Is Sennheiser 600/650 an overkill ?

The 580/600/650 will be to hard for your computer to drive without an amp. I would recommend you check out anything the the Grado line starting from the SR-60's and up. The higher up the line you go the better they get.

I have the SR-225's and like thm very much. They are easy enought to drive that my ipod can handle them. You can also ge the grado 1/4 to 1/8 adapter its a few buck more than other adapter but I like the design (does not put added pressure on the 1/8 headphone plug) and is well built.

My Grado headphone take an enormous amout of time to break in. At least 300 hours but once they do they are worht it. My advice though is to stay away from the SR-325's, so say that they a little fatiging afterawhile.

You can read more about them at headroom.com

Probably not. I currently have two sets (1 for home, 1 for work) of the 580s - 1 was bought here for $125 and the other I got off Audio Annex for $85!!! They sound fantastic, are easy enough to drive with your PC, and do not seem to bother anyone else her in the cube farm.

I imagine the 600s or 650s would do as well or better...

-RW-

I don't know of anyone who was disappointed when they bought something because it was too good. I know of lots of people that wish they would have popped for the better product. Maybe down the road you can upgrade other things to be more in line with the 600/650s.

The Sennheiser 280s are available from musiciansfriend.com for $100. IMHO anything better than these and you'll be listening to the inadequacies of MP3. Even with these $100 headphones you can clearly hear the difference between MP3s and CDs. I wouldn't spend more if I were you ... or get two pairs 280pros for work and used 580/600s for home.

BTW the 280 pros are very efficient ... you will not need an amplifier. A battery powered portable will drive them very loud.

600s for $200. Just get 'em! Their comfort level is worth it, even though your source isn't.