One of the best CDs to use in listening is the Buena Vista Social Club CD. Ry Cooder, et al. did an excellent job miking and mastering, capturing the natural sounds of voices and instruments.

The Sennheiser HD580s were rated as a "B" component by Stereophile Magazine, and the HD600s receive their top "A" rating. The HD580s (discontinued) sounded wonderful -- very spacious and detailed; however, the higher frequencies seemed a bit too high, making cymbals sound a bit harsh. Since the HD580s use basically the same components as the HD600s, I was expecting the two headphones to sound very similar. But when I put on the HD600s, I was floored. The headphones seemed to disappear and I was listening to the instruments directly. The HD600s had all of the spacial qualities of the HD580, but the sound was warmer, closer, and more realistic. For example, the piano on Track 4: Pueblo Nuevo sounded pretty darned good on the HD580s, but it seemed like I was really in the same room as Ruben Gonzales when I listened with the HD600s. The HD600's presentation of the piano timber was spot on. Track 12: Murmullo was incredible -- you can hear every detail, every nuance, every whisper, of Ibrahim Ferrer's voice. Once in a great moon, a new product will bring a smile to my face...the HD600s did that.

After listening to the Sennheisers, I wanted to throw away the Sonys. You will also be tempted to throw out all of your CDs that aren't recorded and mastered well, because you'll hear all of the imperfections. If you don't have enough money for the HD600s, then do a little overtime to earn the bucks...the delayed gratification will be worth it, guaranteed.


The best is also a surprising value   November 24, 2000
 22 out of 22 found this review helpful

Plenty of superlatives have been heaped upon the HD-600s - and for good reason. They almost hint at perfection, and even while that outworldly ideal will always prove elusive, the HD-600s are an livable earth-bound solution. Their most remarkable sonic characteristics are balanced, natural tonality and the presence of remarkable detail and transparency. The sounds coming from these 'phones are of such natural rightness, you sometimes forget you are listening to a reproduced event. Of course, since the HD-600s are so transparent, you'll hear source tape flaws you never noticed before and these can ruin the magical illusion. But don't blame the Sennheisers for revealing the truth.

Prior to owning the HD-600s, I used the fantastic HD-580s for about one year. One thing that surprises me (well, actually, it doesn't) is how quickly audiophiles pronounce the HD-600s leagues better than the HD-580s. I listened to each set profusely under careful conditions and came to the realization that the HD-580s offer about 95% of the performance of the HD-600s. The most notable difference is that the HD-600s remove a very thin veil of "sonic haze" from the music. But they both share the same character and personality and I would expect them to generate very similar test lab results. In my experience, many audiophiles will consider that extra 5% "a tremendous improvement". As to avoid being hypocritical, I did enjoy the HD-600s more and decided to keep them over the HD-580s, but take all superlatives and Grand Statements with a grain of salt, as you should in audiophiledom. If the HD-600s are priced out of your league, the discontinued and discounted HD-580s are a can't miss baragin.

But even at [price], the HD-600s are a surprising value. A pedestrian pair of bookshelf loudspeakers will set you back [price] and they don't even come close to producing the heavenly sounds of the Sennheisers. And if you aren't a headphone person, time spent with these Sennheisers might change your mind. They did with me!

I also connect my Sennheisers directly to my Panasonic portable on the go. Sure, an outboard amp would be nice, but who wants all that bulk and weight? Aside from more limited volume, most portables I've used are more than capable of driving the HD-600s with clarity, neutrality and practically no distortion. So don't worry about getting an amp right away...you might find the extra equipment unnecessary.

The Sennheisers are my favorite piece of audio equipment. Their sonic performance and portability allow musical contentment late at night, at work, outside, wherever. They are the best [price] I've ever spent on audio.


Did I get a bad sample? Totally disappointed!   February 8, 2005
 18 out of 37 found this review helpful

Yes, I burned them in for at least 25 hours. They sounded muddy. Smooth as caramel, but veiled. The bass was heavy and indistinct. The high frequencies were not clean, and not abundant.

Having listened to Stax headphones for years and years, I know I got used to a superclean, almost clinical sound. But still I cannot believe how completely different the HD600s were.

I borrowed these from a friend, who bought them new and had hardly used them. Frankly, I get more pleasure listening with my Sony MDR-W20G sports headphones that I bought for less than $10. I am at a loss to understand the glowing reviews. I would love to hear a headphone that sounds as wonderful as people are describing. But the one I heard did not. Not even after break-in. Never would I consider one of these phones without auditioning them. Perhaps I truly heard a rare, defective unit. But if so, both drivers were defective, because they sounded the same.


Outstanding, if pricey, headphones   January 20, 2001
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

Most people have probably never thought of spending ... for a pair of headphones, but if you care about the music you listen to, this is actually quite a bargain. I considered both the Sennheiser HD600 and the nearly identical but less expensive HD580 headphones; I chose the HD580 which gives nearly all the quality at about half the price, but sadly those have been discontinued. Nevertheless, I do agree that the HD600 is probably the best dynamic headphones available today; listening to music, especially well-recorded acoustic music like jazz and classical is an experience you will never be able to approach using anything near the same amount of money, certainly not loudspeakers in this price range. Although there have been comments... that these headpones may be a touch bright, I feel that they are actually simply more accurate, without the boominess in the bass or extra "presence" in the midrange which are designed into many other headphones. Also, these are open-air headphones; the open-air design has the advantages of being more comfortable (your ears don't get hot) and offering a cleaner and, well, more OPEN sound. The disadvantage is that they provide next to no isolation from external noise, so forget about these if you want headphones for the commuter train. If you turn up the volume people in your immediate surroundings can hear the music, but unless you're listening to rock and roll at ear-bleeding volumes in bed while your significant other is trying to sleep, this shouldn't be a problem. All in all, a great investment in musical enjoyment.


be sure to get a high quality amplifier...   December 29, 2001
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

Sennheiser HD600 is one of the best headphones in the market, which offers exceptional sound quality at a price much lower than one has to pay for comparably good speakers. They are often compared to Grado RS-1 or Sony MDR-F1. Although it is extremely hard to find a place where you can compare all three of these top-of-the-line models, those people who had this chance agree that the difference in sound quality is so subtle that it is a matter of personal taste which one to prefer.

The sound quality of HD600 has been discussed in several reviews posted before mine. I can only add that the best way to hear the difference is to listen to the classical music or to jazz, where natural sound is paramount. Electronic music will sound good also in much cheaper headphones. There are several things which I learned from my experience that were not mentioned in reviews posted before mine:

1. Break-in period. As taken from the box, HD600 sounded not better than $7 headphones from a local drug store, and I was very close to returning them. However, I accidentally found on the web that headphones need a break-in period, i.e., they are supposed to play for about 24 hours before they can reach their full sound potential. The sound quality transformation after the break-in period was truly amazing, and the difference between HD600 and cheap headphones became striking!

2. With a 300 Ohms impedance, HD600 need quite some power. Neither portable CD players, nor computer sound cards can drive them - the volume is low, and the bass is gone completely. This was the only thing about HD600 that I got disappointed with - they can be used only with a dedicated high quality amplifier. It is possible that headphone jacks on DVD and CD players may also be not adequate. I ended up buying a Creek OBH-11 headphone amplifier in order to have something that can drive my HD600 and provides the sounds quality that I expected.

3. Many people say that HD600 is very comfortable. Frankly, I saw more comfortable headphones. It may be a matter of the head size (I am a big guy), but I would be happy if the pressure on my ears could be reduced. I am getting tired of wearing HD600 after about 40-50 minutes.

But the sound IS great !!!