Thank you for taking the time and making this video. This has helped me in making the right choice!

So to sum it up....Variations on a theme. I have a pair of HD580s (for like 15+ years). Replaced pads and band with 600 replacements. Still going strong. Great review by the way. Cheers!

This was a really good comparison, I love videos comparing these classics. I like the 600 the best out of all Sennheisers when paired with a amplifier. Plugged into an iPad, I like the easier to drive 58X

Watching this video wearing the HD650's sounds quite nice! Great content, just subbed!

Great review! Got 600. Wow, they are great! Chose them over 660s.

I bought the 6XX and very happy with my purchase! Highly recommend!

The thing that sold me on the 600’s over the others is it’s awesome ability to scale. A lot of people say the order of $ spent should go HP.. Amp.. DAC, but the 600’s are so good at scaling to quality sources. Run it through a $3k amp with good synergy and it will sound like a $3k headphone. Even the sound stage can come out subtlety with the right set up without sounding too airy

I have the 6XX and I love the warmth of them. I saw an old 580 (not Jubilee) on eBay for only $149 and I had to give in and cop, like you said, it's not that common on the used market.

Finally! The HD600 and HD650 comparison. Thanks man.

Thanks a bunch man.

Subscribed! I really like your reviews man. Clear, concise, very enjoyable to watch... Keep it up! After comparing the HD600 and 6xx directly out of my O2 amp and Fiio X5 as DAC, I came to the conclusion that HD600 sounds a bit too bright to me and bass light... While HD6xx is nearly perfect in terms of tonality. Don't you think that on solid state gear, HD650/6xx actually sounds more accurate - closer to the original recording? Because listening to EDM on the HD600, I don't feel that's quite how it should sound - too bright, not enough oomph in the lows, kinda harsh. HD6xx on the other hand is nearly perfect just slightly warm and a little rolled off in the bass... But perfectly smooth, rhythmic and just sounds... right. Now, for acoustic music, I do feel the HD650 may be a bit recessed in the highs, but I think that's more of a preference thing. With EDM or pop, I really feel like HD6xx is objectively superior. Don't even know how you can prove that, but I think it's just better for sure - more like the original recording lol So in sum, I guess my point is that HD6xx/650 is more true to the original recording than the HD600. Probably because with headphone drivers being so close to the ear, you actually need some emphasis in the bass and recession in the treble for music to sound natural.

That was awesome. How come you only have 3.7K subs???? Your content is great.

I like how you wear a blue plug in your left ear and red in right, kind of like L/R earbud indicators.

the best reviewer for musical instruments ever (for me and for 9,6k people)

I have my 20+ (from mid 90's?) year old pair of HD 580's and the HD 600's which I purchased around 2011. I replaced the pads, inner felt and cable on the 580's. The parts were purchased directly from Sennheiser after the 580 was discontinued. The replacement pads matched the original 580 pads. The 600 pads are uncomfortably warm and almost itchy in comparison. Even though I have used them for so many years, with the worn parts replaced the 580's could last another 20+ years. The 580's also have never been head-griping like the 600's. I rarely use the HD 600's. I have not listened to a pair of 650's but I prefer the sound from the 580's over the 600's as there is more clarity in the upper range and the sound stage is wider.

The HD580 is exactly same parts catalog number as HD600. the drivers are interchangeable. I did mine after losing the right side one and sennheiser shipped a driver of HD600 and specifically explained its the same Cat # of the 580. the HD580 were re-branded as HD600 at 1997 in order to widen the model numbers range for them to be able to introduce new 500 series models below their reference model (that is something the old guys between us know and remember well). so they renamed the reference as 600 and solve the problem. the only difference between 580 and 600 are the grills: they changed the plastic once on the 580 to metal on the 600. the reason was aesthetic wise. the draw back was a small sonic characteristic change, but it was negligible, and barely measurable as well. Tested them both back and forth blindly - couldn't hear a distinguishable difference. some will say the plastic once on the 580's are less interacting with sound than the metal once on the 600, as plastic is less sound reflecting material.

Crap! This is a damn good review, brother. I'm still on the fence between the 600 and the 650. Bur, the thing is, I ordered the 600s last night. Now, there is still time to cancel and order the 650s; but I can't think of a reason why I should. I'm a newb who just ended a bad relationship with my Hifiman HE 400s. I had to replace the cable and the pads, and then the plastic broke. I appreciate that you mentioned the cables and provided a link. I think I'll sit on my order, and I look forward to my new HD600s!

