A Conundrum: Geek Unique vs. Venerable Classic (PFR-V1 vs. HD 650)

First of all, I apologize for the cheesy title, but I couldn't not use it.

That aside, as I said, I'm in a conundrum; a dilemma; faced with a problem with which I am unsure as to how to take action.

The backstory is this: I'm joining a (potential) group buy and I'm planning to get a headphone as a Christmas gift to myself* and I'm torn between getting either a Sennheiser HD 650, or a Sony PFR-V1.

* - not exactly, because I have to sell a bunch of things (fountain pens) to fund this. But whatever.

On the one hand, the HD 650s are classics that stand the test of time again and again and again, and having auditioned them a million and five times, and have loved them every single time. That and they are my achievable holy grail-phones (Omega 2s and LCD-2s are far beyond a college student's budget, sadly). I'm 100% sure that I will like them. But my definite starting funds are only half what I need for the HD 650, so I'll definitely have some trouble finding the extra odd 200 USD to fund them and bring them over (shipping to the Philippines and such).

On the other hand, the PFR-V1s are really cool. I mean, you have speaker balls by your ears, that is really cool. Not to mention that they (apparently) have a great midrange, and their imaging is top-class, rivaling, even beating thousand-Dollar headphones. And they are cool. Plus they fit rather squarely into my budget, so I won't have any trouble with paying for them upfront. They are also out of production, which means it'll be harder and harder to find them as time goes on (as opposed to the 650 which will probably be around for the next 5 years). But then I have no idea what they sound like, at all. All the reviews I've read, in essence, say they sound unique, which doesn't actually help all that much because being unique means there's no easy common point of comparison!

So, cutting to the chase, the question is this: which one? Any thoughts from people with experience with both headphones?

Oh, before I forget, I basically love the sound of the HD-650s, so yeah. The main issue about all this is that if, for some reason, I can never get the PFR-V1s ever again after this chance, will I be missing out on something amazing? Because the HD-650s will likely stick around for quite some time, as opposed to the PFR-V1s which might end up disappearing off the face of the earth the next day.

tl;dr: should i get PFR-V1s and save HD650s for years later, or is the PFR-V1 just a gimmick?

Wow, not a single person has listened to both the PFR-V1s and the HD 650s? I suppose the PFRs really are that niche-within-a-niche-within-a-niche.

Hm. Putting aside my interest in the 650s, and taking the situation as-is, would you say the sound of the PFR-V1s is good/unique enough to justify postponing a pair of 650s for a year or two? Because I'm sure 650s will be with us for years and years to come.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coq de Combat 

I haven't really heard either, but as a friendly tips: wouldn't it be pretty rad to have at least owned them once in a lifetime? They look pretty crazy to be honest, and we do like that, don't we?

Yeah, that's pretty much what the PFR-V1s have going for them for me; even if they sound less than great, they look so awesome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amarphael 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeroblade 

All the reviews I've read, in essence, say they sound unique, which doesn't actually help all that much because being unique means there's no easy common point of comparison!

 

Eh? Have you read these? There isn't any shortage of impressions on them imo.

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/338403/first-impression-of-sony-pfr-v1

http://www.head-fi.org/t/322629/sony-pfr-v1-very-all-around-cup-of-tea

http://www.head-fi.org/t/266165/new-easy-to-read-sony-pfr-v1-impressions-thread

http://www.head-fi.org/t/534815/sony-pfr-v1-impressions-mini-review

http://www.head-fi.org/t/384743/new-toy-sony-pfr-v1-personal-field-speakers-stereo-headphones
 

I can't advise you myself as i havn't heard either one, but beacuse they have such differnt presentations it should be fairly easy to get a decent clear picture on each phone's charchter. As you mention you like the HD650's sound a lot but are intrigued by the V1's spkear-like prestation i'd recommend looking into the Sony MDR-F1 as well. It should be sort of a compromise between the two- It has a very spacious sound, it's able to project sound images in to air more convincgly than all other phones under a mega-buck that i've tried, only Stax 202 did it better in facr. And it's sound signature is on the warm side, the tonality is very smooth and natural, albeit lacking in micro-detail compared to more modern phones in it's price range that i've tried, like AT-AD900, AKG701, and certainly it's modern sibling the SA5000.

 

some comparison between F1 and V1:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/356717/sony-pfr-v1-vs-mdr-f1-preferences

 

 

The thing is that the reviews seem to be rather conflicting - for example, about the bass, some people say it's got lots of it, some say it's tinny, some say it's tight, some say it's loose... and so on. But in general it does seem to veer on the bright side. Overall, I just wanted to know if its sound is good for its price. As for the MDR-F1 does look pretty cool, although I doubt I can get it off Amazon, or other places easily. Thanks for pointing the links out though, I haven't seen a couple of them yet.