Get a special edition Sennheiser HD 650 headphone for $200
It's not even Black Friday yet but Massdrop is selling pairs of the Sennheiser HD 6xx for $200, and they sound really good.
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If you've had your eyes on a pair of Sennheiser's HD 5 or HD 6 series headphones for a while you may want to stop what you're doing right now. Membership-based shopping site Massdrop has just announced its special edition Sennheiser HD 6xx for $200, and the site says it's identical to the HD 650 ($339).
The Massdrop HD 6xx is a supra-aural headphone which still boasts an open design and 40mm aluminum drivers. The biggest changes over the 650 are the color scheme -- the molded plastic is now midnight blue -- and the detachable 6-feet cable terminates in a 3.5mm plug instead of the larger 6.5mm of the original.
We looked at the HD 650 in 2006 and found that it offered a relaxed but rich sound which rivalled the high-end Grado RS-2. And that was when the Sennheisers cost $500!
Listening to the HD 6xx we can confirm they also have a warm sound with deep bass and a slightly rolled-off top end. As CNET's resident Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg noted, they flatter pretty much any style of music, and we enjoyed listening to a range of genres from electronica to metal to folk. They're not the last word in detail but if you want to relax and enjoy music they offer a lot for the money.
While they have a reputation for being difficult to drive -- they are designed for home use -- we were able to drive them with a Samsung Galaxy S6 without issue. You'll get even better results out of a DAC, such as the Audioquest Dragonfly Red, or a dedicated headphone amp.
To nab yourself one of 5,000 pairs of the HD6 xx sign up for Massdrop here. The headphones are due to ship by December 25 to domestic addresses. If you're outside of the US you can order the headphones but will pay more for delivery.