SennHeiser HD 600 + Ipod == ??

[tosehee]

I recently bought a Sennheiser HD 600 in anticipation that I would hear a dramatically better sounds from the headset.

My first impression is... I am really disappointed with the sound that I hear from it. I hear better sounds from less than $100 headsets than this one.. Is it that my iPod + Senneheiser combo is flawed?

If this is the case, what can I do to make the sound better? Do I need to invest in portable amp? or is there better sounding mp3 player that I should invest into?

I am not interested in spending $$$$ for expensive portable amps. I am more interested in listening to "decent" musics that reveals 90% of what this headset is capable of.

Thanks in advance for help in this matter.

 

[sholling]

The HD600s are NOT portable headphones. They need a ton of power to drive them. They will blow you away when tied into a good home system but you really should look at something like the higher end Shures for your iPod.

 

[Adam]

I agree with sholling. My brother has those headphones (which he does not use with his iPods), and he was blown away by them. He's owned other good headphones in the past.

I got the Sennheiser CX300 earbuds for my iPod, and I've been pretty happy with them. They are not cheap, though, at around $60. I have a first generation shuffle, and the background amp hiss that was not audible with the supplied Apple earbuds became very noticeable with the CX300s. However, that hiss is not audible once a song is playing, and the sound was much better IMO than the Apple earbuds. The CX300 come with three different sizes of rubber surrounds for the buds to get a custom fit. Other brands might have the same thing. Definitely try the different sizes, though, as the first one fit my ears but sounded bad to me.

 

[tosehee]

Thanks for the reply.

Is there any portable MP3 players that are powerful enough to drive HD 600? Let me re-phrase. Is there portable Mp3 player that could use 80% to 90% potential of HD 600?

 

[avaserfi]

Your best bet would probably be picking up a portable amp. That would probably cost as much as a new mp3 player and push the cans better.

 

[tosehee]

Your best bet would probably be picking up a portable amp. That would probably cost as much as a new mp3 player and push the cans better.

hrm.. Maybe I should opt for that solution. What kind of amp should I buy? i see so many portable amps ranging from $50 to $999. Is there any good/decent portable amp that is powered through USB or AC Adapter? I hate to swap the batteries and what not.

Thanks.

 

[sholling]

It's going to take a heck of a portable headphone amp to power the 600s. You'll be spending as much as you would on a good set of portable cans.

www.Headphone.com suggests these.
http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-application/ipod/

Here are a few more to look at.
http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-headphone-type/in-ear-monitor-type/

This amp might do it...
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-micro-line/

 

[satish536]

http://www.electric-avenues.com/
Pocket Amp 2

google it, seems to have very good reviews ! i was planning on buying this when i had my Sennheiser HD-555 cans but ended up selling them.

 

[tosehee]

Thanks a bunch.

 

[mazersteven]

This is what you need.

http://www.go-vibe-headphoneamp.com/Home_Page.html

 

[Nick250]

Headphone dot com is mostly snake oil. I would not buy any of their products. You are much better off listening through headphones that work well with your portable. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe it's the Sony MDR-7506 that is well thought of by others on AH for their portables.

Nick

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-7506-Pro-MDR-7506-Headphones/dp/B0002H02ZY/ref=sr_1_59/002-7502174-5076012?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1183215177&sr=1-59

 

[satish536]

Headphone dot com is mostly snake oil. I would not buy any of their products. You are much better off listening through headphones that work well with your portable. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe it's the Sony MDR-7506 that is well thought of by others on AH for their portables.

Nick

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-7506-Pro-MDR-7506-Headphones/dp/B0002H02ZY/ref=sr_1_59/002-7502174-5076012?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1183215177&sr=1-59

Which is why look at the Pocket amp v2 it cost around 60 bucks ! Thats way cheaper than any on headphone.com.

 

[sholling]

Headphone dot com is mostly snake oil. I would not buy any of their products. You are much better off listening through headphones that work well with your portable. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe it's the Sony MDR-7506 that is well thought of by others on AH for their portables.

