[putente]

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Definitely will do!  I'll probably directtly compare them against all the hifimans, Audeze and Sennheisers on my list, and then I will probably take out the SR-009, the T1, DT880, R10 bass light and heavy and TH900.  If the comparisons start to yield very strange results, I may end up having to compare them to a lot more too.

 
 
I'm eagerly waiting for your comparison between the HE-400 and the HD600/650! Any ETA on that? 

 

[devaeron]

Dear David,
 
from what i read on headfonia
i think sennheiser at least done 1 revision on HD650/600
 
from a black to silver driver, this changes happen on early 2007..
hope this help...

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

 
 
I'm eagerly waiting for your comparison between the HE-400 and the HD600/650! Any ETA on that? 

A little less than a month probably.  I plan to have two new headphones added by Christmas
Quote:

Dear David,
 
from what i read on headfonia
i think sennheiser at least done 1 revision on HD650/600
 
from a black to silver driver, this changes happen on early 2007..
hope this help...

Hey thanks! I have heard quite a few pairs (both drivers). maybe I should change the revision status.  I know someone who owns both pairs and doesn't find them to sound different tho.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Dear David,
 
from what i read on headfonia
i think sennheiser at least done 1 revision on HD650/600
 
from a black to silver driver, this changes happen on early 2007..
hope this help...

you know what, I changed it thanks!

 

[putente]

Quote:

you know what, I changed it thanks!

 
 
Do you know which revision is the HD600 and HD650 you reviewed?

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

 
 
Do you know which revision is the HD600 and HD650 you reviewed?

I bought my HD650 and first HD600 in 2006 I believe.  I got a second HD600 in 2009.  I don't recall any differences between the two models.  The one I used in this review was 2009.

 

[conquerator2]

Hi David!
I suppose the chance of the other headphone being the HE-5LE is small to none, right?

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

 

It's not the HE-5LE
 
if i find a good deal on it on the used market, i may consider it.  But I don't anticipate spending any more for a while.

 

[SoundFreaq]

I've been so very impressed with the Ultrasone Signature Pro. David, any chance you'll lay your ears on that anytime soon? I might even entertain sending mine to you. And your involvement in this thread is impressive. We are grateful. 

 

[putente]

Quote:

I bought my HD650 and first HD600 in 2006 I believe.  I got a second HD600 in 2009.  I don't recall any differences between the two models.  The one I used in this review was 2009.

 
 
So your HD650 being from 2006, they'd be a pre 2007 revision model. I'm not sure either what changed in both models in 2007, but I've seen that "revision" aspect being mentioned many times around here. I had the HD600 from 2010, so they were the revised model like yours, I guess...

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

They certainly are very colored

Quote:

The dt990s have got to be one of the worst headphones I have ever heard. My ears cant stand even 5 seconds of their sound before they start to ring. I literally get tinnitus after listening to a few seconds of the dt990s. the irony is that my current favorite is also a beyer... The DT250-250.

 
I think you guys are exaggerating a bit here. DT990 does have emphasized treble - I can hear that too. But it has a very smooth and high quality treble at the same time - I don't find it harsh, except on low quality recordings. The emphasis can be cured quite easily with mild equalizing or by listening at lower volumes. Apart from the bass and treble emphasis, I find DT990 to be a superior headphone to the more popular DT880 with a more natural midrange, better dynamics and sharper imaging. I understand that DT990 is not neutral, but is it also not natural? That's arguable IMO - I often felt that DT880 didn't have enough bass weight, for example, and made some music sound a bit anemic. I also found DT880 lacking transparency in the midrange, even though it is flatter than the DT990 there - I could hear less focus and detail in the mids with DT880. Highs are about equal in quality on both IMO, but DT990 is more open sounding while DT880 is a bit boxy by comparison. So even though DT880 is more neutral in balance, that neutrality is achieved at the expense of some detail, soundstage and dynamics IMO and I feel that an EQ'ed DT990 is a better compromise. But to each their own of course.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Quote:

They certainly are very colored

Quote:

The dt990s have got to be one of the worst headphones I have ever heard. My ears cant stand even 5 seconds of their sound before they start to ring. I literally get tinnitus after listening to a few seconds of the dt990s. the irony is that my current favorite is also a beyer... The DT250-250.

