JAR HD600 Impressions and Measurements

Congratulations! Any plans to offer JAR HD800 in the future?

 

JAR800 only makes sense when you can buy OG HD 800 in bulk. Sennheiser doesn't make them anymore. JAR800S could happen.

 

Not at the moment through NITSCH, but Jupiter is still offering...I am going to finally send mine in for his v2 mod this January!

 

Is it safe to say if you love OG JAR650 you will at least like the JAR600? Without having heard the JAR600 I have a hard time figuring out (based on written impressons) where the bass quantity lies between the two versions.

 

I would say so. The JAR mod nudges the 600 a bit in the direction of the 650.

 

I agree with erroneous- I couldn't see how you wouldn't love them both. Do you have reference to stock? They sort of 'super' each version. If you really want flavored bass - stick with the 650. If you want a pleasant neutral, the 600 is for you.

 

*cue Stayin Alive*

Glad @CEE TEE kept this audio treasure going. And kudos again to @ext1 for coming up with all of this stuff in the first place.

Also, I forgot to update as I posted above - I still use these more than my other HP. I've heard a few iterations of the JAR580, multiple iterations of the 600 and 650/6xx, and a few early iterations of the HD800 along with a "newer" one a few months later. JAR600 is still my favorite. EDIT: I'm 95% sure I have version 1 and like it more... Jupiter did offer me a v1.5 but based on his description of the v1, I suspected I would like v1 more... however, a small part of me also knows I may have taken the 1.5 just because it's what he was working on at the time and it may have made his life easier given the unique situation we were both in when I was acquiring these.

Other comments also still stand from above - this is still a HD600 series HP when I listen. It's not going to outperform my Utopia or Auteur. Every time when I first start listening I still think "something will be wrong" but it never is and it ends up being good (FWIW Utopia does this too for me). But I've become more and more of a "mood" listener vs when I joined SBAF or even 1 year ago. And JAR600 captures a lot of different "mood" well for me - more so than the other HP. Utopia is more about when I do want "peak performance". HD6xx with SW51 + modded Modi MB (may be a Modi2 MB soon) for zonking out. Auteur competes with the JAR600, but I feel like I NEED the Stellaris for it and I don't like running any big amp when it's "above warm". JAR600 pairs well and still "captures mood" with Vali2+, Piety, SW, Stellaris, and a lot of other amps.

 

I feel you - I know there are things my OG Clear does differently, the ETA O2 and Genesis G. also. But, I come back to the 6 series because there is very minor fatigue, with a great presentation and an inviting / safe tuning.

 

Very f'ing cool, Cee.

 

@CEE TEE, is the Nitsch release based on v1/A or v2/B of the JAR HD600 mods? Both versions were sent around on a loaner tour here over the last year or so. I forget how to tell the difference between them (even though I participated in that loaner). (see: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/jar600v2-impressions-thread.12923/). Maybe something with the damping, though looking at pictures in that thread again it looks like there was no foam circle behind the driver in either version either.

 

I'm not CeeTee obviously, but his is based on V1/OG, the one people have loved for years.

 

Correct! V1/A. Thanks @Erroneous !

 

know this thread is ab the OG, but y'all be sleepin on black silk JAR600B/v2, don't knock it til you try it... the very best of them have the soundstage of a mini 800, the organic goodness of the black silk iteration, and those legendary Sennheiser mids...

 

Yes it would be even cooler if Nitsch offered V2 as well - even though it is a more consuming process to build

 

Some curious parties that I keep saying to just sign up for SBAF are wanting to know whether the V1/Nitsch JAR600 is similar enough to the original that they might benefit from having very worn out pads on them. Just going by FR the JAR600 seems more inclined to slope downwards than the stock HD600, with less annoying upper midrange and midtreble prominences too.

I doubt the JAR600 will come close to approaching HD650-with-worn-pads levels of mushy even with very flat pads, but would be curious to hear confirmation of the same. I could be very wrong but isn't there a bit of a blind spot with respect to directly comparing the exact same pair of headphones stock and post-JAR modding? Feels like that'd be a compelling case for many.

 

This is precisely why I'm afraid to get new pads in for my (almost) stock HD600s despite them being about 8 years old now, haha: NOT keen on any more upper mids than currently exist on this pair, and the improved bass extension is indeed very much a thing and appreciated.

Sounds like the JAR600s are likely to just get better with age. Excellent!

Possibly a pain but yeah actually curious to get distortion surface and impulse response+CSD between fully stock HD600 and the same pair with the same pads JAR-modded. Doubt I'll get ears on a pair anytime soon but the improvements to the Senns are evidently far from negligible, just not in ways that are easily conveyed short of hearing them yourself.

 

If you are super bored @purr1n, I took delivery of a Super JAR650 (or V1.5.2324 I dunno anymore ask @ext1) that took me four years to get (long story). Downside it is an one-off built, but if you want to be an autist on the pads then I can loan you my pair during this year for science.

Which reminds me, I should do an impressions post on the Super JAR650 just for a datapoint.