Sennheiser HD650 Appreciation Thread!! - Page 469

Are these widely known to be more comfortable than the HD600? I have a fairly new pair of each and find these so much more comfortable than the HD600. 

Comfort should be more or less the same, since the headband is extremely similar. Most of the differences will be caused by the pads, I think. Since they are both fairly new, I think it may just be your own tastes. I've heard the HD600's once briefly, but I didn't think the comfort was all that different from the HD650. The HD555 is VERY similar as well.

They feel the same to me.

 

New ear pads = lots of clamping = uncomfortable. Go rack up the hours and burn in those ear pads!

Does anybody know what the black markings on the metal acoustic damper is for?

 

(Please ignore the zoom in of the driver. This was the best picture I could find)

 

I have had the HD 650's for about a year now, and they still feel uncomfortable to me after long periods of use. Maybe I have a funny head/jaw. I'm not sure trying to stretch them with something would help much.

 

On another note, I am getting an astrodyne power supply for my HeadRoom Desktop Amp, which I am using with these headphones. I am already getting good quality sound, but I'm just trying to squeeze out that extra little bit of quality. I'm kinda curious as to how these headphones sound like on different setups now. I really hope I don't get upgrade-itis a year from now and get $10,000 setup.

First thing I do is, when a new headphone clamps too much, bend it carefully so that it gets more comfy. Done this often, never had something breaking. In case of the HD 650 make sure you only bend the metal and not touch the plastic. It is easy and worth it.

 

 

+1 I had to bend a little the metal band, very easy but do it carefully.
 

 

I still kind of have to disagree with HE400 being better.  I love HE-400 don't get me wrong, and it has its place in my setup near-equal to HD650.  I could be comfortable saying they're equal, though I still have to give the nod to HD650 if you've tuned your setup around HD650.  If you haven't tuned a rig around HD650 I can see how HE-400 could come across as better more easily though, definitely.  On the amps I'm not as fond of with HD650 (AVRs, Headroom Micro (old model), etc.)  I do like HE-400 quite a bit better on them.  Equals, I think.  And excellent compliments.

 

 

Agreed. (New avatar again? )  The construction is nearly identical, however the headband pad with the three humps on HD600 versus the two that straddle the top of the head on the HD650 probably gives a different feel depending on the shape of your head.  Those headband pads are swappable, by the way.  HD600 ones can be found anywhere, HD650 ones don't seem to be common inventory anywhere.

 

 

I've never found a headphone I was comfortable with until I found their sweet spot.  For HD650, they're most comfortable if I open the headband wider than I would initially think I should have to.  The soft band pad makes one think it's looser than it actually is when you first put them on, but the pressure adds up, if you open it wider at the start that pressure never exists.  I also keep the band angled forward, relatively, and keep the cups high up on the ears so it avoids the jaw bone. 

 

If it's not in that sweet spot (for my head) it gets painful with pressure.  if it is in that sweet spot, I could sit there for hours and forget I have them on.   You just kind of have to play with it.

 

 

Seems common enough, but opening the band wide can be just as good.  It's not the clamping force so much, I think, so much as the clamp combined with too small a band opening giving too small a surface of the metal spring band portion to flex.  They don't actually clamp hard, not compared to HiFiMan for example.  They're a little tighter than the Denons and AKGs but those are known for light clamps.  I've found sometimes clamping force is less about the actual clamping force and more about head pressure. 

draw your avatar July

 

 

I remember you said you were liking the HE-400 over the HD650 until you got a new cable of all things for the HD650.  Granted it was a silver cable, but at best that only changes the bass-treble balance of the headphone, and doesn't improve any technicalities.  Likewise, maybe I could say you-- or I, havn't found the best setup built around the HE-400.  Expensive amps, dacs and other audiophile money traps all have their different colorations, otherwise you wouldn't see people have so much discussion related to them.  Since HE-400 isn't the seasoned veteran like the HD650 is, perhaps nobody has found that golden combination of sources that sound best with the HE-400.  It pains me to see people talk about headphone scalability, but hypothetically, shouldn't all headphones benefit near equally since most of what those boutique sources provide are colorations and very subtle improvements from better components?  Naturally some headphones have more resolving factor than others, but that's been my experience with literally every headphone I've tried on different sources-- they've all benefited equally.

 

All that aside, my reasoning for liking HE-400 over HD650 is just because it provides what the HD650 doesn't, and what the HD650 will never provide regardless of source chain.  HE-400's bass extends low, HD650's does not.  It's just one of those things where my preferences for sound differs from others.

Interesting discussion on the scalability of the HD650 and finding that 'right' combination of amp, dac, tubes, cables to get the sound that we want. I personally have spent way too much money trying to get the HD600, HD650 and now the HD700 to what I want. I'm pretty close to getting there with the HD700.

On the other hand, there's magic with the HE400. I've been experimenting with the Audioengine D1, the Arcam rPAC and soon, the Dragonfly. The HE400 just sings with pretty much everything you throw at it and does not need the supporting equipment that the Senns need. I can just sit back and enjoy with a $150-$250 combo dac/amp. Can't say that with any of the Senns I've tried.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Senns but they require good synergy and out of everything I've heard, they're one of 4 brands that I have pretty much settled on.

** Have we been HeadFi brainwashed into just expecting that we need to scale up the Senn HD series in search of audio nirvana? Just a thought

It's been a fun journey and now I just want to sit back and enjoy.
Edited by MickeyVee - 7/6/12 at 10:12am

I went a very pragmatic way wth the HD 650. First I found them way too expensive for me. Up to two years ago I had not spend more than 80 € o headphones. It was for a heavily discounted AKG K 401. Then I leaned @ this site that these are hard to drive. That was the first time I heard about separate headphone amplifiers. I soon found out that Skylab ecommended the Corda Stepdance. But again 300 € for such thing seemed too much. The I bought some Ultrasone hfi 2400 only to learn that these have piercing treble!!! All this information came from HeadFi and some similar German site. Then Tyll came up with Inner Fidelity. after his Ed 10 review, I needed to get some better cans. got the DT 1350 from Beyer. had no luck getting them sound good without being hurt by them. sold them Bought the T 70p. much better comfort, but Tyll did not even test them, he just told us on a side note that he did not like them. Man these where 450 € cans. Again sold them because afer hours of research on all available sources I could not keep them. to end my journey I found the HD 650. It seems to be a quintessece of all headphone wisdom, even though it has a veil, or in other words not even PURRIN and his gang could talk real bad about it. No punch in the face on this one. And last but not least the guy who's name must not be quoted here also took it as his reference can for all of his unholy works. I then bought the HD 650 for 335 € from a local dealer and hooked it up to a Meier Audio Stepdance from Ebay for 200€ powered @ 12 Volt from a 8000 mA Energizer cell. The music comes from an Ipod Classic 120 Gb via line out. I am sure this s a level of musical fidelity that was not available on headphone 10 years ago and I can live with it and be happy for long. So thanks to all people here @ HeadFi and in related forums and pages I now have a system that was far more expensive than I expected to ever spend for such things, but also thanks to the people that have not lost track of the value side of this hobby I can say it was not too expensive.

Extend the metal strips fully before you bend. If you bend too much, bend it back. No problem ,)

How will a fully upgraded Maverick Tubemagic D1 drive these headphones? Sufficient for proper sound?

I usually start with the Senns for 1 or 2 hours and then move on to the LCD2's for the rest of the evening.

The other way round is sadly impossible, as I can't get my brain to "down tune"to the HD650.

The difference is just too obvious!