Sennheiser HD 600 Studio Headphones (2019 Edition)

Goes crazy.

Excellent detail especially mid range and good value for money as more accurate than many more expensive headphones- still amongst the best.

I have found that many reviews relating to ‘Reference’ headphones and speakers often comment on the ‘listening experience’ i.e. how pleasing they sound - “extended bass”, “nice treble end”, “forward in the mid” “fatiguing”etc. However, for me it is about how uncoloured they reproduce the original source material and shouldn’t be ‘pleasing’ at all unless the original recording is pleasing at the point of capture.
As you read through articles/reviews and listen to examples/comparisons this seemingly basic expectation turns into something quite different and time consuming. Fortunately, negotiating this minefield has been made a lot easier by ‘those who went before’ leaving us with benchmark models in various price brackets and the Sennheiser HD600 and to some degree its sibling the HD650 are exactly that. I ended up going for the HD600’s as these have long been regarded as ‘flat’ but with a relatively steep-ish bass roll off and my experience so far is exactly that. I use them for tracking and mastering.
When compared to the HD 650 and HD560S the former has a noticeable lift in the treble and the latter a noticeable lift in the bass which for me defeats the object as it may result in inaccurate, overcompensating eq’ing decisions from the start even down to mic positioning and for someone advancing in age I realise I don’t want to trust my ears that much. Other industry standard headphones such as the Beyer DT range also differ across the models and with other makes such as Sennheiser….so much for ‘reference’ and ‘neutral’? Well, it seems to prove how subjective it all is.
The Sennheiser HD600’s have a proven track record, are detailed and clear and do a great job of keeping it real within the price point without needing to fall into the abyss of expensive diminishing returns and sits comfortably as an affordable tool in the requisite kit needed to cross reference. The decisions you make translate well to monitors and other listening sources and after all, this is what it’s all about.

The number of options available to headphone buyers might be daunting. For several years, I've been listening to open-back design headphones, and I've tested a variety of models with a variety of reference tracks in the hopes of finding a better alternative to my existing headphones, which I use for both music listening and sound editing. I'd like something that is relatively accurate and has a smooth motion. I'd like the one, that's pretty accurate and has a smooth frequency response, but comfort and cost are also important considerations in determining the best headphone for my needs. The Sennheiser HD 600 headphones are a good example of this. When compared to the others that live in my backpack for listening to music on my commute or while travelling, I prefer listening to music on these significantly more. There are many headphones that cost more than others, as well as many headphones that cost less. The Sennheiser HD 600 headphones strike a good balance between audio quality and value for money. Spend more, and you'll enter the region of diminishing returns, which is aimed at audiophiles who are willing to part with their hard-earned cash. You won't get their smooth, accurate, warm sound if you spend less, but there are plenty of worthy rivals. Overall a great quality, amazing sounding set of headphones at a very competitive price. I am super happy with them.

So happy with my purchase, working from home has been made so much easier with these. Extremely detailed headphones, the best I have heard by a long shot. Turnaround from purchase to receiving them was incredibly quick too.

I'm really impressed with these headphones. I was a little worried that the bass would be weak having read many reviews before buying, but I need something with a flat response for mixing so went for the HD600's with my fingers crossed! I shouldn't have worried, the bass is fine, yes it's not huge but the whole presentation is 'correct'. You just hear the music is it was meant to be heard. If a track has lots of bass, it's there but clean and textured, not overblown. The mids are detailed and the highs go on for days. They're fantastic! I'm using them with an Audient id14 interface but may buy an additional headphone amp as the HD600's have a relatively high impedance of 300 ohms and need a fair wallop of power to drive them. I'm sure they'll sound even better with a beefy headphone amp. I find them comfortable and have had no issues with a strong 'clamping' force on the head. Buy with confidence!

My initial reaction to the HD600 wasn't good. The clamping force against my head and ears was painful. Because of the size of the earpieces, this extended further down to the sternocleidomastoid. The sound via my laptop was disappointing. The bass sounded boomy, the midrange woolly and the top end subdued. However, once plugged into my Soundcraft Ghost mixer the cans came to life. The boominess disappeared leaving a usable bass. The midrange is detailed, if slightly on the warm side. The top end is pleasant without being overly emphasised. Once I switched back to my old Sony MDR CD470's, I realised what all the fuss was about. The Sonys now sounded harsh by comparison. Hopefully that clamping problem will ease with use.

I bought the Sennheiser HD600 headphones recently because they are compatible with software I use for mixing. They have the flattest frequency response of any headphones I have used so far, they give a clear and uncoloured balanced signal which makes them the perfect choice for anyone working with audio or anyone who likes to hear recordings as they were 'actually' recorded. They are very comfortable and lightweight for their size too. I have owned several pairs of Sennheiser headphones and trust their quality, I would definitely recommend the HD600 as the overall best I have owned so far.