Headphones, wired to replace Sony wireless noise cancelling ones

[Puggie]

I have a pair of Sony WH-H900N wireless noise cancelling headphones. The were bought on a whim for a noisy airplane trip and were excellent. Since Covid they have done superb duty for Zoom/Teams meetings and have been a 100% solid worthwhile £150 purchase.

Now I'm wondering what would be a decent upgrade from these, purely for music listening (so more to complement to Sonys than replace them)? I used to nick a friend's Sennheisers about 20odd years ago, I believe they were HD600s, (nice grey pebble marbled finish) and they were superb. Would something like these be a decent upgrade from the Sonys? any other suggestions (I remember trying a set of Jeklyn Float2s and them being quite good also)? I don't want to spend daft money (couple of hundred quid) and second hand would be fine, and I have a Sugden headmaster to poke them along with.

Any suggestions (apart form joining Head-Fi)?

 

[robs]

Sennheiser still have stock of 'refurbished' HD660s at a very good price:

https://global.shop.sennheiser.com/...CmsMrlcTB3e.hQ&LSNSUBSITE=Omitted_hL3Qp0zRBOc

I bought a pair a while back and think they are superb, though haven't compared with HD600.

 

[Puggie]

Bigger number must be better surely???

 

[narabdela]

Bigger number must be better surely???

Nope. There are many, including myself, who prefer the HD600 to the HD650 and HD660.

 

[LPSpinner]

I also would not hesitate to recommend the HD600's the new ones have a slightly updated appearance without the marble "bench-top" finish but still sound the same as the original model. A quick look over on Rtings.com and you can find the response measurements of the HD600, 650 and 660. if you compare the graphs of all three you will find the HD600 to be the flattest while the HD660 has a bit of a "bass bump" at the cost of an early HF roll off. The 600 is also the best price while outside the sound profile the build quality is identical for all three models. All three can use the same cables so you can run the HD600 in balanced mode by just using the balanced cable supplied with the HD660. (available as a spare part).
A nice alternative is also the Beyerdynamic DT880. Its a little brighter (not by much) and sounds very nice... I ended up with both because I could decide on one.
Both headphones also have replaceable pads and other spares so you can keep them going for ages.

Lpspinner.

 

[krenzler]

Also depends on what you will drive them with - 660S is less amp picky being 150 ohms versus the 300 ohms of 600/650.

 

[narabdela]

Both headphones also have replaceable pads and other spares so you can keep them going for ages.

Lpspinner.

That's the beauty of Senn's. I've an old pair of HD570s that have had more repairs than Trigger's broom.

 

[CTank]

HD600’s just seem right to me, doubt I’ll ever be without a pair.

A nice, cheaper alternative are the HD58x Jubilee. I also have a pair of these, and they go for under £150 on eBay. Recommended.

 

[hluga]

One could also look at shure SRH 1840 or 940 if you prefer closed headphones. Both are excellenr IMHO

 

[gustav_errata]

A nice, cheaper alternative are the HD58x Jubilee. I also have a pair of these, and they go for under £150 on eBay. Recommended.

Likewise the HD6XX, which AIUI are 650-ish.
I have a pair and I like them but I haven't compared to the other 600 family members.

 

[LPSpinner]

...A nice, cheaper alternative are the HD58x Jubilee. I also have a pair of these, and they go for under £150 on eBay. Recommended.

...Likewise the HD6XX, which AIUI are 650-ish .../

Good call ... If you are buying over the Net, the Massdrop variants offer good VFM...

LPSpinner.