Massdrop Sennheiser HD-6xx (aka. HD-650) $199

Thanks for your quick and informative response.

I will be using these at home if I purchase them and thought I could use the HD6xx for music using the DAP and flac's I have loaded onto it. In addition I planed on using them with my PC for a variety of tasks.

You have me reconsidering now and I will be looking at portable friendly headphones for around the house. I was attracted to the quality and listening reviews of these as well as the modest price. I have a few low cost portables now as well as a set of Beats solo 2?

I have a set of Ultrasone and matching amp that has been sitting around for 10 years but they are at my winter residence and I won't be there until April.

Thanks again.

 

You are correct, but luckily amps have become fairly affordable as well. The Schiit Magni, Massdrop Objective 2, and Monoprice Cavalli Liquid Spark are all getting fairly rave reviews for around $100 each. It does bump up the initial investment, but it's still below the street price of the HD-650s alone.

 

I concur with other that it won't sound very good without an additional amp. Another option for an affordable amp was just announced today, the atom by JDS Labs for $99: JDS Labs - Atom Amp

 

Running mine straight from a new Macbook Air at work and they sound great. Would they sound better with dedicated amp? Probably, but for listening to music at work with TIDAL they sound wonderful.

 

so tempted. don't like the fact that the cable is so short, not good when your system is across the room...

 

Buy an extension cable.

 

true...they aren't cheap for good ones though...

 

I always have a bad feeling with these Massdrop things... isn't is how manufacturers get rid of their B-stock? Why would they sell A quality products for less?

 

no, Massdrop makes small modifications to the items and then has the company produce them for massdrop, at least that's my understanding. could just be a color change or a cord type.

 

But there is no guarantee that the manufacturers uses the same high-quality parts as they would in their own production, isn't it?

(I'm not trying to dismiss this, I'm just curious. No one gives away products for a discount when they can sell the same product for full price. And I've never seen really high-end stuff on Massdrop).

 

that could be very true, no idea honestly. I'm still on the fence as i've never used headphones - nobody complains about my music.

 

I got a pair of them - they sound great!

 

I bought the HD-6XX in the first drop. While I was waiting I acquired a pair of used HD-600 on eBay to use with my Pono in balanced mode. The HD-6XX sounded pretty much the same, so I sold the HD-600.

Still happily using the HD-6XX with both the Pono and a Schiit Asgard. They are my favorite headphones I have ever owned, after trying Sennheiser HD598 SE, Grado SR80, Sony MDR7506, AT M50x, AKG Q701, and Koss DJ100 with pad modification. I'm done buying headphones.

 

So there are a few options/theories about how MD hits the price points. Pure profit models (the company already recouped design, tooling, and R&D cost with regular models, so all additional sales are pure profit), old stock/moving to new designs, bulk buys (more than any normal dealer would buy at once), shorter warranty periods, down scaling packaging and accessories, etc.

Another big thing you’ll notice is the original mfg never promotes the MD versions. Part of the deal is MD gets the cash, puts in the order, markets the products themselves and delivers. All the company has to do is serve as an OEM. I wouldn’t be surprised if MD is even tasked with designing and providing packaging.

All those things very quickly add up on global products. MD really has done a great job proving it’s valuable to both parties and building a community around it. I think in the beginning it was a little more questionable from time to time, but I think they’ve done something unique in the luxury hobby industry, not just headphones.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I know that many people are happy with their MD products, but I'm still not sure what to make out of them.

Also, for me living in the UK, shipping from US and having an US warranty is not that appealing.

 

Just pulled the trigger today. I have read nothing but positive things about these headphones.

The only "good" headphones I have experience with is a pair of modded Grado SR80i's.

I also have on the way a Nobsound 6J9 hybrid amp, which has also gotten positive reviews. For just $46.99 shipped, I'm skeptical, but we'll see. It will at least hold me over while I'm saving up for a big boy headphone amp.

 

I ordered a pair this weekend too; looking forward to trying them out. I’m not sure what I’m going to use for the headphone amp and DAC yet. After doing some initial research (including reading this thread and some similar ones) I’m considering a Schiit Vali 2 hybrid tube amp and Modi Multibit DAC, which fits within my preferred budget of $500 or so. But there are some other things on Massdrop that looked interesting (though not all are currently available), like the Massdrop x THX AAA 789, Massdrop x Alex Cavalli Liquid Carbon X, DarkVoice 336SE OTL, etc. I don’t have any experience with headphone amps so I’m still just figuring out what I need to know. Like you I’ve also thought about getting something inexpensive and thus low risk for the short term, we’ll see.

 

The plastic on the headband of mine broke when removing the phones from my head. Contacted Sennheiser to see if this is under warranty as they come with a 2 year warranty. Otherwise, 6xx are pretty good headphones for the money.

 

My least favorite style of headphones.

 

I prefer Bose-canceling booze!

 

Hmmm - looks like good performance at nice price point! I’m currently running Pono in balanced mode w HD-6xx. It sounds really nice but volume at max is just marginally enough. What cables would i use for balanced mode, from Pono-to-amp and amp-to-Senns? I am using balanced cable w 3.5mm plugs for Senns.

 

I received the 6xx a few weeks ago - could not be happier. They’re a little tight on my head but they’re loosening up. They really are superior in “listenability” - very smooth without losing any or much detail. They respond really well to EQ from SonarWorks, but are stunning all by themselves. I would have to get something fundamentally different, like planars, to feel I’d be doing any better. Even then...it would likely be just different, not better.

 

Have you tried gently bending the metal to widen their grip?

 

Yes, but maybe too carefully! Don’t want to break my Xmas toy too early. Thanks for be video!

 

Try the Massdrop Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee with the Pono with balanced headphone cables. The HD58X is 150 ohms and the Pono is better at driving 150 ohms than the 300 ohm HD6XX. You'll be able to get enough volume with the HD58X without maxing out the volume slider. The HD58X is much better suited to Pono use than the HD6XX.