[RushNerd]

Ever since I got a tiny taste of the HD600's at a small head-fi meet years ago these cans have never really left my mind. I even remember seeing the 650's on a headphone rack at an audio store in Portland probably the year they came out and thought "$600? This must be one of these places that just puts outragous price tags on their products, HEADPHONES for $600? hahaha"
 
Well today I snapped and dropped $500 (full retail LOL!) on the 650's from Best Buy's online store and should be here next week. Only reason I did this is I know I have 30 days to try them out before I return them and am totally going to take advantage of that! Also it's the only way i'll hear these babies likely.
 
SO, first thing is first: Is my Schiit Asgard and my essense DAC a decent combo with the 650's? I have heard some good things about the 650s and the asgard. Would really appreciate some feedback here as these are very different headphones than I am used to. Thanks in advance.
 
 
Oh and to make things MORE interesting, i'm getting my modded TR50P mad dogs end of the month hopefully, so pretty much it's going to be a shootout between my D5000's, the 650's and the mad dogs. What have I done.

 

[antberg]

lol nerd.
I was willing to buy a pair from accessory jack for 400 dollars shipping free,but then for coincidence Vampire5003 had a practically new pair to sell ,and although i did spent a little more i think it was a good deal because he's from US and not from China where the shipping could take a little more time.The bad part is now,testing my patience in waiting 1 , 1-1/2 months to the pair to get home.
There are some recording you guys would recommend me to play with the HD650 to have some kind of eargasm?
Salute

 

[RushNerd]

Juno Reactor.
 
Also that is just downright painful Antberg. My shipping was free but I paid the extra $6 to get it by the 17th latest. And I can just drop them off down the road at best buy pretty much when i'm done with them.
 
Waiting for headphones to arrive is enough to make one buy more headphones. 

 

[satanigatan]

Going back and forth between this and the HE-400. Currently A/B ing them. 
 
Anyone else had both of them and found themselves preferring one over the other? 

 

[longbowbbs]

I would like to head any of the HE phones...I really love the HD650's!

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

Hi guys,long time lurker here,especially on this thread.
I need some advise from more experienced users here,considering that those living in US and Europe and Asia too may know a little more than me.
 
Although i know the legendary HD650 is a model released many years ago,i found that in the past some site were selling this HP for more less than the same sites today,because i don't find any new for less than 350 dollars.
I know this because looking to old related thread on Head-Fi many users had their HD650 for about 300\350 dollars on JR and TTVJ for example,but today those site quote their models for about 500 dollars so i know that even trying to bargain with them directly i wont be able to lower the price very much.
I am not planning in looking for a used pair because if i don't like it's sound signature i can easily sell them in Brazil for the same price (the cheaper new model i found here was about 650 dollars).
I found a pair of new HD650 with free international shipping on accessoryjack (they seem to be a good ranked sellers) for 400 dollars,but i don't have yet contacted them to know if that model is the one with metal damping material and if they can declare a low value to avoid any excessive a idiotic overtax fee from my own country.
I am taking the right direction folks?
I hope i can join this thread ad the HD650 seem to be an HP that suits my sound preferences.
Salute
Antonio

 
I see below you already answered your own question by going a different route.  But for the sake of future readers: the black silk damping hasn't existed in a long time.  I believe the changeover date in production was somewhere around July 2006.  My original drivers are stamped then and were the first or second batch with the stainless screen. You'd have to find something very, very used to locate anything still using the black silk.  But of course, when dealing with mysterious imports...who knows what you're getting.
 
Quote:

Ever since I got a tiny taste of the HD600's at a small head-fi meet years ago these cans have never really left my mind. I even remember seeing the 650's on a headphone rack at an audio store in Portland probably the year they came out and thought "$600? This must be one of these places that just puts outragous price tags on their products, HEADPHONES for $600? hahaha"
 
Well today I snapped and dropped $500 (full retail LOL!) on the 650's from Best Buy's online store and should be here next week. Only reason I did this is I know I have 30 days to try them out before I return them and am totally going to take advantage of that! Also it's the only way i'll hear these babies likely.
 
SO, first thing is first: Is my Schiit Asgard and my essense DAC a decent combo with the 650's? I have heard some good things about the 650s and the asgard. Would really appreciate some feedback here as these are very different headphones than I am used to. Thanks in advance.
 
 
Oh and to make things MORE interesting, i'm getting my modded TR50P mad dogs end of the month hopefully, so pretty much it's going to be a shootout between my D5000's, the 650's and the mad dogs. What have I done.

 
hard to go wrong with any of the Schiit gear with HD650.  I know TDockweiler and I have different tastes in amping HD650, he'll likely tell you he wasn't fond of his Asgard with HD650, but that's all preference.  From a performance standpoint, there's no reason to not like it.  From a preference standpoint, come on, you know you want some vintage tube amp

  Note that the Asgard is designed to sound very "warm" for an SS amp and HD650 is a warm headphone, so if you like warm + warm it's a good match.  If you prefer keeping it more neutral, it may not be the best match for preference.
 
