OFFICIAL: Massdrop Sennheiser HD6XX

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Nov 1, 2016.

  1. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    I'm glad you guys added to the discussion for all to see. Also thanks for reminding all of us that the stock 650 cable is best value. 23$ on amazon.com right now, in case you need it fast and senn are out of stock.
     
  2. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    The 650 cable has been a great cheap upgrade for 580/600 owners for years. The cables are also an easy first re-termination project for people learning to work with cables as well.
     
  3. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    Thanks all. I wanted one, so I kept the Senn site open in a window and refreshed every morning until it came back into stock, then got one. If you want one, that seems to be the way to do it.

    That said, their manufacturing maybe be focused on the MassDrop order until January and their own boxes of HD650 (assuming anyone is still buying the 650 retail), so if you want one, keep an eye out and get it right away. The last two times I saw they had it in stock, they sold out in less than a day.
     
  4. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    @AllanMarcus Whenever I've needed spare parts from Sennheiser, the best solution was to call them. They've put in orders for me for things on backorder.
     
  5. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Does anyone have any feedback on this MD Venture cable for HD6xx? Drop ends in a few days. Looking for something shorter and more supple than the stock cable.

    I'd been using a cheapo Chinese ebay cable and threw the stock one back on for the hell of it last week and it seemed that a slight veil had been lifted.

    https://www.massdrop.com/buy/venture-electronics-headphone-cables

    Found @Grahad2's on the IEM cables he bought from them.
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/venture-electronics-cables.4297/
     
  6. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    Are you looking to get the balanced cable for $100 or the single-ended for $50? At $100 you might also take a look at Impact Audio cables via Etsy. They have a bunch of great feedback from people here and elsewhere. I bought one for my 6XX and I've been really happy with it. Takes a while but not as long as it would take you to get the drop. If the single-ended venture is good quality at $50 then I don't think Impact could beat that price but it wouldn't be too much more.

    I'm glad you shared that link.. Decided to pick up a new MMCX cable for my Westones because for 10 bucks I couldn't think of a reason not to!
     
  7. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    If you're looking for esoteric topologies and cable materials and connectors, then VE isn't for you. If you're looking for cheap and good cables then it works well enough and holds up well. 4 months later it still works perfectly fine, although the heatshrinks on the 2pin side have expanded and slipped off, but the connectors are well glued enough to not have any issues.
     
  8. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    Now that I think about it you might check with him before you order because I believe he is based in Spring which is in the Houston area to make sure his business is not affected by Harvey.
     
  9. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    I hadn't actually clicked further to see the option details. Looks like the only HD6XX option left is the 3m balanced, all the others being sold out. I would have gone for the 1.8m single-ended 6.3mm. Guess I can just chop my stock cable.
     
  10. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    Anyone who has 2 cables from the first drop did a comparison?
    I reterminated the longer one, and the shorty XLR4 to TRS is made from another cable. I can no longer do a direct comparison, and would like to hear your opinion.
     
  11. jnak00

    jnak00 Friend

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    The only difference I've noticed is that with the longer one, I can move further away from my desk with my headphones on.
     
  12. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    Cables update,
    Did a quick test to remind myself of the differences. HD600 headphone. Single test track. heard it 2 times with its own cable, then 2 times with HD6XX stock cable, then 2 more times with HD600 cable again.

    I hear pretty much the same things, I'll just try to elaborate a bit further.

    1. Yep, HD6XX stock cable is... disgusting (to me) (exaggeration). Maybe I went too far by calling it muddy, but it's definitely thick (slow) and/or boomy in the midbass. Just a bit, but in a very unnatural and disjointed way. At least compared to the start/stop bass of the HD600 cable, which by contrast integrates magically with the sublime 600 mids.

    2. I was not completely fair to call it pure gains. I should have added more "IMO" to my previous post:
    2.1 I feel like 6XX cable does have a bit more subbass, similar to how Psalm said HD650 stock cable is. BUT you notice that less than the horrible (exaggeration) midbass boominess, but who knows, maybe some might like the warmth, in case the unnaturalness somehow doesn't bother them.
    2.2 I think I also heard HD600 cable being compressed, but this one is also considerably less evident than the 6XX cable boomy stuff. 600 cable for me it is.
    2.3 HD600 with its own cable ends up lean (I offer this as a negative counterpoint/trade-off to the speed and cohesiveness), but personally I like lean and love midforward.

