Sub $200 Massdrop Headphone Showndown: HD6XX vs K7XX vs T-X0 vs. HE-4XX

[Daniel Z.]

4 hours ago, dizmo said:

I really wasn't a fan of the Q701's when I had them. I've heard they're very similar to the K series, which I imagine is similar to the XX.

The T-X0 seemed interesting but you didn't give the build quality a very good score, which is paramount for anything I buy; which is also why I'd avoid the $30 headphones.

AFAIK the K7xx is the Q701 with K702 Anniversary pads.

[Daniel Z.]

4 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

And comparatively to the other 3 here. The K7XX feels like a rattling plastic Chinese made set of headphones. The HD6XX is plastic and metal, but it just has the feeling and tightness where you can tell it’s not made in China. Then you pick up the 4XX and they are heavy and made of steel and feel super solid. Then the T-X0 feels pretty good as well, not as solid as the 6XX or 4XX, but leagues above the K7XX, and better than most anything else in the price range. 

Maybe you have a bad unit or I have a good one because my set doesn't have these issues. The comfort on them isn't very good for me either though, the pads are too thin and stiff coming from the HyperX Clouds.

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, Daniel Z. said:

Maybe you have a bad unit or I have a good one because my set doesn't have these issues. The comfort on them isn't very good for me either though, the pads are too thin and stiff coming from the HyperX Clouds.

No I don’t think so. I’ve held a few other sets and they all felt the same.

[dizmo]

38 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

AFAIK the K7xx is the Q701 with K702 Anniversary pads.

Really? That's pretty weak, usually they tweak a few more things than that.

[Max_Settings]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Really? That's pretty weak, usually they tweak a few more things than that.

There’s more driver tweaks than that. I know for sure there’s a 3db bump in low end.

[Daniel Z.]

24 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

There’s more driver tweaks than that. I know for sure there’s a 3db bump in low end.

I am fairly sure it's 3db compared to the K701 and 02.

[Mindhead1]

Great write up. Very informative and helpful.

 

I'm interested to read your thoughts on the Mayflower T50rp MkIII. I purchased a pair a couple of months ago and returned them. To my ears the treble was very harsh and they were painful to listen to. One of the worst headphones I have ever heard. 

 

I have never heard an unmodded T50rp MkIII and wonder if the mods done to the Mayflower set I received may have been faulty. I do have 6xx and previously owned a set of HE400i and love both of those headphones.

[Max_Settings]

47 minutes ago, Mindhead1 said:

Great write up. Very informative and helpful.

 

I'm interested to read your thoughts on the Mayflower T50rp MkIII. I purchased a pair a couple of months ago and returned them. To my ears the treble was very harsh and they were painful to listen to. One of the worst headphones I have ever heard. 

 

I have never heard an unmodded T50rp MkIII and wonder if the mods done to the Mayflower set I received may have been faulty. I do have 6xx and previously owned a set of HE400i and love both of those headphones.

Mayflowers are treble sharp. I bought a set of foam inserts for HD650s and put them under the pads to calm the treble on my set and now they are much better. I need to get around to reviewing them, but I have a lot of stuff in line for reviews first.

[145815_1454180632]

On 4/8/2018 at 11:20 AM, dizmo said:

I really wasn't a fan of the Q701's when I had them. I've heard they're very similar to the K series, which I imagine is similar to the XX.

The T-X0 seemed interesting but you didn't give the build quality a very good score, which is paramount for anything I buy; which is also why I'd avoid the $30 headphones.

I know this is a month later, but I own both the q701s and the K7XXs. They aren't the same at all. The Q701s are very forward and bright (sometimes harsh), but the K7XXs are relaxed and smooth with a lot more bass in comparison.

[GamerDude]

11 hours ago, 145815_1454180632 said:

I know this is a month later, but I own both the q701s and the K7XXs. They aren't the same at all. The Q701s are very forward and bright (sometimes harsh), but the K7XXs are relaxed and smooth with a lot more bass in comparison.

