ColtMrFire
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Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread
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CanadianMaestro
Headphoneus Supremus
@jdpark, I recently got an HD600, and it's great for vocals and small scale classical. Not ideal with soundstaging (like 650), but still forgiving at modest volumes. I don't find 600 has an annoying treble peak as I'm not as sensitive to it. I've owned 650 for years, and found it not as good with classical as the 600. If you want a dedicated, excellent can for large scale classical, with soundstaging to die for, then save up and go elsewhere. But as you said, for "mid-fi" cans, it's hard to go wrong with 6xx as they both scale very well with ancillary gear like amps. I'm keeping my 600 -- I like it for the music I listen to.
Thanks for that. I suppose if I could afford the 009 Stax I would probably use them for classical too
Lately, I've been getting into some older recordings, and realize that not all the changes in the big picture of the classical music industry are positive. While we have more high quality recordings than ever, the performances themselves are often lacking a sense of the grandiosity of classical music performed back when people listened to classical music mainly because it reached their emotions. So, the HD650 actually works well for me in many instances where more analytical cans can peer too deeply into the recording itself at times.
I agree though that the spacial presentation is not as masterful as it could be on the HD650, even with very good upper mid-fi gear. The other cans I use a lot are the Beyer DT150, which have a slightly cleaner presentation than the HD650 with a little bit more sparkle in the high end. But you need a good amp for them to sound even close to bass-neutral, in my view. Ironically, even though they're closed cans, they have a wider soundstage than the HD650. When I really need space, though, I go for my AKG K501, which is great for classical, as long as you don't need any sub-bass.
Granted all these cans are $200-$500, and one can probably do better in the $600-$1500 range. That said, I am a believer in finding good mid-fi cans and then getting good gear to see how they can go.
I would really suggest you try and audition a Ypislon, Magnum or Nhoord driver build, they will really surprise you for under $200, only issue is you need to be able to do some DIY but its not a very hard thing to do.
As for the SR-009 it was gift from a friend and its not a headphone that I use much given the others that I have but for well mastered/recorded classical its one of the best unless you can have a dedicated sound room with really a really good speaker system.
The DT-150 is about as good as it gets for a closed back headphone, got to hear one a while back at a music store and it impressed me, its an ugly duckling but sounds like a swan.
I like your thinking about getting mid-fi gear and seeing how far they can go, unfortunately I heard the HD-650 on a EC Balancing Act and Liquid Glass, that is about as good as you can get and the HD-650 will scale to this level, very much my end game to me, so my friend will be letting me use his Liquid Glass for a while to see if I really want to starve for a few months to afford it.
MacTechReviews
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Hi everyone, just picked up a pair of HD 800s and wondering if the HD600 is too similar? I'm considering maybe going with the HD 650s. If anybody has opinions I'd love to hear them!
I've already done the dynamat and 'spider removal' mod for my HD 650's as well as some additional custom fixes - these seem to have eliminated the slight mid-bass hump, added a touch of treble and tightened up the bass by a touch also, but IMO still severely lacking in the clarity & dynamics / snappyness. I don't want to try the coin hole mod due to my tinnitus, and doubt that would do anything for the dynamics either.
Alternately I tried an HD 600 on my same amp (Elise tube amp), and the clarity & snappyness were in a whole other league, sounding shockingly superior to me in those regards. And though it wasn't the most thorough A/B job, the soundstage seemed a bit bigger too. I'm guessing that HD 600 must've had extra extended burn-in to reach those heights.
How would one presume the HD 650 driver to be technically better?
Are you using HD "800 S" or the original "800's"? Actually I would put the overall sound sig. of the HD 600 & 800 as very similar, but the 800 with a much larger soundstage. HD 650's are much darker (more bass emphasis) and less detailed than the other two.
raybone0566
Headphoneus Supremus
I've had both for quite some time. Enjoy both but the 650 is my go to phone. More forgiving & more enjoyable, at least to me. 650's really respond to high end gear
Oh yes I forgot to mention that my above displeasure with the semi-dark / veiled signature of the HD 650 also had something to do with my current DAC. I'm using the Bimby (Bifrost Multibit) from Schiit Audio, and have discovered that unfortunately it has a very colored sound meaning increased bass and euphonic mids - thereby IMO making it a bad pairing for most tube amps and especially for the HD 650 which is like double the darkness / coloration. Be warned, the Bimby may not please all with the HD-650. I will be returning mine for a Mimby (Modi Multibit), and may re-upgrade again to the Gumby (Gungnir Multibit).
Next, about HD 650 cables. Recently I've upgraded my cable for another headphone with a vaguely similar sound signature (SoundMAGIC HP 100), with an OCC silver plated cable, and I kid you not, the difference it made in terms of sound was drastic. 100% different absolutely no joking whatsoever. I really couldn't believe cable material could make such a massive night/day difference myself, so believe me I had spent several hours with various A/B tests to confirm this, using the same loop of the same test songs.
The silver plated OCC cable gave a sound that was literally 2x sharper dynamics / 'speed' and micro-detail. Also the imaging sounded somewhat wider but unfortunately for my setup, the bass was also reduced by around 2x (but that's something that is fixable by EQ and/or adapters which add impedance).
My question to any of you would be if there is any recommended cable type that is likely to increase the clarity & dynamics of the HD 650? That is to say a cable material that does not make as drastic of a change as an OCC silver plated cable. Thanks in advance...
PS - maybe @Stillhart would know something
The silver plated OCC cable gave a sound that was literally 2x sharper dynamics / 'speed' and micro-detail. Also the imaging sounded somewhat wider but unfortunately for my setup, the bass was also reduced by around 2x (but that's something that is fixable by EQ and/or adapters which add impedance).
My question to any of you would be if there is any recommended cable type that is likely to increase the clarity & dynamics of the HD 650? That is to say a cable material that does not make as drastic of a change as an OCC silver plated cable. Thanks in advance...
PS - maybe @Stillhart would know something
Solrighal
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I have a Forza Audio cable for my HD 650. It looks beautiful & it's built very well. It makes next to no difference to my sound and consequently lives in the box it came in. The stock cable seems to be pretty good quality and my heart doesn't leap to my mouth when I run over it with my chair.
music4mhell
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CanadianMaestro
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Cables also don't do much for my HPs. The quality of the plug sometimes makes a diff.
Lorspeaker
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ColtMrFire
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I hear plenty of anecdotes from both sides of the table. Cables make a difference. Cables dont make a difference. Best to try and see what works/doesn't for you.
sikki-six
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2 times less bass with a new cable? One of them must be broken or have some serious impedance issues.
That, if anything should be very easy to measure too.
That, if anything should be very easy to measure too.
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