[BANGPOD]

Wow...

The 650/Mobius sounds exceptional with every single genre I throw at it...
No matter what I challenge it with, it consistently delivers! No problems here!
This isn't new headphone glorification, neither -- it is more than obvious.
I have only been burning both in for about 25 hours... I am already amazed!

At 25 hours, I still hear a closed in soundstange and murky vocals...
The bass is starting to take form, but is still very loose/exaggerated.
The treble sounds a bit uncontrolled and the upper midrange is blurred.

I am exaggerating the above faults, though -- they are really only minor.

Is any of this normal? What should I expect to hear at around 50 hours?

Except in detail/resolution/clarity, the 650/Zu walks all over the ER-4P/S...
Even the D/R/C department is close, but I am a stickler for that last 10%.
I know the 650 is the jack-of-all-trades, but playing everything this well?
Even though the 650/Zu is hyped, I think it is underhyped for the price I paid.

HD-650 for $330.00, 2.5m Zu Mobius for $205.00... $535.00 for this?
Even for that much, the 650/Zu is one of the biggest bargains I have heard.

Anybody else want to chime in with their accolades?

BANGPOD

 

[Blitzula]

The sound signature of the 650/Zu was not for me. But the Zu had a huge effect on an already solidly proficient headphone, I think the 650/Zu combo is great if you are a Sennheiser fan.

 

[doobooloo]

The combo does open up quite a bit after many hours. I feel though that in order to get the right amount of openness with the Senns, my listening volume needs to be slightly higher than normal. Perhaps the cans were designed/optimized to be listened at slightly higher levels, I don't know.

 

[BANGPOD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blitzula The sound signature of the 650/Zu was not for me. But the Zu had a huge effect on an already solidly proficient headphone, I think the 650/Zu combo is great if you are a Sennheiser fan.

Blitzula --

I disliked every Sennheiser I have heard except for the HD-650/Zu Mobius...
It seems to me that the Mobius completely lifts the "veil" from the music.
I am apprehensive, at best, regarding the 650 with its stock cable.
It is so boring and distant, with a blanket covering the sparkle/energy.

The veil -- the only thing I do not like about the Sennheiser sound.
The Mobius extends the 650 in both directions and fills in the midrange.
I will say it again... I am NOT a Sennheiser fan... But the Mobius...
It completely alters the headphone and removes my only criticism...

People say that the Mobius can only build upon a certain sound signature.
I disagree -- I believe it completely transforms the headphone's sound.

BANGPOD

 

[KenW]

I've got over 100 hours on the 650 but only about 20 or so on the cable. Heck, I was impressed with the stock setup but there does seem to be an enhanced bass with the zu added to the mix. Read some had felt the zu made things a bit bright...too bright. I'm certainly not hearing that from this combination. Perhaps the high end is more pronounced after the cable settles? A tad more top end would hit the sweet spot for me. The zu folks tell me it really takes around 200 for that process to complete but it sounds darned good right out of the package and even better at 100 hours. Guess I'll just have to enjoy the ride. So far, I'm impressed but that's not hard to do with me. Perhaps others with more experience can chime in.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD I disliked every Sennheiser I have heard except for the HD-650/Zu Mobius... It seems to me that the Mobius completely lifts the "veil" from the music. I am apprehensive, at best, regarding the 650 with its stock cable. It is so boring and distant, with a blanket covering the sparkle/energy. The veil -- the only thing I do not like about the Sennheiser sound. The Mobius extends the 650 in both directions and fills in the midrange. I will say it again... I am NOT a Sennheiser fan... But the Mobius... It completely alters the headphone and removes my only criticism... People say that the Mobius can only build upon a certain sound signature. I disagree -- I believe it completely transforms the headphone's sound.

Well right now the 650's sound mighty veiled and dull compared to these RS-1's. I should have a Mobius soon, and we'll see if it can perform this miracle change you speak of.

 

[BANGPOD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Well right now the 650's sound mighty veiled and dull compared to these RS-1's. I should have a Mobius soon, and we'll see if it can perform this miracle change you speak of.

Iron_Dreamer --

I compared it with stock cable to the RS-1.
Your feelings were exactly mine when I listened.

With the Mobius, the distance between the two is shortened.
But if you think Sennheisers are veiled, this is the cable for you.

Obviously this is only my humble opinon.

BANGPOD

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD I compared it with stock cable to the RS-1. Your feelings were exactly mine when I listened. With the Mobius, the distance between the two is shortened. But if you think Sennheisers are veiled, this is the cable for you. Obviously this is only my humble opinon.

