[Glassman]

Today, me and my friend and also head-fier Karlosak, we went to Czech official Sennheiser distributor and had the opportunity to audition the new HD650 against HD600.. the source was some higher end Marantz CD player and amps were Creek OBH-11 and my own DIY Gilmore Dynamic.. Creek wasn't bad in any term and for the money it's good value, nevertheless Gilmore managed to slightly outperform it, so we used rather Gilmore for most of the time.. We were playing audiophile quality CD from local hifi magazine (Michal Hromek - Compilation) FYI it's really good performed and recorded acustic music.. It must be said that HD650 were not properly burned in since they have them for just a few days. We were told that we are the first among the Czech Republic who heard them, except a few of their employees of course

We had not enough time - just about 20 minutes, but our conclusion was - yes, they are good, maybe even better than HD600 - who knows.. Both HD650 and HD600 share indistinguishable sound signature, but it seems that HD650 has somewhat tighter/firmer/harder sound.. it is slightly less relaxed than that of HD600.. something like HD600 on steroides

but again - we are comparing properly burned in phones with not yet burned in ones, so this could change with time.. We concluded that there's bigger quality step-up from maxed out META42 to Gilmore than from HD600 to HD650..

it's the matter of personal preference, but I think you won't miss much (if anything) from HD600 in HD650 - the only real concern is the price - I mean HD650 are clearly overpriced in our opinion.. the choice is yours

btw. I think we are the second among head-fiers to audition these phones

 

[Guyferd]

seems to be a little bit more different sounding than hd600 and priced way higher than its predecessor?

seems like very overpriced to me

btw, great impression Glassman! Makes me wanna try the hd650 when they reach my town

 

[wallijonn]

Isn't the HD650 supposed to come in at $399.99 US?

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn Isn't the HD650 supposed to come in at $399.99 US?

 

[Karlosak]

I must second to Glassman. The HD-650 were a bit fuller, maybe more expressed, but less relaxed and lacking bit of the magic of HD-600. But it is really unfair to compare new headphones with burned-in ones (listening just for a couple of minutes!).
Apart from the musical experience:
The overall design is really good. IMO they looked better than my HD-600

. I was afraid that they will look like some crappy plastic sonys but not at all - with their glossy finish they looked wonderful.
As to the headband: yes it is different from HD-600. It doesn't look very nice, though very comfty.
And cable: Yes, the cable is completely different. It is much thicker and the connectors are bigger. Unfortunately I was so busy with listening to the music that I forgot to compair their compatibility with HD-600 connectors.

Just my first impression. It's so nice feeling to be in the Club Of HD-650 First Listeners

 

[Mastergill]

Lucky boyz

It's gonna be hard to wait the release date...I called Sennheiser-france today, the guy told me between mid and late october, street price 449 euros (for France).

Edit: Yes that's 100 euros more than the HD600 'normal' price, seems a little overpriced...but wait i need to test...

 

[JaZZ]

List price in Switzerland is CHF 595 (~ $ 453 / € 386), but it's available for as little as CHF 469 (~ $ 357 / € 305).

 

[Karlosak]

The price in Czech Republic is 11.500 CZK ($396) for HD-650 and 8.000 CZK ($276) for HD-600. A $120 difference ??? Oops! A bit too much for my wallet

 

[gpalmer]

Sadly, the price doesn't really matter to me, I'm going to pounce on these like a cat on a mouse when they come out (although I did just pick up a set of 600s to make sure I get the both sides of the picture). I've been dying for months to get my hands on a set. Think of it like this, BULL LEMMING COMING THROUGH!!!!

 

[JaZZ]

I want my HD 650 -- now!!!

 

[Stoney]

Although I don't normally rely on measurements of audio equipment, I do take an interest for transducers. In particular, the HD600 has a nasty dip around 8kHz, said to be responsible for the veiled sound, and perhaps may be somewhat responsible for the "relaxed" sound.

http://www.headphone.com/showGraph.php?graphID=87

I'll want to see the measurements for the HD650. If the dip is gone (doubt it) but otherwise the curve is similar (perhaps), then I'd jump at the HD650s.

I loved the HD600s on brief listening, but I'm afraid that dip would become more and more noticeable to me over time.

Does this mean I'm likely to end up with the Stax Omegas? I'd like to see a measurement of them....

 

[tom hankins]

What jaZZ and gpalmer said!

 

[Sovkiller]

Oh, no!!!! Now the HD650 madness? Torture never stops, com'on give a break!!!!..........

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Glassman Today, me and my friend and also head-fier Karlosak, we went to Czech official Sennheiser distributor and had the opportunity to audition the new HD650 against HD600.. the source was some higher end Marantz CD player and amps were Creek OBH-11 and my own DIY Gilmore Dynamic.. Creek wasn't bad in any term and for the money it's good value, nevertheless Gilmore managed to slightly outperform it, so we used rather Gilmore for most of the time..

Awesome... nice to see a comparison/short review. Also, nice that someone else doesn't think the OBH-11 is a POS (that's what I use, and I think it amplifies well and sounds good for the money... I call that level "budget hi-fi") -- however, would also be interested in hearing a similar comparison using really high end amps & sources ($multiple thousands$), to see how the HD-650 scales with pricier equipments compared to the HD-600.

Anyway... thanks!

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stoney Although I don't normally rely on measurements of audio equipment, I do take an interest for transducers. In particular, the HD600 has a nasty dip around 8kHz, said to be responsible for the veiled sound, and perhaps may be somewhat responsible for the "relaxed" sound. http://www.headphone.com/showGraph.php?graphID=87 I'll want to see the measurements for the HD650. If the dip is gone (doubt it) but otherwise the curve is similar (perhaps), then I'd jump at the HD650s. I loved the HD600s on brief listening, but I'm afraid that dip would become more and more noticeable to me over time. Does this mean I'm likely to end up with the Stax Omegas? I'd like to see a measurement of them....

If you liked the sound, forget the measurements.
Headphone measurements are very hard to interpret if you don't know what to look for, and, unlike loudspeakers, a flat measured response is not desirable and wouldn't lead to a perceived natural response. That 8kHz dip is no flaw but seems to be a deliberate design decision.
Take a look here, notice something familiar?