[Kerby88]

I can attest that the HD580 (HD600) does not sound exactly like the HD650. All things equal, the bass of the HD580 appears to be "tighter" whereas the HD650 bass seems to "linger" (slower decay?). The HD580 had HD600 grills and a HD650 cable. Both headphones had the white metallic acoustic dampening mesh. However I must add that both headphones were severely underpowered at the time of comparison.

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gradofan2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You don't need any custom cables, or anything, other than a good source and amp that matches their high impedance and voltage requirements. Few phones sound as good when their mated with the proper set up. I had the J&R HD650s... but... returned them because they sounded identical to my modified HD580s - which sound as good as any phones available (with my set up, which matches them well).

What kind of price range of an amp did you mean?

 

[Goit]

For those that are recommending the HD600, if I get really good amps, would you still recommend the HD600 over the HD650?

 

[Maxvla]

The HD600 and HD650 are so close it's just personal preference. If you buy one and never hear the other you won't be missing anything.

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HD600 and HD650 are so close it's just personal preference. If you buy one and never hear the other you won't be missing anything.

I heard that the HD600 can de-emphasize the musical timber and colors, thus sounding "boring". And the HD650 sounds more "lush" and "smoother" in the mid/high range. Is that true?


What is the official technical difference between the two anyways?

 

[Nocturnal310]

^ HD600 has the most natural timbre..not even close to boring.

HD650 can sound boring on most amps...although the heaviness in the low can make u enjoy music with low notes..and bass of course.


personally i tried EQing the bass on HD600 while listening to trance..and the bass was more than enuff..kinda bassy.


not recommending anything..but just sharing my experience.

 

[Goit]

I've read that the HD600 is "light on texture" is that true? If so it may sound like that it's boring.

Is the 650's unnaturallness because of amping or the headphone itself?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goit /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've read that the HD600 is "light on texture" is that true? If so it may sound like that it's boring. Is the 650's unnaturallness because of amping or the headphone itself?

I don't think the HD-600 is light on texture at all. Neither does the HD-650 sound unnatural.

What you have to keep in mind is that both headphones are extremely revealing of your amplification. If you just have one modest amp, you are not going to have a full understanding of these headphones. Once you've listened to them on a variety of amps, you begin to understand their character.

Sennheisers are not veiled. Amps are veiled. If you listen to a veiled amp, you're going to hear a veil. If you plug Senns into an unveiled amp, they're magical; they almost sound like electrostats. But until you hear what they're capable of, you'll keep buying into the misperceptions.

The HD-600 sounds neutral, quick and a little brighter than the HD-650. The HD-650 is slightly darker, smoother and groovier. But both are among the best you can buy - be thankful that Sennheiser didn't release the luxury brand marketers on them to drive up the price for "exclusivity." No false shortages with them, either.

 

[Maxvla]

Agreed Erik, if Sennheiser really wanted to I'm sure they could have easily gotten 500-600 for these phones in their hay day. Even at their suggested retail I would consider them a bargain. To think that my $2000 system is anchored by a $200 phone, it makes you wonder if it is true, until you play the music.

I also agree that HD580/600/650 phones need POWER. I listened to my HD580s for nearly 10 years before I got my first amplifier that made any difference at all. The sound was nice, but not really as special as one would think. I got a Little Dot MKIII tube amplifier and it really opened up my phones and made me aware of the potential, but still it sounded tame. I then went balanced with a Little Dot MKVI that produces almost 17 times the wattage (300mW vs 5W @ 120ohm) of the MKIII. The beastly power difference was immediately obvious. I always tell people that I feel that for the first time the music is being forced down my headphone's throat instead of previously my headphone dictating things. The result is a shattered veil with quickness and sound stage I find completely unreal. I never knew headphones could have a sound stage like this until I jumped up the power scale.

