Unfortunately fragile wires are a no-go. The M50X has detachable wires which is a huge plus.

seeing the 600 is funny cos i have the 599, which is like the best you can get without having a DAC and amp. they're also good headphones! prolly all i'll need until i feel like getting the tools to get better stuff idk

As a klutz with ADHD, I was gonna recommend these if someone else didn't, despite any conflicts with Damon's requirements. I'm still gonna pitch them, b/c they're just that good.

I've daily-driven the HD600's for... Fuck me, more than a decade now. Best cans I've ever had, in every respect but the cable. They lack the ability to rotate the earcups 90 degrees, such as for comfort when wearing off-ear around the neck, which can be a dealbreaker for some. Padding is good and replaceable, tension is decent on a large head. Adjustability is otherwise nice. They're OVER-ear, too, thank the stars, but they're also comfortable when pressed on an ear (such as when wearing half-cocked, to listen to others talking or something.)

They don't need a DAC - I can drive mine from my Samsung S9+'s 3.5mm jack nicely, but they won't blow my eardrums out. They ofc benefit greatly from even a low-end DAC. Don't bother with the FocusRite Scarlett DACs, mind you; they're cheap and typically review well, but they're not the highest quality in important areas. My SoloGen2 has a very crackly cable-port issue that seems to have been common on the older models. Can maybe offer reccs if desired.

If you want high-quality open-stage all-purpose daily cans, these are absolutely worth the time, money, and dogshit-quality cable.

The cable sucks ass. It's not braided or reinforced in any particular way, but the point of failure has always been the weak strain relief on the connector joints themselves. I've destroyed 4 in my time owning them (which is less than I had destroyed wired IEMs in a similar timeframe). Cheap replacements can be hit/miss in quality at times - had one replacement sound markedly worse. OEM ones are still fragile garbage, but at least they're available.

And, to clarify: the HD600 does have detachable cables, they're just small, and not really intended for daily detaching - mostly for the purpose of repairability, which is still huge. Could be much stronger with more strain relief around the connector itself, honestly considering bulking mine up with a bunch of heatshrink layered over itself, but we'll see.

They're very repairable, in addition to being quite durable. I've worn them out when travelling, at the gym (with good cable management), long roadtrips, on flights, while touring Europe, and more. They ARE open-stage, which means they throw pretty much everything out into the room a fair ways, so they're a 'be mindful of others' kind of situation, but it makes for a much richer and less head-in-a-box soundscape, even for mono recordings. I've since acquired respectably priced IEMs, so much of their travelling days are over, but their quality is still top of the line, even against modern products.

I've reshaped driver cones deformed due to impact/droppage/etc. Even with some very minor creases from past deforming, the sound quality is still exceptional. I have even replaced one of drivers directly, for about $80AUD (open up, pop out, pop new one in). Should have done them both, honestly - the quality difference is noticeable, as one struggles within a certain kHZ range, while the newer one is still flawless. Ah well; a bit like car tyres - buy half and rotate. One point of concern for any driver capsule/cone repairs are the tiny fucking wires that connect the two cable pins to the driver itself... Broke one completely by accident. Bam. Driver's gone. Didn't have the skills to consider adding a new one at the time. Might be different now, not sure.

Over the time I've had them, I got the original pair at a decent discount over base (I think I got them for maybe $350AUD inc postage, second hand?, might find them for $500-600AUD new nowdays, pending stock), and have since paid maybe another $200AUD on top of that in repairs over almost a decade for largely the same quality as the day I got them.

Regardless of other features, I will never again buy a pair of headphones that are not as maintainable as these. As long as they keep selling replacement parts, I'll probably never upgrade them. (The HD600-ish range also seems to be a long-standing quality product, tho.) They are, without a doubt, the most repairable (for less than buying new) 'audiophile'/'monitor' headphones I've ever used.

Optional (high quality) wireless would be a GODSEND for something like these, given the absolute disappointment of a cable, but IDK if that's a thing that can be added onto headphones nowdays or not, and similarly IDK how they'd feel weight/use-wise w/ a battery and extra stuff on them.

Happy to answer any questions you might have on them! You know how to hmu.

I love these dearly but they're fully open and they let allllllll the noise in