Sennheiser HD Line-Up Advice

[iMike]

Yes, I know im kinda flooding, but I keep getting different questions ?

 

Ive made a thread before in which I asked for advice one <200€ Headphones,

but I just compared the price of all the different headphones and read all MajorHiFi reviews on them

 

I wanted Open Back Headphones, not Headset for Gaming and Music listening

(At Home and Public Places, Rock)

 

579 ~200€

More of an analytic pair of Headphones

599 ~250€

More Bass, wider soundstage, better for Rock

600 ~280€

As the 579s more of a flat sound for analytic purposes

650 ~280€

(Store with good reviews but not well known)

As the 599s better Bass and better for Rock,

 

Which one would you advice me to take, my origional budget was 200€ but if the 6x0s are worth the 80€ more I might consider paying a bit extra

 

I wanted Open Back, Good quality, for on the Go (Cycling to School) but mostly at Home, dont really want to spend money on an AMP yet ?, using it for Gaming an Rock (Beartooth, I Prevail etc.)

 

Thx in advance!

[Volbet]

Wait... You're want open headphones AND want to use them on the go? 

You do know you're going to be annoyed by all the ambient sounds and that you're going to be the least popular person on the bus, right?

[TVwazhere]

I dont recommend open back headphones for travel

 

the 600 series need amplifiers to be driven properly and get the full range out of them. 

 

I personally have 518's and 598c's, as well as the HD6xx from massdrop

[iMike]

8 minutes ago, Volbet said:

Wait... You're want open headphones AND want to use them on the go? 

You do know you're going to be annoyed by all the ambiant sounds and that you're going to be the least popular person on the bus, right?

Mostly home, but I will also using them when cycling to school etc. wont be using them on the Bus etc. dont even use Public transport

[iMike]

4 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I dont recommend open back headphones for travel

 

the 600 series need amplifiers to be driven properly and get the full range out of them. 

 

I personally have 518's and 598c's, as well as the HD6xx from massdrop

I guess I should remove the on the Go part ? I will mostly be using them at home and when cycling to school, I dont even use Public transport

[iMike]

5 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I dont recommend open back headphones for travel

 

the 600 series need amplifiers to be driven properly and get the full range out of them. 

 

I personally have 518's and 598c's, as well as the HD6xx from massdrop

Would u recommend me using the HD 650 with an AMP tho, for right know, dont mind getting one later on but If I get them I will get the AMP in 2-3 Months at first

[TVwazhere]

Okay, in that case

 

I'd still look at the 500 series because you dont need to have a separate dac/amp setup to drive them, which is an extra minium for a decent set $75usd for the one I bought I think (I'm not sure what that is in pounds/euros)

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, iMike said:

Would u recommend me using the HD 650 with an AMP tho, for right know, dont mind getting one later on but If I get them I will get the AMP in 2-3 Months at first

YES, the 600's with no amp are really quiet, you can barely hear anything out of them.

[iMike]

3 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

YES, the 600's with no amp are really quiet, you can barely hear anything out of them.

Even when u turn the up all the way?

Talking about iPod 5g

[TVwazhere]

16 hours ago, iMike said:

Even when u turn the up all the way?

 

Yep! 

 

https://www.amazon.com/M6-32Bit-384KHz-asynchronous-Decoder/dp/B00WQXEBSG

 

This is the one I bought (thought I got it through a deal on massdrop for $140) The thing you want to look for is if it is rated for 300ohm headphones

[iMike]

3 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Yep! Therse headphones have a 300ohm impedence, which is the resistance of the headphones to electrical impulses. Most motherbaords and electronic devices are like 20ohms maybe IIRC

 

https://www.amazon.com/M6-32Bit-384KHz-asynchronous-Decoder/dp/B00WQXEBSG

 

This is the one I bought (thought I got it through a deal on massdrop for $140) The thing you want to look for is if it is rated for 300ohm headphones

Ok thx, some people (reviewers) said they were usable with mobile devices, guess Ill the the 599 then

[TVwazhere]

Just now, iMike said:

Ok thx, some people (reviewers) said they were usable with mobile devices, guess Ill the the 599 then

I would definitely stick with the 500 series if you want to use them with mobile devices since they do not have such a high impedance. My 518's sound great mobile or desktop! 

[iMike]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

I would definitely stick with the 500 series if you want to use them with mobile devices since they do not have such a high impedance. My 518's sound great mobile or desktop! 

Btw, this might be a dumb question, but higher impedance means better clarity right? Still dont fully get this "stat" ?

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, iMike said:

Btw, this might be a dumb question, but higher impedance means better clarity right? Still dont fully get this "stat" ?

I'm not entirely sure. Not sure if it because higher quality cables or components just naturally have more resistance? AFAIK, haven't done the research on it.

[IAR117]

Defo agree with everyone on the you're going to be hated by everyone in public becuase of open headphones, but if you don't care too much, I'd say 6xx from Massdrop. However I'd advise using a decent portable amp with them

[iMike]

18 minutes ago, IAR117 said:

Defo agree with everyone on the you're going to be hated by everyone in public becuase of open headphones, but if you don't care too much, I'd say 6xx from Massdrop. However I'd advise using a decent portable amp with them

I edited the part on being hated, mostly Home use and only Public when cycling to school etc. and I think Massdrop will be too expensive, since the price will be x1.21 + Shipping

[iMike]

@IAR117

What Portable AMP would you advice?

