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Headphones · Sennheiser HD

Sennheiser HD600

8owners with an opinion
100%of verdicts positive
1/0positive/negative since 2024
0happy after 3+ years

Praised for sound and durability.

What people wrote

Likes it
I love Tidal. That said its UI is remarkably heavy for what it is. You also used to see what quality the songs were in without playing them, but they removed that. They added bpm and key, but that is not as useful to most of us as seeing the quality of the song beforehand. And you also have to make sure you're getting the most out of it manually. Here are three steps for those who have Tidal and wan't to make sure that they're getting the most (ish) for their money: 1. Hardware Source: If you're using the soundcard in your computer, make sure to bump up the sample rate: on macOS you go to "Audio MIDI Setup" and change the sample rate to highest possible for your output. 2. Software Source: In Tidal itself you have to go to "Settings" and under "Audio quality" choose "Max". Under "Playback" turn off "Normalize volume". If you're having a dinner party and playing the music through a bluetooth speaker, you might want to leave it on. But otherwise off; the normalization causes distortion. 3. Output Device: You have two options here and you can go with both or invest more in the other one: * Option 1: Invest in some decent studio monitors. They don't have to be expensive or be able to play super loud, they just have to not lie to you. I would 100% recommend buying higher quality low power monitors for small spaces and/or spaces that lack acoustic treatment. * Option 2: Buy some actually ok headphones. Bluetooth headphones are not good. I got Sony WH-1000XM6 which I mostly…
Neutral
This can vary across onboard sound devices, like for my HD600 headphones, I ended up doing a quick check across various headphones jacks and got very mixed results: - 2 of my 3 monitors audio outputs: Good - Desktop rear audio port: Good - MacBook Pro audio port: Good - Third (different model) monitor: Usable - Desktop front audio port: Usable - Framework laptop: Usable - Nintendo Switch: Poor - Surface Go tablet: Poor
Neutral
My comment stands for over-ear headphones as well - it's just not going to matter for 90% of users. An Apple dongle is usually more than enough. I have several different amps, a tube pre-amp, several DACs and a Qudelix 5k DAC. I regularly switch between an HD600, HD650, HD560s, HE4xx and Audeze Maxwells. I can maybe count on one hand when I thought one combination sounded "better" than another, although I'm sure I could bump up this number if I tried. The problem is 90% of the time it just doesn't matter. There's loads of resources on the net that talk about this, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8zAko5G6eg Most of the time the differences are not that important, unless, as the adage goes, you're using the music to listen to your equipment rather than using the equipment to listen to your music. Which... 90% of users don't do.
Likes it
As an HD600 owner, I can confirm: This is the headphone to get. Comfortable, Neutral, Accurate and Durable. And I do not like the HD650 either; it's just a worse headphone to my ear. Clearly colored to sound a certain way.
Likes it
There is absolutely no contest between an open-back audiophile Sennheiser like HD600 or HD800 and any ANC headphone. I own both these headphones and formerly a Sony MX3. The MX3 is also beaten in sound quality by a Sennheiser Momentum 4. The default sound of the Sony was truly awful, bloated bass (+5db) that bleeds into the midrange, almost certainly not what the artist intended, (unless they mixing with something similar). There were better with EQ, although still muddy and the built-in EQ didn't work with LDAC. So I never bought another.
Likes it
>Or they can buy Sony MDR 7506 for about $100, and they will sound ok and last 20+ years. I happen to also own a pair of 7506. Do note these are a closed set, and they are, by far, not comparable with HD600. Basically like night and day. In the words of a coworker who also owns 7506, after trying my HD600: "Now the 7506 sound to me like an AM radio." Still, I don't disagree they're decent as closed headphones at <$100, particularly if you only care about the mid range. But they're relatively colored, despite their popularity as "monitors", and much worse than the Japan-only mdr-cd900st classic.
Recommends itStill going
Full disclosure: My primary set is Sennheiser HD600, which I use a lot and love. Excellent sound objectively and subjectively. Worth every cent, despite being available since 1997. They benefit a lot from a headphone amp but still do a decent job without. They are made to last, and should an accident ever break a piece, all parts are replaceable individually without the need for tools. I've had them for several years and they're as good as new. I have tested QC35 before, on a loan from a coworker. The FR is very good, but the distortion is horrendous. Measurements made on the set confirm by reviewers do confirm my impressions were spot on. Apparently the reason the FR is good is because they have a builtin DSP doing EQ. When I heard the price, for such bad sounding headphones, I thought about them as a scam. Later, I learned they don't just distort a lot, but are also not made to last. Brand loyalty is high, and the money BOSE spends in marketing plays no small role on this. BOSE devices are expensive and those who buy them get associate the price with quality. When they break, they just buy BOSE again.
Recommends it
At home I use Sennheiser HD600s, often through my Marantz PM60005 amp, or a portable Fiio amp. If I'm at work I just Sennheiser Momentums, over-ear kind. The HD600s are brilliant for gaming, music and movies, but obviously are open backed so are no good for a busy office. I find in games, people often complain they couldn't hear me coming, but I could hear them! The sound quality is amazing and I don't think I'd ever replace them, unless they broke - in which case I'd either buy more or try HD650s. The momentums are great for travelling and this morning I actually bought my other half a pair of the folding on-ear versions for travelling and being away from home.
Likes itDoesn’t say they own it
The DX3 Pro+ seems like a great recommendation, I might have gone for that as well if it had been available when I was researching. And I concur regarding the HD600, it's a great choice for many people. I was trying out both a HD650 and the DT1990 before making my choice, and for me the 'precision' of the 1990s was just too enticing compared to the laid-back sound of the 650s -- but it was a hard choice, because sometimes you don't want precision, you just want comfortable listening, and there the HD600/650 really excel in my opinion.
Recommends itDoesn’t say they own it
Sennheiser HD600 and Topping DX3Pro+[0] are the combination I recommend today. The Atom doesn't hold up as well as when it launched in today's market at that price point. That DX3Pro+ is a strongly measuring dac+amp single unit at the price. As for HD600, they're the time-proven, neutral, uncolored, accurate timbre kings. Great overall balance. 0. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/t...
Likes itDoesn’t say they own it
People at the office will ask about my usb dac/amp and they don't seem to get it. Yes, these devices are needed, because the audio outputs of all sorts of devices today simply are trash. Topping DX3 Pro+[0] is my current recommendation, by the way. As for headphones, Sennheiser HD600 really are solid. 0. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/t...