As to HD600 vs HD650, I was recommended the HD600 when I consulted HeadphoneAddict (Larry). This guy has listened to more headphones than I will in my life so I trusted him. It also helped that the HD600 was cheaper than the HD650. I've since listened to the HD650s on my rig with my cable and found them to be extremely close, with only a very slight darkening and more bass quantity, which is tasteful, but I prefer the more neutral HD600 bass quantity.

I've heard some medium range Stax headphones, and while the sheer speed and detail they offer is still better than my balanced HD600s they just don't have the heart that my dynamic rig gives me. This doesn't mean I won't ever have a stat setup, but it means I will never give up dynamics, unless the very premium stat phones (I haven't heard) can faithfully reproduce both the speed and detail of the Stax I've heard, but also the heart of my dynamic rig.

 

[wnmnkh]

Uncle Erik is telling the truth guys. Listen to him!

 

[Nocturnal310]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think the HD-600 is light on texture at all. Neither does the HD-650 sound unnatural. What you have to keep in mind is that both headphones are extremely revealing of your amplification. If you just have one modest amp, you are not going to have a full understanding of these headphones. Once you've listened to them on a variety of amps, you begin to understand their character. Sennheisers are not veiled. Amps are veiled. If you listen to a veiled amp, you're going to hear a veil. If you plug Senns into an unveiled amp, they're magical; they almost sound like electrostats. But until you hear what they're capable of, you'll keep buying into the misperceptions. The HD-600 sounds neutral, quick and a little brighter than the HD-650. The HD-650 is slightly darker, smoother and groovier. But both are among the best you can buy - be thankful that Sennheiser didn't release the luxury brand marketers on them to drive up the price for "exclusivity." No false shortages with them, either.

using HD600 with HD650 Stock cables removes mild graininess and tames the brightness a bit.

but same (vice versa)is not true for HD650 with HD600 cables.

both are unique in their own ways.

honestly i wud wanna have HD650 too also for certain kind of music.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goit /img/forum/go_quote.gif For those that are recommending the HD600, if I get really good amps, would you still recommend the HD600 over the HD650?

See here is the thing, I don't get about people, the 650 is an improved version of the 600. The sound signature can be changed 100 percent if you have an amp with some good tube rolling options. I also recommend the Equinox HP cable as it changes the things people moan about such as the bloated lows or the veil, the equinox turns bloat into amazing impact and brings the vocals forward and if you think about it, that would make the 650 fit closer to the description everyone uses to describe the 600. Start with the best headphone and do some tube rolling and then screw around with cables and you will discover that all those "Its too warm, The highs are too rolled off, the sound stage is too small" reviews are not describing the 650 but describing the 650 cable and their own amplification.

I am listening to the proof as we speak. Natural, Crisp, amazing timbre, and Balanced are words I would use to describe what I am hearing and all that with no fatigue, fatigue is non-existent in my rig. It is now 8:30 am and I woke up at 1:30 am because I went to bed early and I have been listening to these 650's the entire time.

I have 6 different gain tubes, each with its own sound signature and two different sets of driver tubes which gives me a total of 12 different sonic signatures from one amp. They can sound how ever you want them to sound, then the equinox versus the stock cable can make that 12 a 24 if you want to get technical. See what I mean?

Its the whole system, not just the headphones and the amp.

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HD-600 sounds neutral, quick and a little brighter than the HD-650. The HD-650 is slightly darker, smoother and groovier.

What do you mean by "groovier"?

According to the headroom frequency graph, the HD650 has a dip in the mid/high frequencies, is that why it's "darker"?

 

[Kitarist]

What about the attack 600 model has faster attack right while 650 model is more laid back

 

[Goit]

Is the reason that the HD650 being "darker" because of the dip in the mid-high frequencies? Because I do find my HD555s to be a bit too dark and not showing the textures as much as I liked. Sometimes when the sound is supposed to be colorful, I just don't feel it with the HD555s. And the HD555s have a dip in that region as well.