Introduction

I've been doing audio reviews for a few months now and have learned about brands all over the world. One brand I did not have to get to know is Sennheiser, especially since I have personally bought many of their headphones over the years. My very first pair of headphones I bought with my own money was the original HD 598, and that tan-and-brown special has moved with me across continents and oceans since. In that time, I have also tried the HD 600/650/700/800/820, bought the HD 600 and HD 820 and sold both for different reasons that are beyond the scope of this article. The HD 650 was quite impressive admittedly, but my poor graduate student budget could not justify having it in the collection, too. Imagine my surprise when I first heard about the (Mass)Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX a few years ago, and thanks to Drop, I get to see how this version fares.


I've already said it in the teaser title, so let me preface the review by confirming that for all practical purposes, the HD 6XX is a Sennheiser HD 650. Drop, then Massdrop, worked with Sennheiser to create a custom SKU that drops (pun intended) a few accessories and invested in a larger order to make for the lower price the HD 6XX goes for compared to the HD 650. Having a retailer-specific SKU is in itself nothing new—HIFIMAN and Adorama have since worked on a special, discounted version of the HE6SE V2 to give another example. But I have to say there is nothing else in the audio world that even comes close to the allure the HD 6XX has, and thanks to Drop for providing a sample to TechPowerUp so that we may find out why for ourselves.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

This page is really where most of the differences between the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX and HD 650 are covered, but it's not as simple as that. Sennheiser has moved production facilities around Europe for a few models, including the HD 650 that currently has its DNA rooted in Romania in addition to Germany to where I would argue the product box and unboxing experience with the HD 6XX might actually be better. Refer to this unboxing video of a recent HD 650 to see what I mean. The HD 6XX shipped along with the Drop CTRL, Drop ALT, and Drop + RedSuns GMK Blue Samurai keycap set, so we begin with the product box itself. This one is monochrome, which you will see more of over the course of the review since Drop favors a clean design.

The cardboard box ships inside a plastic wrap and has the older Massdrop logo on front, which is a testament to the longevity of the HD 6XX as well. The product name is also seen, along with a render of the headphones and the Sennheiser logo in the bottom-right corner. There's contact information for Sennheiser on the side, with a confirmation that these were designed in Germany and made in Romania. Nothing new to see on the back except for the double flap that keeps the contents inside in place during transit. Open the box and a second one appears inside, this time all black and with only the truncated Sennheiser logo in the middle on the front for branding.


This inner box is where the newer HD 650 packaging really falls short, and the HD 6XX comes inside a pretty well built hard box with solid hinges. The box does not have any locking clasps and simply opens up from the top akin to a gift box, revealing the headphones right away. There is soft foam lining on the underside of the lid, as well as more, thicker foam in the primary compartment for further protection of the headphones on their way to you.


There is a multi-language instruction manual as well, which comes packed above the HD 6XX as a prompt to go through it before you handle the headphones. It goes over how best to connect these to a source, take care of the headphones, and replace parts as needed. We then get to the main event and see the headphones inside a shaped cutout placed in the foam layer and attached cable below. The loose foam piece we saw earlier was merely placed above the cable to prevent it from moving about and potentially hitting and scratching the headphones. A closer look at the cable and headphones merits separating the two, which means simply pulling the plugs off each ear cup. You may be asking yourself what's going on with those connectors, but let's talk about that on the next page, shall we?