Sennheiser Faithfuls

[manek]

Been an ardent Sennheiser fan and user for decades now.
Started with a headphone that my father had brought for me from Germany in the 80’s. It was called HD50. My first headphone and It was an over the ear headphone slightly open backed, probably most unheard of model that I used with the walkmans, diskmans, etc until year 2000. For those times it was devine. It would have lasted longer in my hands if it wasnt flicked/stolen. So I was spoilt on the Sennheiser sound from the start.

My next pair was the 580’s which I got post that which I still have and they still work like a charm and are my favs.

Been through thick and thin with them. One ear pad and one cable change. Thats all.

I still grin like a Cheshire cat when I listen to them. I do use the 600 and 650 as well but always come back to the 580’s. Its their overall presentation thats got me hooked till today. I am not a detail or a soundstage freak. These are secondary. I don't even do crossfeed. For me its music per say, timbre and the size and scale of the musical presentation that counts.

Other brands like focal, AT, Beyer I use only because of portable devices.

Any other Sennheiser folks here and whats your story or excuse ?

To my best guess, the headphone has to come from the Preamp..how else will you adjust the Headphone Volume ?

Just Fyi, I used to use my senn 580 direct from my dac(line out) for years. The volume was just right for me. The transparency and whatever else you looking for goes up by another level. And I use only one source.

So preamps in a very niche case are not needed.

Just fyi. Not sure what the final use case is for headphones.

 

[arj]

Just Fyi, I used to use my senn 580 direct from my dac(line out) for years. The volume was just right for me. The transparency and whatever else you looking for goes up by another level. And I use only one source.

So preamps in a very niche case are not needed.

Just fyi. Not sure what the final use case is for headphones.

That should depend on the impedance and sensitivity of the headphone. A high impedance/low sensitivity might make it difficult. eg I have a Senn 600 and for that an amp makes the world of a difference but for my DT990 direct out is loud enough and then some more. the 580 is easy to drive hence the direct must be fine.

i must confess on my headphone knowledge bern really weak ! asked someone who was an expert and went for it. (BTW i just realized mine is the 650 and not 600) and that its best driven with an amp so do that with a chord Mojo and that sounds far better with a punchier bass and richer midrange than direct of a media player.

 

[manek]

That should depend on the impedance and sensitivity of the headphone. A high impedance/low sensitivity might make it difficult. eg I have a Senn 600 and for that an amp makes the world of a difference but for my DT990 direct out is loud enough and then some more. the 580 is easy to drive hence the direct must be fine.

Could be. Hence I mentioned that it just depends on the use case. Btw I’ve read that the HD 580 and 600 are known to have the same drivers and internal housing….though I haven't tried running my HD 600 on the same dac direct but I assume it would do just as well.

i must confess on my headphone knowledge bern really weak ! asked someone who was an expert and went for it. (BTW i just realized mine is the 650 and not 600) and that its best driven with an amp so do that with a chord Mojo and that sounds far better with a punchier bass and richer midrange than direct of a media player.

Yes, the 650’s had a different voice coil and diaphragm material compared to 580/600. They also scale very well across the headphone amps ranges including tube amps.
So that could make a difference. It also had a new cable. So folks like me swap out the grills and cables of the 580 for the 600/650 and they come close .

But we digress. Will let the thread come back to its original discussion point.

 

[Shammi Dang]

I have used two Sennheiser headphones. One is wired one HD202. This i bought in 2007. Still works fine but padding is gone so not usable. Another is wireless one RS 120II. This is still running strong after say 8-9 years. Works on some radio frequency maybe FM. I use this mainly for TV programs. I love this headphone as it is very clear with good vocals and balanced sound. No doubt Sennheiser make very good headphones for every budget range. Real value for money.

 

[manek]

I have used two Sennheiser headphones. One is wired one HD202. This i bought in 2007. Still works fine but padding is gone so not usable. Another is wireless one RS 120II. This is still running strong after say 8-9 years. Works on some radio frequency maybe FM. I use this mainly for TV programs. I love this headphone as it is very clear with good vocals and balanced sound. No doubt Sennheiser make very good headphones for every budget range. Real value for money.

True they do provide good value or to some great value. The people I know of or have spoken to, some may may have moved on to other brands but they still speak of their sennheisers very fondly. Many have still kept them. That I think speaks volumes about the brand, product and engineering that went into them.

