Sennheiser HD650 Appreciation Thread!! - Page 728

^^ First of all, we hear things differently. My perception of too bright and rolled off treble may not be the same as your, so take it all with a grain of salt. 

Tubes will flavor the sound based on their own characteristics. But in general tubes will give a warmer sound. Smooth treble and mids, and add a touch of bass. To my ears, tube and tube amps simply sound more musical and therefore more enjoyable. My experience is with the lyr and LD amps. I love the sound of vocals with tubes which is what I listen to most often. 

gL!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzybaffy 

^ That said, how do tubes generally sound? In comparison to solid state amps, that is. 

 

If I could just guess, basing on how they look actually, would it be that tubes are very good with mids, have a bit of an airy sound, with a bit of "velocity" or "movement"? 

 

Also, are they generally more warm? I've heard that's not always the case, but generally is... 

 

And, I might have read that the tubes themselves are slowly going out of production? But given how many modern tube amps there are, I'm a little skeptical. Is this true? Or is it just that all the new tubes aren't as great as the old ones, and the old ones are slowly going out of production? 

I mostly agree with what MattTCG said and just want to echo what he said first. You can be as objective as you like comparing amps, but even if something is objectively better, you may find it to be subjectively worse. Hence why even though I have listened to many other headphones (e.g. HD 800, LCD 2/3, PS1000) I still keep coming back to my HD 650s. So basically the best thing to do is to go to a store or a meet or whatever you have access to (compare a tube guitar amp with a ss guitar amp for all I care) but listen and see which one you prefer. :)

Also tubes will continue to be produced; particularly for the audiophile crowd. But many NOS tubes are disappearing or becoming harder to get. Interestingly, prices with tubes aren't always inversely proportionate to rarity since now many sellers will charge ridiculously inflated prices for tubes waiting for some unlucky guy to buy them. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by scolaiw 

 

I mostly agree with what MattTCG said and just want to echo what he said first. You can be as objective as you like comparing amps, but even if something is objectively better, you may find it to be subjectively worse. Hence why even though I have listened to many other headphones (e.g. HD 800, LCD 2/3, PS1000) I still keep coming back to my HD 650s. So basically the best thing to do is to go to a store or a meet or whatever you have access to (compare a tube guitar amp with a ss guitar amp for all I care) but listen and see which one you prefer. :)

Also tubes will continue to be produced; particularly for the audiophile crowd. But many NOS tubes are disappearing or becoming harder to get. Interestingly, prices with tubes aren't always inversely proportionate to rarity since now many sellers will charge ridiculously inflated prices for tubes waiting for some unlucky guy to buy them. 

Guitar players really saved us when it comes to tube availability.  While they tended to select tubes for different qualities than audiophiles, the purchased in larger quantities and kept at least a few factories open.  Nowadays, I feel like the availability of audiophile quality current production tubes is increasing.  Having said that, the NOS supplies are certainly dwindling.  And even the varieties that are used less frequently that still have large NOS supplies are harder to come by at reasonable prices.  I've got an amp that uses 6U8A's in the driver board; there are plenty of varieties available for $2-3 each, but there are a few sellers asking for $20 or more for common varieties and as much as $60 for Telefunkens.

To put it shortly, I agree with scolaiw.

Sorry to go off-topic for a moment, but...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satellite_6 

Yes we all know that this forum censors anything that could hurt its interests with its sponsors - or you should know if you don't...

...that assertion is no less absurd than any other time I've addressed it before. Here are a few related posts:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/583950/shure-srh1840-and-srh1440-unveiled/1305#post_8273995

http://www.head-fi.org/t/572793/thunderpants-t50rp-mod-group-buy/510#post_8112525

http://www.head-fi.org/t/579472/is-it-worth-it-upgrading-lcd2-to-lcd3/75#post_7891656

http://www.head-fi.org/t/618255/check-out-the-head-fi-summer-2012-buying-guide#post_8527169

As I've said before, on most days, at least a couple-thousand posts are made on Head-Fi. How many of those posts do you suppose criticize sponsor products? And are you suggesting that they're removed? So the only posts having to do with sponsor products are the ones that are positive, all others deleted? Is that what you're suggesting? Really? Look around. It won't take long for you to see how absurd that suggestion is.

