PSA: Sennheiser HD 600 Headphones $249-299 on Amazon, HD 6XX $199 on Drop

[Jarick]

Saw this on Reddit yesterday and ended up buying a pair of fresh HD 600's off Amazon for $259. The price has been bouncing between $249 to $299 (where it currently sits). I believe they are normally $349.

Also, the HD 6XX dropped to $199, so if you have been waiting on a sale, this is a good price. Normally $239 nowadays.

I bought a pair of HD 600's because I've been curious how different they are compared to the Drop HD 6xx (main headphones the last few years), which are essentially HD 650's with a different color. The 600 are supposed to be slightly brighter with slightly less bass, very subtle difference. But the HD 600 are supposed to be the gold standard for flat headphones (at least below stupid money).

Mine just arrived and they are very similar. I guess there's a new plastic mold and they have a little more squared edges instead of rounded. Also kind of a cool matte charcoal grey instead of the matte/gloss midnight blue (which always looks black).

Biggest difference is the pads are fresh and new, which probably changes the sound more than the driver. They sit off the ear a few more mm because the old pads are so worn down, and that means the volume is a little lower and there's a little more treble. But they do sound pretty good fresh out of the box. I'll keep them either way as backups or alternates and pick up fresh pads for the 6xx.

Also another difference: the new headphones sound a little more mismatched between left and right because I'm not used to them and I've lost a little hearing in my right ear

HD 600 vs HD 650:

HD 650 new vs old pads:

 

[Whizzinby]

Interesting. Was looking at the 650’s over the weekend.

 

[Jarick]

Interesting. Was looking at the 650’s over the weekend.

Highly recommend the HD 6xx from Drop as they're the exact same thing as 650's but at $199 instead of $349. Had them 3-4 years and they are great!

 

[Whizzinby]

Highly recommend the HD 6xx from Drop as they're the exact same thing as 650's but at $199 instead of $349. Had them 3-4 years and they are great!

What are the Drop versions?

 

[Jarick]

What are the Drop versions?

Drop.com is a company (formerly called Massdrop) which organizes group buys of audio/tech products. They will partner with a manufacturer to sell a product directly to consumers at a discounted price. Once they reach a certain number of buyers the drop will "go live" and items will get shipped out. I've bought several things through them and never any problems.

Originally they would organize group buys of popular products (or custom spec/exclusive variants) and the shipping would take several weeks, but some of their most popular products they now actively stock and sell in real time. In this case, the Sennheiser HD6xx and HD58x have been so popular, they are almost always stocked and ship in 1-2 days. Currently looks like estimated ship dates are June 16th, so they are in stock.

Specifically for the Sennheiser headphones, the HD6xx is the exact same thing as the HD650 in a different color. It's a super dark midnight blue that basically looks black. The HD58x is a slightly cheaper variant that's a tribute to the old HD580 headphones. It's a little easier to drive with a little more bass and a little less treble.

If you do any kind of Google search, the HD6xx is extremely well regarded and popular because it's so much headphone for the money. A few years ago when it came out, the HD600 and HD650 were about $399, and the HD6xx was $199. Half the price for the same product in a different color.

Links:
HD6xx at Drop.com
HD58x at Drop.com

 

[Jarick]

Also, for anyone curious, I swapped out the new-ish pads on my 58x for the old worn pads of the 6xx. Here's my quick take on the sound comparisons:

HD 600 - very clean, clear, and balanced sound. Slightly rolled off in the very low bass and very high treble otherwise flat in a musical way.

HD 6xx/650 - very close to the 600 but a tiny bit more low end, a tiny bit warmer in the high end, and a little less clean, almost a bit more aggressive in the upper mids (but not brighter).

HD 58x - signature starts with the 6xx/650 with another increase in bass and decrease in treble, no longer a clear and clean headphone, more warm and punchy.

Also, swapping out the pads definitely changes the sound. My 6xx pads are 3-4 years old so the foam is compressed and worn down. Comparing those to the new 600, the 600 was very noticeably cleaner and brighter sounding with less bass. But swapping the newer pads from the 58x (only a few months old), the sound was much closer. Brand new pads on both would likely be even closer. And then if you put old worn pads on the 58x, it's a pretty warm sounding headphone with a lot of thick low end.

It would be nice if the Sennheiser pads weren't $55 new, or if there were aftermarket ones that lasted a lot longer that didn't change the sound.

