After listening to one slow ambient song, that usually felt ominous and intense as the plodding bass increased in energy feel pleasant and mild, that sealed the fate of the HD6xx as being labeled unengaging by me. Quality, again, depends on the rig and amp to scale up. If you are using a lower end system, my HD58x Jubilee sounds subjectively a little cleaner than the HD6xx. However, that changes when I use an expensive amplifier and DAC, where the HD6xx moves out ahead in quality. The HD6xx sounds polite, hyper smooth and of a more dense tonality in terms of physical weight carried. To me, the bass sounded like wet cardboard, flabby, dense and wet. I enjoyed this sound personally though I wouldn't call it the most correct to me. There is not enough sub bass. Otherwise, this headphone doesn’t have good extra features that can help you to use it everywhere or take calls or other stuff as it is completely performance-centric. It doesn’t provide much convenience, only audio quality. However, it might not be a good idea to use it with mobile phones as they need too much power to run smoothly and produce the perfect sound. For which you might also need to use an amp and a DAC, and also for the reason that the HD6XX has a sensitivity of 103 dB / 1 Vrms and a resistance rate of 300 ohms.

Specifically, we’re talking about warm and rigid bass, a midrange that dips close to the ruddy colors of analog tape saturation (without sacrificing an ounce of detail), and a laser-tight response up top that helps illuminate vivid clarity and granular instrumental texture across the board. So yeah, they sound pretty good.For our testing, we tried two amps: a traditional desktop DAC/amp from Creative and a portable DAC/amp from THX called the THX Onyx. Both have the signal output to drive these headphones given their high sensitivity, but it should be feasible to drive them from some phones and portable audio players without an additional piece of hardware. The Heron 5 is also wider than tall and not extremely forward. So, when referencing the HD58x with this amplifier, the experience feels wildly different in a physical sense. However, again, the HD6xx is the scaling champion in the mid-tier world. If you have a very nice middle tier or lower end or Summit level amplifier and DAC already, then the HD6xx churns itself into a more clean and clear feeling experience. But you NEED that for the HD6xx.

The potential dealbreaker here is in the treble response. With its neutral lower midrange and relatively light note weight, its 5k-ishHz boost gets a little intense and harsh at times. Now you’ve probably already read some impressions on the HD560S and this peak; some say it’s completely benign and not worth the worry. Others claim it’s the worst thing in the world and will pierce your ears with the might of Zeus. If you’ve heard the HD800/S then you should have a pretty good idea on how the HD8XX performs technically. Top-class resolution with some of the widest (some say the widest) soundstage in a headphone are the prime reasons why the HD800 series still remain relevant more than 10 years since their release in 2009. The value and price to performance on this headphone are beyond absurdly great. One quality I did notice was that the HD58x Jubilee at 150ohm fairs much better at low listening levels than the HD6xx at 300ohm, which obviously requires more power to get a nicer experience from. The latter is very soft, so lower listening levels mutes the top end a bit too much, whereas the HD58x still retains good treble quantity at lower listening volumes.You’re not expecting much, I’m not expecting much, so let’s just rip the band-aid off. Obviously, the sub-bass response of the KSC75 is its biggest weakness that cannot be fixed with mere EQ, so don’t get one if you value dat rumble in your music.

But, there was always one little… thing that seems to be overlooked in the conversation of evergreen headphones, more likely than not due to its extremely low price point. The venerable KSC75, its predecessor being the far less popular KSC35 which was introduced by Koss in 1995. The KSC75 debuted in 2005 as the KSC35’s cheaper alternative and has since remained as a cornerstone of every audiophile’s “newbie recommendation list”. I originally didn't notice because in music I couldn't tell the difference. I still can't. I don't think I listen for that kind of stuff, and my music probably doesn't take advantage of positional audio enough anyway. The difference was only noticeable in competitive shooters, specifically Apex Legends.

Zynsonix Link

Either that or the “in-the-other-room effect” which is very self-explanatory. You know, that muffled bass-forward character whenever you hear music playing in a different room. This one is easier to correlate with its mangled tuning. But make no mistake, a wonky tuning cannot and must not be handwaved off as being simply unique. The HD8XX is, in terms of tonal balance, definitely up there in terms of Sennheiser’s strangest. If we were to use the HD6X0 as the reference for “correctness” (not saying that it is, just as an example due to the HD6XX being the prime comparison point in this situation), you can see how a 10dB(!) recession at 2kHz can be a… cause for concern. The Sennheiser HD650 has a very good sound quality as the sound distortion is very low. Though a little high-frequency coloration might occur, it is not that much to care about. The bass sound is really warm and good and the details of the sounds can listen in an exceptional manner.

Not much to write home about with the Massdrop box presentations. It is quite standard, just a cardboard box, some paperwork, and a ¼ adapter are included along with a short, portable length detachable cable for the HD58x.

Unlike the HD6XX, the Sennheiser HD650 is not much recent and has been around for a while. And it has achieved a certain amount of popularity among both professional and domestic users. It has very easily fitting oval earpieces and the whole model is really smart and completely no-nonsense. Headphones not only gives great audio experiences, but it also keeps you isolated from the noise of the outside world, and lets you enjoy music peacefully without any interference. So for enjoying music and other things, you must own good headphones.