Sennheiser HD650 Appreciation Thread!! - Page 565

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

Just got my HD650s about 2 hours ago.
LOVE them!
ODAC>A-GD SA-31>HD650.
Those mids.... haven't heard anything like it! The bass is nice and full, and there is NO veil. I've wasted almost 3 years waiting to listen to these, because I was afraid of the 'veil'. Perhaps the older ones had a veil, but these silver screened ones sure don't.

Welcome to the club!

Yeah, the "veil" is such a tired old myth.  The old black silk ones were darker, but that was over 6 years ago.  And while its true that bad amp matching (impedance mismatch) can create that veiled, congested effect, it's purely a result of bad pairing, not a failure of the headphones.  Glad you're enjoying them! They're still one of the best cans around IMO!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 

I'm seriously in love with them. <3

Yep...that happens!

Also, be sure to ask Ardilla how well they scale as the amp & source improve....even next to LCD-2 & LCD-3

Maybe veil is too strong of a word to describe it. But we can agree that they've never been described as sibilant or fatiguing. Many professional reviewers also mention the laid back presentation of HD650. I'm still on the fence how I would describe them. On one hand, I can see why people will say they sound veiled/dark, but on the other hand, they are like the comfort food of headphones. Sure, you may not request chicken noodle soup or mac n cheese as your last meal, but there are occasions when it's desired. The hard part to swallow is the price. While these were the 'flagship' cans at one point, Senn now has the HD700 and HD800 available - with different sound characteristics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IEMCrazy 

 

Yep...that happens!

 

Also, be sure to ask Ardilla how well they scale as the amp & source improve....even next to LCD-2 & LCD-3

Did somebody say Scale???  These things absolutely ROCK on my βeta-22

Quote:

Originally Posted by talisman42 

Maybe veil is too strong of a word to describe it. But we can agree that they've never been described as sibilant or fatiguing. Many professional reviewers also mention the laid back presentation of HD650. I'm still on the fence how I would describe them. On one hand, I can see why people will say they sound veiled/dark, but on the other hand, they are like the comfort food of headphones. Sure, you may not request chicken noodle soup or mac n cheese as your last meal, but there are occasions when it's desired. The hard part to swallow is the price. While these were the 'flagship' cans at one point, Senn now has the HD700 and HD800 available - with different sound characteristics.

I remember when HD650 buyers were practically laughed off the forums for spending $500 on diminishing returns.   Now in the climate of $1k-2k headphones, they're lamented as "mid-fi"   I do like HD800....so long as heavy EQ is available.  But without EQ HD650 would be my first choice in a heartbeat.  HD800 would be unlistenable. For only $1k more.  HD700....it's still a modded HD650/600/580 driver no matter how you slice it...for a lot more money.  I'm sure they've refined its performance...why not over 20 years.  But that's a steep price increase for a tweaked updated.   

Never regretted buying them, definitely keepers.

For a person with limited income there is no better headphone  than the HD 650.

Quote:

Originally Posted by olddtfan 

For a person with limited income there is no better headphone  than the HD 650.

As much as I like the HD 650's, someone who can afford to spend $350-$500 on headphones doesn't have a limited income. Headphones like this are a luxury, a temptation which was too much for me.

Not going by graphs, does anyone think these have more forward mids than the HD-600? I imagine the HD-600 has more forward upper mids, but I don't really hear it at all despite graphs showing this. It's mids never really seem forward to me. The HD-598 mids definitely do. Based on memory, the HD-650's soundstage seem a bit more closed in. I think this was my brain being fooled due to it's extra mid/upper bass and having a little less treble. You can mod the HD-600 and get a similar result.

I felt the HD-650 was better for female vocals than the HD-600. I think this was using a neutral CD player and my old Asgard.

My HD-650 was certainly very bassy and there was a bit of bass bleed that covered up some details in some of my favorite recordings. Maybe it was due to source or the Asgard. I imagine the Asgard is pretty neutral though or you'd think so. Everything was stock.

I remember getting an HD-650 and being quite impressed with it but it had some paint chipping. I returned it and the 2nd one just was considerably worse sounding. Very strange. Both of these didn't need any burn-in.

I remember comparing the 598, HD-600 and HD-650 for many hours and there's a few things I felt the HD-650 did better than the HD-600. The HD-650 sounded less grainy, but it required specific recordings. HD-650 seemed a bit more forgiving, but I bet I got this impression due to it being much warmer. The HD-600 did feel like it had more neutral bass, but I still don't think even the HD-600 is neutral. Pretty close.

It's weird how the HD-650 on Inner Fidelity seems to measure flatter than the HD-600! I guess Tyll is doing a review of the HD-580, HD-600 and 650. My favorite out of all of them is the HD-580. It actually has more forward upper mids than the HD-598, HD-600 and HD-650. Just due to the grills!

Oh yeah..when I had the HD-650 it did seem very forgiving of my bad tracks. Lower bit-rate files and bad recordings, but to a point...Obviously I use CDs and FLAC files now. Some of my FLAC files sound worse than a good 192kbps track though.

I think now that I have the ODAC i'll like the HD-650 even more.

BTW someone mentioned impedance matching. My amp has a .5 ohm output impedance, but I tried my HD-600 from my 330ohm receiver yesterday and I was shocked how good it sounded!! It's an old Technics receiver from 1993. It's not warm or bassy and seems pretty balanced. I actually don't know if old Technics receivers are considered good, decent or junk.

So obviously once I sell my house I'm looking to get the HD-650 or maybe an A900X. I liked the HD-650 a lot, but it's bass was a bit too much. I think it was my amp and dac combo at the time. I didn't like the Asgard with the HD-650 much, but loved it with the HD-600. I just noticed my amp measures ruler flat, so i'm pretty happy about that. I knew it! I still want to try the O2 to pair with the ODAC. My current amp isn't adding any coloration to the HD-650 I had. Positive about this. So this makes me think it was a crappy source. I also have an E9 and some portable amps. I actually think the E9 isn't bad with the HD-650. Like the Q701, I think it deserves even better.

FYI I could just buy some HD-650 drivers, but what fun is that Fingers crossed that someone on earth will sell the HD-650 at christmas for under $400, but highly unlikely. I won't buy an HD-650 for $500. Sorry! It's not going to be a replacement for anything since I usually prefer the AKG type sound. It'll be a nice alternative to the Q701 and HD-598. I still use my HD-580 all the time though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HamilcarBarca 

 

As much as I like the HD 650's, someone who can afford to spend $350-$500 on headphones doesn't have a limited income. Headphones like this are a luxury, a temptation which was too much for me.

It took me almost a year and a half to save up for them.  I am retired so I do not have that much money these where a major purchase for me.