And the fact that they work decades at near to original performance is very encouraging for buyers.

 

[fLUX]

The Sennheiser's are absolutely vfm headphones. As with most audio products they are absolutely loved by many and equally hated by some for its signature.

I own their HD650 and HD800.
I got the Hd6xx initially and did not really like how they sounded, turned out it was my chain back then in 2019 ( Smsl SU8 DAC & Matrix Audio HPA-3B amp), sold them off. Post that I got it again 2 years back, have tried them with various amps since then and they sound heavenly with the OTL & SET amps. As @arj mentioned the scalability of the 6 series is unparalleled as you get better amps, they sound plenty loud out of most amps but sing like angels only with the right ones (ones they havw a synergy with).

I got the HD800 for a throwaway price thanks to @vkalia. After using them for quiet some time, did not feel the need to own any of the other expensive headphones so cleared off quiet a few from my collection. Not that they HD800 betters all of them but for my usage HD800 seems to do all the work.

 

[SUDHEERMADDUKURI]

Prefer Bose and Sony somehow than senn. Please do check as preferred

 

[Mayasandra_l]

Have the HD599 and HD6xx amongst others and drive them with zen stack and mojo2. Many knowledgeable members have recommended me a tube hp amp to pair with 6xx and I have been delaying the purchase decision. With the zen stack and mojo2 driving the 6xx, I really like the sound signature. An alternative to 6xx is the ATH R70x. A very close match and dare I say, AT is a bit ahead in terms of the clarity especially when paired with mojo2.

 

[saurabhgamer]

Using 560s and comparing them even with hd 650 and 800s and let me tell 560s is better sounding headphone than other two in terms of sound clarity

 

[arj]

Using 560s and comparing them even with hd 650 and 800s and let me tell 560s is better sounding headphone than other two in terms of sound clarity

Interesting..which amp are you running the 560 and 800 with ?

 

[saurabhgamer]

Interesting..which amp are you running the 560 and 800 with ?

IFI AUDIO - ZEN DAC V2​

Also using three wireless headphone
1. Sennheiser pxc 550 II
2. Sony wh 1000xm4
3. Bose nc 700
And obviously sennheiser pcx 550 II is far ahead

Dont buy newly launched sennheiser momentum 4 headphone instead buy sennheiser pxc 550 II they are better in comfort and same soundquality level but noise cancellation is better in momentum 4

 

[manek]

Have the HD599 and HD6xx amongst others and drive them with zen stack and mojo2. Many knowledgeable members have recommended me a tube hp amp to pair with 6xx and I have been delaying the purchase decision. With the zen stack and mojo2 driving the 6xx, I really like the sound signature. An alternative to 6xx is the ATH R70x. A very close match and dare I say, AT is a bit ahead in terms of the clarity especially when paired with mojo2.

Dont the ifi people have a amp made especially dor the hd sennheiser 580/600/650 phones ? Do you use that ?

They works brilliantly with tubes too. I was lucky to get a 6sn7 based(tube rectified) headphone amp by viren bakshi(lyrita) with three selectable output impedances. They drive the phones really well.

 

[arj]

Can the Zen DAC drive high impedance phones ? my knowledge here is limited

I have heard the 598 , 650, 660 and the 800 on a Feliks euphoria amp with a Metrum Dac and the 800 seemed leagues ahead in clarity. The 660 has more details than the 650 and the 598 is very musical but in the end not enough details. The 650 sounds the most balanced to me as the 800 was not one I could hear for too long.

But again I am not a headphone guy and hear the 650 once in a while with a Chord Mojo as well a LTA MZ2 And it sounds different with each hence assume it is very amp specific.

 

[Mayasandra_l]

Dont the ifi people have a amp made especially dor the hd sennheiser 580/600/650 phones ? Do you use that ?

They works brilliantly with tubes too. I was lucky to get a 6sn7 based(tube rectified) headphone amp by viren bakshi(lyrita) with three selectable output impedances. They drive the phones really well.

I purchased the old zen V1 with the zen amp and am a happy camper. I did listen to V2 with the senn specific amp, but could not discern any significant difference for me to change. Maybe it's my ears or the thingy in between them.
As I said, many of the HP connoisseurs on this forum have suggested various tube amps for 6xx (Felix, Anode Acoustic, Schiit both OTL and with output tranformers) and am yet to pull the trigger. Maybe some day the Anode; who knows.

