Sennheiser's HD-600’s

When most people think about headphones, they think of the cheap throw-aways found everywhere from their local music store to the supermarket checkout line. Investing in a good set of headphones, however is the most cost effective way to get the most out of your music. After extensive research and bargain hunting, I decided to pick up Sennheiser's HD-600’s. Sennheiser originally made its name building microphones in post-war Germany. They soon found themselves building headphones as well. (At its most basic level, a microphone is nothing more than a speaker with its polarity reversed)

The HD-600's are a distant relative of the HD-414, the world's first open-air headphone introduced by Sennheiser in 1968. In an open-air headphone the space both in front of and behind the diaphragm is open and will let sound pass though. The result is a natural sound free from hyped-up bass and distorted highs. Unlike many headphones, however the sound is not isolated to the listener's ears. That means anyone nearby can clearly hear what's being played.

Sennheiser claims that the design of the HD-600's eliminates standing waves in the diaphragm. Of course, I would like to say that I felt those standing waves being neutralized but I was too entranced with what I was hearing to notice or to care.

After using the HD-600's on a number of systems and with a number of different musical genres, I was surprised to find rich detail that I had previously overlooked on a number of my favorite CD's. The complex weaving of sounds on Radiohead's Kid A, for example unraveled itself at my feet. It became easy to hear each distinct part and even to identify some of the more obscure sounds being utilized. While listening to Medeski Martin &Wood's Syeeda's Song Flute, a previously unheard vocal improvisation suddenly emerged from the room ambiance under a bass solo. This late discovery after nearly a hundred listens of the album left me dumbfounded. For me, the HD-600's were the sonic equivalent of getting Lasik surgery.

While the HD-600's provide amazing sound for any genre, I found them to be particularly good for Classical music. Where most rock albums are mastered in such a way so the listener can leave the volume in the same place throughout the album, Classical music often possesses a dynamic range that just can't be articulated through a $100 pair of speakers.

Listening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony through the HD-600’s, you can not only clearly hear the thunderous opening theme but amazingly the musicians turning the pages of sheet music as the symphony progresses.

Perhaps the greatest strength of the HD-600's lies in the listener's ability to forget they are on their own head. The HD-600's are so comfortable and so non-intrusive that you can simply forget that you are wearing them and direct your focus to the music. Isn’t that why we buy all this stuff in the first place?

The cost might be prohibitive for some users. The HD-600's retail at $450, but with a little bit of online searching you can probably find a pair for just over $200.