Well considering how much praise the HD650/Zu generally gets around here, I thought it would be worthwhile to try before dismissing the HD650's. I never found the Senns to be veiled with the DAC1, until I compared them to the Grados.

 

[BANGPOD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Well considering how much praise the HD650/Zu generally gets around here, I thought it would be worthwhile to try before dismissing the HD650's. I never found the Senns to be veiled with the DAC1, until I compared them to the Grados.

Iron_Dreamer --

I would be careful combining the DAC1 with the 650/Mobius...
That combination will definitely be on the bright side!

Especially if you are not going to run the 650/Mobius balanced.

Unless I have an impossibly perfect recording of the Talking Heads' Greatest Hits...
The 650/Mobius is impressing me a great deal everytime I listen... OUT OF MY IPOD!

The Mobius does not perform miracles, but it will drastically change its sound signature.
For me personally, it was the make or break component of the Sennheiser sound.

...and it certainly made it!

BANGPOD

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD I would be careful combining the DAC1 with the 650/Mobius... That combination will definitely be on the bright side! Especially if you are not going to run the 650/Mobius balanced.

Well, surely it won't be brighter than the RS-1, right? The only cans I've found to be too bright from the DAC1 were the CD3000. I think people tend to think of the DAC1 as being a bit brighter than it really is. Only the brightest headphones are anywhere near unlistenable on it, and I would have a hard time believing the Zu makes the Senns THAT bright. I once had the Headphile cable, which only made the Senns a smidge brighter than stock out of the DAC1.

 

[BANGPOD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Well, surely it won't be brighter than the RS-1, right? The only cans I've found to be too bright from the DAC1 were the CD3000. I think people tend to think of the DAC1 as being a bit brighter than it really is. Only the brightest headphones are anywhere near unlistenable on it, and I would have a hard time believing the Zu makes the Senns THAT bright. I once had the Headphile cable, which only made the Senns a smidge brighter than stock out of the DAC1.

Iron_Dreamer --

The 650/Mobius will not be close to as bright as the RS-1 (even from the DAC1)...
But, I warn you only because with the Mobius/DAC1, the 650 will be brighter than before.
Whether you will like it or not, I do not know -- but it will be identifiably brighter than stock.

Will the Mobius' brighter nature be significant? Not compared to the RS-1's.
What about compared to the stock 650? You are damn right it will be.

Brightness is not a negative quality in this regard -- it is what removes the stock 650's veil.
By saying the Mobius/DAC1 650 is brighter, I am only saying this in reference to the stock veil.

Please do not misunderstand me -- I am not saying they will be THAT bright...
They will be far from being unlistenable... They will just be noticably brighter.
Compared to the veiled stock 650, a Mobius/DAC1 650 will be a good amount brighter.

Touche, as you feel the DAC1 is not as bright as it is described, I feel the same about the CD3000.

Please read this post carefully and realize I am only comparing my Mobius comments to stock.
If I was comparing the 650/Mobius to the RS-1's, my comments would be way out of context.

Do you see where I am going with this?

BANGPOD

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD Do you see where I am going with this?

Completely. Sorry to have muddied up the appreciation thread so much.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Completely. Sorry to have muddied up the appreciation thread so much.

Ha ha $xxx to remove the senn veil. Now that's what I call consumer marketing

But seriously. I hear the senn hd650's have a bit more midrange compared to the old 600's. Now if there was any headphone which could use the Zu then it was the hd600's

 

[BANGPOD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer Completely. Sorry to have muddied up the appreciation thread so much.

Iron_Dreamer --

Hey, once you burn in the Mobius, you will be commenting here too!
If you are an RS-1 fan, the Mobius will definitely improve the 650 to you.
Will it be an RS-1? Nope, sorry! But it will have more treble energy/sparkle.

The bass gets tighter and louder while the midrange becomes so full...
That is one of my favorite parts of the Mobius... How fat the midrange is...
And being an HR-2 user, I am well acquainted with a fat midrange... Oh, well!

Cheers,
BANGPOD

 

[BRBJackson]

Dammit BANGPOD, thanks to your post, I had to pull my new Mobius out of the packaging 2 days early (not yet finished burning in headphile cables on the 225's)

Anyway, I just put the Zu's on. I'll reserve most of my comments until they've got at least 24 hours of burn-in or so, but they sound pretty damn good so far. Listening to Christian McBride's 'Gettin' To It' right now, and it already sounds more 'live' than with the stock cables. Can't wait to get more time in.