General Headphone Audio

mrk said:
Well here's some good news to wake up from the few hours sleep that i could manage in this heat... Luxsin are sending me a new one because the samples sent out were old revisions, they say changes were made to the hardware in the final units. It's too trivial for this unit to be sent to China for analysis so said just keep both.

Guess I have a fulltime reference DAC/headphones amp/pre-amp now after all then and I can do a full teardown of the early one.

Edit*
Alternatively, if anyone here wants the early one to use as a DAC/pre-amp , you're welcome to it, just cover postage. I will be selling on my DX5 II and using those funds to buy the K13 R2R if FiiO don't pull through and send a sample unit to check out.
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Yes please! I’ll love to! (The X9 you mean?).
 
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Rroff said:
The blue marbled version with built date around 2010 to 2021 the memory foam goes funny after about 10 years and the sponge over the speakers starts to fall apart :( earlier ones and the ones with monochrome headbands supposedly are more durable (slightly different headband foam design but my oldest pair are still firm whereas my 2015 pair the foam has gone limp).

Sound difference is minimal and mostly comes down to the different materials IMO but the old old pair of HD600s (date unknown) I have definitely sounds darker than my 2015 pair and newer ones again aren't quite as dark as my 2015. I actually prefer the 2015 ones for my listening tastes they suit best and I prefer them for my listening tastes over the 650s.
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I remember someone describing them as 'LEGO headphones' because of how easy they are to take apart and mod/replace. I suppose the only bit which could be tricky to replace is the foam piece in the cage on the rear of the driver (i.e. one foam piece for the 600, 2 for the 650 and a thicker piece for the 6XX). If that does deteriorate then getting that part wrong is going to impact the sound and then you either need to consider a mod like the custom cans one, or new drivers I suppose. In the short-time I've owned a growing HD 6x0 collection I already ended up with a spare ear pad set, foam discs (these were stupidly cheap) and spare Tripowin GranVia (was on offer for £36) so it's not difficult to amass spare parts.

Part of me is tempted to look at a second-hand HD 600 for the experience of owning an older one. But with second-hand prices and the inevitable servicing it's probably going to the be the same price for a new one with a warranty. Although I'm not in a hurry so I may just take my time seeing what's out there.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
I really should have bought those HD650 in HK huh? Lol

I think it was £100?
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:)

The 650 doesn't quite seem to hold the price of the 600 on the second-hand market (in my limited experience, but might make sense given 'most' are vocal about preferring the latter). But with both being available at £230-240 new I'd argue they are a great price even now given inflation etc. And as long as they continue to sell then Sennheiser should continue to make spare parts and third-parties will support them with accessories/mods.
 
The reviews for the Nothing Headphones has been dropped. It seems to be quite good, not class leading good but also not class leading price. Supposed to be comparable to last gen stuff like XM4/5, with a good PEQ in the app too.

Not foldable like the XM4/6 though but the hinge is metal and build quality looks good too. Might be worth checking out in a year or so when they are on discount, as with all Nothing headphones tend to do. I have never paid full price for them.

 
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Raymond Lin said:
The reviews for the Nothing Headphones has been dropped. It seems to be quite good, not class leading good but also not class leading price. Supposed to be comparable to last gen stuff like XM4/5, with a good PEQ in the app too.

Not foldable like the XM4/6 though but the hinge is metal and build quality looks good too. Might be worth checking out in a year or so when they are on discount, as with all Nothing headphones tend to do. I have never paid full price for them.

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They're a rip off at £299 imo, XM4 can be got for £100 less
 
Zeos trip from this year's Munich high end, would be nice to go to the next one, some really cool stuff to see there. Assuming another one gets held if they find a new venue...

 
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So following on from the 'missed' HD 660S2's the other day I was all set to follow the advice from @mrk @Things change I've changed and that random eBay seller and forget about them. But over the weekend I spotted a another one for sale and you know how this ends. Initially priced too high, then relisted, I made an offer just over £270. Although more than I wanted to spend I figured I should be able to resell fairly easily for a small loss if I didn't like them. There is a forthcoming sale that might see a discount, but I doubt that breaches £300.

Turned up today. Was having some small work done on the house so waiting around which allowed me some time to unbox and test. Look basically new and unused as noted from the auction.

I tested with the iFi Signature stack first. Everything I read is true; bass extension is better, slightly more soundstage and imaging is noticeable more granular. Vocals blend in more, but there is more detail on the 660S2. However like the 6XX, the 660S2 really improves on my APOS Gremlin Tube Amp. Everything just opens up. A-B testing against the 6XX is difficult because of the slight SPL differences, but on Landslide by Fleetwood Mac the guitar strings and vocals have a graininess that isn't there on the S2. Subtle though and these headphones are very close in their strengths, weaknesses and characteristics.

Due to the differences I found the 660S2 works better with some songs. I do think this is a better 'all-rounder' HD 6x0 headphone and reminds me of the HD 58X in that regards. Watching films for example. And I'd imagine these are better for gaming than the classic 6x0's. But really need to spend more time with them.

Took a picture of them all lined up on a keyboard stand, which probably demonstrates how much of a problem I've developed! One HD 6x0 very conspicuous by its absence.

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  • Wow
Reactions: mrk
mrk said:
Sennheiser's #1 customer :D
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Not quite. :)

There are some people absolutely fixated on this classic line, with JAR650's and all the other variants and modifications. I'm not at that point, but I'm so far down the rabbit hole that getting a 600 is more likely to happen than not at this point.
 
Timber said:
Not quite. :)

There are some people absolutely fixated on this classic line, with JAR650's and all the other variants and modifications. I'm not at that point, but I'm so far down the rabbit hole that getting a 600 is more likely to happen than not at this point.
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600 is essential, it's imo the best one so you better get a move on and add it to your collection!
 
Things change I've changed said:
600 is essential, it's imo the best one so you better get a move on and add it to your collection!
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Raymond Lin said:
How can you have all the others and not the HD600?

Just get that one and forget the rest! :p
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Hot take - I already own the best one :D

Boring answer - I'm sure I will pick up a 600 one day. I do have a preference for neutral-warm and therefore the 650 was the obvious one to start with.
 
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