Upgrade from Shure SRH840 .... Sennheiser HD650 ?? Audeze LCD-2 ??

Hi. I,ve just joined and need to ask anyones ideas on upgrading from the Shure SRH840 to the Sennheiser HD650. My amp is a Schiit Asgard and CD player Rotel RCD-1072. I do like the sound of the Shures but I think now I need a more relaxing laid back sound as I find sometimes on some cds the sound can get quite harsh sometimes at certain frequency ranges. This was confirmed when I saw the frequency response curve of the Shures and it was in the area I thought. I have Ultrasone Pro 2500 also and these are harsh (peak) at the higher end, ie.. treble, whereas the Shures peak a bit in the mid to mid upper range.Both these cans can get a bit fatiguing when played loud and for long periods. I have had AKG K701, Senns HD555 Senns HD212Pro in the past in that decending order. Amps I've had are 1stly Meier Audio Corda Cantate then Heed Canamp then Matrix M stage and now Schiit.

   I'm after a bit more bass and wider soundstage and depth with the detail still. I was thinking of the Audeze LCD-2 ( lots of $ though ) also, so really what I'm asking is are the Senns a worthy upgrade or is it worth paying more than twice the price of the Senns for the Audeze. Is the sound quality worth over twice the price of the Senns. I don't want to buy the Senns then wish I had gone Audeze but also don't want to buy the Audeze and think I could have saved AUD$700 and got a fairly good sound from the Senns. Sorry it's so long   :-)

Hi Gwarmi. Thank you for that. I know it's a difficult decision and hi-fi (music) is a very personal choice and everyones ears are different.

I've bought stuff lately without hearing it, which is silly I know but the shops here don't always have the gear I want to listen to. I know the whole system as a complete unit, including cables has an effect on the sound so I do think, reading these forums it is difficult to tell people what is best. I can hear the Audeze here as they have them in the headphone shop but not the Senn HD650, which is why I asked the question.

   I've been a hi-fi nut for about 35 years and head-fi nut for about 7 or 8 years and have spent lots of money chopping and changing my gear and really need to "be happy with what I got" so to speak. I do love my music and Hi-Fi which is why I'm after that "perfect sound". If money was no object of course it would be Audeze but I think it will be the Senns. I'll wait a while and ponder. Any ideas anyone? Thank you.

Hi, thank you for that and the link. I wish I could try the HD650 but I don't know anyone who has them or any shops here in Perth. I've auditioned a few things I've bought but some I've taken a chance on and gone on reviews where I can not get to listen to them, HD650 included. I'm watching a few on ebay so I might just take a chance.... again. I've had a couple of Senns in the past and did like the sound.

Hi , I do like the Asgard and my previous amp the Matrix M Stage which I had the same time as the Asgard and chose to sell the Matrix. I think you are right in saying the Asgard is a bit brightish, not really in the treble but I think in "attack"... "forwardness"  for want of a better word, as I noticed a difference from the Matrix. Maybe the Senns will be a good match with the Asgard. I did read about the Asgard and it is said it was designed with the Sennheisers in mind and Schiit's final listening test headphones are the HD650's.

   I think that peak in the Shure's response curve is causing the pain sometimes on certain cd's. ( check out link in previous answer from drummerman about the Shures.) If the Asgard's response curves peaks at the same frequency, well there we have the problem. I've had 4 amps now and don't really want to buy another one...... yet ?  I did think about the Stello HP100 one time. So you have had the 650's then Gwarmi.. or have them.

Really to put it in a nutshell then... I really just need to know

A. Will the HD650 be a good match with the Asgard?     ( I think they should really as Schiit use them for testing but would like opinions )

B. Will the HD650 give me more, (compared to my Shure SRH840) deeper acurate bass, wider soundstage, more depth, better imaging and placement, a bit more detail retreval , and maybe a tad more high frequency (treble) detail without the harshness of say my Ultrasone Pro 2500, which I'm selling actually.

C. Are the HD650 a big enough jump up in quality for the price over the Shures or do I need to go a lot more expensive.

Thank you all once again.

PS. If I could listen to the HD650's I wouldn't need to ask these questions.

Hi, I took a chance and bought a pair of HD650's on ebay for $AUD394.00. Should be here next week sometime. I think I'm going to be happy somehow. As I said before I have had sennheisers in the past and did like the sound but did experiment with others, AKG, Ultrasone and Shure. My HD555's were good and brought a tear to my eye many a time so I'm sure the HD650's will do even more so. I'll post my findings when I get them. I can't wait to hear that lush Sennheiser sound again.

My HD650's arrived Tuesday. First impressions, wow fantastic box and presentation. Very classy. Lifted them out and thought, very light and wasn't too impressed with build quality. After handling the shure SRH840 which are built like tanks the HD650's just felt not very well made. On to the sound. Wasn't impressed at first and thought I might have fakes. ( still not sure though as mine cost $394 and some places they are up to $700). Sound was very "veiled" as people say and my Schiit Asgard had to be turned up quite a bit more for the same volume over my SRH840 and Ultrasones, but these are 300ohm headphones !  Been burning them in non stop with the Ultrasone disc that come with my Proline 2500, Tara Labs burn in disc and various good recording cd's.

 Just after about  24 hours or so I noticed a difference in the sound. Much more open and detailed, more bass presence, more sweeter treble and just overall more "musical".  Now after 4 or 5 days I am really impressed. Music just sounds fuller and more "musical" through them and much more enjoyable and non fatiguing like my Prolines or SRH840.  My Ultrasones do reveal more detail but they can be harsh and they only sound good on the best of recordings. The HD650's are just overall better for any type of recording. The sound now is unbelievable and it's as though you are there with the musicians. I won't go into all the ramblings on reviewers go on about but I'm glad I've gone back to "The sennheiser sound" again. My cd collection is being listened to all over again and they all just sound amazing now. The detail is still there but it's "not in your face" like the Shure or Ultrasone. Bass is fantastic. Soundstage, imaging, all excellent> I wouldn't really call the sound veiled or dark now. In my opinion this it what the sound is meant to sound like and all other headphones are bright and bass shy. I do remember someone else saying this and I do agree.  My next upgrade.? Maybe the Violectric V100. Lots more power into 300ohms than my Asgard. Read lots about it after Gwarmi mentioned it. Can't hear it again as it's not here in Perth anywhere. What does anyone think? Is it worth the extra $450 over the Asgard. What would the improvements be apart from driving the 650's better?  Thank you all.

Yeah thanks for that. They are almost the perfect sound I am after.I'm sure I will always want to try others like the Audezce LCD-2 but that will be a while away yet. I'm sure the 650's will only get better after more and more use. Maybe the Violectric V100 will give me everything I want from them... who knows ???? Any body got the V90 /100 or 200 and give any feedback?

The HD650's are great headphones but I've bitten the bullet and gone for the Audeze LCD-2. I also got the Violectric V100 soon after and just 2 days ago got the V800 DAC. This is a fantastic combination. When I first put the Audeze on  I thought I'd done the wrong thing in spending so much more money. Then I put the HD650 back on and realised what they lacked compared to the Audeze. My ears adjusted to the HD650 after a while and they sounded great again but the Audeze are just so much more revealing and the bass, wow, so deep. The Audeze are so easy to listen to ( like the HD650 ) and my cd's just sound so much better in every way possible. Yes, they are a bit big and heavy but not so much so that they are uncomfortable. They are quite comfy really.

The Violectric gear is so good and clean. You can not hear the amp or dac, Just the music.  Thats my best way of describing it.