Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX Headphones

[VSG]

The Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX is a success story unlike any other from Drop, having sold in excess of 135,000 units in 4+ years. We find out if there is still room for the HD 6XX and, by extension, the Sennheiser HD 650 in 2021, both as a reference set of headphones and purely for music and general purpose listening.

Show full review

 

[Metroid]

I have the 6xx and I love it although the lack of bass compared x the Denon AH-D7000 or alike makes me think every time to buy a specific good bass headphone. The E-MU Wood or the hifiman ananda and aria have been good options to think about.

 

[Mistral]

Got these when they dropped for the first time. At that price, you can't beat them. Super comfortable too.

 

[VSG]

I have the 6xx and I love it although the lack of bass compared x the Denon AH-D7000 or alike makes me think every time to buy a specific good bass headphone. The E-MU Wood or the hifiman ananda and aria have been good options to think about.

Arya, not Aria. But guess what I am working on next?

Got these when they dropped for the first time. At that price, you can beat them. Super comfortable too.

Did you mean can't beat them?

 

[b3holder]

I have the 6xx and I love it although the lack of bass compared x the Denon AH-D7000 or alike makes me think every time to buy a specific good bass headphone. The E-MU Wood or the hifiman ananda and aria have been good options to think about.

I'm in the same boat as yourself, I have the HD650 and listen mostly to EDM music. I want a more bass-heavy pair of headphones.

I bought the Focal Elex 2nd-hand from US, cause I'm in EU and Drop sells only in US. But unfortunately they broke, specifically the left driver doesn't play at all, like 5 months after I got them.

So now I'm thinking about buying the Focal Clear or Clear MG from a shop in EU, so I can send them back if anything happens.
The bass on the Focals is just so good, and you can tell the difference compared to the Sennheiser from the get go. It's a straight up upgrade.

The only problem in fact is that the Focals are not very comfy on my head. They are very tight and a bit heavy. I've managed to "open" them up a little to compensate for the clamp force, and then snugged some napkins in between so that the spring loaded caps stay put.
You see I want to wear my headphones all day long, from the morning when I start my job, till the evening when I finish. That's not a problem at all with the HD650 but it's a challenge for the Focals.

Regarding the HiFiMan Arya or Ananda, I've watched a lot of youtube reviews and most of them say that the main difference is that the Focals are much better on the bass (when listening to EDM or metal for example). But the HiFiMan are better in imaging/staging and instrument separation, which makes them good if you're into orchestral or classical music or for games where you can better tell where the enemy is coming from.

 

[Metroid]

I'm in the same boat as yourself, I have the HD650 and listen mostly to EDM music. I want a more bass-heavy pair of headphones.
Regarding the HiFiMan Arya or Ananda, I've watched a lot of youtube reviews and most of them say that the main difference is that the Focals are much better on the bass (when listening to EDM or metal for example). But the HiFiMan are better in imaging/staging and instrument separation, which makes them good if you're into orchestral or classical music or for games where you can better tell where the enemy is coming from.

Yeah the ananda and arya are also not good for bass however they are much much better than the 6xx, drop in partneship with Sennheiser created the 8xx, lot more bass than the 6xx and 800s although is like day and night comparing to the focals you mentioned or old denons. I'm leaning towards a planar headphones just because I dont have one yet and want to feel how a planar is x dynamic driver, value wise, nothing is as good as the 6xx at 220 usd, the 8xx is priced at 1100 usd and that is a lot of money, the ananda is around 1000 usd and arya 1600 usd.

Besides the E-MU Wood, I have been looking at the fostex th909 https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/TH909.shtml for bass as it is very similar to the old denons.

 

[b3holder]

I'm leaning towards a planar headphones just because I dont have one yet and want to feel how a planar is x dynamic driver, value wise, nothing is as good as the 6xx at 220 usd, the 8xx is priced at 1100 usd and that is a lot of money, the ananda is around 1000 usd and arya 1600 usd.

Besides the E-MU Wood, I have been looking at the fostex th909 https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/TH909.shtml for bass as it is very similar to the old denons.

Quite interesting cause again I was on the same situation as you. I had Sennheiser headphones for so many years and wanted to try planar for a change, after reading so much about them. When I bought the Focal Elex, my choices were either the HiFiMan Ananda or the Elex, both around 600-700. But in the end I went for the one with better sound characteristics for the music I listen to (EDM).
By the way I think the Ananda goes for ~$700 in the US, not 1000 (best-price.com), the Ananda-BT (for Bluetooth) are the ones that cost $1000.