Quote:

lol nerd.
I was willing to buy a pair from accessory jack for 400 dollars shipping free,but then for coincidence Vampire5003 had a practically new pair to sell ,and although i did spent a little more i think it was a good deal because he's from US and not from China where the shipping could take a little more time.The bad part is now,testing my patience in waiting 1 , 1-1/2 months to the pair to get home.
There are some recording you guys would recommend me to play with the HD650 to have some kind of eargasm?
Salute

 
Female vocals are among the first things most people mention with HD650.  It's pretty much hands down the best headphone out there with female vocals.  Not sure what kind of music you're looking for.  HD650 is pretty special, in general, with jazz overall.  Since you're in Brazil, you may appreciate that Seu Jorge and Bebel Gilberto have received some good head-time with my HD650s!

  (Though admittedly Bebel's mastering is as over-produced as any pop-type recording...) 
 
I've listened to all genres on it, but I probably have less to comment on in terms of rock/metal than some folks.
 
Quote:

Going back and forth between this and the HE-400. Currently A/B ing them. 
 
Anyone else had both of them and found themselves preferring one over the other? 

 
Personally I think the two are ideal compliments.  Recently HE-400 has been taking a back seat since I got HE-6.  The two are different, but I find when I want HE-400 I reach for HE-6 for the same reasons.  HD650 remains unique and special in the mix though.  Previously, HE-400 and HD650 made up near equal head-time for me as compliments.  I'd always want one or the other for a given album/genre.  I don't think they're so much an "either or, better or worse" choice so much as two roughly equal headphones each excelling toward certain preferences.
 
If I have to give the technical nod to one of them, it would be HD650.  It's more accurate, blacker background, technically less distortion.  But it isn't always about technicality, and HE-400 succeeds where HD650 fails, mostly in smooth transients and low bass.  Both scale well to source/amp and reveal a lot, though ultimately HD650 is slightly more technically revealing and analytical of the source (I don't mean it's an analytical headphone, I mean on an analytical amp it can be an analytical headphone.)
 
For me it's a per-genre choice.  HD650 wins all female vocals, HE-400 wins all electronic (were I not to have D5k), HD650 wins all world/acoustic.  Jazz is a 50/50 toss-up depending on the recording.  Rock probably is 50/50 too depending on recordinig and desired presentation.  Classical believe it or not is almost all HE-400....HD650 is too accurate and laid back for its own good where classical is involved...it needs some power behind it that the HE-400 dynamics provide to be edge of your seat exciting.  That shouldn't be surprising, HD600 was the one designed with classical as its primary goal, and HD650 is the warmed over HD600...they sell both for a reason.
 
IMO there's no "better or worse"...on a tech level, HD650 with the exception of sub-bass may be "superior."  On a listening/preference/overall level, I think they're two equals excelling in different areas as great complements.

 

[antberg]

Quote:

Female vocals are among the first things most people mention with HD650.  It's pretty much hands down the best headphone out there with female vocals.  Not sure what kind of music you're looking for.  HD650 is pretty special, in general, with jazz overall.  Since you're in Brazil, you may appreciate that Seu Jorge and Bebel Gilberto have received some good head-time with my HD650s!

  (Though admittedly Bebel's mastering is as over-produced as any pop-type recording...) 
 
I've listened to all genres on it, but I probably have less to comment on in terms of rock/metal than some folks.
 

 
 
Yes Crazy,to be honest the first batch with plastic dampening should be no more on shops,but,you know,you never now,always better get some clarifications..Nonetheless i ended up buying the pair right here on FS,so should be fine.
Thanks for the advise.
 
Now about my listening costumes i may get some peoples perplexed,because i main listen to rock and metal,then to techno-trance-electro and jazz and blues,after some classical (more symphony),so knew i was buying this more balanced headphone before hand,And i already now that there is no one around here who wrote on the HD650 to a rock and metal listener recommendation.Or,at least for those who require the energy of those genres where the DT990 for example can give.
 
This maybe allow me to try to experimenting end enjoying more some other genres which i don't listen too much,and in reality i am already getting to used to and listening more since a few years ago like jazz (which i have been always a great fan) and blues,and female voices genres like Diana Krall,Norah Jones to cite the most popular of the actuality.Even with good recording of old school bossa nova and samba should be great.I just hope that with ACDC and RATM it wont get too much boring.
 
