Wonderful sound, clean and detailed, refined treble

My major gripe: their build

I can't add anything more about the 600's great sound that hasn't already been addressed here succinctly and accurately. The Sennheisers are great headphone, particularly adept of recreating the sonic space and timbre of good recordings.

What I wanted to mention was something no one else has really discussed: their build quality.

I was lucky enough to buy a new pair on eBay for $210 (quite a steal) and I bought the Sennheisers based on reviews on eboards, magazines like What HiFi and, of course, the coveted "Class A" component rating from Stereophile. So, in fact, I had never actually handled a pair of the 600s prior to purchasing them. When they arrived from Germany I was impressed by their lovely presentation box, but when I opened that box I was far less wowed by the actual construction of the phones. They're sturdy enough but they don't exactly look the part of a $450 MSRP audio product. Yes, I know it's what inside that counts, but if a Krell amp came wrapped in painted tin, it just wouldn't have that same aura that a Krell gives off.

The Sennheisers use the same stiff foam that the Grados use, which I hated about my Grados. I was recently overseas and lost my Sony MDR 888LP earbuds (a great little portable set) and, in a panic I bought a set of Sony MDR-CD780 headphones. Quite a bit of a "lively" ride, but they were powered fine by my portable minidisc - though I didn't dare wear the huge, wolly mammoths outside the hotel room. The point of this being that these $150 Sonys gave the impression of being a better piece of kit than the Senneheisers. Sony uses some kind of high tech foam that is amazingly comfortable. Why the top of the line Sennheisers couldn't have been shown a little more attention to to looking high-end and this kind of detail to quality, I don't understand. I also find the speckled formica counter plastic of the headphones quite ugly. Why is their no option for a plain set. As many have mentioned here, the dual-sided cord is inconvienent and fragile on the Sennheisers. Again, these Sony's came with a one-sided termination, with a great, uncoiled, CLOTH-covered wire that terminated on the headset with a sturdy 1/8 mini plug. What a great design! Sennheiser is an unsurpased audio firm, but they should look a little more into ergonomics and build quality. Try to see a pair in person before you buy them. I know that if I had paid more than my 200 dollars for the Sennheiser I would really have been disappointed by my purchase. Sonics: five stars; build: two and half stars

Similar Products Used:

Sony MdR-CD780, V-6s, Grado RS80

Very confortable, lightweight, crystal clear sound, overall quality construction.

Handle plug-in cable connectors in both hearing units with tender loving care.

Outstanding headphones! High quality sound reproduction and great comfort. Before buying I spent several hours researching and comparing different brands, models, technical specifications and prices. I feel very satisfied with the purchase and do not regret one bit spending $289.00 including shipment. I use these headphones connected to a NAD 7400 stereo receiver-amplifier. I can also use them connected directly to a Phillips CD player (model CDC-875)but the music reproduction quality is higher when connected directly to the NAD 7400 amplifier. I'm starting to like these headphones better than my good old Vandersteen Model 1 speakers, particularly with quality CD recordings. The sound is very clear, detailed and at the same time wholesome, balanced sound, handling highs, mids and lows very well. I can spend hours at a time using the Sennheiser HD-600. These open-design headphones are light, very comfortable and gentle on the ears. I give a value rating of 4 stars as a great deal because spending $250-350.00 or more on a set of headphones might be expensive for many people. So in that sense it might not be a bargain for some people. But for me, the HD-600 are worth every penny and then some due to the beautiful, great, outstanding sound reproduction and the comfort. Overall rating is 5 stars without doubt. Perhaps the only caveat is that you will find around some complaints about the plug-in cable connectors in each hearing piece. So far I have not found any problems. I just handle the headphones carefully and avoid pulling or stretching the cables. Very highly recommended headphones.

Similar Products Used:

Allegro ALG2032 (wireless headphones)

After spending 2 months with a pair of Sennheiser HD-600 headphones, here is my opinion on them: I love them!
After owning a few pairs of Grado headphones, I realized just how truly transparent and uncolored the Sennheiser HD-600's are. While the Grado's are truly a great product the Sennheiser's are a head and shoulders above them!
With proper amplification these babies delivered the most neutral, transparent, detailed, smooth sound that I have heard before from headphones. You want tight extended base?, you got it! Silky smooth midrange?, Yes!, Extended, airy highs? You bet! You will hear low level resolution and detail in recordings you never heard before. But don't fall into a trap of thinking that you will be perfectly happy as soon as you buy a pair of Sennheisers! Because they are so transparent and extremely detailed, if you are feeding them crap what you will hear is crap! They need to be driven by a great headphone amp and the source must be equivalently good. Consider the Musical Fidelity X-Cans with the PSU power supply as the very minimum for these headphones. Prefferably they should be driven with a very high quality tube headphone amps such as Cary Cad 300sei, Melos Sha-1 gold Sonic Frontiers Line-3 preamp or Earmax. While the Headroom amps are very decent you will hear some solid state grunge come through. Tubes are the way to go with these babies. If you don't have a tubed headphone amp or a high quality playback source, you will be much better off with Grado's. The RS-1's are better matched for solid state amps because they are warmer and darker than Sennheiser's thus better matched for solid state amps. I have tried all of the above products and I am convinced that I have reached musical nirvana with the Meridian 508.24 cd player, Cary Cad 300sei amp, Kimber Kable KCAG interconnects and Sennheiser HD-600 headphones. If you have mediocre playback and solid state headphone amp the Grado RS-1 or RS-2 is the way to go as they always impose their coloration on you no matter what. Not necessarily a bad thing when paired with brighter, aggressive sounding solid state and mid-fi cd playback, the Grado's tend to balance that out.
Sennheiser HD-600 deserve 5+ stars from me!