Nick

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-7506-Pro-MDR-7506-Headphones/dp/B0002H02ZY/ref=sr_1_59/002-7502174-5076012?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1183215177&sr=1-59

Actually headphone makes pretty good products. But more important their headphone reviews are very useful if nothing else for comparison purposes.

 

[mazersteven]

Actually headphone makes pretty good products. But more important their headphone reviews are very useful if nothing else for comparison purposes.

They also have good prices, and sales on headphones, and amps.

 

[Adam]

Headphone dot com is mostly snake oil. I would not buy any of their products.

Hi, Nick. I was wondering if you would explain that comment. Seems like others here are happy with that company. I'm just trying to understand. Thanks.

 

[mazersteven]

Hi, Nick. I was wondering if you would explain that comment. Seems like others here are happy with that company. I'm just trying to understand. Thanks.

Ya, me too.

 

[zhimbo]

Headphone dot com is mostly snake oil.

"Mostly"? No way. They have tons of great products and great information. On the other hand, they probably push amplification a little too strongly (they make and sell amps, though - duh), have some overly-expensive cables, and hold some common but almost certainly bogus break-in beliefs.

I'd buy from them in a heartbeat, though (and have). It's not like they're Machin* Dyn*mica or something.

Their mobile amps are slick little devices - the BitHead is a sound card, dual-headphone amp, and includes their "crossfeed" feature, and for a reasonable price, IMO.

Their $4000 Max Line...well, OK, that seems a little excessive.

 

[zhimbo]

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=3&graphID[]=237&graphID[]=135&graphID[]=303

As an example of great information from HeadRoom, here's the impedence values for Apple iPod earbuds, Grado SR60s (an easy-to-drive full size set) and the Senn HD580 (which is, I think, very similar to the HD650's). Good indicator that the high-end Senns aren't really meant for portable use...

 

[Nick250]

Ya, me too.

At the bottom of the post is what I would get if it were my money.

I revisited the Headphone site and this is what I came away with. The hype and descriptions of the products seem kinda nonsensical to me, but what is snake oil to me may be audio Nirvana to you. It's your ears and your money.

To make my Senns 580HDs perform their best it seems I need this amp for $2299. Then they need to be "re cabled" for $300 It does not have a DAC, so there is another $399 for the cheap one http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-home-line/

Never mind, I just found the Max Line at $3000 & $4000.
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-max-line/
Forget about previous one from the "home-line"

Quoted from Headphone dot com and edited for brevity:

"HeadRoom Home Balanced Amp
The sound is transparent, articulate, and authoritative; a solid move up from essentially the same electronics in the Home Amp (minus the inverting channel electronics) driving unbalanced headphones. incredibly deep and wide soundstage image which can only be described as totally immersive. The music appears perfectly formed within your sound mind as a wholly enveloping, completely coherent sonic embrace that surrounds the listener with a fully integrated musical landscape simply unachievable in single-ended headphones. Frankly, it's breathtaking stuff even for us jaded long-time audiophiles. It's well worth the added hassle of re-cabling headphones to true balanced drive for the ultra-discerning audiophile connoisseur."

That says it all. You either buy into the hype or your don't. The basic Desktop amp is $599, but if you are a discerning listener there are a slew of upgrades you will want putting you north of 1 G.

If I were in the market for a headphone amp I would get a Corda Arietta.
http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/amplifiers.htm

If you are strapped for cash one the Behringers is an alternative.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/live/navigation/behringer-headphone-amps?N=100001+304640+201184&page=1

Nick

 

[sholling]

To each his own. There are people in this hobby, and probably more than a few them hang out here, that would happily drop more than the cost of a new car on a gee-wiz tube preamp if they could afford it. Others that will happily shell out north of $20k for a set of speakers. It's called being an audioholic.

For those audioholics that are stuck in apartments and condos and that cannot get away with blasting their neighbors with the sweetness of Rotel driven B&W 800 series speakers, high-end headphone amps driving high-end headphones are a very viable option.

Cheers.