Submitted by I_Dont_Have_A_Name13 t3_z5edxn in headphones
I just got my Sennheiser HD600s, before this I have only used AirPods Pros and Beats Studio headphones.
The sound sounds kind of muddy/bad. Is this just because the headphones have really "accurate" sound, or is something wrong with my pair?
Thanks
Are you running them through an amplifier? HD600's are ~300 ohms of impedence meaning that most laptops and phones/ 3.5 mm Jack's dont have the power to drive them correctly.
>HD600's are ~300 ohms of impedence
This is the very reason why they sound the same out of any source that is not tube, despite some people saying the opposite.
This. The only exception is the latest Mac lineup of M1 Pro and M2.
No I don’t, I didn’t want and still don’t want to get one because I have already spent a lot of money on the headphones. Thanks for trying to help though
So better return them and keep using what you had
No point in getting a good pair of headphones that you can't use correctly.
Unfortunately the HD600s are kind of hard to drive. They'd likely benefit from a more powerful source.
HD58x and HD660s are much easier to drive in my experience. Same "family" in terms of that smooth sounding, vocal focused character, but less upper mids, generally speaking.
Return them, get the HD 560S from Amazon for $150 and save some money (those don’t need much power) or get them with a Fiio K5 Pro or KA3 (depends if you need a desktop dac/amp or something portable). You’ll spend $300 with the K5 Pro which is the same as just the HD 600 right now ($300) or even less with the KA3.
Thanks for trying to help. Is the Fiio K5 Pro also good for the HD600s?
if youre looking for something cheaper, im using a behringer umc22, to drive my hd660s, but a um2 is just as good i believe the umc22 just has a better preamp (which is for the mic)
Tysm
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Tysm for your help, I’ll look into it
Wow OP I'm sorry you've been downvoted for such a reasonable position, which is spending what you can on transducers, the most important thing (I expect to be downvoted for backing you up on this).
By "muddy" do you mean the bass frequencies sound too loud such that they are masking higher frequencies, or do you just mean that higher treble frequencies aren't as loud as you're used to? Because the former would be an unusual experience to have of the HD600, which has neutral bass actually rolling off in sub-bass, whilst the latter would be expected and why people describe them as "smooth" coming from other headphones which might have elevated treble.
By muddy I don’t mean that the bass sounds too loud or the treble being too quiet, I mean the mids and the bass sounding weird, but I can’t really describe what it sounds like other then muddy. Thanks for trying to help
I would agree with u/SupOrSalad above and say you're probably just not used to the sound then. If they were faulty you might hear buzzing or one side sounding obviously different from the other. HD600 QC is really good to the point both channels are usually very closely matched, so it's highly unlikely you've got a dud pair.
If you're listening on your phone, turning the volume to max and it still sounds too quiet, this is a sign you need an external amp or need to swap them for a different pair which is easier to drive such as the HD58X or HD560S. I listen to my HD6XX from a Pixel 4A which according to a review on a famous audio forum is completely incapable of powering them... well I never need to turn them up to max volume even listening to classical with high dynamic range.
I hope you learn to love these headphones as many others do, then you will be able to keep them as a reference pair for the rest of your life.
Ty for trying to help
You might like them better after a bit more getting used to the sound ("brain burn-in" as it's often called), but not necessarily. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible not to like the HD 600 (I'm one of those who don't).
I think it's safe to ask if you're running an amp. Given all the bad reviews I see on Amazon for these that clearly indicate not using an amp.
OP said he isn't running and amp so i imagine that is it
Get an AMP, my HD 650 sounds off when connected to my phone without one, even when the volume is high
>before this I have only used AirPods Pros and Beats Studio headphones.
>Beats Studio
No surprise. Don't worry, you'll get used.
stop plugging them into a potato and get a decent dac/amp unit
All the 6x0's have this smoothness to them, in my experience, that you might be hearing as muddiness. Not a lot of things seem to quite pop out like they do on many other headphones (things like the attack of snare drums being the exception in the case of HD600/650s). And they tend to roll off pretty hard at both ends (i.e., not much bass or treble extension).
