上記は１万円程度のドングルDACで聞き比べした印象です。ヘッドホンの本領を発揮できてるのかはわかりませんが、スマホ直挿しでも一応それなりに鳴りますのでご安心ください。 HD599SEをお持ちで、HD600が気になっている方の参考になれば。

Excelentes audífonos , los estoy usando con un cable 4.4 balanceado ( no lo Incluye ) por la salida balanceada de un hip dac 3 y el sonido es increíble , aunque requiere amp para sacar su máximo .

Muhakkak daha iyileri vardır ancak zorladığım bütçemin imkan verdiği şekilde aldığım bu kulaklık muhteşem bir ses kalitesine sahip. Bas, orta ve tizler.. herşey çok güzel. İyi ve kaliteli hoparlörleri aratmayacak kadar, hatta onların da ilerisinde bozulmadan yüksek ses veren bu kulaklığa sahip olmak büyük keyif veriyor. Benim gibi analog ve eski tip bir entegre amfi kullanıyorsanız kablolu kulaklık hem tercih, hem kısmen bir zorunluluk. Tavsiye olunur.