Originally posted by: Starbuck1975
I would caution against going Sennheiser...the cords on them are very flimsy...I don't know about the rest of you, but I always have problems with my headphone cord getting tangled in the wheels of my desk chair, or wrapped around the arms of my desk chair...I have had two pairs of Sennheisers die on me because I accidentally ran over the headphone cord with my desk chair, and it somehow severed the connection...after doing some research online, this is apparently not an uncommon problem.
I ended up going with a pair of Ultrasone HFI-15Gs after seeing a positive review for them in PC Gamer...extremely comfortable, and satisfy a diverse range of functions from gaming to music.
If you can solder at all, you can try DIYing your own cable, I fixed mine by myself. Otherwise there are many skillful DIYers at head-fi who could assist you with that at a minimal cost for their labor. In fact, many people consider cable replacement a must have upgrade for most higher priced sennheiser lineup including HD25 and HD580/600/650. Aftermarket cable buisness is fairly sized with 5-6 different brands competing against each other.
I have the MDR-V600s and the HD580s (baby brother to the HD600s). I don't own an amp, so I'll take the Sonys nearly any day of the week over the Sennheisers. Sound isolation and much lower impedence makes the Sonys sound much better with what I drive them with (laptop, inexpensive Denon receiver, portable MP3 players). I find the Sonys' headband more comfortable over a long period of time than the Senns'.
The Sennheisers are more detailed, but they're not suitable for higher volume listening, which is what I prefer most of the time.
Liking or disliking sonic signature is a whole different matter from measuring numerical measurements, and we are all entitled to our opinions. HD580/600/650 were never designed with isolation in mind as they are
open headphones, so isolation is rightfuly not there. most people will agree you absolutely do need some half decent amp for these cans to sing. There are people arguing all you need is impedance matching and power, but none of those people I came across actually tried quality amplification themselves, so the truth is out there. Hearing is believing, and I used to think my cmoy was unbelivably good 5 years ago.
Nowadays, head-fi is torn between people who prefer sony's new flagship model, SA-5000, and those who prefer HD-650. There are other phones that are known for their unique appeal, but these two phones get most attention in the mid-fi segment. That being said, I clearly prefer my HD-650 over my CD-3000 I have been trying to ditch. Your V6 is definitely outclassed in objective terms, although you may prefer it personally (and thats perfectly fine).
EDIT : oops, sorry. I missed the "no amp" part... all i can say is my hd580 too did sound ****** straight out of sound blaster I used to have back then. not really a apples to oranges comparison tho as I have a much better source now.