I've owned the Sennheiser HD600s for almost a year now, and I must report that, after extensive listening, they are wonderful headphones. The have the immeadiacy of electrostatics, along with the punch of a good dynamic. They are very dynamic, detailed, and comfortable to wear for long listening sessions.
My main caveat is that, unlike low-impedance headphones, they require real power. My experience indicates that integrated amps--in which the power amp powers the headphone socket--or a real power amplifier are the way to go. I've had excellent success with the Arcam integrateds. I'm sure the Audiolabs would work fine as well.

Please note that if you are into a more mellow sound, or prefer a heavy handed bass, the Grado headphones may be more to your liking.

In conclusion, I must say that these stand at the pinnacle of dynamic headphones, and are a must listen if you are in the market for serious cans. Highly recomended!!!

After having "used" several Sennheiser headphones over the past years (HD 480, HD 430) for different purposes I wanted true high-end dynamic headphones (without a high-end price...) After listening and comparing several headphones (AKG varimotion series, MB Quart, Audio/Technica, Sony) I tried at last the Sennheiser 600 (tried also the 570 and 580). Already used to the Sennheiser sound I was just stunned what level of definition and clarity this headphone could produce. The transparancy, the tight and very controlled bass and the ease of music reproduction was unbelievable. I heard details in music never heard before. If you can't afford high-end loudspeakers you can buy this low price high-end dynamic headphones and experience better sound reproduction.

The Senheisser HD600's are the finest sounding headphones I have ever tried or owned. I have used the wonderful Grado 125's for several years. The only "flaw" with the Grado 125's is that they sound very forward. This is a matter of individual taste, some people may prefer this type of sound presentation. I mail ordered a set of Senheisser 580's after reading a number of audio reviews. I sent them back quickly as well. While they were cleaner sounding then the Grado 125's, I found the 580's to be too laid back and lacking the type of bass I had grown use to. Resently I tried the Senheisser HD 600's and bought them. They are noticably better then the 580's and worth the extra cost. The sound presentation is between that of the Grado 125's and the Senheisser 580's. The 600's offer deeper bass then either, cleaner sound and dynamics which rival the Grado's. Timbres are slightly better on the 600's as well. I would strongly recommend the Senheisser 600's to anyone looking for truly outstanding sound from a set of headphones. If price is a consideration, do look into Grado 125's.

I purchased this headphone recently via mail order for $350. It is the best audio purchase that I have made in years! I agree with the rest of the posts that this headphone does everything exceptionally well (in terms transparency, imaging, bass, etc.) I would definitely get TWO of these for the price of a Grado RS1.
I own a $5000+ audio system and I find myself listening to this headphone more often than my Totem Model 1 S speakers! It is that good.

I don't know if it's the HD-600 or the Earmax that I have it hooked up to, but it is the best bang for the buck. At one-tenth the cost of my home stereo system (~$10K), it comes close and may even be better with soundstaging and detail with certain types of music. Of course, my home system is not in as ideal a room as it should be (who wants to hide it in a basement where it may sound better) and nothing compares to having sound coming to you rather than being wrapped around your ears. But the HD-600 and the Earmax together is a close to perfect combination. Why? Because I tested the HD-600 without the Earmax and using the headphone jack of the CD player and the difference was a night and day. The limitations of the CD player came through revealingly bad. With the Earmax, the HD-600 had a warm sound with detail and solid tight base. I heard instruments and sounds that I never heard before. For example, on a live concert recording, I could hear the slight and faint echo of the singer's voice as if I was there. If you must know, the band is Jane's Addiction, but I do listen to alot of Jazz and Classical. With this combination, a $500 CD player is made to sound close to a $3,000 CD player. I'm still contemplating whether the better sound is worth the extra $2,500 (my heart thinks it is, but my mind tells me otherwise). In all, if you are looking for a headphone system, you can stop at the HD-600 and Earmax. As for the source and interconnect, you can certainly find a combination to your satisfaction.

I just purchased this headphone via mail order for $350. The sound quality of this headphone rivals the Grado RS1. I own a $5000+ audio system and I find myself listen to this headphone more often than my Totem Model 1 S speakers! In terms of value for money, this is the best headphone around.
The headphone looks good as well.

I'd like to add my comments to the long list of kudos for this outstanding product. The Sennheiser HD-600 is far and away the best headphone I have ever heard. They have an uncanny ability to "disappear" into the music- you begin to forget that you are wearing headphones. In fact, the experience of listening to these with good amplification/source material is more like listening to a pair of high-end speakers.
The sound quality is absolutely superb, with great dynamic range, clarity, and definition. This includes the bass, which I've found to be a fault with other headphones I've used. Highly recommended -- well worth the price!

Headphone Amp: Creek OBH-11 with upgraded power suppy