 

[Spuriae]

@SSL Really need your input here.

I think the 5X9's are incredibly overpriced when the 558/559 is 120/130 and the 650 is 280. 579's use the same cups as 598's but need foam mod, your guess as good as mine on the drivers. 

 

Fidelio X2's are 210 before shipping

Beyerdynamic DT family is all around 150 on Amazon DE as well, with K702's for 200 before shipping.

 

To OP, what music do you listen to? How rough are you on your headphones? How important is bass? Are you annoyed by harsh treble? What headphones do you have right now, and what do you like and dislike about them?

[SSL]

I will agree that 5x9 is overpriced. Yeah, the HD6x0 benefits from an amp, but the 5x9 is not so much better to justify the price jump from what I have heard so far. This was the case with the 598 vs 558 as well.

[iMike]

12 minutes ago, Nimrodor said:

@SSL Really need your input here.

I think the 5X9's are incredibly overpriced when the 558/559 is 120/130 and the 650 is 280. 579's use the same cups as 598's but need foam mod, your guess as good as mine on the drivers. 

 

Fidelio X2's are 210 before shipping

Beyerdynamic DT family is all around 150 on Amazon DE as well, with K702's for 200 before shipping.

 

To OP, what music do you listen to? How rough are you on your headphones? How important is bass? Are you annoyed by harsh treble? What headphones do you have right now, and what do you like and dislike about them?

The HD 650s are sold on a more local shop amd they are 320 on sites where I would get the 579s

 

I listen to Rock (Beartooth, I Prevail)

Dont really get rough, but I like my Headphones good quality

Want some Bass not heavy tho, not a flat response curve, but I also dont want it to bleed

I want clear treble, but dont really mind

Thrustmaster Y300CPX, they real bad, got them with Doom for 5€ ???. they are too heavy, and they start hurting my head, too heavy of a bass and not all that clear

 

[iMike]

16 minutes ago, SSL said:

I will agree that 5x9 is overpriced. Yeah, the HD6x0 benefits from an amp, but the 5x9 is not so much better to justify the price jump from what I have heard so far. This was the case with the 598 vs 558 as well.

Would you recommend me the 650s for 280€ wont be using an AMP right now and will be using them on the go, as in cycling to school, walking etc. not as in in the bus etc.

 

Using iPod Touch 5G

[iMike]

5 minutes ago, iMike said:

Would you recommend me the 650s for 280€ wont be using an AMP right now and will be using them on the go, as in cycling to school, walking etc. not as in in the bus etc.

@SSL I will get an AMP in 2-3 Month then and what would you recommend as an AMP, 150€ max or so u can go 200€ of it will get me a significant performance increase

[scottyseng]

3 hours ago, iMike said:

Would you recommend me the 650s for 280€ wont be using an AMP right now and will be using them on the go, as in cycling to school, walking etc. not as in in the bus etc.

 

Using iPod Touch 5G

I don't know how strong the iPod Touch 5G is, but you can usually drive the HD600s with phone (At near max volume...depends on phones).

 

I can run my HD600 on my Lumia 950 just fine (sure at 90% volume...). Same with my Nokia N9. However, on my sound card it runs at 40% volume (My sound card isn't rated for high impedance headphones either.

 

I think you should be fine just getting the HD600 or HD 650. 280 euro is a pretty good deal though.

[Spuriae]

2 hours ago, iMike said:

The HD 650s are sold on a more local shop amd they are 320 on sites where I would get the 579s

 

I listen to Rock (Beartooth, I Prevail)

Dont really get rough, but I like my Headphones good quality

Want some Bass not heavy tho, not a flat response curve, but I also dont want it to bleed

I want clear treble, but dont really mind

Thrustmaster Y300CPX, they real bad, got them with Doom for 5€ ???. they are too heavy, and they start hurting my head, too heavy of a bass and not all that clear

 

Most open-backs have less bass than you probably think they do; the 598's/579's had okay extension but little impact from my time using them. Rock is likely going to sound better on the 55X's because of the bass boost (they all use the same drivers and are sidegrades rather than upgrades to each other). Remember that the audiophile definition of balanced contains a lot less low-end than mainstream headphones offer. 

 

I was trying to find a decent review for the Y-300CPX's to get a baseline and got nothing except this hilarious bit of actual marketing:

Spoiler

You weren't kidding about them being trash.

 

Would recommend looking at DT880's or Fidelio X2's if you want to use them on the go; they're built from metal instead of Sennheiser's plastic and have a sound signature which should suit your music better. 

[iMike]

3 hours ago, Nimrodor said:

Most open-backs have less bass than you probably think they do; the 598's/579's had okay extension but little impact from my time using them. Rock is likely going to sound better on the 55X's because of the bass boost (they all use the same drivers and are sidegrades rather than upgrades to each other). Remember that the audiophile definition of balanced contains a lot less low-end than mainstream headphones offer. 

 

I was trying to find a decent review for the Y-300CPX's to get a baseline and got nothing except this hilarious bit of actual marketing:

  Hide contents

You weren't kidding about them being trash.

 

Would recommend looking at DT880's or Fidelio X2's if you want to use them on the go; they're built from metal instead of Sennheiser's plastic and have a sound signature which should suit your music better. 

I will be using the built in Equilizer in Spotify, will this eleviate the problem a bit as I dont only listen to rock and pop, thus wanted something for other genres aswell