    3. Apply extra salt to this one, as it's extra subtle and hard to pin down: 6XX cable feels like it has a tiny bit smoother, but also more plasticky mid treble. Alternatively, 600 cable is a bit... sandier, if I'm using the word correctly. Like, dry-er, but also a bit grainier. Meh, maybe this one is a psycho-acoustic effect caused by the other mentioned differences. Don't mind this one, just throwing it out there.

    End note: I adore HD600 forward mids and lean sub. Putting 6XX cable colors the bass, therefor coloring HD600 headphone's otherwise brutal honesty.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2017
  13. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    @Renekton Do you have the long or short cable? The shorter (1.2m?) sounds bloomy, and the longer one sounds almost bright in comparison. But it could be that I reterminated the longer cable, or the shorty adapter.
     
  14. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Tbh, I have never heard enough difference between cables of any kind to justify investigating further whether they sound different unless one was malfunctioning. I will turn in my audiophile card at the door when I leave, but I am gonna get another drink first.
     
  15. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    @Mdkaler Yeah, I have both 6XX cables. I did the last HD600 cable comparison test with the 2m (6ft) stock 6XX cable only. I did the first test (top post of page 33) with the 2m cable as well, but back then I did also very briefly try the 1.2m and I did hear something, but could not put my finger on it so I just assumed the two are very similar (which turned out to be pretty much correct, further elaborated below).

    Clear, cold, fresh morning right now here in Bulgaria. Sat down for a nice long test, 6XX headphone this time. I really made sure I'm used to a cable before switching. To accomplish that a 30 second passage of a track was repeated many times before switching a cable.

    Ha. Shorter cable is brighter. Subjectively - in the lower treble. Also came off as ever so slightly congested and/or compressed, but take this one statement with salt, it might be psycho-acoustics. Again though, shorter cable is indeed brighter. Semi-confirmed with para-eq while with the short cable (take with salt, details below):
    -3dB Q=4 at 5000Hz - that's not it, sounded way different.
    -2dB Q=2 at 5000Hz - still too different.
    -1dB Q=2 at 6000Hz - came very close to the tonality of the longer cable, at least that was my impression. I also remember feeling a different texture, which is actually a red flag - maybe I imagined this one. But again, one way or the other, shorter cable is a bit brighter and pulls your attention to the lower treble just a bit more, so apparently it was not (just) your retermination, sir Mdkaler... NO, WAIT, WHAT, I just checked again, you said the longer is brighter??? In that case I'm guessing yeah, your retermination is doing something, because IME /goto (above).

    However, both the stock 6XX cables have the same ****ING boom fiesta nonsense. This was evident in my first test.
    I threw in the HD600 cable on the 6XX headphone today, right after comparing its two stock cables. Double confirmed - 600 cable is transparent, both 6XX stocks are boom, bloom, color, added bass reverb, speakers in an untreated room garbage (exaggeration, but still, I hate it so ****ing much).

    For a moment here I thought, HOLD ON, maybe the boomy boomy is coming from the 6.3 to 3.5 adapter that came with the, but nah, not according to my experience, because I used that same adapter when trying the HD600 cable, instead of the HD600 adapter.

    In any case both 6XX cables sound very similar to each-other, while 600 stock cable is way more different than either of them.