I'm thinking of upgrading from my M40x to the 650 as I understand they would be more 'musical' overall. Could you please tell me which amplifier you use with your 650? Thank you.

my 600s sounded real good on my restored fisher 500c, so I'm seconding what he says here about the 600s: great with a high quality tube amp.

I bought my HD580 over 30 years ago and I still use them.

Started with HD555. Went to HD600. Loved both. Maybe loved HD555 more. But now considering getting HD650/6XX.

Hello, DMS. Since you are a big fan of HD600 & HD650... If you can swing it, you should consider buying the Massdrop x Alex Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp (CTH). I love it most when feeding the amp a signal from the Chord MOJO, while using the Dekoni Hybrid pads for the HD650. I know the MOJO is spendy, but the CTH is not, and I'd be surprised if you did not have great things to say about that combo. That's all I got. Take care.

so you mentioned preventing blowing your drivers. how could you tell if you were going to acheive that. i ended up getting the 6xx a bit ago and im pretty new to high quality audio and it seemed like a bargian opportunity to enter it. any tips you have for taking proper care of your sennheisers would be great thanks. also great vid i learned alot about my headset.

I can see how the 600 and the 650 differ subtlely. I have the 600 now and definitely enjoy the mids. Should I have the 650s, I guess I'd be going back and forth on listening mood :D

I had sennheisers in 1975. The 650 provides superb listening. almost as relaxing as Quad 57s. I have the 599s good but not in the same league. The 580s I had for 20yrs the connecters became bad as many have , and one day no sound, I Iooked inside and all the 4 fine wires to the phones were *cut", local lightening I guess.

I don't find any of these fatiguing. I've owned the hd 600's for a really long time and it IS neutral as hell, but its treble isn't harsh at all. It's a really relaxed sound that I can listen to basically the entire day. Keep in mind that I'm pretty sensitive to treble so the dt990's are a bit too bright for me.

Sweet review man. I just bought the AKG K7XX's for gaming and they aren't bad, but, I really would like to own a pair of Sennheisers. Subscribed👍

I was just trying out my HD660s which just arrived this morning. I actually was not particularly impressed at first. HOWEVER, I swapped the pads on my HD650s onto the HD660s. The sound immediately changed like a plot twist! I literally yelled "HOLY CRAP"! I don't like them with the brand new stock pads. So, I'm hoping to wear down the new pads as soon as possible.

Your videos have so much information that not a lot of people can catch up.

What will you say on the Hd700 on a tube amp? And what should I buy next to the Hd800? The 650 or 600?? Great Channel BTW easy to listen and very learning.

Hi...I appreciate your chanel and your work !!! Please make a review of Hifiman HE400S...thx !

I'm actually aiming to get an Open pair of headphones and ideally over-ear as well. This had me set my sights on the HD650's but due to the price I'm getting swayed by the other headphones you've made videos of like the T50RP (Semi-open) and M560's. Do you think it's worth it to get one of the planar ones instead or should I still go with the 650's? Ideally I want to use it for gaming, movies and mostly music (don't really listen to classical much). Which pair do you think would not give me an urge to buy another pair soon after?

I am really interesting in seeing a comparison of the HD599 to the HD560s.

My HD580 is indeed a healthy mix between the two. A little better bass and less shouty mids than my now long gone HD600s and brighter treble than my friend's very dark and gooey HD650s. HD580/600 pads are shallow and HD650 pads are thick BTW so all 3 headphones can be tuned a little within the stock pads. I left stock pads on mine for now. I tried swapping in the HD600 grills but I can't say I liked the change. The HD580 already sounded better to me than the HD600 and the grills basically made it a 600 so it was pointless for me. They all have slightly different pads and slightly different housing materials. Otherwise they're all internally identical. The 4th and possibly 3rd version 580 have the same drivers as the 1st gen HD600. The 2nd gen HD600 has the same driver as the HD650. So you can see they're all basically the same headphone just adjusted over time. It's not very hard, changing pads and grills, maybe a little padding, to turn a cheapo used HD580 into something closer to either of the other two. You can get one in decent shape used for well under $200 and repad it with generic pads and headband for cheap. It's probably the best one in the line-up because of that.

Nice quick comparison. I wonder if you tried HD 58X Jubilee and what is your opinion on it.

6xx makes the most sense to me. I don't know if any of these are overall better than the other...they are just different. But the value you get from the 6xx makes the most sense to me.

good comparison video massdrop has active drops on the HD6xx and the 58x which do you recommended between the two massdrop prices 58x=149.99 6xx=199.99 Thank you for your reply

Hey @DMS3 TV what was the soundtrack you use in this video?

This is really an old story. Some cans better (a little) in some areas, some better in other areas. All this stuff is subjective as a lot of us already know. Always entertaining to see & listen to though. I've never been sorry I bought the 600's. And that's after listening to the 650's.

