http://camelcamelcamel.com/Sennheiser-HD-650-Headphones/product/B00018MSNI And I've been waiting for them to go back on sale for $287 ever since. :o

Hey guys, I never ended up purchasing the PM-3. I decided at some point that I want the HD650, and I've been stubbornly waiting for them to drop back down to $280, and I know I'm not alone in that. And if that never happens, so be it. I just moved into a house a couple months ago and so I've...

Bump.

You guys are making me second guess my plans to order a project Polaris...

Ooooo, it looks stunning. Wonder what kind of synergy it would have with the HD650 compared to other solid states like Project Polaris, which is said to be one of the few solid states that matches beautifully with it.

Good to know and thanks for posting. Love that album. What amp do you use? I'll be getting a Project Polaris. -Future HD650 owner.

Maybe. It's been a couple months since I had them so it's hard to remember. Some music sounded perfect with them like Jon Hopkins, and others sounded uninspiring like Modest Mouse and Radiohead. I definitely liked them the most with electronic music. I was considering the Oppo PM3 too, and many...

Indeed. Different people, different ears, different sources, different perceptions. Many of you find no fault in the treble, but myself, Tyll, Hachiko, WriterHead, and others seem to hear various degrees of edginess, tizzyness, grittiness, or graininess. Not by great significance, merely nit...

  I purchased them in the first place because the consensus was that they were indeed smooth sounding and slightly rolled off. My #1 criteria for headphones - beyond whether they were open/closed/planar/dynamic/large/small/V-shape/flat/warm/neutral/etc - was that they be smooth sounding. So...

At $248 I might have kept my X2. Sub-bass is amazing on them, but the treble was often too edgy for me with them straight out of my laptop. It's now 2 months later and I'm planning to get an amp, the HD650, and a DAC. I wonder if I had these upgrades back when I had the X2 if they would have...

  Because I know myself and I won't always remember to charge it while not using it or when its battery is low.

Damn. Was that posted somewhere in this thread?   Any ideas for a USB powered/wall-wart amp that has the C5's signature?

I'm ready to buy the C5, just waiting to hear if it's okay to leave it plugged into power constantly. Emailed them, but haven't heard anything. I know that by leaving my iPod constantly plugged into USB in my car, it has pretty much demolished its battery life.   I really don't care about...

Thinking about getting this for an HD650 pairing. I don't need portability, but it will probably come in handy at times. The main reason I want the C5 is for its sonic signature - super smooth and slightly warm. One question - would it be bad to constantly have this thing plugged in to usb...

Thanks, I'll look into the mayflower. Do you have any personal experience with the cayin c5? I've heard that it has a smooth and non-analytical signature, but I'd like to corroborate that with others.

  I can't really squeeze any more money for an amp because I'd like to also get a DAC eventually. I wasn't even considering a separate amp a few months ago, but after going through several different headphones and finding none that I wanted to keep, I feel that the HD650 might be the one for me...

I too am looking for an amp for the HD650, and I've run into analysis paralysis.   My budget is $150 and so far I'm considering the Magni 2 Uber and Cayin C5. Not really looking at tubes at the moment.   Which non tube amp would have the best performance and synergy with the HD650 for around...

The Cayin C5 vs the Magni 2 Uber...   Is the Magni 2 more future proof since it puts out more power, or is the Cayin C5 comparably capable?   Does one or the other offer a better noise floor, or any significant differences?

There isn't anything inherently better about a wall-wart amp verses a usb-powered one, right?

  No headphone amp currently.     I'll for sure consider that. The default option isn't sterile either though right?

Ah right you are. A slip of the mind. :) I was considering the O2+ODAC for a time, but I don't think I want the O2 as my amp. Thought about the HA-2 too, but nothing in the reviews I read sounded real special or anything.

I'm not sure if I want a tube amp. Never had one though.   edited. I'll likely be getting a DAC too at some point.

Hoping to find a $150 amp that will last me many years and many headphones.   I’m not trying to chase that last 10% of performance. I’m not looking for analyticity or wanting to pick out every nuance and detail. I am looking for a liquid smooth and refined sound.   Prefer a portable amp, but...

Don't get stuck on the dye "issue." When I had the X2, I stuck socks around the ear cups for over 24 hours and no dye came off.