 
I think you guys are exaggerating a bit here. DT990 does have emphasized treble - I can hear that too. But it has a very smooth and high quality treble at the same time - I don't find it harsh, except on low quality recordings. The emphasis can be cured quite easily with mild equalizing or by listening at lower volumes. Apart from the bass and treble emphasis, I find DT990 to be a superior headphone to the more popular DT880 with a more natural midrange, better dynamics and sharper imaging. I understand that DT990 is not neutral, but is it also not natural? That's arguable IMO - I often felt that DT880 didn't have enough bass weight, for example, and made some music sound a bit anemic. I also found DT880 lacking transparency in the midrange, even though it is flatter than the DT990 there - I could hear less focus and detail in the mids with DT880. Highs are about equal in quality on both IMO, but DT990 is more open sounding while DT880 is a bit boxy by comparison. So even though DT880 is more neutral in balance, that neutrality is achieved at the expense of some detail, soundstage and dynamics IMO and I feel that an EQ'ed DT990 is a better compromise. But to each their own of course.

I don't necessarily agree with donunus's opinion.  I like the DT990 very much.  I was just commenting on his experience, that the DT990 is a colored headphone, its certainly not neutral.  So obviously, the DT990's colorations are not for him.  However, my experience with the DT990 has been far more positive than his, but not quite as positive as your own.  I still like the DT880 more, and I've always found the DT880's midrange to be more to my taste.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Quote:

They certainly are very colored

Quote:

The dt990s have got to be one of the worst headphones I have ever heard. My ears cant stand even 5 seconds of their sound before they start to ring. I literally get tinnitus after listening to a few seconds of the dt990s. the irony is that my current favorite is also a beyer... The DT250-250.

 
I think you guys are exaggerating a bit here. DT990 does have emphasized treble - I can hear that too. But it has a very smooth and high quality treble at the same time - I don't find it harsh, except on low quality recordings. The emphasis can be cured quite easily with mild equalizing or by listening at lower volumes. Apart from the bass and treble emphasis, I find DT990 to be a superior headphone to the more popular DT880 with a more natural midrange, better dynamics and sharper imaging. I understand that DT990 is not neutral, but is it also not natural? That's arguable IMO - I often felt that DT880 didn't have enough bass weight, for example, and made some music sound a bit anemic. I also found DT880 lacking transparency in the midrange, even though it is flatter than the DT990 there - I could hear less focus and detail in the mids with DT880. Highs are about equal in quality on both IMO, but DT990 is more open sounding while DT880 is a bit boxy by comparison. So even though DT880 is more neutral in balance, that neutrality is achieved at the expense of some detail, soundstage and dynamics IMO and I feel that an EQ'ed DT990 is a better compromise. But to each their own of course.

 
I agree with you Pianist. After EQ'ing that treble spike from the DT990, I loved those headphones (at the time), especially their bass response.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

I've been so very impressed with the Ultrasone Signature Pro. David, any chance you'll lay your ears on that anytime soon? I might even entertain sending mine to you. And your involvement in this thread is impressive. We are grateful. 

Thank you for this offer! Ideally, I  would like to include every significant headphone ever made, which would leave room for about another 50 headphones.  Unfortunately, I know this won't happen unless they are donated to me (which I don't expect will happen either) hahaha.
 
But for the time being, the Signature Pro is not on my shortlist, but I definitely would consider including them.

 

[Pianist]

I can also compare DT990 to HD650 and HE-500 which I own and I have to say that while the drivers on the latter two may be technically superior (I am pretty sure HE-500 is, but HD650 may not be), DT990 actually sounds better damped and better executed to me than the HD650 and HE-500. I know I may get flamed for this, but I think HD650 is ever so slightly plasticy and congested sounding compared to DT990, while HE-500 sounds very slightly cupped in compared to the Beyers and I find both HD650 and HE-500 a bit slower on attack than is optimal, which takes a bit of life out of them compared to the snappier Beyers IMO. My sub par sources may be to blame for these findings, but I feel that these issues are not source related. Just look at the impulse responses of HD650 and HE-500 at Innerfidelity - they are pretty wild looking, which I believe is an indication of a non-optimal housing design or damping. Look at the DT880 impulse response by comparison - it is much cleaner. I know Innerfidelity doesn't have DT990 measurements, but I can almost guarantee that DT990 impulse response will still fair better than those of HE-500 and HD650. And compared to DT880... well... I think that DT990 sounds more optimally damped, while DT880 is damped a bit too much which causes it to sound dryer, more anemic, more sterile, more restricted than it should and doesn't quite do its driver capabilities justice IMO. I find that DT990 design makes better use of the driver, despite having more apparent (but less serious IMO) flaws. Again, it's all just my 2 cents and I am by no means an expert on these topics. I just go with my gut feelings on this based on listening and some data that I could find.