I have been reading practically any HD650 threads on there because i knew those are among the most popular headphones on the planet, and as i want a jack of all threads and i don't want (and even cannot afford) to have a collection of headphones,so the HD650 should be the good choice,without never listened to them, a little shoot in the dark.I have already stretched my economies too far,hehe.
I have a theory about impression on Head-fi or Internet i general:
There are many people where live in areas where it is hard to audition any mid-hi end headphones,and i am not exaggerating when i say that there is no place where i am able to audition any of Sennheiser,Beyerdynamic,Ultrasone,Akg etc etc..at the most i have seen maybe some low end Sony ,Phillips and Akg...
So we rely solely on others impression to know what product we are buying ,then consequently any little difference from some HP differences could be emphasized.Let me explain making an example,someone correct me if i am wrong.The HD600 and HD650 are supposed to be neutral ,but when someone say (correctly) that the HD650 is more darker,veiled and bass heavy,someone else who never listened to both of them could think about the HD650 to be like the XB sony's series,or inversely when someone say the HD600 is very flat other would guess it as bass invisible.I am not giving those impression as wrong (absolutely not),but when not quantifying those difference,then more the idea that the reader is getting when reading to them in is own guessing,maybe our expectation can be a little deviated form what we are really getting into.
What i am saying is that although i know the HD650 is not the best HP for energy rock genres and metal after all,but i hope i can enjoy my favourite bands enough to be happy,and in the other hand i will have a more relaxed listening experienced and versatility with other genres.I just hope i am right in thinking this way,otherwise i will have to sell them and get back to some DT990.
I am starting to feeling the Head-Fi syndrome..i hope the Sennheiser i am buying will stay at my home for a long,long time.
Sorry to being horribly out thread,just wanted to know if someone agree with me or have any advise to give me.
 
 
Quote:

Juno Reactor.
 
Also that is just downright painful Antberg. My shipping was free but I paid the extra $6 to get it by the 17th latest. And I can just drop them off down the road at best buy pretty much when i'm done with them.
 
Waiting for headphones to arrive is enough to make one buy more headphones. 

Haha,i am already thinking to buy a pair of Koss Pro DJ100 for street use and backup,but my wallet simply can create money from nothing.
Juno Reactor is a great band ,a friend of mine have "Inside The Reactor" album and it sounded great on my beloved DT990,which i had to sold few days ago.
Salute

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

 
 
Yes Crazy,to be honest the first batch with plastic dampening should be no more on shops,but,you know,you never now,always better get some clarifications..Nonetheless i ended up buying the pair right here on FS,so should be fine.
Thanks for the advise.
 
Now about my listening costumes i may get some peoples perplexed,because i main listen to rock and metal,then to techno-trance-electro and jazz and blues,after some classical (more symphony),so knew i was buying this more balanced headphone before hand,And i already now that there is no one around here who wrote on the HD650 to a rock and metal listener recommendation.Or,at least for those who require the energy of those genres where the DT990 for example can give.
 
This maybe allow me to try to experimenting end enjoying more some other genres which i don't listen too much,and in reality i am already getting to used to and listening more since a few years ago like jazz (which i have been always a great fan) and blues,and female voices genres like Diana Krall,Norah Jones to cite the most popular of the actuality.Even with good recording of old school bossa nova and samba should be great.I just hope that with ACDC and RATM it wont get too much boring.
 
I have been reading practically any HD650 threads on there because i knew those are among the most popular headphones on the planet, and as i want a jack of all threads and i don't want (and even cannot afford) to have a collection of headphones,so the HD650 should be the good choice,without never listened to them, a little shoot in the dark.I have already stretched my economies too far,hehe.
I have a theory about impression on Head-fi or Internet i general:
There are many people where live in areas where it is hard to audition any mid-hi end headphones,and i am not exaggerating when i say that there is no place where i am able to audition any of Sennheiser,Beyerdynamic,Ultrasone,Akg etc etc..at the most i have seen maybe some low end Sony ,Phillips and Akg...
So we rely solely on others impression to know what product we are buying ,then consequently any little difference from some HP differences could be emphasized.Let me explain making an example,someone correct me if i am wrong.The HD600 and HD650 are supposed to be neutral ,but when someone say (correctly) that the HD650 is more darker,veiled and bass heavy,someone else who never listened to both of them could think about the HD650 to be like the XB sony's series,or inversely when someone say the HD600 is very flat other would guess it as bass invisible.I am not giving those impression as wrong (absolutely not),but when not quantifying those difference,then more the idea that the reader is getting when reading to them in is own guessing,maybe our expectation can be a little deviated form what we are really getting into.
What i am saying is that although i know the HD650 is not the best HP for energy rock genres and metal after all,but i hope i can enjoy my favourite bands enough to be happy,and in the other hand i will have a more relaxed listening experienced and versatility with other genres.I just hope i am right in thinking this way,otherwise i will have to sell them and get back to some DT990.
I am starting to feeling the Head-Fi syndrome..i hope the Sennheiser i am buying will stay at my home for a long,long time.
Sorry to being horribly out thread,just wanted to know if someone agree with me or have any advise to give me.

