Yes. They don't actually have bad bass; they have punchy, very deep bass. It's just that the treble is so peaky that you never turn it up loud enough to hear it. If you EQ out the treble peaks, the bass will come on its own. You don't have to do anything else.

I couldn't stand them compared to the HD650

Somehow double-posted. My apologies.

It has a few peaks above 1% and into 2% in the treble. This may sound like a small amount, but that's actually like -20-40dB or so, so like a fifth (on average) as loud as the input signal, which is loud as ****

I prefer the HD650 to the HE-400. The HE-400 has pretty high distortion.

Just installed W8 Retail when it popped up on my MS Dev account.  At first, I was really angry.  Apparently MS wrote a new kernel scheduler and my audio was jerky because it kept interrupting my ASIO driver. Then I begrudgingly tried WASAPI.  After various tests, I can verify that it's...

Quote: It comes with its own bit-perfect ASIO driver out of the box.

Quote: Didn't intend to be rude.  I honestly forgot that you had bought it.

Quote: Why is buying the asus card cutting your losses? It's only $4 more. Oh, you already bought the Halo.

Quote:   I hear jitter problems can do that, so it's likely the jitter.

Quote: The ST has a low-jitter clock and the Claro Halo does not.  They otherwise perform identically.

There are a lot of reasons I like the ST more than external DACs.  The biggest is no-hassle, properly-clocked, bit-perfect transport without upsampling.

*******.  After all this hype, this statement DAC better be like a 32-bit, ultraprecise, completely ringless binary thermometer dac with 3d transistors using a 32nm fab process or some ****.

I never said that they were harsh-sounding, I said that they were harsh.

Quote:   Yes.  Not harsher-sounding, but actually harsher.  They sound very smooth, but they are so revealing.

I don't find them forgiving at all either.  They're much harsher than my dt880 and k702.  I can't even listen to TV rips anymore because the artifacts are so present.

Quote: I wouldn't do it.  The slew rate is thousands of times faster than you need for audible frequencies and the THD isn't documented for audible frequencies, but for 50Mhz signals. The LM6172 is for video, not audio.  Using it in an audio circuit is asking for trouble unless you very...

Dunno what this veil is people are talking about.  My HD650 has really nice, sparkling highs.  The mids and mid-highs are not recessed, they just aren't glaring.  It's the most detailed and unfatiguing listening experience I've ever had.

Quote:   The type and form of distortion that the TI chip imparts presents directly as bass bloat.

Quote: It's an odd experience.  It's definitely a dark can, now that I listen more, but there's also tons of treble.   The mids and treble are incredibly balanced, and it has this tinkling, crystal-clear presence up in the cymbal area and the blackest background I've ever heard.  It's...

Quote: I've owned the M-Stage and the O2, and I find the M-Stage is a bit of a slow amp.  I don't think it'd be a good pairing for the H650. This is just speculation, but I've heard from friends that the Asgard is slower than the M-Stage, so it may be an even worse pairing.   Your...

The Asgard is also good, but if you consider the Asgard, you should also consider the Matrix M-Stage, which is also good.

Quote: For the 650, I'd recommend something a bit more clinical like the O2

Quote:   Nope.  Sealed. It's not BRIGHT, it's just...even.  Like, there's no sibilance of any kind, but there's tons of treble.  It has clearer treble than my DT880/600, which I have right next to me.  It doesn't have a mid-high bump like the K702 or the DT880/600.  It's even through...

Just received my HD650.  They sound amazing, but I can't help thinking there's something wrong with them, based on other people's impressions. They're...bright.  REALLY bright.  Like they have a huge treble peak.  Massive.  As bright as my k702s were.  Brighter than my DT880s