    PURE Speculation: The well regarded HD650 stock cable appears to have the same connectors and the same actual cable as the 6XX stocks. If the wire inside is also the same (I don't know), then the HD650 cable too might have the same boom. Then again it's a different termination, and, of course, a different length, so thouse could play a role. /end speculation

    Note: 6XX headphone is sleepy and boring, NOT ON ITS OWN, but when compared to the GODLY HD600. TBH 6XX hp kind of has a synergy with its own cables, because unnatural + unnatural = fun, while the dry, transparent 600 cable shows you how just how sleepy (dark-ish + midbassy + slow transients) the 6XX hp is. Even so, If I'm ever stuck with the OVERHYPED (deal with it) 6XX, i would still want a 600 cable on it. I would miss the extra subbass of the 6XX cables a bit (more on this below), but I prefer not to bottleneck mid and high bass. [I mean, fine, 6XX is good value, it's just unexciting to me, in stock form at least. And I don't want to mod it as I am thinking of selling it, since the HD600 is stunningly perfect to me each and every time I hear it. BTW no mod I tried made the HD600 any better, just different and most (or all) times worse, too.]

    Reminder: I'm a midhead, i really, really focus on the mids and I just won't have it with the boomy boom boom.
    Reminder 2: I still only have wyrd - modi 1 - magni 1.

    More important note: 6XX cables do have more subbass than 600 cable. This was more apparent today on the 6XX headphone than yesterday on the 600 headphone.
    So I got concerned that maaaybe the boom is actually just more distortion from the extra subbass, so I tried one more thing:
    I put the 2m cable on the 6XX and applied a high pass filter at 110Hz, 48dB per octave. Listened to that 30 second passage at least 10 times. While swapping to 600 cable I tried to convince myself that I'm imagining things and there won't be a difference... Nope, few seconds later, insta clearer sound. Seriously, 6XX cable and high pass sounded a lot like my 20$ bluetooth speaker (it's a nice-ish big-ish one with a passive radiator in the back). Same cheap boominess. 600 cable? Fast, clear, transparent and well integrated EVEN with the strong high pass.

    Phew, /rant over. I should wind down. Let's conclude with a dose of reality:

    @Senorx12562 I am truly happy for you that you do not obsess over cables. I had the misfortune of accidentally hearing the difference when I put my 600 cable on my 6XX hp when I just needed the exrta length. I now cannot unhear it, damn.

    I'm just a guy with a part time job and not many hobbies and zero (real) friends (except my mom), so I have tons of free time to obsess over various things. These days it's the cables again, other days I cry about how csgo drops to 200 fps as I have way less jitter (better consistency of frame-delivery-timing) on my 144Hz monitor if the fps stayed above 288 instead, as it does on some extra simple maps such as some aim training maps (I always play with vsync off). (sometimes a single frame would stutter extra, to an equivalent rate of 100 or lower fps, I die inside every time this happens, which is roughly 20 times per match). (just giving some context as to how spoiled I am xD).
     
  16. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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  17. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    On headphones: HD600 vs HD6XX

    The two are of the same family, but with different character. Ultimately both are outstanding in their own way. I reckon HD600 is more special and way closer to perfection. I view the HD6XX as colored.

    Both have insane micro dynamics and micro detail. Both have slightly diffuse/soft macro detail, HD600 more so. Both have the infamous woolly bass, HD6XX more so. Both sound very coherent, but with different presentations.

    ++, +, +/-, - and -- are used to emphasize my own subjective feelings:

    HD6XX has:
    + Good slam. Good articulation. Helped by frequency response - nice heft.
    + Less rolled, deeper subbass. More distortion, too. Helps details stand out. By laying a heavier foundation, extra attention is drawn to bass microdynamics. In short, better layering.
    +/- Midbass and lower-mid emphasis. Not thick. Not too slow. Just fat.
    + Wide stage. Nice and huge, albeit unnatural and disproportionate like IMAX 3D.
    -- For some reason the 2.5kHz valley feels way worse here than on the HD600. Maybe because of the lower-mid emphasis. Or the extra 5k ringing. Either way something makes the lower treble fake and plastic, unless +3dB Q=2 is applied at 2.5k, then it's fixed. (HD600 also sounds great with said EQ correction, but does not need it at all and has excellent texture both ways)
    +/- Clean, no-grain treble. Plastic texture unless equalized. Maybe a bit wet? Very airy, somehow.
    - Softened, sleepy transients.