 

[James Freeman]

Got a HD6xx, I quite like what I'm hearing but they are slightly 'too close' and warm sounding, makes me want to try the HD600.
They come with the new pads that don't compress that much over time.

 

[Jarick]

The 6xx and 600 are really close, probably less than 1db in the treble and bass. I’m curious about those new pads though! My 600 pads still seem relatively fresh though I wonder when they came out?

 

[mavrick102000]

A few weeks ago the drops were $179, still a good deal at $199.

Still if you want something with a "flatter eq" the Senn 560s don't look bad at $199 either and are only 120 Ohms vs 300 Ohm for the 600/650/6xx

 

[Jarick]

I don’t like the 560, it sounds bright to me and feels a bit cheap compared to the 6xx. It is easier to drive though.

 

[mavrick102000]

I don’t like the 560, it sounds bright to me and feels a bit cheap compared to the 6xx. It is easier to drive though.

It does have a slight spike on the upper frequencies. And I hear you on the headband connection point, seems like more stress than 6xx series.

 

[Chocol8]

A few weeks ago the drops were $179, still a good deal at $199.

They are showing $179 today for me.

 

[newholland]

6xxes are a solid headphone for sure for a certain subset of music. they definitely do way better to my ears with a beastly voltage thrower of an amp if you need critical listening cans- i think in that scenario the 600s and 650s would be more apparent, but either is likely gonna be really close. 650s are really shockingly different on different amps- which makes me a little nutty- but you really can never fault them for being a relaxing listen. they are not my choice as a rock headphone almost ever. impression diarrhea over

 

[newholland]

oh, meantime.. $179 these days is such a steal especially if you have a good headphone amp. you can use em on a phone, but they just will sound way better with 2-3 watts pushing em (or an old school receiver with a high output impedance).

 

[TubeStack]

The 6xx and 600 are really close, probably less than 1db in the treble and bass. I’m curious about those new pads though! My 600 pads still seem relatively fresh though I wonder when they came out?

I've owned both and much prefer 600s, at least with my system. Slightly less bottom, but much greater detail and overall clarity, to my ears.

 

[TubeStack]

6xxes are a solid headphone for sure for a certain subset of music. they definitely do way better to my ears with a beastly voltage thrower of an amp if you need critical listening cans- i think in that scenario the 600s and 650s would be more apparent, but either is likely gonna be really close. 650s are really shockingly different on different amps- which makes me a little nutty- but you really can never fault them for being a relaxing listen. they are not my choice as a rock headphone almost ever. impression diarrhea over

Ever try Grados? I had a set of 325i that I loved. Never went further up than those, though. Great for rock.

 

[newholland]

yup! my first good cans were sr80s that i bought in 1996! i still have them and use them, even though i have better ones at this point, i just like them. 325s are no slouch- thats a good set of headphones!

 

[MirrorProfiles]

not saying it’s the case here, but the amount of fake goods floating around amazon warehouses makes me quite apprehensive about buying electronics from there these days.

Popular stuff like Apple, Samsung, Sennheiser, Shure etc is victim to it. The fakes often get muddled in with the genuine stuff and can appear indistinguishable so it can be a lottery on what you end up with.

 

[laxu]

The HD6XX are great headphones to pair with modelers...at least ones capable of driving 300 ohm headphones properly. They don't really need any global EQ correction to sound nice, just plug in and play.

The HD 490 Pro are a step up from there. They're not that much different sounding, a bit more open perhaps? But they are a good bit more comfortable. I've been using the HD 490 Pros as my daily headphones for a bit now and I've been really happy with them with the "producer" earpads. My biggest beef with them is that the cable is annoyingly short. Just ordered an extension cable because the longer 3m cable intended for the headphones seems to be hard to get.

 

[newholland]

The HD6XX are great headphones to pair with modelers...at least ones capable of driving 300 ohm headphones properly. They don't really need any global EQ correction to sound nice, just plug in and play.

The HD 490 Pro are a step up from there. They're not that much different sounding, a bit more open perhaps? But they are a good bit more comfortable. I've been using the HD 490 Pros as my daily headphones for a bit now and I've been really happy with them with the "producer" earpads. My biggest beef with them is that the cable is annoyingly short. Just ordered an extension cable because the longer 3m cable intended for the headphones seems to be hard to get.

yeah- because of the rise of personal audio, you have a TON of whiner audio folks crying that since they connect to their phone, the longer cords is 'too long'. weh. thosere the dudes that whine a headphone is too tight or too heavy as well.