 

[manek]

I purchased the old zen V1 with the zen amp and am a happy camper. I did listen to V2 with the senn specific amp, but could not discern any significant difference for me to change. Maybe it's my ears or the thingy in between them.
As I said, many of the HP connoisseurs on this forum have suggested various tube amps for 6xx (Felix, Anode Acoustic, Schiit both OTL and with output tranformers) and am yet to pull the trigger. Maybe some day the Anode; who knows.

Anode would be a good bet. They are built well as per forum members and perform well too….. one also has hope in getting after sales service if you need it at all. Reading other forum members issues with service one needs to mentally be prepared that when one buys a product after sales service will be non existant so one buys accordingly.

Can the Zen DAC drive high impedance phones ? my knowledge here is limited

I have heard the 598 , 650, 660 and the 800 on a Feliks euphoria amp with a Metrum Dac and the 800 seemed leagues ahead in clarity. The 660 has more details than the 650 and the 598 is very musical but in the end not enough details. The 650 sounds the most balanced to me as the 800 was not one I could hear for too long.

But again I am not a headphone guy and hear the 650 once in a while with a Chord Mojo as well a LTA MZ2 And it sounds different with each hence assume it is very amp specific.

Hearing appreciable differences with each amp is a very good thing in a way….
Incidentally my beyer dt770 pro ends up painting a picture with a similar brush with any amp I have tried so its sonic signature seems to dominate over the sound signature of the amps. That dip post 3k and subsequent rise around 5k and onwards seems to be the culprit.

 

[arj]

Hearing appreciable differences with each amp is a very good thing in a way….
Incidentally my beyer dt770 pro ends up painting a picture with a similar brush with any amp I have tried so its sonic signature seems to dominate over the sound signature of the amps. That dip post 3k and subsequent rise around 5k and onwards seems to be the culprit.

ha ha..i have the exact same experience with a Beyer DT990 pro. its 12+ years old but hear the same signature from each of the above amps as well as directly driven by phone laptop. i find the Bass rather overbearing and could never put my finger on what was wrong with the treble .

 

[manek]

ha ha..i have the exact same experience with a Beyer DT990 pro. its 12+ years old but hear the same signature from each of the above amps as well as directly driven by phone laptop. i find the Bass rather overbearing and could never put my finger on what was wrong with the treble

The freq response on treble tells some of the story.
Yes the bass is bloated except for orchestral music where it adds weight to the presentation. Hearing the concert organ or church organ on it is so much fun as you need the bloat and weight. There is another freq response bump between 100-300hz.
Try to eq it if possible and find out if the bass issue can be tamed.

For me last year was a revelation in terms of simple mods to a headphone i.e changing the ear pads and cables for the AT-M50x. It sounds more open so the original freq response may have changed. I intend to try some such changes with my DT770 in the future.

Hence I use HD600/650 parts in my 580 like cables and pads. Next is Grills. If the drivers fit then why not

 

[arj]

The freq response on treble tells some of the story.
Yes the bass is bloated except for orchestral music where it adds weight to the presentation. Hearing the concert organ or church organ on it is so much fun as you need the bloat and weight. There is another freq response bump between 100-300hz.
Try to eq it if possible and find out if the bass issue can be tamed.

For me last year was a revelation in terms of simple mods to a headphone i.e changing the ear pads and cables for the AT-M50x. It sounds more open so the original freq response may have changed. I intend to try some such changes with my DT770 in the future.

Hence I use HD600/650 parts in my 580 like cables and pads. Next is Grills. If the drivers fit then why not

That makes so much sense. I use it to watch Movies

Any recommended cable ? have been wondering on changing it for the HD650....

 

[manek]

That makes so much sense. I use it to watch Movies

Any recommended cable ? have been wondering on changing it for the HD650....

Not sure of the 650 cable will fit on the headphone side.

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I contacted these guys for a custom braided occ cable for my AT mx50(dont ask me why). The cable cost as much as the headphone but there was additional clarity. Write to them

 

[Mayasandra_l]

That makes so much sense. I use it to watch Movies

Any recommended cable ? have been wondering on changing it for the HD650....

Hi Arjun,
I replaced my 6xx cables to a balanced one with 4.4 mm connector made by Niranjan from Ear Audio (no affiliation). I found that the clarity of hp did improve with the replacement cable. They don't cost big moolah as well.