Went out today to get a pair of headphones to hold me over until I found something to really use. Listened to everything I could that they had at the local BB and the only ones that sounded decent were the Swnnheiser HD428s so I picked up a pair. Compared to everything else they had the 428s were the clear winners but when I got home I thought just for the hell of it I would try out my HD600s.
Despite the greater loudness of the 32ohm 428s vs 300ohm 600s it was no contest. Even with the little droid phone the Sennheiser HD600 just destroyed their little cousins. I hadn’t directly compared the HD600s to anything since I bought them years ago and this just served to remind me why they one. The 600 are noticeably more neutral and have much better bass extension but IMO the biggest difference is the open (600) vs closed (428) design. The 428s sounded like I was wearing headphones whereas the 600s sounded like I was in a room full of instruments and singers depending on the song.
I can tell right away that both of these headphones will sound better with an amp but especially the 600s which at max volume were just below the ideal level I would like for listening.
I really didn’t expect to hear much difference between these because of the source but colour me shocked at just how much difference there is.
