[ImitationOfLife]

As some of you may know, I made a thread maybe almost a week ago because the driver in my HD650 was rattling. Well, today I took the pads off and replaced them again and the rattle seems to be gone.
 
But I still hear fuzziness in some recordings. I compared some Lossless files with the actual CD and I'm still able to hear this fuzziness. So it does bring the question: Are these fuzzy spots the HD650s revealing the bad areas in the recording?
 
Songs I really noticed the spots on, in case people do want to check them out:
 
Nightwish - "Amaranth"
Nightwish - "Bye Bye Beautiful"
Nighwish - "7 Days to the Wolves"
Jet - "She's a Genius" (most notably at the beginning when the guitar is coming in on the left side)
Morbid Angel - "Maze of Torment" (this was only at the beginning where the only instrument playing is the guitar)
 
The only Lossless files I compared with the actual CD were the Nightwish songs.

 

[hodgjy]

Good cans definitely show weak recordings.  When I got my first decent set of cans, I could hear all kinds of pops, hisses, and cracks in the old master tapes.  You can certainly hear inferior mastering efforts.

 

[ImitationOfLife]

Okay. It's just odd because I've had the cans for over a month and I just started noticing this type of stuff. Call me paranoid, but I'm just trying to make sure there's nothing wrong with the drivers.

 

[kingtz]

Do you have other headphones you can test out to see if the pops and whatnot are still audible?

 

[ImitationOfLife]

I have my beater Bose on ear headphones that I take with me when I travel, but I don't have anything else upscale like my HD650s. Just not sure the Bose will be able to pick this sort of stuff up (I doubt it).
 
I do, however, have Beyerdynamic DT770s on the way that I plan on using to check though.

 

[hodgjy]

You've finally trained your ears to be more alert. 
 
Quote:

Okay. It's just odd because I've had the cans for over a month and I just started noticing this type of stuff. Call me paranoid, but I'm just trying to make sure there's nothing wrong with the drivers.

 

[hodgjy]

One more thought:
 
Listen to the same passage several times.  If it's a bad recording, the same sounds will be exact every time.  If the drivers are suspect, the sounds will be slightly different each time.

 

[Satellite_6]

I never really noticed the effects of the loudness war or just plain bad mastering until I got my 650s and realized many of my albums sound like s**t compared to others. It's a shame.

 

[Trysaeder]

OMG Nightwish ftw!

 

[ImitationOfLife]

Quote:

One more thought:
 
Listen to the same passage several times.  If it's a bad recording, the same sounds will be exact every time.  If the drivers are suspect, the sounds will be slightly different each time.

I've done that more times than I can count. It sounds the same every single time, which appears to be a good thing for my headphones--not so much for the recordings.

 

[Seamless Sounds]

Don't forget about amps. A good amp will bring it out even more

 

[pp312]

To the OP: are you sure your drivers aren't loose in their housing? Take the rear grills off (they just pull off--might need fingernails) and make sure the drivers are properly seated. There has been a couple of threads about this: the drivers can become dislodged. Some people have used a spot of glue to keep them in.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

The fuzzyness you hear is in the recording.  It's distortion caused by dynamic range compression and loudnessing (see loudness war).  The HD650 are at a level where they let you hear that sort of distortion.  The good news (or bad news depending on how you take it) is that the HD600 and HD650 have a sonic character that softens that sort of distortion and makes it less harsh (some might call it "polite") than some other audiophile quality headphones.  If I have to listen to something that I know is going to have that kind of distortion I'll reach for my HD600 over my D2000 or SR325is.  The HD600 is going to be more pleasant to listen to given what the music is about to subject me to.
 
The dynamic range compression is a different kind of compression than MP3 or FLAC compression.  MP3 or FLAC compression is file or data compression.  A completely different thing and not related at all.  MP3 and FLAC compression does not reduce the dynamic range of the music.  So you'll get the same distortion fuzzyness in the sound whether the files are MP3 or FLAC.
 
Here's a waveform of Amaranth by Nightwish.  It got a good flattop haircut.
 

 

[SP Wild]

Could explain why some hate the "fuz" whilst others see it as a good thing - depends on circumstances.  Very enlightening.

 

[ImitationOfLife]

Quote:

To the OP: are you sure your drivers aren't loose in their housing? Take the rear grills off (they just pull off--might need fingernails) and make sure the drivers are properly seated. There has been a couple of threads about this: the drivers can become dislodged. Some people have used a spot of glue to keep them in.

I will have to check on the loose driver issue.
 
@ Ham Sandwich: Damn, at the waveform of "Amaranth." Thanks for the info.