But they're pleasant sounding headphones that emphasizes the vocals. Dynamics are good when properly amped, and resolution is good though perhaps not as apparent. Ultimately easy to listen to and enjoyable headphones imo.
I don't think they're for everyone. but I like them for what they are.
Get one of the dac/amps above and just use the 600s for a week or so and get used to them. It might take a bit to get used to the different sound that they provide from your previous headphones. This sub can get a little technical and rush to judgment at times. Figure out if you like them, and then maybe think about returning them and getting other headphones, or other adjustments later.
Thank you for your help
I bought them because I wanted to make better mixes, and my first mix after I bought was my best mix ever, so I’m not going to return them. I am going to probably buy an amp later on though to see if that makes a big difference with sound. I have it hooked up to my PC and only my PC right now, and it’s not too quiet, but it just sounds a bit weird and the only way I could describe that was “muddy”.
Thank you for everyone trying to help
You don't necessarily need an external amp, the one built-in into your PC may be enough, depending on what motherboard you have. A lot of modern laptops, desktops and phones have plenty of power to drive the HD 600 just fine. The more likely suspect here is that you may have some "audio enhancement" bloatware installed like MaxxAudio and it's applying some EQ profile automatically. See if there is anything like that installed. Another reason may be that you are simply not used to them. When you have two pairs of headphones that have a very different sound signature, there's going to be an adjustment period after going from one to the other. The third option is that you may not like how the HD 600 sounds and that's fine. If you still don't like them after a few days of use and you need headphones which you can use for mixing, then consider returning them and getting the HD 560S instead.
This is good advice here. I don't really get all of the assumption that the HD600 are hard to drive. I've used them on many sources, ranging from a 2022 MacBook Pro (which has high impedance headphone support) to random dongle that came with my Lenovo tablet. They sound fine and approximately the same on all of them, modulo difference in the DAC source itself. Unless I want to do some crazy +10dB EQ, or play it above ~90dB does the source matter (they sound good from the MacBook and obvious clipping on anything else).
I understand not wanting to spend more on headphones and amps, and I am in that same boat. With the HD600 you honestly don't need to.
>I don't really get all of the assumption that the HD600 are hard to drive.
Because they were ...once upon a time.
The HD 600 was released all the way back in 1997 and at that time, many computers didn't have any built-in audio. Those which did, usually had something that was awful and was barely enough to power off-the-shelf 16/32 ohm, 100+ db/mW headphones. Back in those days, you really needed an external audio card or at least an amp in order to get the HD 600 to a decent volume level without any distortion and ground noise from the spinning hard drives. Audio has come a long way since then but the idea that the HD 600 are "hard to drive, you need a powerful amp" has stuck around and many are unfortunately just repeating it over and over.
Oh and for reference, I also have Airpod Pros, 1st gen. The HD600 should sound pretty similar to me, though more accurate. Better bass and treble extension than the Airpods, but not a huge difference. If you find they sound quite a bit different, you should check any sound effects being applied, and also try a different source.
Tyvm for your help. I don't think I have any audio enhancement software installed, I'll check again though. I think it's just the fact that I'm not used to them, I'll see if I still think they sound weid after a week.
Thank you
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Return the HD 600 and get the 660s, they can be driven by almost anything at high volumes. The HD 600 are high impedance and require much more power.
HD600S doesn't exist, you might have a HD560S or 660S either way, it doesn't matter what kind of headphone you have if you never listened to Sennheiser before and experiencing it through a phone with Spotify at 320kbs compress audio. It will sound muddy, to elaborate on my first statement: it will take time to get used to the sound.. it's not the same as what you are used to. just stick with it and try different things, you will end up loving your pair. If not then you are just discovering something you never knew and can expand on that.
The OP said HD600s, as in plural, not HD600S. I think it's fairly common to use the plural version of a name for headphones.
You have them connected to a source with high output impedance which will make them overly bassy and "muddy".
SupOrSalad t1_ixvjo0l wrote
Listen to them for a few days straight. Your brain will always "auto EQ" to whatever you listen to the most. This makes the difference in sound signature exaggerated for a couple days.
When I first switched to 600s they sounded anemic and lacking energy, but after a few days they sounded very balanced and clear, and other headphones I was used to sounded muddy and really lacking in sound quality