[MWSVette]

  After having both HD-600/650, the 650 is smoother and to me a better representation of neutral, the 600 was bright to me due to the treble peak at 4-5khz and I felt that it was a bit grainy due to the brightness.  While I've sold off the HD-600 the HD-650 still remains as a benchmark for me but doesn't get much head time these days due to the new drivers being produced for Grado type builds.
 
@Solrighal, agree with you that I've never seen anyone mention the HD-650 with classical music, about as poor a choice for matching a sound signature to genre as I've seen so far.  An HD-700 would have been a much better choice if cost was an issue since they have come down in price quite a bit.

 
Either the HD700 or HD800 my favorites for classical as far as cans from the Sennheiser line.

 

[wazzupi]

Mids, nice bass and vocals are what the hd650s excel at things like layering soundstage imaging detail all go hand and hand the way the hd650s represent those characteristics is different but its a preference I enjoy. I'd still love to own something like the hd800s and such yet they wouldn't replace my 650s they would complement them. if you listen to them with a very good amp setup you get a whole package, yes the hd650s don't have the largest soundstage but its big enough for most genre's it excels at.

 

[bavinck]

Either the HD700 or HD800 my favorites for classical as far as cans from the Sennheiser line.

He560 imo is the king of classical.

 

[Krutsch]

  ...
 
@Solrighal, agree with you that I've never seen anyone mention the HD-650 with classical music, about as poor a choice for matching a sound signature to genre as I've seen so far.  An HD-700 would have been a much better choice if cost was an issue since they have come down in price quite a bit.

 
+1 ... at their current price point, I haven't heard anything that comes close to the 700s for Classical. IMO the most underrated 'phones on Head-Fi (again, at their current price point, not the 800 $US MSRP).

 

[CanadianMaestro]

He560 imo is the king of classical.

Right on.

 

[mbusby]

He560 imo is the king of classical.

 
I hope the Alpha Prime is also the king of classical as I just upgraded my Alpha Dog. Complements my HD 650.

 

[mysticstryk]

He560 imo is the king of classical.

Well that's convenient. Got an he560 coming in next week and just received my hd800 today. I think a classical shootout will be in order soon.

 

[DavidA]

Well that's convenient. Got an he560 coming in next week and just received my hd800 today. I think a classical shootout will be in order soon.

For large orchestra the HD-800 is my choice, for small quartets/trios and such the HE-560, if I had only one headphone for both then it would be a T1g1, it doesn't do the large orchestra as well as the HD-800 but it does the small quartets and such much better but not as good as the HE-560.  Another thing I noticed is the HE-560 does vocals better than the HD-800/T1 but I think the HD-650 is still one of my favorites for female vocals.

 

[DavidA]

   
I hope the Alpha Prime is also the king of classical as I just upgraded my Alpha Dog. Complements my HD 650.

I think you might be a little disappointed, the few times I tried a friends Alpha Prime I was a little disappointed with their performance compared to a T1 or HE-560 and even my friend who owns the Alpha Prime agree after hearing the T1, HD-800 and HE-560 on his setup (LG phone to Hugo).  I think the HD-650 is a better performing headphone than the Prime and if you have a system that has good synergy with the HD-650 it will be even further ahead of the Prime.

 

[mbusby]

  I think you might be a little disappointed, the few times I tried a friends Alpha Prime I was a little disappointed with their performance compared to a T1 or HE-560 and even my friend who owns the Alpha Prime agree after hearing the T1, HD-800 and HE-560 on his setup (LG phone to Hugo).  I think the HD-650 is a better performing headphone than the Prime and if you have a system that has good synergy with the HD-650 it will be even further ahead of the Prime.

 
Not disappointed. I tried a loaner using my current setup before I committed to the upgrade. To each his own.

 

[DavidA]

   
Not disappointed. I tried a loaner using my currently setup before I committed to the upgrade. To each his own.

that's right, if it sounds good to you then that's all that matters

 

[CanadianMaestro]

  For large orchestra the HD-800 is my choice, for small quartets/trios and such the HE-560, if I had only one headphone for both then it would be a T1g1, it doesn't do the large orchestra as well as the HD-800 but it does the small quartets and such much better but not as good as the HE-560.  Another thing I noticed is the HE-560 does vocals better than the HD-800/T1 but I think the HD-650 is still one of my favorites for female vocals.

 
that's pretty right.
650/600= great vocals (with the right amp)
560 = fabulous chamber, solo pianos, jazz, some rock, acoustic
a good floor system = great classical, imaging, soundstage, and everything else 

 
haven't yet heard the 800 -- is it as bright up top and lean on sub-bass as some claim?

 

[DavidA]

   
that's pretty right.
650/600= great vocals (with the right amp)
560 = fabulous chamber, solo pianos, jazz, some rock, acoustic
a good floor system = great classical, imaging, soundstage, and everything else 

 
haven't yet heard the 800 -- is it as bright up top and lean on sub-bass as some claim?

As for being bright, I've found that it really depends on the individual, for me the spike at 4-5khz of the HD-600 bothered me while the 6khz spike of the HD-800 does not.  I usually use a BH Crack when listening to the HD-800 so to me it is not a bright headphone, the RS2e and T1g1 are slightly brighter.  I'm one that likes to "use the right tools for the job" when listening, match the headphone to the genre that they do best, ie: HD-800/HE-560/SR-009 for classical, RS2e or a Gardo clone for Rock/Pop, HD-650 for acoustic jazz and female vocals, etc

 

[DavidA]

  Please don't take this the wrong way but if a 6khz peak the size of the HD800 doesn't bother you I would be seriously worried about my hearing if I were you. A 6k peak is extremely annoying and can come in the form of ringing ears after listening sessions or just damn right uncomfortable.

I've had my hearing checked within the past year and while there is some loss of 0.5 to 1.5 db in the 500 to 2.5khz range, I can still hear up to 17khz which according to the doctor is not bad for my age.  If you read my post a lot of how the HD-800 sounds is due to the amp and tubes used, I would assume that the setup that I have lowers the 6khz peak some what but also that its not a frequency that irritates me, we all respond differently to different frequencies, and there was another who like me was bothered by the 4-5khz peak of the HD-600 but not bothered by higher frequency peaks.  Remember, we all hear differently so what might be "damn right uncomfortable" to you may not be to others.

 

[Sona]

Every peak is annoying.