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k701 and HD650: highs, basses and soundstages according to me

post #1 of 12
9/26/10 at 9:31am
Thread Starter 

Hello everybody

 

I could listen to both these jewels for some time.  

Therefore I could think about the most widespread commonplaces about them:

 

k701: too much highs, great stage but sometimes too artificial.

HD650: too much bass, fleshy sound, soundstage so and so.

 

Well.... At least it's what I've nearly always read here about them

 

Now, I love both these headphones, but I don't find myself in these descriptions. 

 

IMHO, the HD650, here, have the best soundstage.

 

The k701 sound to me a little too much "audiophile-like", I mean, they show all the particulars an Audiophile would enjoy to hear: the charleston's rustlings, the fingertips slamming against the guitar neck, the fly around the singer's microphone...  These sounds can actually be all in your ears... 

But is it really a good point for a pair of headphones that ought to be realistic?

 

The HD650  made me discover that also lower frequencies can create a soundstage.... They create a certain environment around the listener, not so airy maybe, but made of walls and ceiling. And, very important, they really give you a certain distance from every instrument.

To my ears, they are the only ones that could play symphonic music plausibly.

 

I could imagine an audiophile walking out the Munchner Philarmoniker's Gasteig stating that the (real!!!) orchestra emphasize the basses way too much... That the cymbals are too far away etc. etc... 

 

(I'm speaking about the Gasteig just because I've been there and it's all well-recorded in my memory...  )


Edited by Edoardo - 9/26/10 at 9:37am
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones
AKG K701 Studio Headphones
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post #2 of 12
9/26/10 at 9:43am

I love the soundstage on the 650s: I find it too be very good overall (but not amazing). If you compensate for the mid bass hump the bass sounds awesome. :)

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post #3 of 12
9/26/10 at 9:57am

I agree with your sentiments about the K701s. They seem to over-emphasise details like instrument fingering and rimshots (which have an artificial quality about them, almost as if someone's striking the headphones themselves). That said about the K701s, they do make a fantastic desk ornament.

 

I haven't heard HD650s, but my experience of Sennheiser has been more pleasant for me (HD580s and 600s).

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post #4 of 12
9/26/10 at 10:24am

I used to own the K701/2 (twice) and I use now the HD650: I have to agree with the OP,  the soundstage on the senns is more realistic: less diffuse, no voids, more organic. No wow effect, but nice, warm and pleasant sound...I can wear them for hours.

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post #5 of 12
9/26/10 at 1:59pm

I owned the 650s and rarely used them because the midrange and highs were muffled, whether or not I used an amp. I got K702s, broke them in, and I'm much happier. I didn't notice any particular "soundstage" differences between them. It seems to me that given that the drivers on both phones are about the same distance from your ears, a perceived "soundstage" difference between them would reflect how clearly you are hearing the recorded cues that your brain interprets as localization information--in other words, the degree of distortion, degree of overhang at various frequencies, and the overall frequency response of the phones would make determine what kind of "soundstage" you hear.

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post #6 of 12
9/26/10 at 3:12pm

For me the 650's sounds like you have a blanket over your head they are totally muted, no treble energy, no sound stage, no sub bass just some annoying low mids, and I don't think there is any amp, or DAC that can save them.


Edited by Acix - 9/26/10 at 3:13pm
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post #7 of 12
9/26/10 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acix View Post

For me the 650's sounds like you have a blanket over your head they are totally muted, no treble energy, no sound stage, no sub bass just some annoying low mids, and I don't think there is any amp, or DAC that can save them.

Have you tried them with many powerful amps then?

 

Sounds like they were completely underpowered. They have very strong mid-bass and good low bass as well.

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post #8 of 12
9/26/10 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Satellite_6 View Post



Have you tried them with many powerful amps then?

 

Sounds like they were completely underpowered. They have very strong mid-bass and good low bass as well.


Yes, I've try them with many tubes and SS amp since 2005 and nothing changed still don't like them. Maybe the 650's can be cool if you don't want music to bother you.


Edited by Acix - 9/26/10 at 5:47pm
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post #9 of 12
9/26/10 at 6:00pm

I wish I could just try the K701 to see if they are really so different as people claim. I like my 650s a lot, but if the 701s actually sound reasonably different it would add variety into my life.

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post #10 of 12
9/26/10 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acix View Post




Yes, I've try them with many tubes and SS amp since 2005 and nothing changed still don't like them. Maybe the 650's can be cool if you don't want music to bother you.


Have you ever listened to a symphonic orchestra in the 10th row?

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post #11 of 12
9/26/10 at 6:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acix View Post




Yes, I've try them with many tubes and SS amp since 2005 and nothing changed still don't like them. Maybe the 650's can be cool if you don't want music to bother you.


lol, I wouldn't want music to bother me.

 

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post #12 of 12
9/26/10 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chef View Post

I wish I could just try the K701 to see if they are really so different as people claim. I like my 650s a lot, but if the 701s actually sound reasonably different it would add variety into my life.


Yes. Great headphones, but different. Go for it! 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones
AKG K701 Studio Headphones
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