[kaalpurush]

Sorry to hear that you have to let it go, I have similar concern about He-400, one thing I have to say about Dt-990 that it is supremely comfortable, I could sleep wearing those if only the sound was not bothering me, HD-558 was also very close comfort wise. Though none of my sessions run 4 hrs but I do have a neck/shoulder issue that might not be happy with something heavy over my head. Thanks for providing the info, I guess for me I have to audition one by myself to see how it feels, sound quality seemed very promising from your writeup.

 

[Mescalamba]

HD650 are comfortable (most Senns are, like really comfy). Sound is different from DT990. They are more "flat" than almost anything else (apart from old HD555/595), so no issues with spikes in highs. Compared to DT990, they might sound like lacking in bass department, but they are IMHO "about right". Thought about them too, had them for limited time to try some years ago.. but now Im going to try DT880, and pray for best.
 
Also DT880 250 Ohm might be nice for you.. its similar to DT990, just less over-boosted in everything.

 

[Brandon7s]

I actually tried the DT880's before but I wasn't much of a fan. I don't like how the inside of the cups touches the ears; they are more like on-ear headphones than circumaural. They actually sounded almost identical to the 990 but without the delicious bass or comfort, to my my ears. The HD650 comes in tomorrow and I have that night off so I'll be able to give it plenty of listening time. I am kind of looking forward to another set of headphones with a completely different signature, I just hope they are a bit more engaging and detailed than the HD598s I own. Only way to tell if I like them is to try them! I'll be sure to post here with my impressions once I give them a listen.

 

[Mescalamba]

Hm.. I wasnt aware of this issue.. if it touches ear then Im going to have some issues too. Sigh... guess HD 650 for me too.
 
EDIT: Just got them. Ears small enough I guess. Sound pretty good, with EQ. Not so good without EQ. Bit lacking tho.. hope it goes better in time..

 

[Brandon7s]

I received my HD650 and have been listening to it for less than 2 hour so my impressions are VERY much just first impressions (and without any kind of burn in). These are some seriously smooth sounding cans. I believe they are the least offensive of any set of headphones I've ever heard; it's frequency signature is honestly just about right for me. Good quality bass with a fair bit of quantity but not so much to overwhelm anything else - from the little bit of A/Bing I've done the bass quantity seems to  actually pretty close to the amount that the DT990 has. The mids are great on these, very lush and prominent. The highs are far less jarring than either the DT990 Pros or the HE-400s. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they were a little more prominent but I don't mind them as they are either. They certainly aren't fatiguing, which is nice.
 
 Their presentation is more in-your-face than my HD598. Feels less like I'm in the very back row and instead I'm only a few rows from the front. I prefer the more aggressive intimacy on the HE-400; but this actually better than I hoped for. I figured they'd resemble the 598 more than this; I'm glad they don't. My HD650 does not give me the level of detail that the HE-400 gave me. I can't easily pick out different instruments and sounds as I could on that pair. Again, this is something I expected, since they aren't orthodynamic. The level of detail and separation would probably improve if I was using a better amp (running out of my Matrix M-Stage). I can't really hear enough of a difference at this point to say they are more detailed than the 990, but I'm betting once my ears get acclimated to these it'll be easier to hear the differences. I wish I new someone with an amp that had good synergy with these, but alas. I'm the only one I personally know who's crazy enough to spend $400 on a pair of headphones.

 
 I like them, but I don't love them, not at this point in time at least. I DO like these better for acoustic music so far. Their wonderful mid range really lends itself to folk, classical, etc, much more than either the DT990 or the HE-400. They are also super comfortable at about the same level as the DT990 Pro. I've not made up my mind if I'm going to keep these or not. I'll give them several days at least before I decide, but $400 is a lot of money for me to spend on something that isn't wowing me in any particular way. Once I've got some more listening time with them I'll report back.

 

[Mescalamba]

They have similar frequency response curve to HD555/595, except its like if someone put needle in middle and gave lows a bit more punch and highs lowered a tiny bit.
 
Not sure what works best with them.. probably something that emphasis a mids and highs tad bit more than rest. Or just something flat, like ASUS STX/Essence One. IMHO I like headphones like this, cause you can use them with literally everything and you will mostly hear AMP/DAC not that much of headphones itself. And music of course.

 

[Solrighal]

I've read that the M-Stage is a good amp for the 650's. Anyway, you need to give them some time to settle. My pair improved considerably with burn-in.

 

[reddog]

A good alternative to the Sennheiser 650's would be HE-400I'S. These cans are extremely comfortable and sound fantastic,. Plus these sexy headphones are easy to drive. I use the Fiio e12, to power them, while on the go and for at home, the lyr 2 makes them sing. The SQ on these cans is slightly warm, thus they are fun to hear. Furthermore The mids are so sweet, with a touch of lushness, that really puts a smile on one's face.

 

[KeyboardMonkey]

I moved away from an old DT-770 for the same reasons. I have the Phillips Fidelio X1 Headphones and they sound amazingly clear. You should look into them, I think they'd be good for Jazz, blues, etc.

 

[Brandon7s]

A good alternative to the Sennheiser 650's would be HE-400I'S. These cans are extremely comfortable and sound fantastic,. Plus these sexy headphones are easy to drive. I use the Fiio e12, to power them, while on the go and for at home, the lyr 2 makes them sing. The SQ on these cans is slightly warm, thus they are fun to hear. Furthermore The mids are so sweet, with a touch of lushness, that really puts a smile on one's face.

The HE-400i is the headphone that I eventually settled on. I'm disappointed they don't sound more similar to the HE-400, but they are still a great pair of headphones. Very comfortable, very detailed, and more balanced in FR than the regular 400. They miss the bass quantity of the 400 though, and the soundstage and imaging isn't as immersive.  They ARE 1000% times more comfortable though! I like them a lot more than the HD650s, also. 

 

[huberd]

I think you are describing the Sennheiser HD-650

 

[Brandon7s]

  I think you are describing the Sennheiser HD-650

 
 It would appear that way on paper, but the HE-400 and the 650 actually don't sound similar to my ears. The HD650 is very laid back and the 400 is much more in-your-face, so to speak. It's like I could never get the 650 loud enough to really immerse myself in the music without it becoming painfully loud, but with the 400 I can have it running at low volume but I can still hear everything quite clearly. Also, maybe it's just my amp, but the 650 did not display as much detail to my ears. I could hear nothing new in songs that, when listening to with the 400, I could pick easily pick out that I've never heard before. Maybe if I was running a more powerful amp with better synergy to the 650 than I'd be able to hear them with that, too, but I'm going to go chasing after a quality 650 sound when I already like the 400 much more.

 

[huberd]

I moved away from the DT-990 only to go back to them later. I also own the Denon D-2000 and the Beyerdynamic T-90. I thought the T-90 would be better but I was wrong. The T-90 has some annoying ringing or something in the midrange or treble region. It seems like the Tesla magnet is not good for sound. Plus a total lack of bass with exaggerated highs. The T-990 sound wonderful against them. The Denon D-2000 sound good on most songs but can get flabby in the bass if the song is bass heavy. 
 
I am thinking of trying the Sennheiser HD650 then change the cable for a Cardas or something similar. I think I can get good results that way.