Hmmm, I was under the impression that the 'Q' (Quincy Jones) series had more bass than the 'K' series.

[Daniel Z.]

3 hours ago, GamerDude said:

Hmmm, I was under the impression that the 'Q' (Quincy Jones) series had more bass than the 'K' series.

It does, but K7xx is not very similar to the older K7 cans.

[Plasmus_Ang]

For the base of the he4xx I found an easy fix for it online you just need to crank up the amp and eq +10db I read this online for fixing the low quantity of bass so you can have a lot of good bass but can't make sure myself could you check this out? Since if it does work it would be. A game changer

[Max_Settings]

23 hours ago, Plasmus_Ang said:

For the base of the he4xx I found an easy fix for it online you just need to crank up the amp and eq +10db I read this online for fixing the low quantity of bass so you can have a lot of good bass but can't make sure myself could you check this out? Since if it does work it would be. A game changer

I don't EQ headphones. But I never said there was anything wrong with the bass on the 4XXs. Why would you want to change it?

[Plasmus_Ang]

12 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

I don't EQ headphones. But I never said there was anything wrong with the bass on the 4XXs. Why would you want to change it?

Well you did say for edm it was terrible for a low amount of bass which is because the He4-xx has really good bass quality but pretty bad bass quantity  which is bad for edm and other bass heavy needs. The EQ +10db will bring the quantity of the base tire which would improve overall the phone performance for EDM and similar bass heavy needs

[Arthur Yung]

@Max_Settings, appreciate for your detail review. I noticed that you also own the HD58X so I would like to know your opinion when comparing HD58X and HE-4XX.

 

I got the HD58X already. Its comfortable and perfect for pop music and gaming. It's the best gaming headphone I owned (when comparing to Hyperx Cloud Alpha and Sennheiser-PC37X).

 

I want to buy one more headphone for my office use so I am thinking of buying one more HD58X, or go for HE-4XX? If HE-4XX is better than HD58X for competitive gaming, I may take the HE-4XX for home use and get the HD58X to my office. 

 

Thanks for your comment in advance!

 

BTW, do you have a review on your HD58X? I tried to search the forum but can't locate it.

[Max_Settings]

8 hours ago, Arthur Yung said:

@Max_Settings, appreciate for your detail review. I noticed that you also own the HD58X so I would like to know your opinion when comparing HD58X and HE-4XX.

 

I got the HD58X already. Its comfortable and perfect for pop music and gaming. It's the best gaming headphone I owned (when comparing to Hyperx Cloud Alpha and Sennheiser-PC37X).

 

I want to buy one more headphone for my office use so I am thinking of buying one more HD58X, or go for HE-4XX? If HE-4XX is better than HD58X for competitive gaming, I may take the HE-4XX for home use and get the HD58X to my office. 

 

Thanks for your comment in advance!

 

BTW, do you have a review on your HD58X? I tried to search the forum but can't locate it.

Ah. No I don’t. I’ve been very busy recently and haven’t had time for reviews. But I’ll give you a mini review.

 

Go look at my Sennheiser HD600 series showdown and everything I said about the 660S, just take that, add a bit more bass and a little less detail, and that’s the 58X.

 

The 58X is the HD660S with different dapening and more bass essentially. Those make every headphone in this review irrelevant except the 6XX. In fact the 58X make any open back sub $200 headphone irrelevant because they are essentially $500 headphones. I would take the 58X over the 4XX in a heartbeat.

[Arthur Yung]

1 hour ago, Max_Settings said:

Ah. No I don’t. I’ve been very busy recently and haven’t had time for reviews. But I’ll give you a mini review.

 

Go look at my Sennheiser HD600 series showdown and everything I said about the 660S, just take that, add a bit more bass and a little less detail, and that’s the 58X.

 

The 58X is the HD660S with different dapening and more bass essentially. Those make every headphone in this review irrelevant except the 6XX. In fact the 58X make any open back sub $200 headphone irrelevant because they are essentially $500 headphones. I would take the 58X over the 4XX in a heartbeat.

