14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Warning! These will spoil you!
Date of Review: Jun 13, 2002
The Bottom Line: Do your self a favor, and buy these cans!!!
Let me state for the record that I'm pushing 50 years on this planet and have been involved with audio gear in different capacities for a very long time.
I have owned a lot of headphones through the years, starting with Koss PRO 4A's back in the early seventies, AKG K240 and electrostatic hybrid K340 models. Also Grado SR80,150, 225,325 and the RS2. (And a pile of Sony's). I worked for many years at a high-end audio store and was able to listen to quite a few more headphones, including various models of the highly acclaimed STAX electrostatic's.
As far as my own "stash" goes, they are ALL gone, except for a pair of Sony MDR-V6's, which I keep to use on the computer, a two year old pair of Sennheiser HD580's, and the new love of my life, ( besides my spouse that is), the Sennheiser HD600's.
I was looking for a somewhat affordable set of cans which could approach the high-end Stax sound, but without having to take out a home equity loan to buy them!
Well let me tell you my friends, these are in my humble opinion the "holy grail" of under $300 headphones.
A year and a half ago I purchased a set of the Sennheiser HD580's. Although they serve-up a remarkably clear midrange, a deep and natural sounding bass, and nice open smooth highs, I found them a tad lacking in both frequency extremes and in that electrostatic type quickness which allows musical notes to decay naturally. This quality is often refered to as the "blackness" between notes, and is rarely found in all but the most expensive of speakers, along with a small hand full of top headphones.
Well guess what? That quality is present in the Sennheiser HD600's, along with that missing tiny bit of highs and lows mentioned above. And perhaps a smidge more detail than the 580's in direct comparison. These cans come very very close to the Stax electro's, and at much less of a cash out-lay.
These suberb sounding units do however need a good dedicated headphone amp to achieve those much sought after high-end tid bits. I have a Antique Sound Labs tube amp driving these babies, and they really sing when you couple them with some good old fashioned tube output!
A quick note on comfort: These are very comfortable cans. Light weight considering their size, and with wonderful soft deep ear cushions and a heavly padded head band. I can fall asleep with them on, and wear them for many hours.
That's my two cents worth. If you can afford them, they will reward you with great sonics and comfort. And they come with a nice storage box too!