Now back on-topic.

Does anyone have any suggestions on tubes for the Lyr? 

tubes that work well with the HD650s I mean :D 

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcedTea 

Does anyone have any suggestions on tubes for the Lyr? 

 

tubes that work well with the HD650s I mean :D 

Is there anything you'd like to alter by swapping the tubes?  For instance: more sparkle in the treble, tighter bass, even more euphonic mids, etc.  Your personal preferences for sound can go a long way in generating useful recommendations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcedTea 

Does anyone have any suggestions on tubes for the Lyr? 

 

tubes that work well with the HD650s I mean :D 

I think it's hard to go wrong with CV2492 tubes, Mullard or Brimar. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcedTea 

Does anyone have any suggestions on tubes for the Lyr? 

 

tubes that work well with the HD650s I mean :D 

I've been through a few flavors of Amperex and so far the best I've had in my Lyr are a matched pair of 1966 halo getter Bugle Boys. They're very, very good with the Senns.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzybaffy 

 

Aroldan, the poster who posted right before my last comment, said he has a Crack, and says he has a 650 in his sound signature. 

 

And somebody else just said he tried the Crack with a 650 at a meet. 

I simply can not think any better amp than Crack for HD650 in that price range, they're just awesome pairing! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzybaffy 

^ That said, how do tubes generally sound? In comparison to solid state amps, that is. 

 

If I could just guess, basing on how they look actually, would it be that tubes are very good with mids, have a bit of an airy sound, with a bit of "velocity" or "movement"? 

 

Also, are they generally more warm? I've heard that's not always the case, but generally is... 

 

And, I might have read that the tubes themselves are slowly going out of production? But given how many modern tube amps there are, I'm a little skeptical. Is this true? Or is it just that all the new tubes aren't as great as the old ones, and the old ones are slowly going out of production? 

Tube amps can be just as neutral as any solid state amp, and solid state amps can be as warm in the mid range as some tube amps.  It usually comes down to how the amp was designed.  

^ I see. Then does that mean, effectively, there is no general difference in sound between tube amps and solid state amps? Or, is there a difference, in general? And if so, what is the difference? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzybaffy 

^ I see. Then does that mean, effectively, there is no general difference in sound between tube amps and solid state amps? Or, is there a difference, in general? And if so, what is the difference? 

There can be a difference.  I was mainly trying to point out that just generally saying a tube amp has to be warm or a solid state amp is neutral is, in my opinion, a too broad of a statement.  Each amp will have their own characteristics.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzerdave 

 

Is there anything you'd like to alter by swapping the tubes?  For instance: more sparkle in the treble, tighter bass, even more euphonic mids, etc.  Your personal preferences for sound can go a long way in generating useful recommendations.

Hmmm... 

to be honest, I do love the HD650 for what they are. I wouldn't mind different tubes for different sound signatures. It wasn't until the meet at the bay area that I realized how amps make a big difference. The HD650 sounded completely different out of a Burson amp than I was used to with my Lyr. 

What would be great tubes for an even more euphoric mids? And one for tighter bass? As of right now, I'm just switching back and forth between the HD650 and He-400 for the sound signature. 

On a side note, would you guys suggest getting tube raisers? I'm looking for other accessories for my Lyr lol 

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcedTea 

Does anyone have any suggestions on tubes for the Lyr? 

 

tubes that work well with the HD650s I mean :D 

This is the best I've ever heard with the lyr for the hd650:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMPEREX-12AX7-ECC83-ORANGE-GLOBE-VACUUM-TUBE-1967-O-GETTER-SINGLE-/321071817900?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4ac15f24ac

I just don't understand how someone could like the sound from hd 650's without a large treble boost! Its funny to me how different people hear things. I also think it really matters what you are used to. I just feel like they need way more treble before I could ever consider getting them.