I will get another HD58X for my office. Really appreciated for your feedback

 

[3 Minute Reviewer]

Just so ya'll know - HD6xx back up on Massdrop + no wait time https://www.massdrop.com/?referer=J2DTUT https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ccu_massdrop_sennheiser_hd6xx_in_stock&referer=J2DTUT&mode=guest_open&iterableCampaignId=395977&iterableTemplateId=567331

[Max_Settings]

37 minutes ago, 3 Minute Reviewer said:

Just so ya'll know - HD6xx back up on Massdrop + no wait time https://www.massdrop.com/?referer=J2DTUT https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ccu_massdrop_sennheiser_hd6xx_in_stock&referer=J2DTUT&mode=guest_open&iterableCampaignId=395977&iterableTemplateId=567331

Yes, I know. Absolutely worth it.

[Guest]

On 2018-04-06 at 3:20 PM, Max_Settings said:

Yes, especially if you don't want to mess with mods.

 

On 2018-08-06 at 11:59 PM, Max_Settings said:

I don't EQ headphones. But I never said there was anything wrong with the bass on the 4XXs. Why would you want to change it?

 

2 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

Yes, I know. Absolutely worth it.

Re: HD650 Clones. I have no buyer’s remorse with my HD6xx. Now that my listening nook’s all set up, I’m focusing on re-ripping and cleaning up my audio files (MP3... really?! No no no no no... rip to FLAC).

My audio systems established and I’m happy.

 

Then....

 

Then I got an email from Massdrop... about these...

Dekoni Blue by Fostex Planar-Magnetic (for ~$230 USD + shipping + duties + exchange rate to... Canada). I’m all out of (frivolous-use) cash until the new year. @Max_Settings... How would they compare to other planar headphones (in this price range)?

Edited September 17, 2018 by Guest
Add a tag...

[Max_Settings]

3 hours ago, PrometheanCat-1970 said:

 

 

Re: HD650 Clones. I have no buyer’s remorse with my HD6xx. Now that my listening nook’s all set up, I’m focusing on re-ripping and cleaning up my audio files (MP3... really?! No no no no no... rip to FLAC).

My audio systems established and I’m happy.

 

Then....

 

Then I got an email from Massdrop... about these...

Dekoni Blue by Fostex Planar-Magnetic (for ~$230 USD + shipping + duties + exchange rate to... Canada). I’m all out of (frivolous-use) cash until the new year. @Max_Settings... How would they compare to other planar headphones (in this price range)?

Well there aren't too many other options in that price range. We have the HE-4XX and HE-400i which are both basically the same thing. The Dekoni Blue I would say is the best cheap MK3 mod, falling short of course of the incredible T60RP and Argon MK3. Once we go up a bit higher we have some things that best them for sure. Things like the HE-560 (V2) and the Verum One.

[Exaco]

I think you should re-test the power requirements. My E10K barely drives the 4XX and none of my 2 smartphones, 2 laptops and PC drives them to even loud enough levels.
Green = Less Power needed

HE - 4XX aka 400i
 

Power Required: 50,12 Milliwatts

Voltage Required: 1,3244 Volts

Current Required: 37,84 milliamps

HD 600 ( Same as 650? ) 
 

Power Required: 19,95 Milliwatts

Voltage Required: 2,4466 Volts

Current Required: 8,16 milliamps

HD 598 ( Just reference how the requirements looks for a headphone that doesn't need AMP but still benefits from it and gets like 20-30% volume boost ). 
 

Power Required: 12,62 Milliwatts

Voltage Required: 0,7943 Volts

Current Required: 15,89 milliamps

[assyn]

Sorry, bit this "review" is kinda nonsense on so many level.

[rice guru]

I really agree with you assess ment of the 4xx as the best gaming cans here after a little under a month of using I  prefer them over the 58x in that regard. 

[rice guru]

30 minutes ago, assyn said:

Sorry, bit this "review" is kinda nonsense on so many level.

in what way?