Sennheiser HD 600

The Sennheiser HD 600 sounds as if my SMSL–Rotel–B&W audiophile system had moved straight into a pair of headphones – that same clean, natural, effortless presentation, just on my head instead of in front of me. Paired with my SMSL DAC and FLAC files, the bass is tight and controlled, the mids are incredibly lifelike, and the treble has all the detail I want without ever getting harsh or tiring.
What really surprised me is the sense of space and how clearly each instrument stands out. The soundstage isn’t artificially huge, but it’s wide and precise – I can place every instrument easily, and even quiet background details come through clearly. With this combo I keep hearing little nuances I’ve never noticed before in albums I know by heart, and it just makes me want to keep listening track after track. For the price, this is an absolutely fantastic, proper audiophile headphone.

I love these, a lot. From the way they look to every detail of their sound, they're truly beautiful. They have sliky smooth, characteristic treble that doesn't fatigue your ears one bit even at high volumes, and I say this as someone who *really* likes treble. Their mids are beautifully balanced and neutral, the bass (well, what's there of it) is defined and not muddy in the least, they sound incredibly clean, precise and pleasant.

However, there are some issues:

The sub-bass is quite disappointing. To the point I might actually recommend against these if you are going to listen to bass-heavy music like EDM. There is just hardly any real deep body to the sound, it feels a bit shallow and empty. This works *amazingly* for genres like classical or acoustic stuff, and I would never want other headphones than these for those genres, they're beautiful for that. However, I did find myself using a corrective EQ setting to boost the bass a little bit, just to make it go along a bit better with some of the genres I listen to.

Also, the soundstage isn't that great. I've used much cheaper in-ear monitors that have better soundstages, it really doesnt sound all that wide or free or spacious. It's still pleasant and doesn't feel boxed in, but it is something I would expect to be better in headphones at this price range.

All in all, I love these, and would recommend these to most people. They're great as reference headphones, they work well for music production and I feel like they're something you won't regret having around, as they have very clear strengths that I feel are very hard to rival in this price range. However, they do lack in some aspects, so maybe relying entirely on these if you listen to bass-heavy music, for example, might not be your best bet, unless you're willing to help out with corrective EQ.