 
Both HE-400 and HD650 are absolute 'jacks of all trades', just in different flavors.  You may find the sub-bass of HD650 to be less than satisfying for electronic and hip-hop.  On the other hand you may find the mids to be less satisfying for jazz or female vocals on the HE-400 than HD650.  But the key is when we're talking about hi-fi (or that which some people insist on calling 'mid-fi', which these headphones are certainly not) when we talk about "warmer, or flat, or dark" etc.  We're talking about shades of color from neutral.  I think that's the part that may get lost in translation from head-fi-ese, to lay-speak.  "Flat" never means "boring", it means the frequency response graph is relatively flat from one end to the other without major disturbances that color a recording from the way it was recorded.  A "warm/dark" headphone like HD650 will "warm up the mids"...elevate them a little, fill them in more versus a flat measurement, but it's still "near-flat" compared to things like, in your example, Sony XB.  HD650 has a midbass hump that colors midbass, but drops the sub-bass off a cliff.  That's well designed coloration to compensate for the diameter and travel of the diaphragm.  HE-400 has ruler-flat bass measurements down to 20Hz, but has more distortion in the upper mids than HD650. 
 
You, like me, have pretty diverse music tastes, so you end up picking which flavor you'd rather have the strengths rather than weaknesses of.  Personally, HD650 would be my first choice, because while deep sub-bass is great, the genres I want ultimate clarity tend to perform better on HD650.  But we're splitting hairs over the nuiances of two exceptional headphones.  You'd have to spend a whole lot more than either of them to get something a little better than either of them.  Think of the presentation of the two as listening to the music in two different venues rather than thinking of them as radically different headphones.  The presentation is different, but both are excellent quality and detail.  I don't think HD650 will disappoint unless you hate laid-back treble or really crave sub-bass below 40Hz.  Outside electronic, rarely do I miss those frequencies when listening to HD650.  Electronic...is unnatural to begin with so it would make sense that an exceedingly natural sounding speaker/headphone may not be ideal for unnatural music which almost favors distortion.

 

[antberg]

Thanks IEMcrazy,that's practically want i wanted to speak of,i am not excessive exigent about sound because i do not ave any experience in technical aspects of it neither a deep pocket,nonetheless i have been enjoying music since teenager and i think i did a good choice,great times are coming!
Great respect man

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

Note that the Asgard is designed to sound very "warm" for an SS amp and HD650 is a warm headphone, so if you like warm + warm it's a good match.  If you prefer keeping it more neutral, it may not be the best match for preference.

I have never honestly cared about the flat/neutral thing that much. Though I would imagine warm+warm could be a little too much. I also have the amp on my Essense ST I could try out too in comparison. Hopefully it isn't an issue, but I don't even know the 650 sound so it may take some time. Thanks for the help.
 
 
Antberg, I returned my new DT990 (600ohm) last month as well. I only powered them out of my ST card, but I never really connected with them, the bass was weird, hopefully the 650 is a much different beast.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
You may find the sub-bass of HD650 to be less than satisfying for electronic and hip-hop.  

 
 
Are you sure about this.  On my B22 and M^3 the sub bass are great - I mean really great for hip-hop.

 

[jtaylor991]

Quote:

 
 
Are you sure about this.  On my B22 and M^3 the sub bass are great - I mean really great for hip-hop.

I like mine for electronic too (hip hop is good enough i guess), it hits low when it's called for but it's not like it's sticking out. But if the song gets deep enough I can feel the vibration on the piece of metal on the headband with my finger...

 

[RushNerd]

I seriously cannot wait to try out Juno Reactor on these once they arrive, I have a feeling they will excel with Juno's dramatic vocals and acoustic instruments from around the world.
 
I will be getting them brand new for my 30 day trail though, can someone tell me how much burn in time I should expect to do before they loosen up?? I would almost hate using them brand new and not liking it.

 

[Sonic Defender]

You will like them brand new. I have had mine for about three months and I don't notice any difference in their sound over that time. If break in exists, I can't notice it and I tend to feel it is more logically explained by considering that we get used to a new sound signature a little at a time and if it works for you, you will perceive this new sound as getting better as you get more accustomed to it. Of course for all I know break in is real and I just don't notice it so take what I say for what it is, just an opinion.

 

[jtaylor991]

I noticed some pretty good break in after a couple/few hours, the soundstage opened up tremendously (it was virtually non existent before; everything came from a mile away on the left or the right directly)