    HD600 has:
    - Weak slam. Insufficient subbass.
    - More heavily rolled-off and generally leaner subbass. Narrows the stage. Does not hide anything regardless.
    + Fast, transparent midbass and lower-mids.
    +/- Stage is heavily centered in your head, but is still spacious in a genuine, transparent way. No fake 3D. Real, subtle, visceral 3D like Oculus Rift (furthermore, Oculus Rift has limited, in-the-middle-of-your-face field of view combined with that perfect, almost unremarkable, life-like 3D. That is HD600 - As opposed to the IMAX 3D HD6XX). It's still a headphone, so you don't reeeally feel like you can walk around the music or anything, but it's a smaller, more accurate stage.
    ++ Very neutral frequency response from 100Hz all the way to 18k. Not flat, but marvelously balanced.
    +/- Slight, narrow 3.5k peak.
    ++ Ultra clear, Ultra fast, excellently presented upper-mids and lower-highs. Sublime texture.
    + Treble: The excellent texture continues; Dry, slightly grainy... Not as airy, yet very lively and accurate.
    ++ Attack is lightning fast, like getting punched in the solar plexus (HD6XX is more like a wet, fat, heavy slap in the face). Transient response? Blink and you've missed it. Think and you've missed it. ELECTRIC, ecstatic, hair raising, sudden transients. So fast that they seem insignificant until you give them full attention and appreciate the brutal clarity that they bring. Visceral. Direct.
    ++ Pure sound. Always. End of story.
     
  18. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    I've had it for a few days, although not much time spent comparing so more initial impressions; done with a Modi Multibit + Jotunheim single ended:

    LCD-3F:
    • "Wider" soundstage
    • Better clarity
    • Tonally neutral
    • Way more comfortable (I've tried loosening the 6xx but the stock pads are an issue themselves)
    HD-6XX:
    • "Taller" and "narrower" soundstage
    • Bit less clarity
    • Better upper mids
    • Tonally a bit darker
    • Lighter weight, but I don't listen for more than an hr at a time so this was never a problem with the LCDs anyways

    The LCD is the winner for me but the deciding factor may come down to replacing the 6xx stock pads. Because the difference in price is just way too big. No balanced cable for the 6xx yet either but it does make an audible difference in clarity with the LCD for the better, but the listed impressions were all single ended and it was still the winner in clarity.
     
  19. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    You can pick up an HD650 cable from Sennheiser for $11. They are commonly out of stock, so check every day until they come into stock, then grab one (or more). If you know how to solder, it's pretty easy to convert the cable to balanced. If not, I (or many here) would be happy to do the conversion. A balanced 4-pin plug is about $5 shipped from markertek.

    As for the clamp force, it's it quite strong. I just got both the HD6xx and the HD600, and both really want to pop my zits! I'm told they can be loosened, but very very carefully. it appears it's not hard to break the plastic headband.

    I won't have time to really dive into my new toys until after Christmas. My son, @Rynsin, will be home for winter break, so I'm hoping for good father/son bonding time while not talking and listening to headphones :)

    I did make a pure silver cable for the Senns, and for the brief time I listened, I think it sounded good. Yet another thing to compare (two home made cables, and the stock cables from the HD600, HD650, and HD6xx. I'm happy to make anyone else a cable, but it might take me a few weeks to get to it. My cost breakdown is on the link. The cable I made was ~$30 in parts. Hell, $12.50 of that was the Y splitter!

    Update: been listening to the 6xx with the silver cable (Bifrost Multibit->mj2). f**k. I like it stock! I'm not sure I will mod it. I need to borrow a modded one to compare. Hopefully at some meet. The utopia certainly has a more "fuller" sound to me, as well as much less distortion, but man, the HD6xx is nice. I've had 650's before and didn't like em. Maybe my tastes have changed, or maybe my equipment is finally good enough for the 6xx. Maybe in the mods will help reduce the distortion. I really want to compare a stock an modded one. Maybe I'll just have to get a second one. Money? who needs it?

    The utopias sure is more comfortable though.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2017
  20. alchemist007

    alchemist007 New

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    I should rephrase this to "existent upper mids" because I swear they don't even exist in the LCDs in comparison. If only I could fuse all the positives of these two headphones :eek:
     

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