Hey DMS, are you still going to release the balanced vs unbalanced Video? Would love to see that. :)

Which would u recommend best for gaming?

I would pick HD600 out of the bunch, just think it is the best. Nice review there.

Still an incredibly helpful video. I concur with all DMS's views here. HD600 for my tube amp. HD650/6xx for my solid state amp. No matter what other phones come and go from my stable, these two remain. You can't go wrong.

Wish you could find an HD 540 or 530. THAT would be a gem of a comparison

auto focus ON POINT finally :D

Tbh I’m happy with any of these headphones. Including the 58x and the 660s. the 580 is sold for 800 Australian dollars, so I’m not looking for a collectible or a vintage. If any of them go under $200 on drop it’s worth buying

Hey man! I love your reviews. I noticed that you're a bass player, I am too; I frequently post "bass covers" on my channel. I currently use the HD 598s, which are great, but I was thinking of upgrading to the HD 600s or 650s but still can't decide. What would you advise is the better headphone for playing bass guitar (direct through my Apogee Duet interface) along with songs? The main thing I'm looking for is clarity and separation. When I used to use closed headphones, my bass playing would sound so smushed together with the song I'm playing along with and I hated that since it was hard to distinguish myself from the recording. When I switched to open headphones it was like a breath of fresh air. The 598s are already satisfying, yet I keep hearing the 600s or 650s would be even better, but which would be better specifically for a bass player? Are they a significant enough step up from the 598s to be worth it for my specific use? I'd even consider the 700s if you think that would be good for my situation. I know the 650s are your personal favorite, but I'm concerned about them being called warmer or darker, since I might not want that when i'm planning to add my own bass guitar to a mix. For me, ideally the song i'm playing along with should be relatively bright sounding to contrast with my bass guitar filling in the low end (I often dip the bass frequency on the song I'm playing along with to get even more of a separation from my intsrument); this makes me think the 600s would be better, yet you also said the 600s have a narrower soundstage...so I'm not sure what's more important. Anyways, your advice would be much appreciated!

How about a follow up including these and the HD660s?

Appreciate it’s an old review but could I ask if any of these models are suitable for listening to classical music please? Thanks

now what is that older headphone hanging directly behind you?

I bought the HD6xx from Massdrop in January 2018. On certain occasions, I'm hearing some buzzing or rattling but only when the volume is a bit louder on piano for example. I am a bit concerned. It is only on the left headphone. Is this a bad driver? If so, are there replacement parts for the HD6xx? Is that something Massdrop offers or Seinheiser?

Where did you get your cables?

Hello there... Could someone tell me what would be the best pick for blues(rock), classic rock, acoustic, folk, and some jazzy tunes? HD580, HD600, HD650, HiFiman 400SE, or... sth else entirely?

What tube amp and dac combo do you recommend for the HD600s?

I hear a lot of classical music ranging from solo Violin to big choir works. Right now I'm looking to upgrade from my dt 990 600 Ohm. Would you recommend getting the HD 600 or are there other headphones I should consider? I drive them with my creative soundblaster AE7 Soundcard.

Witch one of these for long period of just gaming ??

Which Tube Amp should i buy for the HD 600 if im going to price to value ratio

HD6XX worth getting even though i have the M1060?

Why is he wearing that 6XX in the begining? Just as a neck-warmer? Or does he want to show-off with his wireless-version?

Hey man, did you end up shipping the giveaway items yet?

So how does the 58x compares to the family? Is it good too? Or not? Because theyre the cheapest of the family line of hd 6 series.. Help me decide hehe thanks!

It'd be rad if you could do a similar video but comparing the Hifiman 400/500 line. They kind of seem to be in similar price brackets and similar "series" but for those with a preference to planars.

listening to this on AD1000X's

The HD 600 on a LYR 3 Tube Amp changed my mind about the HD600. Way better now

I have HD600 with fiio e10k. I feel I can get more of these headphones. Can you suggest one tube amp and one solid state which I can consider? ~ 200 $

I recently got the Monolith M1060. Is there any point in getting a Sennheiser 650 or 6XX?

I am undecided between the hd600 and m 1060, but I think all in all the hd600/650 might still be the king from all the things I read and watch, they just do so many things so well! It looks like some extra sub bass added and would be perfect. Thanks for the great comparison!

HD650 is my favorite headphone , so dark clean sound . Everything else is to bright to be clear.

I just joined the drop for the 6xx. However, I have no idea what amp/dac to use with them. Seems like there are a ton of options, but I want to get the most out of them for under $500. Help pls?

