Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › HD650 sound right sided?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

HD650 sound right sided?

post #1 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:44am
Thread Starter 

I have had the HD650 for a few weeks now....

 

I have tried everything to try and rule out a channel imbalance for example :

 

Play at extremely low volume on mono to see if one sides goes silent first : no result both seem the same...

 

Play the headphones in mono mode....

 

Use switch channels on foobar....

 

Turn the headphones round, switch cables, tried in various positions on head etc...

 

None of these things have conclusively proved either way but the problem which is irritating me and somewhat spoiling my enjoyment is that everything seems right side dominant.... The headphones seem to always sound right sided about 80% of the time.... I am not sure if this is how I perceive the soundstage or maybe the headphones showing up how tracks are recorded... But it is annoying me... Has anyone else noticed this?

Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #2 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:49am

Have you tried another set of headphones on the same equipment and the same songs?

Have you ruled out your own hearing?

Reply
post #3 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:51am

Yes, I've noticed that.

 

But I also noticed the same thing on all my other headphones. Maybe there is something wrong with my left ear, I'm going to get that checked out soon btw, but my guess is that it's just psychological. 

 

Ask someone to try them, tell them that the left side is louder than the right side and see what they think. (I know the right side seems louder to you, but if you tell them that they will most likely agree) 

Reply
post #4 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:55am
I have the exact same problem with my hd560 which i jus bought from ebay but not with my hd650 which recabled... Maybe u can try some after market cable?

Im still try to figure out y my hd560 so unbalance even i change the earpad and the cable its still the same... T__T
Reply
post #5 of 31
2/28/12 at 9:56am
Thread Starter 

I am listening to my Shure IEM at the moment and it doesnt sound as right sided at all as with the sennheisers.... Its weird because every test I do to try and prove they are one sided fails yet every time I listen to them it irritates me because they sound wonky :S

Reply
post #6 of 31
2/28/12 at 10:00am

What I did to make sure there was no real imbalance was that I went into the channel balance in the settings on my mac, and as soon as I tried to "even the sound out" by moving it slightly to the left it sounded completely wrong and was definitely "left sided", which it wouldn't have done if the right side was actually louder. 
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholars View Post

I am listening to my Shure IEM at the moment and it doesnt sound as right sided at all as with the sennheisers.... Its weird because every test I do to try and prove they are one sided fails yet every time I listen to them it irritates me because they sound wonky :S

 

Reply
post #7 of 31
2/28/12 at 11:50am

This frequency graph for the HD650 seems to show some bias towards the right in the treble.

 

You may want to get yourself a sine sweep and listen to it. See if the sound (which should be in the middle) stays slightly on the right side throughout the frequency range, or if it veers right only at certain frequencies (like in the treble).


Edited by vid - 2/28/12 at 11:52am
Reply
post #8 of 31
2/28/12 at 12:04pm

Hard to believe but after a quick google looks like it's true that they have a slight right bias in the upper frequencies.

freq.gif

Reply
post #9 of 31
2/28/12 at 11:46pm
Thread Starter 

Hmmm is that chart taken from an individual pair or is it an average of loads of pairs?

 

I think it does have a lot to do with the shape of your head and the position you wear them.... Maybe I am imagining it or maybe I just have good hearing and can hear that miniscule imbalance lol.

Reply
post #10 of 31
2/29/12 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholars View Post

Hmmm is that chart taken from an individual pair or is it an average of loads of pairs?

 

I think it does have a lot to do with the shape of your head and the position you wear them.... Maybe I am imagining it or maybe I just have good hearing and can hear that miniscule imbalance lol.


haha if that the case DT880 is un-listenable for you... its very unbalance for me... but ever sine i got my hd650 i use a 3rd party cable for it... maybe u can consider recabling?
Reply
post #11 of 31
2/29/12 at 1:11am
Thread Starter 

I can't justify spending that much on a cable tbh....

Reply
post #12 of 31
2/29/12 at 3:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicholars View Post

Hmmm is that chart taken from an individual pair or is it an average of loads of pairs?

 

I think it does have a lot to do with the shape of your head and the position you wear them.... Maybe I am imagining it or maybe I just have good hearing and can hear that miniscule imbalance lol.

 

The HD650 of that chart seems off by some 5 dB between 8 and 10 kHz and by almost 10 dB in the upper treble, which I imagine would be noticeable. As you didn't do a sine sweep, it's hard to say whether your pair is off along the entire frequency range or just in the treble.

Reply
post #13 of 31
2/29/12 at 4:14am

Oh man. I've this same problem with my HD650! Mine is towards right side. The right side is so slightly louder and it's like the vocal shifting to the right. I’m pretty sure it's a channel imbalance as I confirmed it by playing mono in Foobar.

 

Recable DOES NOT help at all. I’m using SAA e series


Edited by smoothtalker - 2/29/12 at 4:17am
Reply
post #14 of 31
2/29/12 at 6:21am
Thread Starter 

I did a sine sweep and it seems to be central then move to the right slightly as it gets higher around 5-10khz as you suggest....

 

When trying it with mono I cant notice any difference... I think it is because a lot of music is recorded with the singer slightly to the right as opposed to dead centre and because the HD650 seperate the 2 channels very noticably it is very noricable...

Reply
post #15 of 31
2/29/12 at 2:35pm

Ok, cool. I guess it's just a regular "feature" of the HD650 then.

 

I'm kinda surprised, though, that they're so unbalanced. For their current price you should get more than that.

 

There's another measurement of the 650 here. That one's a bit uneven as well, but not so badly. On the other hand, the HD600 measured here is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off in terms of channel balance. Kinda sucky – I wonder if an uneven balance like that is reason enough to get a pair of phones replaced?

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › HD650 sound right sided?