At the time, I was even thinking buying a cheaper set of planar headphones just to get an idea compared to the dynamic drivers. Something like the HiFiMan Sundara or the Monolith M1060.
Since you've mentioned Fostex, you may also want to take a look at Denon (AH-D5200, AH-D7200 and AH-D9200 though all these are closed backs not open like TH909).

 

[VSG]

Just saying, I have this thing being tested as we speak:

 

[b3holder]

Just saying, I have this thing being tested as we speak: (shows a pic of HiFiMan Arya, a $1600 headphone)

Hi VSG, thanks for the update.
I'm mostly interested in a couple of things during your tests, if it's possible to check them please.

a) how comfortable are they. Compared to any HD* Sennheiser (from 400 to 600 series, not 800+ cause they have a different shape), and compared to any Focal headphone (if you have any since all have the same design). Specifically for long wearing sessions (many hours on end). Please try to give us a detailed explanation on all the points you deem important in regards to comfort. (and also *this might sound funny* if you can please tell us the measurements of your head (or a pic would do), just to have a point of reference)

b) how do they compare against a HD* Sennheiser (anything from 500-600 series, but not higher like 800+), and also compared to any Focal (again if you have any) (same here, I think all Focals sound similar, from Elex to Clear to Utopia, with increasing clarity as you go up, but the sound characteristic is the same). Comparison from an overall genre perspective, like when listening to EDM, metal, RnB, classical, etc. (meaning not just from a focused perspective in regards to low,mid,high frequencies etc.)

 

[VSG]

Hi VSG, thanks for the update.
I'm mostly interested in a couple of things during your tests, if it's possible to check them please.

a) how comfortable are they. Compared to any HD* Sennheiser (from 400 to 600 series, not 800+ cause they have a different shape), and compared to any Focal headphone (if you have any since all have the same design). Specifically for long wearing sessions (many hours on end). Please try to give us a detailed explanation on all the points you deem important in regards to comfort. (and also *this might sound funny* if you can please tell us the measurements of your head (or a pic would do), just to have a point of reference)

b) how do they compare against a HD* Sennheiser (anything from 500-600 series, but not higher like 800+), and also compared to any Focal (again if you have any) (same here, I think all Focals sound similar, from Elex to Clear to Utopia, with increasing clarity as you go up, but the sound characteristic is the same). Comparison from an overall genre perspective, like when listening to EDM, metal, RnB, classical, etc. (meaning not just from a focused perspective in regards to low,mid,high frequencies etc.)

Unfortunately I have no experience with any Focals, but I have plenty of Sennheiser experience as listed in this review. For the first part I can confirm that the Aryas are more comfortable than the HD 5/6xx lineup with a caveat- your ears have plenty of room inside the ear cups but larger ears may hit the waveguide on the inside. Second, if you move/rotate your head then the larger oval-shaped cups may not want to move as much with your head. As long as you are sitting down vertically, these are great to wear for long periods of time. They are also best with more relaxing music imo, so it all adds up to where I've had 4-5 hour listening sessions of enjoyment. My head is about average in size, 19 cm from ear to ear so that's also where I set my measurement rig. If you look at the photos in this review on page 4, it's more or less reflecting how headphones sit on my head.

Tonality and technical performances will need more testing, but so far the new Aryas (2021 Stealth Magnet) are a big step up in most ways compared to the HD 598 and HD 6XX I have here. I'll have more detailed notes in the eventual review of the same.

 

[Chomiq]

My notes:

Fidelio X2's have the most comfortable headband I ever used, meanwhile 6XX can sometimes feel like something is ripping into your hair/scalp. Readjusting fixes it but I can never narrow down the reason behind this. Maybe I simply don't wear them often enough, X2's are just too comfy as a daily driver for work and long gaming sessions.

As for bass yeah they aren't bass heavy but it's more controlled. On 6XX bass is like Oomp, and on X2's it's Ooompppppp. One sounds clean, the other can sound muddy (but once you're used to the mud you forget about it). It's all up to preference.

I wish they'd make the cable longer, with X2's I can easily walk around the room with the stock 3 m cable. With 6XX I'm locked thanks to the 1.2 m stock cable. I know there's 3 m cable for HD 650 but some people complain about the durability of that one. Meanwhile my Philips is a standard 3.5 mm jack on both end and can easily unplugged and save the headphones from damage.

