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Portable
My hopes for going portable with the HD 620S weren’t very high to start of but the good old Mojo2 often surprises when it comes to full sized headphones. With the HD 620S you get the highest level of energy in a lighter presentation. Clarity, cleanness and speed are excellent, and I also love the mid timbre here. Layering actually is pretty good. This combo sounds lighter but energetic, dynamic, and lively. It’s incredibly enjoyable though you need to use a good quality recording and pay attention to the type of music you’re playing. That said, this really is a positive and nice surprise and if you like a neutrally tuned solid state kind of sound with a good technical level (over body, warmth and bass impact), you will love this setup. Especially the top end here mesmerizes me and so far that only happened with the Headonia, and that means a lot.
Dongle wise I really wanted to include one of my favorite dongles, the Cayin RU7. Here I like the HD 620S most on high gain, as it elevates the energy level and improves the layering as well as the mid timbre. Sound-wise you are very close to what the Mojo2 is offering, though the latter sound fuller and more snappy. The presentation with the RU7 is lighter and bass actually is the least present of all the amplifiers I used the HD 620S with in this article. I would say this is ok as a last resort solution, but it’s not the source that makes the Sennheiser sound best.
Conclusion
The Sennheiser HD 620S plays well to very well with a whole series of amplifiers, no matter the technology. I do recommend using a more powerful desktop amplifier as it will really show you what the HD 620S is capable of. Then you can tune it further based on your preference for tubes, OTL or solid state. The HD 620S does scale up nicely with a good amp, something we also immediately saw in Munich when we hooked it up to one of Feliks Audio’s OTL amps.
Sound – Comparisons
To be honest, I don’t really have a lot of closed-back headphones in my collection that belong in this price range. One of the undisputed kings in the budget friendly closed-back segment however is the good old Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO (32Ohm version), which I absolutely love. I have one, my wife has one, and I think half my family by now owns one. It’s just ridiculously good for the price it is going for. All it needs are velour pads. To me this is the biggest competitor of the HD 620S. Differently said, is the 200 USD/EURO more expensive Senn worth it upgrading to from the 770 PRO?
Unfortunately it isn’t that easy as the 32Ohm Beyer hardly needs any amplification compared to the HD 620S, so it will sound better on non-powerful devices more easily. Add a dedicated amplifier in the mix and the story is different. From a look and feel point of view these headphones are very different. You might prefer one over the other in terms of design, but they both are light and comfy. We already know that the DT770 PRO is a very sturdy headphone. It can take a serious beating. We will see in the long run how the new Sennheiser behaves in this regard.
Sound wise I overall find the DT770 PRO to sound faster and more energetic. It also has a higher top end extension and liveliness, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The HD 620S is smoother in the delivery of mids and bass, and it has less sub bass presence than the Beyer. The Senn focuses on the mid bass area more. The HD 620S presents those areas, as well as the treble region a bit softer and that will make it easier on the ears for most. That said, I do find the depth and layering better on the DT770 PRO.
Vocally, I feel the Sennheiser has the most forward sounding vocals because they sound a little sharper than on the smoother DT770 PRO (only for the vocals). The DT770 PRO is the most closed and intimate sounding of both headphones. Here the HD 620S scores better with its spaciousness, airiness and openness. Precision and detail wise the HD 620S is ahead of the older Beyer. It is more revealing, and it has the better note extension.
Both have things going for them and the tuning is just different, but the HD 620S is the better technical performer. It’s still impressive to see the old Beyer’s performance though. TL;DR: the tuning of the HD 620S focuses on mid bass, it’s smoother, more extended and more open, where the DT770 PRO is livelier, more extended on the top end, bigger in sub bass, and it portrays better depth/layering.
I don’t feel it makes sense comparing a closed back headphone to an open one, so for now I will not be going into a detailed comparison with say the HD 560S or the HD600. But if you want to see how the latter compared to the HD 620S (Sennheiser likes comparing both), then you can check out the graph I posted in this article. Sure it doesn’t say everything, but it gives you an idea of what you can expect. If I don’t specifically need a closed black headphone, I will use an open one any time f the day and the same goes for me in case of the HD 620S and the HD 600/650/660S2.
Conclusion
If you need a closed back headphone, you want it to sound open more than very precise and you don’t want to break the bank, the HD 620S is a headphone to put on your shortlist. Just make sure you amplify it correctly and you will enjoy its musical, v-shaped, bass heaver and smooth presentation.
The HD 620S is a headphone that is nice and easy to listen to: it is dynamic, engaging, musical, detailed enough, weighty, has an excellent vocal presentation and it isolates well. Add a smoother delivery and warmth to that mix and you get a lovely headphone. For a closed back headphone in this price range, the spaciousness, airiness and openness are just remarkable.
Good job!
Summary
Pro
- Price/quality ratio is good
- Open sound experience for a closed-back headphone in this price bracket
- Musical, dynamic and engaging sound
- Easy on the ears
- Great pads
Con
- Needs good amplification to show what it’s capable of
Page 2: Sound Part 1, Synergy
Page 3: Sound Part 2, Synergy, Comparison, Conclusion, Summary
Van
Thanks for the review. Shouldn’t it be compared to the DT700 Pro pricewise? I’m interested in those differences.
What can you say about it?
Lieven
Nothing, as it isn’t available
Max
Thank you for the review, Lieven!
Didn’t understand what you meen by DT 700 Pro X are not available though?
And I as well was expecting the comparison to Pro X model, rather than old 770s.
Lieven
Thank you!
I don’t have the DT 700 Pro X available here, it is not in my collection.
The “old” model still is up for sale and probably there are more on the planet than the newer model, so imho the comparison makes a lot of sense 🙂
Dave
Do you think tghe Shanling up4 2022 edition is capable enough for this headphone?
Kamil
Thanks for the review! I gave these a go since I’m on a hunt for fitting closed-backs and had nothing but misses so far, mostly due to me being very sensitive to spiky treble. Which, to my surprise, these HD 620S had heaps of. I don’t know if it’s the consequence of the largely uncovered drivers or something, but I was surprised. It’s nowhere as bad as the DT770 Pro or Denon AH-D5200, though it is substantially worse than the FiiO FT1.
The only headphones I tested that did not have any harshness are the Meze 99 Neo and the AKG K371.