Will Sennheiser HD600 work with Techno/Trance music as well? (1 Viewer)

[Richard Watt]

I tried looking over at Link Removed on this subject, but their forums are currently down. I am starting to really get into Classical and some Jazz listening. I had thought about getting a good 2-Channel setup, but living in an apartment limit the level of sound I can play at. So, I went back with the headphone route.
I found the Senn. HD600 for $178US. I have heard that it is wonderfuly for Classical music. However, I also listen to quite a bit of Electronic/Techno music as well. But it varies from Ambient to Trance to House, etc. Will the Senn. handle this kind of music good?
Richard
BTW, I am looking to get the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 amp as well.

 

[David Ely]

Welcome to the world of high-end headphones!!
$178 is a great price for the HD600. They are a great headphone, but will always require a good seperate amp. I Owned the HD600 for a while, but then I bought the Grado SR-225.
I personally prefer the Grado because it's a much more neutral headphone. Nice flat frequency responce, and some great bass output.
The HD600 are definately more comfortable to wear, and they have more 'punch' in the bass (from what seems like an internal boost around 50Hz. The SR-225 is more accurate and unforgiving with the material you play through them (i.e. if it's a bad recording, you're going to hear it). The Grado's are also VERY easy to power. While they sound their best on an external amp, they still sound wonderul coming straight off a portable CD player.
You'll definately be happy with the HD600 + X-Can combo, but if you have a Grado dealer nearby, give the SR-225 a listen.

 

[Thomas_Berg]

i'm a proud owner of a pair of Senn HD-580s. got them for $180 shipped from Germany...and i thought that was an amazing price!!
well these headphones will sound great with ANY type of music you want to listen to. i really like rock, rap, and classic rock as well as an occasional classical tune. the 580s perform miracles on your ears during it all. not to mention they're about as comfortable as headphones get!
you'll be happy with them regardless of the type of music you use them for. just make sure you get a headphone amp! (i'm considering building one...) hope you enjoy your Senns as much as i do!
------------------
-Thomas
Click here to visit my webpage.

 

[Ken Seeber]

David,
I recently got a pair of HD-600s (for $134 from Express.com!) and have a question for you. At moderately high volume levels, did your HD-600s ever make a popping noise like they were bottoming out? I don't listen to my headphones all that loud, and I never experienced this with the AKG cans I had. But sometimes, my Sennheisers scare the hell out of me when they do this.
I'm considering sending these to Sennheiser to have them looked at.
Ricjard,
While I haven't listened to techno/trance specifically (Propellerheads is probably the closest I've gotten), I can tell you the HD-600s have sounded great with all of the music I've listened to so far.

 

[Richard Watt]

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I would definitely like to audition these before I make any purchase. It's harder to find places that sell high-end headphone compared to speakers.
When I went looking for info on the HD600's, I found that one reviewer at GoodCans.com liked the Grado SR325 better. So, I will try to check out both.
I was going to purchase (maybe build) a dedicated headphone amp, because I want the best possible sound I can get from these.
BTW, the $178 price is from store in Europe. The shipping is like an extra $50 though. But it's still cheaper than here in the States.

 

[Tim Hess]

I'm using a pair of Sennheiser HD 590s and I love them. Best headphones I've ever used.

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Ken- send those 'phones back to Sennheiser. you should hear NOTHING of the sort REGARDLESS of volume. my 580's are basically the same headphones and produce crystal-clear sound at any level. my brother has a set of 600's that he loves, and there is never any kind of distortion/noise at any volume. have them checked out (this may be why they were $134 btw).
Richard- regarding Grado, my brother once owned a good pair of cans from them (model # escapes me...), but they were uncomfortable as hell! they sounded great, but IMHO Grado doesn't make headphones NEAR as comfortable as Sennheisers, and the sound isn't any better. someone once said that the HD-580's were the, "...best sounding earmuffs i've ever worn!" it's all personal preference though, so try them out for yourself.

[Edited last by Thomas_Berg on September 28, 2001 at 12:34 AM]

 

[Ken Seeber]

Thomas,
Thanks for the response. My 600s sound great up until I start to push the volume just a little bit.
I ordered these when Express.com was having its clearance sale in July. They normally sold these for $350 but were liquidating their electronis section with everything at 50 to 75 percent off. These headphones ended up being on backorder and it took Express five weeks to get more in, so I figure I'm better off dealing directly with Sennheiser at this point.

 

[Graham Perks]

The cans definitely should not "pop". Have you tried a different source, just to eliminate that factor? No point sending off the cans if it's a dodgy headphone jack on your CD player!
I have the 580s and highly recommend them. They are very confortable. I listen mainly to trance and classical.
By playing through my PC, I have managed to avoid having to get an extra amp. When I tried with a portable CD player, they sounded terrible - amp definitely required there! Happily, the PC seems to put out enough power. Same with my receiver.
Good luck - the Senn's are lovely - and comfort *is* a big factor!

 

[David Ely]

Ken,
I will repeat what the others have said. Your HD600 seems to be defective. You'd definately want to try another source, because it could be that the headhpone amp in the device you're using can't handle the HD600.

 

[jeff lam]

Ken,
What amp/receiver are you using?
This sounds like what happens when I listen to my 580's on my portable sony discman with the volume on max. You may need to try them on a good receiver/amp.
What is al this talk about NEEDING a external headphone amp? My 580's are awesome with my receiver alone and I am happy with the sound on my portable sony as well. They are plenty loud. I also had a pair of sony's that couldn't even come close to the 580's. The sony's were at 50% higher volumes than the 580's when they produced the same dB's. I only have to turn my yamaha RXV620 receiver up to
-50 to get good volume but the sony's needed -35. IMO, you don't need an external amp. Perhaps they sound better with one, however I cant imagine them sounding any better than what I am hearing from mine with my receiver powering them alone.

 

[Ken Seeber]

I'm listening on a Sony DB830 receiver. I've never had a problem with my AKG-260s with this receiver, and they have an impedence of 600 ohms, compared with the Sennheisers 300.
My HD-600s were made in Ireland, not Germany, by the way. Is this the case with all of these phones, or is it hit and miss?

 

[Seungsoo Hwang]

Most of the Headwize users can be found at www.head-fi.org