I hear fuzzy sound.

So the HD650 and HD6XX sound exactly the same sonically ? Some people say otherwise.

Was really looking for a video like this thanks... I'm relatively new to audiophile scene never really did want to spend much looking for a good pair of headphones but don't know where to start there aren't many places to go and try a pair of sennheisers... I've always stuck to iems, I've tried like the se 530s which didn't last long so stuck with cx 300 for like 8 years.. recently bought re-00 from hifi mans and had a pair of senn 201 looking to go for a one time investment and still stuck between the three? I listen to acoustic, Edm, rock and rnb; I do a lot of gaming as well I'm usually using headphones for 10 hours a day. Looked at your review for the x2's and what I get from them is don't buy em... so... really confused and need some guidance..

So I have the x2's, but I want a pair of these legendary sennheisers. However I just cant decide on either. I can get the 600's for 293 dollars or the 650's for 324 dollars. Would you sway me in either direction? I love your reviews, keep up the good work man.

My 600's have a wider soundstage than my Ireland 650's (which I sold) and my 6XX.

Are the 6xx cables good quality, or would you suggest an upgrade?

What DAC/AMP is recommended for HD 6XX?

Song name???

What is the sound difference on HD580 Precision and HD58X ? Are those both having the same impedance ?

What are the most open headphones you've tried?

What amps are you using?? Tube and solid state.

Please can you be more specific about hd650 vs m1060?

Someone is wrong about Soundstage HD600 vs HD650, you said that HD650 have wider soundstage, but on rtings.com and their mesurements it's much worse in HD650 compare to HD600. www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-600-hd600 - score 6.6 www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-650 - score 6.0

what chair are you using?

from €300 to €600 that's super-hard to see thoses subtiles differences translated by an huge selling-price gap.

Looking forward to the balanced vs the unbalanced issue. Please do a blind listening with multiple people to see if they can hear the the difference between balanced and unbalanced. Here is interesting article benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better Great comparison . IMO lower the backgroud music 10% . Thanks for your insights.

Never tried any of these - going with the 6XX! Using Philips Fidelio X2HR, so I'm curious how they compare

Well, surprise, surprise! HD600 vs HD650 frequency response is here (graph #6 from the top): diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd600-2/ They look identical except a 1-2 dB lift in the midbass on the HD650.. The HD650 measured was also the old version with black screens fitted with new pads. Not sure which HD600 was measured, but judging from the first pic in that review, it was most certainly the new silver screen version and pads were probably in good condition, because reviewer didn't state otherwise: What surprises me the most is that HD650 measures even a bit brighter than the HD600 in the treble and yet most people seem to believe that HD650 is quite a bit darker... And I was surprised when I found my last HD650 a bit bright for me in the treble. lol I was like "WTF, is going on with my ears?!" Turns out HD650s may indeed be brighter than many think, at least with fresh pads. lol I also read that with old, worn pads, even HD600 becomes dark and veiled. lol

Metal571 did a similar review.

Why use a tube amp if you can just use DSP, i.e. through use of a convolver? Combining that with a solid state would decrease the distortion and save you money.

Ha-ha... You've been laying HD 650 on your desk a lot... I've been sleeping in HD 215 for five years, carefully of course, but still. Got my pads worn off too much due to pressure, and that cable bending limiter got broken off in the middle, and now that I think about it, a few ear pads clips got broken, but man - five years sleeping in those phones is an insane abuse.

Please help. HD 650 VS HD 600. I am about to buy HD600, Should I reconsider for HD650?

I’ve heard that the 650 is still better than the mass drop sound wise. What’s your take?

The 580 ,580 jubilee and the 600 have the exact same driver

HD 600 + O2/ODAC combo here.

Needs more zoomin into his face

This is just my personal opinion, but for me the HD650 is just a fucked up version of the HD600. It's certainly not enjoyable to listen to them for too long because of the over-exposed lows that cover the mids and highs. Anyway, thanks for the video. Very nice comparison.

The 580 used a similar driver to the 600 if you mean the exact same driver . If you buy the HD-580 jubilee you are buying an HD-600 minus the ugly

or you could just run Sonarworks Reference and find that all the HD 6 series sound the same....

At $500 the HD700 fits right into this line up and I believe has superior sound and comfort to the 650's. what do you think?

when I saw the title, I thought I was going a bit crazy. metal571 made an exact same video a few days ago: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r7xiqrilq8mnpmw.html anyways, nice and easy to comprehend comparison! it's a shame the 650s are quite expensive where I live, so I'm most likely getting a pair of Fostex T20RPs, do you have any experience with those?