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Jorf88
14
Aug 19, 2019
Insanely good drop price. The 1000XM3 will educate you on just how important the quality of your listening environment is. No one would bat an eye at me telling you that the sound quality on the HD650/HD6XX is superior, especially with the correct amp/DAC... what you might bat an eye at is me telling you that as soon as you have any sort of background noise at all, the 1000XM3 wins. 1000XM3: I have almost nothing bad to say about these cans. The battery life is great, the recharge speed is first-in-class, the sound quality is fantastic, and the noise cancelling is superb. I have medium+ sized ears, and they just fit comfortably into these. If they were any bigger, I might have issues. So, if you have large ears, go find a pair of these to try on (my Best Buy always has some out to try) to make sure you won't have issues. I also get a some hot spots on the crown of my head if I position these wrong and wear them for a long (6+ hours) time. I wish they had bluetooth 5, but I digress. HD 6XX: I have both the original HD650 and a pair of HD6XX, don't ask why (it was mostly for comparison purposes, my HD6XX were from the first batch). They're essentially the same. The following comments are based on the HD650 and not the 6XX... because I had those first and so they've remained my primary pair of earphones. Again, they're essentially the same. These NEED an amp. They also strongly benefit from a DAC, but they're power hungry so they really NEED an amp. My portable FiiO E17 Alpen can barely drive them adequately, and docking that to the Fiio E09K vastly improves the sound quality. I don't typically drive these with that amp setup though, my home setup is a Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC (not the tube pre-amp, just the straight DAC out) to a Bottlehead Crack (with Speedball, tube rolled). This setup sounds absolutely glorious, Sennheiser cans were made for tubes, I swear. The HD6XX are some of the most comfortable headphones I've ever owned. Some complain about the clamp force, and I actually didn't like it when I first got them, either. But, I left them stretched out over a wadded up blanket overnight to stretch out the spring a bit and now I love them (they're still tighter than most of my other cans, but not too tight). I'm super surprised with their velour ear cups; it's been almost five years and they show almost zero signs of flattening or wearing out. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 PROs (my work headphones) that see about the same amount of use, and they've gone through four pairs of velour ear cups in that same time, and their clamp force is almost nothing. The ear cups on the HD650/6XX are large enough that even those with the largest ears should have no trouble finding comfort. The headband is squishy in all the right places, too. This is already exhaustively long so I'll cut it off, I just wanted to express my envy for those that pick up this fantastic Drop deal. I paid... nearly this much for just the 1000XM3s alone. Edit: I typed HD600 in all of the places for some reason, I meant HD650. I regularly use the HD650 and that's what the 6XX are based on, not the 600.
(Edited)
Jorf88Dekoni has solutions for both of the potential problems you mentioned for the Sony. Great wrote up on the HD 650/6XX! I will NOT judge you for having a headphone for you and a matching headphone for a guest ;) Just so happens I have an HD 58X Jubilee, HD 650, and HD 660 S. Things happen.
SmithyNZ
225
Aug 19, 2019
Jorf88I'm also one of those people that has the XM3 + HD650 + HD6XX, and I regret nothing! I bought the 6XX to use in another location, and it's worked out well. My HD650 ear pads did eventually flatten out after years of regular use, but I bought some Dekoni velour pads and they're delicious. Just a note though - all analogue headphones require a DAC if you're listening to a digital source, and power doesn't come from a DAC but the amp... or were you simply referring to a DAC/amp combo?
Jorf88
14
Aug 19, 2019
SmithyNZI was clarifying that while a DAC does help, it isn't enough on its own because they're power hungry... they NEED an amp.
Jorf88I would agree that the HD 650 need a more powerful (and higher quality) amp to shine at their best. I have a $50 DAP (Do you say Portable Music Player or Digital Audio Player?) that can get the HD 650 “loud enough,” but you can tell the amp is at its limits because the last steps of power (like the last 1/6th) barely affect the volume output, and the volume crescendos are hit a “cap” and the sound is by result rather compressed sounding. Max volume setting is listenable for an extended period of time, its just not very satisfying. And that’s with a dedicated music device, not a jack of all trades smartphone!
(Edited)
Jorf88
14
Aug 21, 2019
EvshrugI've heard "DAP" used before, but realistically I just refer to them as MP3 players most of the time, because that's what we called them when I was in high school 15 years ago. I don't have any experience with trying to run my HD650 cans off of any sort of portable player, they sit at home with their permanent setup. I've traveled with my BD DT990pro, and even though they are 250 ohms, a cell phone can drive them well enough to not hate it (but they still really benefit from an amp). This exact drop makes that a nearly irrelevant discussion, though. If someone wants to travel with one of the pairs of headphones they buy from this drop, it's going to be the 1000XM3 99.99% of the time. I don't use any portable music players anymore, it's easier to dedicate the equivalent space in my bag to an extra 10,000 mAh battery pack so I can just recharge my phone if I'm running low on battery. I was resistant to converting to the all-in-one phone lifestyle, but it got me eventually.
Jorf88The first MP3 players from Creative and... Rio? came out while I was in high school too, though I was just a freshman. I would know exactly what you mean if you mentioned an MP3 player, though we don’t put MP3’s in them anymore. PMP and DAP seem good, it looks like DAP is winning the popularity contest but I think DAP sounds close to DAC and could be confusing. Oh well! Personally, I’ve enjoyed going back to an MP3 player-like experience. I did the all-in-one lifestyle, but my phone of choice is limited by internal-storage only, no headphone jack, it’s constantly spammed with only mildly important notifications, and I keep using all the battery in my phone before the day is up. Meanwhile, there are good DAPs that give desktop-level experiences and can go anywhere I like, and provide a good music source at home for my desk or living room speakers (or the same at friends/family) without needing me to turn on a computer or dedicate my phone to the task. I can sit in my living room, my DAP connected with optical out to my stereo, while I work from home texting colleagues (WhatsApp) and doing design work on my iPad. Or listen to headphones on the back porch, or bring my whole library with me on the plane for an exciting “shuffle.” You’re right though, with this Drop it will mostly be Sennheiser at home and Sony in the go, because those are optimized for each of those situations. I like that my DAP (currently a Sony) can send LDAC, instead of my phone’s SBC.
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