As for being hard to drive, it depends. With G6 and gain on High I keep them at 20%. With gain at low I need to go to 40-50% to match the audio level.

 

[VSG]

My notes:

Fidelio X2's have the most comfortable headband I ever used, meanwhile 6XX can sometimes feel like something is ripping into your hair/scalp. Readjusting fixes it but I can never narrow down the reason behind this. Maybe I simply don't wear them often enough, X2's are just too comfy as a daily driver for work and long gaming sessions.

Clamping force is higher than average on the HD 6XX as it comes out of the box. I have the Fidelio X2 HR (and X3) here, so I can vouch that the HD 6XX headband gets more comfortable over time.

 

[Metroid]

Just saying, I have this thing being tested as we speak:

If i'm not clueless ehhe, that is ananda.

 

[VSG]

If i'm not clueless ehhe, that is ananda.

Actually it's the new Arya (2021 Stealth Magnet), I don't have the Ananda (or most HIFIMAN sets) here.

 

[Metroid]

By the way I think the Ananda goes for ~$700 in the US, not 1000 (best-price.com), the Ananda-BT (for Bluetooth) are the ones that cost $1000.

Where I live is not going through a sale, 699 usd is a sale price and to ship and tax to where i'm is not worth, last time I checked thye had at 999 usd where I live which is the same retail price in the us.

Actually it's the new Arya (2021 Stealth Magnet), I don't have the Ananda (or most HIFIMAN sets) here.

Visually they look almost the same or I'm still clueless? hehe

 

[VSG]

Visually they look almost the same or I'm still clueless? hehe

From that angle, the easiest way to say is from the black grills on the Arya vs. silver on the Ananda. The newer Aryas also have a green-colored filter on the outside. There are other differences when you see both in person of course, including the name etched on the side as well as the stealth magnets on the newest Arya revision that looks slightly different on the inside of the ear cups.

 

[mechtech]

Arya, not Aria. But guess what I am working on next?


Did you mean can't beat them?

You can beat anything with a sledge hammer

 

[VSG]

You can beat anything with a sledge hammer

Hopefully not after spending so much $$$ on these.

 

[eyi526]

I still got my ol' HD600's that I managed to get for around $250 many many years ago, and they still going strong (albeit, some fall damage here and there). I've always had these on the radar as their price point is very attractive. How do these compare? I'm told the 600's have better bass and the 650's have a warmer profile? I'm no expert!

I also have the Schiit Stack to help boost the power.

 

[VSG]

I still got my ol' HD600's that I managed to get for around $250 many many years ago, and they still going strong (albeit, some fall damage here and there). I've always had these on the radar as their price point is very attractive. How do these compare? I'm told the 600's have better bass and the 650's have a warmer profile? I'm no expert!

I also have the Schiit Stack to help boost the power.

What type of music/use case do you use with the HD 600? If both cost the same, I'd personally recommend the HD 600 for most people over the HD 650/6XX. The latter has warmer lower mids and recessed upper mids, so based on your post above I can confirm the 650s are warmer generally but also I'd not say the 600s have better bass necessarily. If anything, the HD 650 has more energy in the low frequencies.

 

[eyi526]

What type of music/use case do you use with the HD 600? If both cost the same, I'd personally recommend the HD 600 for most people over the HD 650/6XX. The latter has warmer lower mids and recessed upper mids, so based on your post above I can confirm the 650s are warmer generally but also I'd not say the 600s have better bass necessarily. If anything, the HD 650 has more energy in the low frequencies.

Mainly hip-hop, R&B, and lo-fi/jazz/instrumentals. Not much of an EDM/house/dubstep person. I'm "old school" lol.

 

[VSG]

Mainly hip-hop, R&B, and lo-fi/jazz/instrumentals. Not much of an EDM/house/dubstep person. I'm "old school" lol.

Yeah so you are basically me, and I'd suggest the HD 600 for you too. The 6XX with EQ can get you where you want though, and for a lower cost too.

 

[eyi526]

Yeah so you are basically me, and I'd suggest the HD 600 for you too. The 6XX with EQ can get you where you want though, and for a lower cost too.

I'm just hoping this thing holds up. I'm lucky that the plastic hasn't busted open after being dropped so many times. From what I can recall, it looks like the HD600 has been discontinued?

 

[VSG]

I'm just hoping this thing holds up. I'm lucky that the plastic hasn't busted open after being dropped so many times. From what I can recall, it looks like the HD600 has been discontinued?

