[Malfunkt]

 
All being said, the HD 650's are rapidly becoming my prized posession! Fluidic, warm sound signature, open 3D holographic imaging with great depth perception and pleasing with any genre I threw at it, from rock to electronica and everything in between. These could even be the 2nd best headphone I have heard after the Hifiman HE-6 and HE-1000!

 
One of the things I love about the HD650 is its ability to properly reproduce 3D holographic imaging with respect to binaural recordings. I'm curious to hear a headphone that does a better job and wonder how the HD800 performs in this regard. One of my favourite listening experience with the 650 is listening to binaural recordings of thunder, rain, or field recordings of large spaces - you close your eyes and are transported.  

 

[Krutsch]

  Most genres work very well; symphonies aren't optimal on the 650s, however.
 

 
+1 ... agreed.
 
After agonizing for months, I picked-up an HD-700 for my classical cans. Haven't looked back on that choice, even though my 650s get more head-time for other music.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
+1 ... agreed.
 
After agonizing for months, I picked-up an HD-700 for my classical cans. Haven't looked back on that choice, even though my 650s get more head-time for other music.

HD700? I never considered one for classical. Congrats.
 
How good is the 700 for symphonies, and large-scale choral pieces (e.g. Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis)?  My LCD-2 do these very well, when I use HPs. I don't do HPs as much anymore as I used to. I'm after soundstage and placement mostly -- I want to pick out that one voice in the foreground among 4 soloists (e.g. Beethoven's Ninth, 4th mvt), or the one horn in the back during an all-out crescendo of the orchestra.

 

[Krutsch]

 
HD700? I never considered one for classical. Congrats.
 
How good is the 700 for symphonies, and large-scale choral pieces (e.g. Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis)?  My LCD-2 do these very well, when I use HPs. I don't do HPs as much anymore as I used to. I'm after soundstage and placement mostly -- I want to pick out that one voice in the foreground among 4 soloists (e.g. Beethoven's Ninth, 4th mvt), or the one horn in the back during an all-out crescendo of the orchestra.

 
Don't know... Lately, and since upping my head-fi rig, I've been binge listening to string quartet / chamber orchestra. I will try some large scale stuff I know well and see how it goes.
 
A lot of folks on the 700 thread complain about their treble spike (around 5 kHz?), but with my amp, I'm not bothered (I've noticed that many of the complaints on the 700s come from listeners with inadequate amps - kind of like on this thread).
 
OT: are you the same CanadianMaestro on the Bryston support forum? I just picked-up a NOS BDP-1 from a local dealer. Love the SQ and the web UI looks great ... really... but the software needs some glitch-removal.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
Don't know... Lately, and since upping my head-fi rig, I've been binge listening to string quartet / chamber orchestra. I will try some large scale stuff I know well and see how it goes.
 
A lot of folks on the 700 thread complain about their treble spike (around 5 kHz?), but with my amp, I'm not bothered (I've noticed that many of the complaints on the 700s come from listeners with inadequate amps - kind of like on this thread).
 
OT: are you the same CanadianMaestro on the Bryston support forum? I just picked-up a NOS BDP-1 from a local dealer. Love the SQ and the web UI looks great ... really... but the software needs some glitch-removal.

Yes, that's me. BDP-1 is superb. Tip: If you don't want the glitches (who does?), and don't care about stuff like cover art etc., then try to load it with Looney Loon, not the current Manic Moose. There just seems to be a LOT of little glitches with updates of Moose on the support forum.

 

[Pandaboxer]

Hi guys,
 
How do you feel the LCD-2's (Fazor or pre-Fazor) are as an upgrade to the 650's?  After reading so many wonderful reviews for the LCD-2's, I walked into a local shop to audition a pair and found myself not blown away.  To me they had a similiar sound, with the LCD-2's probably sounding a bit better.  Has anyone else had a similiar experience.  Perhaps my ears just aren't good enough to appreciete the differences.
 
One thing I could tell the difference in however was the comfort.  While the LCD-2's we're not by any means uncomfortable (I actually found them relatively comfortable), but putting my hd650's back on was like putting on clouds on my ears.  I won't ever take these for granted anymore haha.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

  Hi guys,
 
How do you feel the LCD-2's (Fazor or pre-Fazor) are as an upgrade to the 650's?  After reading so many wonderful reviews for the LCD-2's, I walked into a local shop to audition a pair and found myself not blown away.  To me they had a similiar sound, with the LCD-2's probably sounding a bit better.  Has anyone else had a similiar experience.  Perhaps my ears just aren't good enough to appreciete the differences.
 
One thing I could tell the difference in however was the comfort.  While the LCD-2's we're not by any means uncomfortable (I actually found them relatively comfortable), but putting my hd650's back on was like putting on clouds on my ears.  I won't ever take these for granted anymore haha.

650 is surreal, comfort and sound, all in one. LCD2.2 needs a good amp to do it full justice. And when one is used, then LCD2.2 does classical like few other 'phones imo. Vocals are fine too. 650 is more forgiving of mid-quality recordings, and as such, can "mask" the flaws (brightness) and give satisfaction like few other cans do. Balanced mode will maximize both.

 

[Pandaboxer]

 
650 is surreal, comfort and sound, all in one. LCD2.2 needs a good amp to do it full justice. And when one is used, then LCD2.2 does classical like few other 'phones imo. Vocals are fine too. 650 is more forgiving of mid-quality recordings, and as such, can "mask" the flaws (brightness) and give satisfaction like few other cans do. Balanced mode will maximize both.

 
I've always been more interested in the pre-fazor LCD-2's based off what I've read about it online.  It'll be a little harder to find a pair to listen to but might be worth the extra leg work to see what this hype is all about. 
 
