hd600 or hd650?

HD650. It is just better.

I think the HD 650 would serve you better with it's fullish bass bloom and slightly dark character (depends on the

amp and DAC).

The HD 600 is a bit more neutral from what I hear, I've only ever heard the previous model - the HD 580 which

was reportedly very similar.

Other headphones to consider for your tastes would be :-

Denon D2000 and Beyer Dynamic DT 770 ~ the Beyer though will excel with electronic but perhaps

be a little closed in for classical. It's a common drawback on either end of the spectrum with those

polar opposite genres.

I wouldn't recommend either of these phones for electronic or rap really. I would recommend the k701 if you want a detailed sound for electronica, the k701s shines there. If you want a more bassy sound, maybe you could try one of the beyers (though I'm personally not a huge fan.) The k701 is also awesome for classical, but I find it a bit sibilant there.

The hd600 is probably my favorite headphone for classical ever, I'm not a fan of the hd650 really

650 has more low frequency sound while the 600 is more neutral.

I have heard both extensively, with systems built around them and (my multiple) recables to both.

I just sold HD 650 for HD 600.

HD 650 is the 'perfect' noobs can, it seems balanced, (especially to a newb) has the bass bloom, but incredible 'balance' that most newbs are looking for, (not hating, I was once there too) has pristine instrument separation, and made me hate my relatively high end (900$) surround sound system out of an Asus Xonar STX and a mid-tier offering Audioquest tos-link cable. (So really more like 1200$).

My favorite thing/s about the HD 650:

• Responds very well to a recable (as in it hangs with the big boys, and maybe lacks ambiance and a little detail)
• It's dynamic drivers are some of the best ever made and sound 'romantic' with the mids 'centric' nature of the can.
• It is a powerful movie companion (I mean it's the best movie headphone I've ever heard) and I never get used to how great it sounds for movies.
• It's the 'perfect' noobs phone as it has the perfect 'noob' signature and will grow with you as it did with me.
• i.e~It has the ability to scale well. (As in keep you away from the flagships if you're going through college or the like).

Personally, I've matured endlessly sound-wise over the last 3/4th year with this can and now prefer the accuracy of the almost dead neutral 'studio' HD 600. But I do miss the HD 650 (a little bit). Now I have my RastaPants 2 Fostex T50rp, which I (and the 4-5 others who have modded it to this configuration) think is more coherent, analytical, and detailed than lcd-2, rev 1 or 2, recabled or not. (While the Lcd-2 retains a bigger sound because it's driver are 4-5 times as large.

Get the HD650s, most of your genres can use a little bit of pumped up bass it offers.

I had the same decision.  I chose the 600's.  I listen to all kinds of rock and thought the 650's extra bass would slow them down with faster/heavier music.  I'm also used to Grado's and thought the 650's would be too treble light for me.  It's all personal preference.  Both are great headphones.  You just have to figure out which one fits your needs/preferences the best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheep duck 

I'm in the market for a headphone upgrade, (i only own an ad700 and the monoprice mph 839) and looking mostly at getting either a pair of hd600 or hd650 (or something similar in the price range, mid 300's)

 

they are and will be powered through an e7/e9 combo, although it is not to be assumed i could not upgrade those at a later date.

 

Most of the music i listen to is electronica, (mostly trance, vocal trance, a little bit of progressive and dubstep) metal, rap/hip hop, and a bit of classical and pop.

 

originally i was leaning more towards the 650's but i thought i'd get a quick last suggestion from my lovely brethren here, so critique/suggest all you guys want, i'm all ears, thanks :D

Heya,

Either will work. I would get the HD600 personally out of the two. I found the HD650 too laid back for me, no sparkle at all, very boring to listen to. And the bass is not all that huge honestly, but I have far bassier headphones that I'm comparing that particular bit to.

I would suggest you consider some other headphones perhaps. Some suggestions to consider for your genres:

Beyer DT990 PRO

Ultrasone HFI 2400

Fischer Audio FA-011

Denon D2000

Very best,

I find the 600's are a little bit brighter, more neutral and not quite as laid back as the 650's.

The 600's seem to fit into a wider range of systems and sound good where as I find it harder to get the 650's to really sing, but when you get the right source/amp combo the 650's really are excellent and beat the 600's for me.

Both are great headphones, I would try and listen to them in your system if possible to see which you prefer.

I had both. Sold the 600. Kept the 650 and keep on loving it with almost all gear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheep duck 

 

Most of the music i listen to is electronica, (mostly trance, vocal trance, a little bit of progressive and dubstep) metal, rap/hip hop, and a bit of classical and pop.

 

I'm gonna go rogue here--

You need something with faster drivers and a good square wave response for that, yes?

German Maestro (used to be MB Quart) make the fastest dynamic drivers I've heard.

Check: GMP400, or for semi-open GMP450 PRO (labeled as closed, but definitely closer to semi-open).  I own the CharterOak SP-1, which is a QP450 PRO equivalent (no longer in production) and the newer model is now branded under German Maestro as the GMP450PRO.  These cans just fly with this type of music without skipping a beat of detail.  Very mid forward, I'll warn you... but perfect for these genres (maybe aside from the bit of classical).

If you care, all the German Maestro headphones use the same sized pad, and many are available for individual order.  One can with 6+ different potential pads sounds like a tuning opportunity to me.

It gets my vote :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheep duck 

thanks for all the input guys. i ended up going with the hd650's, i was kind of distraught to see that amazon had upped the price of them to 407 dollars, but i bought anyways. to my utter disbelief, the next morning i woke up and looked at my order only to find that the price had dropped to 336 dollars AFTER mine had shipped. i contacted customer service through chat and told them about what happened, and the rep is going to credit me the 70'ish dollar difference, so awesome :p

 

now im even more stoked for them to come.

Not bad. They're worth it man, and I love them for electronic music. Just keep in mind that they take a little time to appreciate, and EQing can't hurt either. :)