Vintage for a premium: The HD6XX Review & Honest impressions

[OfficialTechSpace]

The HD6XX Review

 

 

Intro & first impressions

I can’t fault it for being accurate (for the most part). It extends well into the low-end, and remains neutral up to 3k. However, the treble rolls off early, causing it to lose out on a lot of its sparkle and detail in the upper registers. Being marketed as a vintage can, I can see the appeal. It certainly sounds the part. Unfortunately, that’s not something that makes an appearance in the marketing material. I wouldn’t call it un-audiophile, but I certainly won’t give it any more credit than due. It’s a solid can, and if you’re a collector, the HD650 is the one to have. The HD6XX doesn’t carry the same prestige or historical relevance, despite using the same drivers.

 

Not a lot of punch, pretty thin-sounding, and not technically impressive. I don’t get the hype for the HD6XX, but I do understand the Sennheiser cachet. They’re a big name, and a reliable brand. Great ecosystem. Not contemporarily relevant in this instance. You can get better tuned cans, with better punch, without the veil, and better technicalities, all for the same price or less. *ahem* and that’s the HD6XX. Don’t even get me started on how little sense the more expensive HD650 makes in this day and age as anything other than a collectors leisure-listening item.

 

Sound

Stock response

-Top & Low-end extension

Measures better than it sounds. Not a lot of dynamic umph or impact, but the sound is there. Not a fan of the audio-illiterate individuals blaming this on the open-back design. It has everything to do with the transducers, and nothing else.

Doesn’t extend well into the top-end, and inherits the typical Sennheiser veil. Air frequencies are also masked as a result.

 

-Tonality

Warm-leaning midrange leading up from a mostly flat bass response. Upper midrange follows our headphone target closely, with only minor deviation from our line of neutrality. From 3k onwards, the HD6XX carries a dark, downward slant slowly rolling off of the chart. The tonality of this headphone wins points here for being mostly clean, but loses points for the veil.

 

-Detail

Midrange detail and presence is wonderful, and probably the most stand-out feature of the HD6XX. Vocal sibilance is down, and this gives you more space to admire the midrange. This is definitely a trade-off, but make of that information what you will.

 

-Resolution/Resolving ability

Resolution is acceptable, perhaps lacking in the latter of the response. Unable to comment on the cans ability to scale with amplification, I find that to be mumbo-jumbo audiophile BS. As do any other objectivists.

 

-Imaging

Imaging is very much presented in a left/center/right fashion. Not a lot of lateral definition, and positional cues suffer as a result.
 

-Soundstage

Placing your hands over the back of the enclosure won’t really impact staging much, if at all. It’s narrow enough you could almost mistake it for being closed. The HD6XX saves itself from the detriments of a closed-back enclosure, but fails to inherit some of the open-back benefits.

 

-Timbre

Natural… kinda? I mean if dry, warm, and missing the top-end is natural to you then power to ya. I disagree for the most part. I’d argue it’s a bit off, and unless I’d been suffering from hearing loss that’d be an accurate determination.

 

-Candor (weight of the driver and excursion relative to sounds)

Judging based on the weight, speed, and impact of sounds, the HD6XX scores little-to-nothing in this regard. It’s an old driver, so that’s instantly a tick in the wrong direction for weight and speed. As mentioned throughout the review, the missing dynamic impact of the driver also aids in its own demise.

 

-Dynamics

Exceptional dynamic ability in the mid to upper-mid spectrum of the response. Lower spectrum is missing the desired dynamic impact, along with a lot of the treble.

 

-Amp scaling

Using a reference-grade amplifier like the SP200, I have my doubts that the HD6XX is being held back. I cannot speak to its ability to scale beyond that, I think we’re being bottlenecked by the transducers more than anything at this point. Objectively speaking, my amp measures better than these headphones. Don’t believe everything you hear, folks.

 

Conclusion

 

Are you looking for the most technically proficient headphone in this price category?

