Hello all!
I've just purchased the ALEX CAVALLI TUBE HYBRID AMP and GRACE DESIGN STANDARD DAC. I have always been into audio, but never really pulled the trigger. I was looking to pair the two with the SENNHEISER HD 58X JUBILEE HEADPHONES, so I purchased them too.
Sometimes I feel extremely torn between them, as it sometimes seems (from what people say) the 6XX are somehow just a waaay superior headphone.
About me: I do like quite a neutral sound signature, but my "secret pleasure" is and always has been a bit of bass (definitely not muddy or overpowered, just present, if you know what I mean - to make the music sound more "alive"). Now I do understand that the HD 58X/6XX are definitely not basshead headphones and I am perfectly okay with that. But you should also know that I am not looking to analyse or monitor my music or equipment, but rather to listen to the actual music and, of course, enjoy it.
And this is where we come to my decision about purchasing the HD 58X over the HD 6XX's... from what I've read it seems like the HD 6XX headphones are a bit more "sterile", analytical and cooler sounding, while the HD58X (which are intended to be pretty much my daily driver for movies, gaming and music listening - mixed genre) are a bit warmer, have a touch more bass and are just more enjoyable and easy to listen to. I know they don't really need an amp for the most part, but I really wanted to get a setup that would be able to support maybe even some other harder to drive headphones down the line and I was hoping that the tube (I know it's a hybrid, but still) would help with the smoothness and warmth - at least a little bit. I need to mention that where I live (Slovenia) there is pretty much no way for me to test or try out headphones in some kind of store (even audiophile oriented stores) as they mostly only have more generic headphones on display. I have also never heard/tried out a tube amp, but this was my long time dream and I am glad I was able to finally get a pretty decent one! - I understand the basics of how tube amps work. So what I am trying to say is I have never heard of any other headphones apart from my long gone HD 518's and my V-Moda M100's (used to be used for DJing), so I basically had to rely on reviews on various platforms, when making this decision. I should also mention I do understand the 6XX might scale better with amps due to the higher impedance.
About the drivers: What's also gotten me worried is that the 6XX's use pretty much the same driver as the original HD 650 (basically a $500 pair of headphones), but the HD 58X use a newer driver, that is apparently NOT the same as the HD 660 S (as confirmed by Sennheiser, apparently).. and so at this point I am asking myself: is the $170 price on Massdrop right now actually worth it? What if I am actually getting a much much cheaper driver instead? - I do realise this is a funny and probably stupid thing to be worried about, but still.. I just have some doubts, which you can hopefully understand. I believe it is an interesting aspect of this situation to at least consider taking a look at.
So this brings me to the question: did I make the right choice based on what I'm looking for, because sometimes forums, videos on YT and reviews online make me feel like I should have gotten the HD 6XX instead?
I would really appreciate your input.
Thank you all in advance!
I've just purchased the ALEX CAVALLI TUBE HYBRID AMP and GRACE DESIGN STANDARD DAC. I have always been into audio, but never really pulled the trigger. I was looking to pair the two with the SENNHEISER HD 58X JUBILEE HEADPHONES, so I purchased them too.
Sometimes I feel extremely torn between them, as it sometimes seems (from what people say) the 6XX are somehow just a waaay superior headphone.
About me: I do like quite a neutral sound signature, but my "secret pleasure" is and always has been a bit of bass (definitely not muddy or overpowered, just present, if you know what I mean - to make the music sound more "alive"). Now I do understand that the HD 58X/6XX are definitely not basshead headphones and I am perfectly okay with that. But you should also know that I am not looking to analyse or monitor my music or equipment, but rather to listen to the actual music and, of course, enjoy it.
And this is where we come to my decision about purchasing the HD 58X over the HD 6XX's... from what I've read it seems like the HD 6XX headphones are a bit more "sterile", analytical and cooler sounding, while the HD58X (which are intended to be pretty much my daily driver for movies, gaming and music listening - mixed genre) are a bit warmer, have a touch more bass and are just more enjoyable and easy to listen to. I know they don't really need an amp for the most part, but I really wanted to get a setup that would be able to support maybe even some other harder to drive headphones down the line and I was hoping that the tube (I know it's a hybrid, but still) would help with the smoothness and warmth - at least a little bit. I need to mention that where I live (Slovenia) there is pretty much no way for me to test or try out headphones in some kind of store (even audiophile oriented stores) as they mostly only have more generic headphones on display. I have also never heard/tried out a tube amp, but this was my long time dream and I am glad I was able to finally get a pretty decent one! - I understand the basics of how tube amps work. So what I am trying to say is I have never heard of any other headphones apart from my long gone HD 518's and my V-Moda M100's (used to be used for DJing), so I basically had to rely on reviews on various platforms, when making this decision. I should also mention I do understand the 6XX might scale better with amps due to the higher impedance.
About the drivers: What's also gotten me worried is that the 6XX's use pretty much the same driver as the original HD 650 (basically a $500 pair of headphones), but the HD 58X use a newer driver, that is apparently NOT the same as the HD 660 S (as confirmed by Sennheiser, apparently).. and so at this point I am asking myself: is the $170 price on Massdrop right now actually worth it? What if I am actually getting a much much cheaper driver instead? - I do realise this is a funny and probably stupid thing to be worried about, but still.. I just have some doubts, which you can hopefully understand. I believe it is an interesting aspect of this situation to at least consider taking a look at.
So this brings me to the question: did I make the right choice based on what I'm looking for, because sometimes forums, videos on YT and reviews online make me feel like I should have gotten the HD 6XX instead?
I would really appreciate your input.
Thank you all in advance!