Sennheiser HD650 Appreciation Thread!! - Page 669

I'm glad you haven't taken it too personally, I think some people on this thread have been rather unpleasant to you. Maybe I'll try some Brahms on my Q701 and see what I think re my HD650.

dude that eq just gave me sub-bass on my hd650's LOL ! crazy I like it alot. thanks

 

Brahms is a great reference

Nicely put, Grokit.

 

They'll scale up very well and even more so than many other headphones. But to a point they simply can't compete with the other "top tier" cans.

Doesn't mean you can't enjoy 'em more than the aformentioned.

 

I have this kind of relationship with my Mad Dog.

Edited by paradoxper - 12/31/12 at 10:27am

The Mad Dogs don't really scale - that's the good thing about the Mad Dogs.  They're pretty good with whatever amp.  

 

However, the 650s are able to sound better and better as the gear gets better and better.  Not such a good thing when using amps like Magni and ipdos and such..

.
Edited by fuzzybaffy - 12/31/12 at 12:20pm

If anyone is curious, i'm loving the Schiit Magni + ODAC with the HD-650. For $99 I can't find anything wrong with the Magni, at least for the HD-650.

Doesn't seem to "add" anything, which is a plus for me. It does make the HD-650 quite revealing believe it or not.

Probably a combination of the amp and DAC. Still smooth sounding and totally fatigue free.

 

For those that expect some warmth from their amp, the Magni wouldn't be a good idea. Well, duh.

 

Not sure how the Modi compares to the ODAC. Probably similar..

 

NOTE: I don't find the Magni to have a small soundstage or any of that nonsense. Sorry it won't give you a massive soundstage on your HD-650

Yep - on the Magni they sound just fine.  Nothing wrong with them at all.  However, compared to my B22 or the Mjonlir it's no contest.  Yes - they do scale with better gear..

 

Sometime i'll need to go to a meet and really hear this with my own ears. I've found the HD-650 and my DJ100 to improve with every single upgrade. I'd say the HD-650 has improved more with my ODAC than any other headphone, even the Q701. More than the HD-600, 580 and 598 to my ears.

 

I think one reason I love the Magni is that it sounds crystal clear with the HD-650. I don't want it to be any warmer at all.

 

It wouldn't be surprised  though if some people might prefer the sound of a cheaper amp (just going by sound preferences) over some $1000 monster. It's possible I guess. I'll never ever buy an amp over $500, but if I ever did I'd be too worried about it being too colored or "musical". I don't know if I'd like the Lyr, but it's possible.

 

This Magni seems more neutral than the Asgard, but then again I didn't have the ODAC back then, so it's rather pointless to compare them.

 

The Magni doesn't seem dramatically different than my Micro Amp. The Magni might be a tiny bit less warm, but yet again I don't really find the Headroom Micro that warm at all, which is weird. In comparison my Clip+ sounds warmer Now to figure out which amp  is more transparent. I think the Micro, Magni and O2 perhaps might be pretty close in this area. Maybe not. The trick will be to see what the Magni sounds like with a bunch of different sources connected to it.

 

FYI for anyone that cares, I find the Magni better for the 650 than the E9, but not a huge difference. The E9 has more than enough power for the HD-650 as you know. The Magni seems a bit more balanced and detailed, but that's just going on memory. One weird thing about the E9 is that it always sounds the same depending on what source I connect...

.

Edited by preproman - 12/31/12 at 3:25pm

 

Orthos yes, HD650's and the other high end Senns and Beyers, not so much.  

 

HD600/650/800's are all high sensitivity, high impedance cans that need decent voltage swing but sound fantastic from low current OTL amps as well as higher current designs.  The marketing trend in high current ss and hybrid amps (6 and 8 watt "schiits" for example),  is being driving by the recent popularity of low efficiency, low impedance orthos.

You're right - I had the dag on HE-6 on my mind..   My bad.  I stand corrected..

Edited by preproman - 12/31/12 at 3:19pm

A quick question, how often do you change your hd650 pads? how do you know that it's time to change them?

These pads will last years if they're treated properly and not abused. Even when cared for the pad will break down with use, become depressed and not rebound. Basically once it's not extended the cup properly away from the ear it's time to replace it. 

Thanks for the gracious reply preproman! Yeah, I understand the he-6 really benefits from an amp with serious current and power. Some headfiers even use speaker taps for them as I recall?

The hd650s efficiency is one of its great attributes, in my mind. Not only do they scale well, but you can get good, enjoyable sound out of them even through lesser gear. For a lark, I actually plugged mine straight into my htc thunderbolt last week, which has pretty high gain for a phone but is not known for great sound (putting it mildly). The music certainly didn't have the sound stage, dynamics or texture of my main rig, but it was nonetheless enjoyable listening. Vocal and Instrumental timbre in particular were surprisingly decent - which is the 650's real magic to my ears. They sound great with great gear but also have a natural house sound that can make even poor sources and/or recordings sound good. This makes them a natural complement to my hd800s, which tend to put a spotlight on every minor flaw upstream.