This isn’t it.

 

After a warm and intimate tuning without any sibilance in the upper octaves?

The HD6XX is a fair choice for that.

 

Maybe you’re looking to add a meaningful headphone to your collection?

Get the HD650. This can has no historical relevance, it’s a re-release.

 

+Warm, light sounding. An inoffensive listen.

-Missing the dynamic impact often sought after

 

In addition, I'd like to state that I feel bad for anyone sporting the ill-conceived notion that this headphone is good for mixing/mastering. They'll without a doubt find themselves overmixing the sub-bass and treble frequencies to compensate for the lack of dynamic punch and veil. I know this for a fact, because I did the same thing with my own productions when I mixed using my HD58X's. My advice: use a proper dedicated sound system with an integrated subwoofer, not headphones. There's a start.

[NinJake]

What about the comfort? Most people complain that it squeezes their heads too much when new. (And maybe even return / buy others due to this) Yet I don't recall ever feeling discomfort and with how light the headphone is, I often find myself going back to the 650 over my other headphones as it's easy to forget I have anything on my head and covering my ears.

 

I'd say a little nitpick about comfort for these is the cable splitting into the L and R parts instead of a single cable. And for people with beards, this Y shaped cable can easily get in the way.

 

What other cans do you have and how do they each relate to this for you? Otherwise nice review.

[8tg]

I always thought the 6XX’s were kinda mediocre, they always seem to be marketed as “it’s sennheiser neutral headphones for the masses!” and by that they mean they cost half of the 660S while sounding way worse overall. The 650 are right smack dab in the middle of both price wise but the 650 and 660S are still way closer together in overall sound attributes, it’s just the 660S starts to bleed into the “expensive for being expensive” territory, just a little. But that gap between the 6XX and 650 is massive in sound versus the price difference, it’s just not worth it. Yeah you’d spend more on the 650’s but you get way more than you pay for in that price jump, there’s more to be gained with the 660S’s for another substantial price jump but if that’s worth it to you, then it’s worth it to you.

 

I wasn’t pleased with them either, in the price range there are tons of better sounding headphones, and a lot more variety in what sound signature you prefer, if you wanted true neutral, if you wanted a more everyday bass/treble boost, if you wanted a specific focus, there’s a headphone out there. Targeting this “vintage” sound can be done with other headphones but they don’t market it that way.

The “vintage” sound is just, basically high end hardware from the mid 80’s, which has been replicated in sound for years and years now. AKG K701’s come to mind immediately as having a very similar sound signature with a sub bass rolloff, a general treble boost, and that weird little 80-100hz bump. I’d recommend those any day of the week if you’re looking for that kind of sound, and considering they’re about as cheap as the HD6XX’s these days, they’re definitely a viable option.

[OfficialTechSpace]

27 minutes ago, NinJake said:

What about the comfort? Most people complain that it squeezes their heads too much when new. (And maybe even return / buy others due to this) Yet I don't recall ever feeling discomfort and with how light the headphone is, I often find myself going back to the 650 over my other cans as it's easy to forget I have anything on my head and covering my ears.

It's been fairly comfortable, clamp hasn't been too excessive either. I'd rather them be a little tight than breaking the seal by being too loose. I do prefer anything with a headstrap though, padded headbands in general tend to make the top of my head sore after getting many hours into a session.

27 minutes ago, NinJake said:

What other cans do you have and how do they each relate to this for you?

I also daily-drove the HD58X (based on the HD580) for about a year before trying the HD6XX's. Similar chassis, and thereby similar comfort. They also use the same pads to my knowledge. The HD58X had a more dynamic and impactful presentation, which made them more enjoyable to my ears. Despite not being quite as technically capable as the HD6XX by a slim margin. Nowadays, I've been using the HiFiMan Ananda in my day-to-day. Massive step up in terms of comfort, and feels like a tank by comparison. Endgame worthy tuning, only held back by its raw resolving ability.

