Sennheiser recommendations

[Protfire]

So, I get a pretty good discount on Sennheiser gear from my work(~30% off on average) and was wanting to get some better headphones to replace my current PC earbuds(no name Walmart brand idk). I don't have a DAC or an amp and I use a hyperx quadcast for a mic. Wired or wireless works, but id prefer wired even if that means getting a DAC and AMP. I'd probably put the budget at like $300 USD(excluding my discounts ofc) 

[191x7]

15 minutes ago, Protfire said:

So, I get a pretty good discount on Sennheiser gear from my work(~30% off on average) and was wanting to get some better headphones to replace my current PC earbuds(no name Walmart brand idk). I don't have a DAC or an amp and I use a hyperx quadcast for a mic. Wired or wireless works, but id prefer wired even if that means getting a DAC and AMP. I'd probably put the budget at like $300 USD(excluding my discounts ofc) 

Open or closed back?

 

I'd recommend the Sennheiser HD 560S if your aim is gaming.

[Protfire]

15 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Open or closed back?

 

I'd recommend the Sennheiser HD 560S if your aim is gaming.

Awesome. Ill look into it 

[GreenLeaf]

i have the 6XX but you will want a amp, i would recommend a schitt-something

[Cocococo]

USB DAC/AMP's have gotten very good for very cheap, for pure price to performance there is no beating a CX31993 USB-C Dongle DAC, but it doesn't have a volume wheel, for the headphones, there are several great choices but it all comes down to whether you want open backs or closed backs, for open backs the HD600, HD650, HD6XX (6xx is on Drop, they're just a cheaper HD650 in blue) are all excellent choices, for closed backs this is one of the few times i'm going to recommend the HD620, normally i just recommend the Audeze Maxwell because they're one of the best buys in audio full stop, but with a 30% discount the HD620 is an excellent closed back headphone, the msrp is just too high and i don't feel like they're even better than the Audeze Maxwell, much less better value compared to Maxwell. 

If you want to do some experimenting with open and closed backs you can pick up a pair of HD560S, and a pair of FiiO FT1's (regular, not FT1 pro) and see which style you like more, HD600 family and HD620 are both excellent upgrades over those two headphones i just listed (both the HD560S and FT1 are around 150usd, usually cheaper) 

[Tigerleon]

22 hours ago, Protfire said:

So, I get a pretty good discount on Sennheiser gear from my work(~30% off on average) and was wanting to get some better headphones to replace my current PC earbuds(no name Walmart brand idk). I don't have a DAC or an amp and I use a hyperx quadcast for a mic. Wired or wireless works, but id prefer wired even if that means getting a DAC and AMP. I'd probably put the budget at like $300 USD(excluding my discounts ofc) 

HD58x, HD6xx or 560S and a decent 100 dollar DAC/amp.

[Munchi]

Sennheiser HD 6XX is always going to be a go-to, for its warm, intimate vocal reproduction.

 

If you’re looking for more soundstage and excellent stereo imaging, HD 560S is an excellent option, however the treble has some harshness that might bother some ears.

 

If you want to feel Adele whispering in your ear, get the HD 6XX.

If you want to feel like you’re in the Coliseum in Gladiator, get the HD 560S.

 

I haven’t done much research for the recent budget-friendly amp/DAC releases, but the new stuff is generally better.

[Psittac]

It is very very difficult to beat the experience of the 600/650/6xx on a dac and amp, but it is a very unique sound like @Munchi mentioned.  When you listen to music it's like the singer is using your brain as a microphone, in a good way.  Out of all of my headphones Nothing sounds like my 6xx.  In some ways the 6xx ruined me for Sennheiser because I have no desire to find anything else, it's almost a swan song in it's self.  Though the only company's I have/had more than one pair of their products (on my headphone wall) are because the first one was garbage, they've been given as a gift, or I do have two beyerdynamic's because my buddy sold me the 1990 for a steal and I already had the 880.  My very first "hifi" experience was a pair of Sennheisers, something like the HD480 or so, can't remember had blue felt over the pads.  Anyways the company has always had a soft spot for me.  I've never heard a bad product from them, the 599 is meh and the game one headset was meh, but neither was bad.

 

If the sound signature of the 600 family sounds good to you, I would highly recommend them.  Even audio reviewers that have access to basically everything still swear by them.  And don't get me started on tube only amps for these headphones, pure bliss.

 

IF you go this route there are a few options

 

1: Run them onboard

2: get an affordable dac/amp

3: get one component now and increase budget down the road

 

These are a headphone that can be an audio journey because they are very transparent to the chain of equipment behind them.  If you improve a component it will show, better than any other headphone, what that improvement has done.  This is one reason they love tubes so much, they show everything about the tubes.  If you just get the headphones, I'd say run them onboard and then get something like an apple dongle dac for $12 or whatever they cost now so you can see what you gain or lose.  Then get an amp and run it from your onboard, experience the differences.  Then if you like this path get a dac, then a tube amp..... lol.  Basically if you want an audio hobby/journey you can't get more bang for your buck and more of a satisfying experience than this family of headphones.  I almost never recommend them though because typically people want one and done.  The only thing you shouldn't do is a pad swap, the stock pads can't be beat.

 

I have recently found another good tube headphone, the Audio-Technica ATH-R70x refine.  And they love tubes but don't hold the theatrics of the Sennheiser.

 

Tubes aren't the only time these sound good, but it leaves you the option down the road for endless adventures.

[E-waste]

On 1/26/2025 at 2:01 PM, Protfire said:

Sennheiser

Look up all their models in this list, it has measurements of the raw sound output, so you can look at how the speakers might sound before you buy them.

 

Click on a model (use find on page) and scroll to the bottom to see the chart.

 

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results