There's just a newer version of the HD 600, the sound signature seems to be unaltered and it's just the physical design that has been "modernized".

 

[robot zombie]

I love my HD6xx's. I've tried quite a few high-end headphones and I can say they all do something better. Some of them do everything better. Many of them are more exciting, have that "wow" factor. But the 600 series has this great, natural timbre where all of the music is. I also think people don't give them credit for how detailed they actually are. They do texture like almost nothing else. If I could find a pair of speakers with that fineness and ease to them, I'd be set. They do roll off in the highs and the sub bass. The 6xx have a bit of an upper mid dip that takes some bite from them. The upper treble and mid loss, you can somewhat EQ, but they get etchy. That is one thing about them. Not the 'clearest' in terms of background. It's not that you can't hear the background, but they can have a grain to them.

No amount of EQ will give you sub-bass. It has to do with the driver cage assembly and really just the smaller size of the driver. They aren't made for it in any capacity. Just past that is a midbass hump that people know as pillow bass. It has this fullness, but impact is vague. That can be corrected with damping. You can clean that up and get impact by removing the spider cage holding the driver magnet in and instead using sound dampener to hold the foam and magnet, while also helping to tame the bass ringing out. If you look at a CSD waterfall plot you can see where all of the bass distortion is. It hangs for quite a while, just resonating. Just don't cover the opening in the magnet. At that point you are doing surgery, though. You have to cut the spider cage off. Plenty of people do it. You can find the info out there.

To me, they kind of are what they are. I cycle headphones, but keep the HD6xx around as a headphone that I can use to enjoy any genre, whenever I feel like it. Through right place/right time I got myself a pretty nice SET tube amp made by a guy in Russia on a forum. He designed and built them himself, sold some made to order for a while. It has "robot_zombie" written on the back of it, hah. He sourced some killer transformers for it. Miles better amp than the ZDT Jr. or anything Woo Audio and I only spent around $300 for a hand-assembled brick of a tube amp. Transformers make or break those amps - much of what people associate with tube sound is likely due to transformers. Bad ones introduce things like bad stereo imaging, rolled off highs/lows, and just plain nasty distortion. "Intimate." "Syrupy." Good ones cost a pretty penny, as few make them in production quantities. I think this guy was able to get them because he was doing very small batches.

It does have quite a bit of 2nd order distortion to it. The hi-z output is 70 ohms, which ends up sounding niiicccee with the 650's. You wouldn't think it, but somehow that just brings them to life for me. That's a ~$500 setup that I can always keep around and use. Gotta be real deal tube amp though. I'm talking something with measurably high distortion. I think it really suits them. They do sound great on most sources these days, though. Even phones can drive them decently a lot of the time.

My throw in for bass planars is Audeze. Just my limited experience with bassy cans. I can at least speak for both the LCD-2 and Classic. Those have some serious chonk and thump to them. They also have some of the lowest distortion of pretty much any headphone across the entire bass region. Straight up just a flat line down there. And that EQs nicely. You can crank 40 or 60 hz on a wide Q and be swallowed by bass. Thing is, you have to be okay with the house sound. They have a weird recessed upper midrange that can make them a little laid back and do odd things to vocals. They are both very lively and dynamic but timbre suffers. I think they're great for any energetic electronic music. Lots of modern hip-hop for the same reason. Maybe rock and metal with some EQ. They can actually be great for that because in metal the guitars are often mixed atrociously - the timbre of the headphones brings more rhythmic cohesion. They're very 'quick' sounding. The attack on every instrument sounds like it breaks out of a singularity and just emerges there. I like my 2Cs for that sometimes. I feel and hear the drums and bass guitar in metal much more prominently.

They don't have fantastic imaging or staging. They are quite detailed, but it's not their strong suit. They do have big, tight, punchy bass. Every frequency responds well to EQ, you can make that work. I have the privilege of a hardware digital EQ with presets configured for genres, though. Still they're big, loud, built like tanks, and they hit. The LCD2's are the more balanced ones, which I would recommend to most people. 2c's only a certain kind of person can love. I would try before buying either. The tonality isn't an issue for a lot of people. If I need bass I will still put them on. It helps that they hold up well at high volume. I find that well-made planars generally don't "break away" as much in tone or overall placement of things in the mix as you increase the volume. They just sort of keep up. Audeze keep up so well you'll destroy your hearing before they're anywhere near breaking up.