I agree whole-heartedly with your statement about the comfort and sound.  I auditioned a few other headphones at the time that we're in a higher price bracket, but it surprised me how well the 650's held their ground against the stiffer competition.  In the end I walked away with a pair of fostex th600's not because I felt they sounded better, but because they offered something different.  I thought instead of trying to find something to replace my 650's why not get something to complement it.

 

[i20bot]

   
One of the things I love about the HD650 is its ability to properly reproduce 3D holographic imaging with respect to binaural recordings. I'm curious to hear a headphone that does a better job and wonder how the HD800 performs in this regard. One of my favourite listening experience with the 650 is listening to binaural recordings of thunder, rain, or field recordings of large spaces - you close your eyes and are transported.  

Been contemplating which can to get but by what you're saying I might have to get a HD650 because I like listening to binaural recordings too lol.

 

[mrscotchguy]

I've always been more interested in the pre-fazor LCD-2's based off what I've read about it online.  It'll be a little harder to find a pair to listen to but might be worth the extra leg work to see what this hype is all about. 

I agree whole-heartedly with your statement about the comfort and sound.  I auditioned a few other headphones at the time that we're in a higher price bracket, but it surprised me how well the 650's held their ground against the stiffer competition.  In the end I walked away with a pair of fostex th600's not because I felt they sounded better, but because they offered something different.  I thought instead of trying to find something to replace my 650's why not get something to complement it.

+1000

 

[DecentLevi]

Both Sennheiser models are amazing. You should not be looking for much bass from the HD 600s anyways; they have always been known for their more neutral (though not totally neutral) sound signature. Even the early reviews on Amazon pointed this out. I actually prefer the 600s on many recordings to the 650s by a considerable margin. This is all a matter of subjective taste, yet you really might not want to accuse vanilla ice cream for not being more chocolatey.

As far as your gear goes, your next step should be to get an OTL amp whose voltage maximizes the potential greatness in your 650. But are you not getting a LD 3, from what I remember ? The output impedance will definitely swing the bass around with more control than your Magni is capable of.

HD 650 is truly an end-game headphone that ceaselessly amazes me ever since I first got them in 2010. So dont ever sell them or you will regret it

Hello Liu, yes I've already been planning to get the LD MK3. I've read in several places how tube amps pair well with the sound signature of the X12 DAC.
 
BTW what is OTL?

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Originally Posted by DecentLevi /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
BTW what is OTL?

Output Transformer-Less.
 
http://www.audiodesignguide.com/otl/otl.html

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
I've always been more interested in the pre-fazor LCD-2's based off what I've read about it online.  It'll be a little harder to find a pair to listen to but might be worth the extra leg work to see what this hype is all about. 
 
I agree whole-heartedly with your statement about the comfort and sound.  I auditioned a few other headphones at the time that we're in a higher price bracket, but it surprised me how well the 650's held their ground against the stiffer competition.  In the end I walked away with a pair of fostex th600's not because I felt they sounded better, but because they offered something different.  I thought instead of trying to find something to replace my 650's why not get something to complement it.

 
+1  
 
It's all a matter of personal taste and what you're aiming for, sound-wise.
Haven't heard any of the fazor-LCD's. Very satisfied with my 2.2.

 

[DecentLevi]

   
One of the things I love about the HD650 is its ability to properly reproduce 3D holographic imaging with respect to binaural recordings. I'm curious to hear a headphone that does a better job and wonder how the HD800 performs in this regard. One of my favourite listening experience with the 650 is listening to binaural recordings of thunder, rain, or field recordings of large spaces - you close your eyes and are transported.  

Awsome post! I have news for you 

 
I have tried HD 800 at a meet, using several source-chains, and I was about ready to buy it once. Actually the HD 800 does have a more expansive (and expensive, LOL) soundstage than the HD 600 & 650. That's one of its' main strengths, as it should be with it's price tag of 3-4x more than the 650, and being it's still Sennheiser's top-tier headphone. It's other main strength is all in the highs. It's a very analytical, revealing and treble focused headphone. But it was strange that when A/B comparing the HD 800 to the Stax SR-009 (both properly driven), the treble quality of the 800 wasn't in the same league as the 009, making the former sound a bit artificial and metallic in the highs by comparison - yet comparing the treble of the 800 to most other headphones under $2,000 the 800 still leads the way in 3D soundstage and treble. I chose however not to buy it because it's  somewhat too analytical and bass-shy for me.
 
I find that interesting that somebody else on head-fi enjoys listening to something other than music with their hi-fi gear. For me personally, only about 40% of what I listen to is what is known as "music". The other great deal of what I enjoy listening to on a day-to-day basis is experimental noise. Many vast permutations / combinations of drone, power ambient, field recordings, musique concrete and sound effects in general. I started recording sound effects at around age 5 and now am a sound-design artist (but that's a whole other story). In general I would like to point out that it doesn't have to be "music" to satisfy your ears. Music in general follows standard formulas of rhythm, melody, chorus, beats / bars, etc., whereas abstract noise can implement sounds from any source, for any length and with any combinations of layering and modifications of any sounds, without having to follow the constraints of popular rhythms and vocals, etc. - allowing a more free flow of thought and excursion. Anyway without getting too deep into the sources where you can enjoy these sonic abstractions, some of the best ones that come to mind are:
* Rare Frequency on WZBC
* Genetic Memory on KTRU
* The Bene Gesserit Beatbox with Muad dib on KFJC
* Under the experimental and minimal categories of Free Music Archive
(With the exception of the last one, these are all weekly commercial-free college radio shows that can be streamed / stream-ripped or downloaded as a podcast). The 650's seem to give a pretty immersive experience with noize as well.

 

[Anavel0]

I hate to be the party pooper but I actually find the height of the HD 650 soundstage lacking. Width and depth are definitely there but I don't get a lot of height out of it.