[DavidA]

Wow!! The TV series is almost like an advert for Hawaii. They do show a lot of shots of the area which are very highly coloured. It looks so appealing so we may well be visiting some time.

I love folk music but rarely hear Hawaiian based music over here. Other than a sound which seems close on film .... Moana!!

Doesn't strike me as an island that might have a great deal of Hi-Fi retailers so I guess you might well be buying a lot of gear from abroad.

Haven't found a dealer for HD600/650/700/800 or even DT-770,,880, 990 or higher up.  about the best I can do locally is best buy which has B&O, HD-5xx senns, mid level sony and the normal beats & bose.
 
Many years ago there used to be a few decent audio stores that carried McIntosh, Mark Levinson, and other upscale gear but all have closed up over 10-15 years ago and is one reason I haven't sold my old gear since replacing them would be really difficult and also because the old gear is quite good even with all the advancements in tech.  A good example is the NAD 3020 integrated amp that I got in 1983 (paid about $85 IIRC at a store going out of business, also got a Stax SRD-34 for $56 or something around there), its still works and not many $1k integrated amps that I've tried over the years have bettered it, another is the Citation XX, its still one of the best amps I've ever heard and granted it was not cheap back then but I got it used for $1000 since the person really needed the money.
 
Hawaiian music is great with the HD-650 since most of it is acoustic, my favorite artist are Iz, Kealii Reichel, Na Leo, Kalapana, Beamer Brothers, Brothers Cazimero, and Cecilio & Kapono.

 

[iancraig10]

Oh thanks .... I'll look them up!!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

After looping all over the world, I'm pretty close to calling this my endgame now. I want to go higher up the ladder, but man...

 

[jasonb]

What's your setup?
 
Quote:

  After looping all over the world, I'm pretty close to calling this my endgame now. I want to go higher up the ladder, but man...

 

[SomeGuyDude]

 

I'm using a Steinburg UR22 for a DAC (I don't really believe DACs need to be complicated), into an Elemental Watson with GE JAN5654W tubes, snagged an aftermarket cable because the stock is too damn long. 
 
Like, I want to get the Elears, but as I sit here listening to Black Math Horseman, I feel like I've hit my peak.

 

[VocaloidDude]

These have, hilariously, outlasted every single other pair of headphones that I've ever wanted to upgrade to. They're not the best sounding headphones I've ever heard, that title would go to the LCD2. However those broke and felt uncomfortable and these are super comfortable, and these have been serving me as basically my main headphone that I do all of my listening with out of my computer. There's nothing about them on a daily basis that I could point out about their sound that would be bad. Except, once I compared them to the LCD2, I was just blown away at how much better the dynamics of those headphones were compared to the HD650.
 
I also had the HE400. I preferred these to that. 
 
I've wanted to upgrade from these for some time to something like the LCD2, but that has comfort issues. The HE500 seems like it would be better, but that seems to be eclipsed by the LCD2 in every review that I've seen which compares the two. I was literally about to buy a pair of HE500s but then I decided to cancel the order because of all the reviews. The Oppo PM1 and Focal elear don't look like the sort of headphones that would really be a good fit for me. I've heard mixed things about those. 
 
So now I am just back here, with my HD650s holding down the fort like they have been for years and years now. I've had these things since high school which I graduated from in 2012. I'm not sure when exactly when before then I got them. I mean, the HE500s would have probably been the best upgrade I could have asked for, I sort of regret cancelling the order, but I just feel like there's got to be something better out there that's enough like the LCD2 that doesn't have the comfort issues.

 

[HungryPanda]

I've been listening to my HD650's all day since the balanced cable I ordered turned up today and I just got a Fostex HP-A4BL a few days ago. It seems a new life has been breathed into them, they rock.

 

[cskippy]

@VocaloidDude you could try a pair of M1060 with Audeze pads and paper towel mod on the outside.  Stock, they are basically a Chinese knock off LCD-3F.  Modded, they get an amazing clarity but have excellent bass and tonality rarely seen in other headphones.  I'd take them over my HE-6 and HD650 if I could only have one headphone.  
 
The only downside is the shoddy construction.  People have had the wood crack and connectors fail, although I've had ZERO problems with mine, so YMMV.  
 
Otherwise, I do love the HD650.  They have a very speaker like presentation.  They only lack extension at either end, otherwise they would be perfect.  

