The Sennheiser HD600 is a very highly rated open-back professional headphone and it would be amazing for critical listeners. It is also very well-received by its users and has garnered rave reviews all over the world. If you are planning to get a high-quality headphone with exceptional sonic performance, the Sennheiser HD600 should be one of your top choices.
In order to unlock their potentials, we will need to pair matching amps with the Sennheiser HD600 headphones. Without the right amps to drive them, the HD600s would not sound their absolute best. We are planning to list out some of the finest headphone amps which you can choose to go for and pair with these awesome Sennheiser headphones. But first, we need to learn more about their sonic performance and characteristic which is crucial for finding the right headphone amplifiers.
Table of Contents
Sound Characteristics and Strengths of Sennheiser HD600
The large open metal mesh earcups with the elegant black color finish make the Sennheiser HD600 look absolutely stylish. It is well padded and has a good grip which will fit nicely on most listeners’ heads but they are some cases where users find it a bit too tight which may cause some discomfort after long hours of music listening session. Since it is an open-back design headphone, the Sennheiser HD600 is not really suitable for outdoor use as the sound leakage might disturb other people around you. Furthermore, the noise from the surrounding environment might disturb your music listening experience due to the lack of noise isolation. The HD600 is not really portable and it is bulky in size.
The nominal impedance of 300 Ohms does give us an indication that the Sennheiser HD600 is not easy to drive and this will filter down the potential amp choices. The frequency response of the HD600 headphone is from 12Hz to 39kHz which is great. The 3 meters (9.8ft) cable length should be long enough for you to move around freely in your workspace while mixing your music and working on your professional projects.
More Details at Amazon – Sennheiser HD 600 Professional Headphones (Black)
The level of clarity is astounding for an open-back headphone at this price range, music details are been heard in crystal clear sound quality. The subtle details and nuances of the music are been produced cleanly without sounding overly bright. The Sennheiser HD600 will dig out every detail it could find and this is terrific especially if you are mixing and/or is a critical listener who doesn’t like missing music nuances. The bass performance on the other hand would probably be its Achilles’ heel as it is lacking and doesn’t go deep enough. Bass fanatics would probably shun the HD600 open-back headphone. If you want a bit more bass, you probably want to check out HD650 instead.
The size of the soundstage is good enough without sounding congested, it is also due to how impeccable the stereo imaging is as it gives us amazing precision and highly defined separation. As mentioned before the clarity of the overall sound reproduction is astonishing but does make the treble a bit too bright at times. Still, it helps to give us an accurate and transparent music presentation with plenty of insights. The vocals and musical instruments sounded natural, the tonality and timbre are well-balanced as well.
The overall sound reproduction of the Sennheiser HD600 is very detailed and clean, the bass performance may be lacking but it is tightly delivered. If you want a faithful and intimate music presentation of your favorite songs, the HD600 is definitely an excellent choice to go for. For casual music listeners, this open-back headphone probably is not ideal for you. The steel blue color finish looks cool though but I digressed. We have gathered enough information and can now share with you a list of the best headphone amps to pair with the Sennheiser HD600 open-back headphone.
Sennheiser HD600 Specifications
- Wearing Style: Headband (Over the Ear)
- Transducer Principle: Open, Dynamic
- Frequency Response: 12Hz – 39kHz
- THD: 0.1 %
- Nominal Impedance: 300 Ohms
- Connector: 1/4″ (6.3 mm) stereo jack plug
- Cable Length: 9.8ft (3m)
- Weight: 260g (0.57lbs)
Best Amps to pair with Sennheiser HD600
The Darkvoice 336SE is one of the best tube headphone amps to match with the Sennheiser HD600. The 336SE adds that sense of scale and has a slightly laid-back music presentation. The added warmth doesn’t muddle the overall sound reproduction while smoothening out the hard edges, the Darkvoice 336SE is also capable of producing plenty of details and all these sonic characteristics make this headphone tube amplifier really suitable to be paired with the Sennheiser HD600. The sweeter sound quality might make the music delivery sounds more pleasing for casual listeners.
More Information at Amazon – DarkVoice 336SE
If you want power without compromising the sound quality, the Drop + THX AAA 789 Linear is the ideal headphone amplifier to go for. The overall sound reproduction is transparent and filled with insights where the THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier 789 will leave no stones unturned and simply dig out every music detail it can find. This is a fantastic headphone amp for listeners who are critical and analytical, especially for those who want an astonishing level of clarity. The clean and clear sonic presentation may be overly bright to some listeners so we recommend having a listen first before seriously considering it.
More Info at Amazon – Drop + THX AAA 789 with Balanced XLR and Single-Ended RCA Inputs
The Bottlehead Crack headphone amplifier is one of the very best amps to be paired with the Sennheiser HD600. It is highly recommended by quite a number of HD600 users who highly praised the headphone amp for its exceptional sonic performance and matching characteristics with their Sennheiser HD600s. If you also include the Speedball upgrade, the overall sonic performance would be even better. The only qualms we have is that you will need to do it yourself (DIY) and build the Bottlehead Crack headphone amp from the kit which you need to purchase. Based on the rave reviews provided by the headphone users, this is probably worth the effort.
The Topping L30 is another high-quality headphone amp that you can go for and it has more than enough power to drive the Sennheiser HD600 headphones efficiently. The Topping L30 will be an exemplary choice for listeners who are looking for a livelier music delivery of their favorite tunes. The revealing nature of the LS30 will complement the transparent characteristics of the HD600 headphones really well. This will also make the overall sound reproduction sound a bit leaner and helps to lower the emphasis of the high bass, giving you a cleaner music presentation. We will suggest hearing them out first so to see it is not too bright sounding for you.
More Info at Amazon – Topping L30 Hi-Res Headphone Amplifier Sliver
If you are looking for a headphone amp with a neutral and a hint of warmth sonic characteristic, the Schiit Vali 2 is an ideal choice. The smoother music delivery of the Vali 2 will fare well with the Sennheiser HD600 headphone as it does not compromise the transparency and muddle the details while softening the edges a little, allowing you to listen to your favorite tunes for a longer duration without listener fatigue. The Schiit Vali 2 is modestly priced too. The bass performance of the Vali 2 amp will complement the HD600, which gives you a fuller sound quality.
More Info at Amazon – Schiit Vali 2 Tube Hybrid Amp
The Audeze Deckard will be for listeners who want the very best headphone amp to partner with their Sennheiser HD600 and when the budget is not an issue. It is a headphone amplifier with a premium quality DAC that supports up to 32-bit/384kHz sampling rates. Audeze Deckard is an extremely powerful headphone amp that can easily drive the Sennheiser HD600 open-back headphone and make it sing. The spacious sound quality of Deckard is cleanly delivered with accuracy, the low ends performance of the amp does slightly improves the overall bass quality. It has an ultra-low noise and polished background, along with high-resolution music delivery, it will make your favorite music sound more intimate.
More Info at Amazon – Audeze Deckard Headphone Amplifier
To Conclude
These headphone amps are some of the finest on the market and we highly suggest arranging an audition to hear them out. You should look through the list and select the ones that best fit your preferences/requirements. We recommend using your favorite song/music during the headphone amplifier audition so that you can easily tell the difference in sound quality. If possible, the music files used during the audition should be at least lossless/CD quality and higher.
