HD650s to Compliment my D7000s? - Page 2

I've owned both the HD650 and the D7000 for extended periods of time.  I think they are great to compliment each other.  One of the biggest things you'll notice when switching between the two is how recessed the midrange of the D7000's are.  I mean even when you have all the Lawton Audio mods and J$ pads on the D7000, their mids will never be what the HD650 has.  Another thing you'll notice is how unnatural the D7000 is compared to the HD650.  It's nearly impossible to get offended by the HD650 because they are so laid back compared to the denons. On the other hand, you'll realize how damn boring the HD650's are compared to the D7000 and the lack of the closed headphone bass response. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsplice 

Poetik: I noticed by your signature that you currently have the HD600s.  Since you've owned the 650s, D7000s, and the 600s, would you say that you prefer the HD600s over all 3?  If so, why?

 

I've thought about trying the JMoney pads, simply because the pleather pads get too hot.  And I also remember during the short time that I owned the HD650s, that the sound seemed very distant.  So I can see what you are saying about them sounding somewhat boring.  How do the 600s compare in that department?

Well pretty much I decided that it was ridiculous to tie up $1400 in a headphone that mostly just looked pretty on my desk and got listened to only a few times a week.  I could have kept it but I used the money to get another car instead so that was the end of my LA7000's. 

I wouldn't necessarily say that I "prefer" the HD600 / HD650 over the LA7000's because those were my favorite headphones of all time.  I just kinda got to a point where I listened to the LA7000's all the time and got bored of their sound signature.  I guess there is an amount to how much you can enjoy something without change.  During the end of owning the LA7000's, I began to crave an open more neutral sound signature.  My priorities shifted and the HD600's give me GREAT sound quality for only $200.

The reason the sennheisers sound so distant is because they are an open headphone.  The sound is presented to you differently than in a closed headphone but it's more natural.  I went out and bought the trio of the HD580 / HD600 / HD650 and in the end I settled down with the HD600.  I was really surprised of how the HD580's sounded and those have got to be one of the best bang for the buck headphones out there.  I decided it came down to the HD600 and HD650 and in the end I stayed with the HD600 because it was more neutral and didn't have the HD650's rolled off treble.  I mean you wouldn't really know how rolled off the HD650's treble is unless you owned another headphone but the difference between that and the HD600 is obvious.  I even did a quick A / B session with my sister and she said she preferred the HD600 because while the HD650 had more bass, she felt that the HD600 was "clearer" sounding. 

It's really hard to go solely from a Denon and appreciate the sound of an open headphone because of the immediate lack of that subwoofer like bass.  However once you train your ears, you'll notice the distinct weaknesses the closed headphones have.  Headphone sound signatures are all preference but do I feel like the HD600 is a better headphone than the LA7000? No.  Do I think the $200 HD600 gives me a sufficient amount of sound quality compared to the $1400 LA7000? Yes. 

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

I've already heard my friend's AD2000. I'm hoping he will part with it soon so I can buy it from him. The AD2000 sounds magnificent. I would trade my K701 for it easily. And I like it better than the HD650 as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsplice 

 

Mochan, when you say you find the HD650s better than the D7000s, were you able to spend an extensive amount of time listening to both to make that comparison?  What detailed explanation can give as far as why you find the HD650s to be better than the D7000s?

Without getting into too much detail, the mids of the HD650 are what did it for me. I also do not like the resonance on then D7000, even with a high end headphone like the D7000 closed just creates resonance that open cans do not. The hollowed out midrange of the D7000 also just did not do it for me, even with the nice bass and enhanced treble. Another factor is that I tend to prefer laidback sound, and the HD650's laidback nature and spacious feel was a lot preferable to the D7000's more upfront sound. I do get what you mean by the D7000 being much more "exciting" than the HD650, though.

You'll find most of hte cans I've kept in my collection are laidback rather than forward and exciting. Even my low-end Grado has been modded to become more laidback. I only have one "forward" and "exciting" can and it's the MS400. The rest of my stuff are of various levels of laidback-ness.

Both pairs are good to me, but I preferred AH-D7000.  One reason is that HD 650 sounds a little murky to me.  Another reason is the built quality of the Denon.  Beautiful and professional finish.  They say HD 800 is better, but I also sold my HD 800, favoring the Denon.  I am on the verge of moving to LCD-2 or LCD-3, but it is hard to ignore the Denon.

Currently own the D5000's and the HD650's and find them to be good compliments.  I go back and forth between the two, for a while I felt the HD650 was a better all arounder, but I've been listening to the D5000 more lately. 

I like them both, for different types of music.