27 minutes ago, NinJake said:

Otherwise nice review.

Thank you!

[FIXXX]

imo its not Sennheiser's fault when people overestimate the HD6-series. It looks more or less timeless, sounds good and is decently long-lasting as long as you don't treat them like your 60-dollar gaming headset.

[listener]

On 5/16/2022 at 9:31 PM, OfficialTechSpace said:

…I also daily-drove the HD58X (based on the HD580)…

They aren’t. 58X is a cheap 5 series driver shoved into a 6x0 chassis to fool people into thinking quality is equal. It isn’t. 580 is the progenitor of the 6 series and has what is basically an HD600 driver.

 

On 5/16/2022 at 9:31 PM, OfficialTechSpace said:

…The HD58X had a more dynamic and impactful presentation, which made them more enjoyable to my ears…

I don’t know how you’d think 58X is more dynamic or impactful other than thinking raw bass amplitude and lack of treble control = impact.

 

On 5/16/2022 at 9:31 PM, OfficialTechSpace said:

…Nowadays, I've been using the HiFiMan Ananda in my day-to-day. Massive step up in terms of comfort, and feels like a tank by comparison. Endgame worthy tuning, only held back by its raw resolving ability.

Feels like a tank is the closest you get to being objectively incorrect here. Hifiman planars are widely known to have just about the worst quality control and build out there, whereas the Sennheisers tend to last at least a decade, if not more.

 

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Edited June 2, 2022 by LogicalDrm

[OfficialTechSpace]

On 6/1/2022 at 6:03 PM, listener said:

They aren’t. 58X is a cheap 5 series driver shoved into a 6x0 chassis to fool people into thinking quality is equal. It isn’t. 580 is the progenitor of the 6 series and has what is basically an HD600 driver.

Holy crap! My mind is blown by how wrong you are for assuming I didn't know that. Even Drop themselves lists them as an HD580 reboot, nobody called them a 600-series equivalent. Yes, I called them more dynamic. Which is also accurate if you read FR graphs, but you clearly don't.

 

On 6/1/2022 at 6:03 PM, listener said:

Feels like a tank is the closest you get to being objectively incorrect here. Hifiman planars are widely known to have just about the worst quality control and build out there, whereas the Sennheisers tend to last at least a decade, if not more.

You do know those QC issues are nearly a decade old and have been all but resolved since, right? Really hope you knew that before deciding to post an inept response on a public forum. That would've been embarrassing... oh wait, you did.

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by LogicalDrm
Removed needless flamebait

[listener]

1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

Holy crap! My mind is blown by how wrong you are for assuming I didn't know that.

Could’ve fooled me.

 

1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

Even Drop themselves lists them as an HD580 reboot, nobody called them a 600-series equivalent.

Of course they do, 580 is a legendary headphone and any mention of relation to it boosts the pedigree of the product they’re selling. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s a fundamentally different driver than 580, 580 Jubilee, HD600, HD650, and suffers for it.

 

1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

Which is also accurate if you read FR graphs, but you clearly don't.

Please point out the area on an FR graph where dynamics are located.

 

1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

You do know those QC issues are nearly a decade old and have been all but resolved since, right?

Might want to tell that to the guy I know who had to go through 4 Susvaras last year because the quality control was garbage. Or the people that still regularly post on Reddit with Hifiman QC issues.

 

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1 hour ago, OfficialTechSpace said:

Where exactly did I steal his words? You do understand descriptive audio terminologies, correct? If you expect me to have different words to convey the same things, then you have overestimated the english language. I can assure you however, nobody was plagiarized in the making of anything I've written.

Your insistence on flagship level tuning and “only being limited by raw resolving power” are what I was referring to. Fair, there are a limited number of words. However the resemblance is uncanny, both in that blurb but also in your ranking list on yr profile. Have you even heard all of those headphones?

 

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Edited June 1, 2022 by LogicalDrm

[OfficialTechSpace]

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