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  @VocaloidDude you could try a pair of M1060 with Audeze pads and paper towel mod on the outside.  Stock, they are basically a Chinese knock off LCD-3F.  Modded, they get an amazing clarity but have excellent bass and tonality rarely seen in other headphones.  I'd take them over my HE-6 and HD650 if I could only have one headphone.  
 
The only downside is the shoddy construction.  People have had the wood crack and connectors fail, although I've had ZERO problems with mine, so YMMV.  
 
Otherwise, I do love the HD650.  They have a very speaker like presentation.  They only lack extension at either end, otherwise they would be perfect.  

 
I'm intrigued by the M1060. Definitely skeptical about just how good they can be.

 

[cskippy]

In stock form, I was ready to send them back, and then remembered that they were obviously based on an Audeze design.  I wasn't sure which one, but had an extra set of Audeze Leather Free Vegan pads so I tried them on.  
 
It was such a welcome revelation.   With stock pads, the overall frequency response wasn't bad but sound just kind of appeared and was blurry.  With Audeze pads everything is precisely placed and they fix a lot of the peaks and nulls the stock pads create.  The paper towel mod helps bring back some much needed treble and adds a touch of sub bass which is also nice.  
 
I find the modded pair like a super HD650 or a HE-500 v2.  They do nothing wrong, and excel at pretty much anything, they're just warm without treble peaks much like the HD6X0 series.  
 
I would wait before buying to see if they fix some of the problems from the first batch.  

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  In stock form, I was ready to send them back, and then remembered that they were obviously based on an Audeze design.  I wasn't sure which one, but had an extra set of Audeze Leather Free Vegan pads so I tried them on.  
 
It was such a welcome revelation.   With stock pads, the overall frequency response wasn't bad but sound just kind of appeared and was blurry.  With Audeze pads everything is precisely placed and they fix a lot of the peaks and nulls the stock pads create.  The paper towel mod helps bring back some much needed treble and adds a touch of sub bass which is also nice.  
 
I find the modded pair like a super HD650 or a HE-500 v2.  They do nothing wrong, and excel at pretty much anything, they're just warm without treble peaks much like the HD6X0 series.  
 
I would wait before buying to see if they fix some of the problems from the first batch.  

 
Yeah, I admit I'm not really jonesing for any headphones that require many mods and replacements. Then again, knowing my luck, they'll fix the issues and spike the price. 

 

[cskippy]

Well the mods I submitted are quite easy, a pad change, and unscrewing 4 screws and placing a paper towel under the grill.  I'm a tinkerer though, and almost all of my headphones are modded, even my HD650 and HE-6.  

 

[Dartin Bout]

  I've been listening to my HD650's all day since the balanced cable I ordered turned up today and I just got a Fostex HP-A4BL a few days ago. It seems a new life has been breathed into them, they rock.

I have pretty much the same setup, fed via USB from JRiver and playing 5.6 DSD's.  Does heaven get better then this? Do you know if the Fostex HP-A4BL has mod-able opamps? I think the Burson Supreme Sound Opamp V5 or V5i might fit in there, if it's just ic chip, with a swap able interface. I'm too chicken so far to open it u

 

[LazyListener]

  @VocaloidDude you could try a pair of M1060 with Audeze pads and paper towel mod on the outside.  Stock, they are basically a Chinese knock off LCD-3F.  Modded, they get an amazing clarity but have excellent bass and tonality rarely seen in other headphones.  I'd take them over my HE-6 and HD650 if I could only have one headphone.  
 
The only downside is the shoddy construction.  People have had the wood crack and connectors fail, although I've had ZERO problems with mine, so YMMV.  
 
Otherwise, I do love the HD650.  They have a very speaker like presentation.  They only lack extension at either end, otherwise they would be perfect.  

I don't think the 650's stereo image is wide enough for a speaker-like presentation.  There are headphones that have a wider and deeper soundstage.

 

[cskippy]

I'm talking about optimal speaker positioning for mixing etc.  60 degree rule or equilateral triangle.  Speakers set up this way don't have the widest sound stage, much smaller than any headphone, but depth is conveyed in a fashion no headphone can touch, not even HD800.  
 
Some people like to sit in between speakers placed 10 feet apart.  That's fine, but not how proper listening is done in any mixing/mastering studio.