I am not, by a long shot, a technical expert in this field. But for what it's worth - I have lived with my HD650 for around 8 years and have always been happy with them. The last year I have made two upgrades in my headphone gear: 1. Bought a new amp, Sennheiser HDVD800 -> a huge step up in...

My story with balanced cable goes like this: - 7 years ago I purchased my headphones Sennheiser HD650 and a used headphone amp Musical Fidelity - Life went on and I was happy with my headphone rig - 6 Months ago I read about and saw some pictures of the Sennheiser HDVD800. Don't know what...

  Seems to me to be an accurate description on the improvement I perceived when I went balanced with my HD650...

Quote: Not true actually!   My setup is:    source: Oppo BD83SE NuForce (unbalanced DAC 2 ch output)    headphone amp: Sennheiser HDVD800 (with balanced output)    headphone: HD650   The improvement when i switched to balanced headphone cable (custom Q-cable) is significative...

Quote: Referring to my new silk Q-Cable with balanced termination.   The step up in quality refers to both, but it was primarily the audio quality I was addressing in this sentence.     Cheers!

Quote: He really is! I have had my balanced silk Q-Cable for my HD650 around a month now and I could not be happier. My upgrade before this aftermarket Cable was the new headphone amp from Sennheiser (HDVD800) so I am in audio heaven right now. The new Cable was a significantly step up in...

I've had my Sennheiser HD650 for about seven years now - very happy with them...   I've had my HDVD 800 for about two months now - made my HD650 sound like a pair of new headphones (in a positive way, that is)   I've had my aftermarket balanced headphone cable from Q-cables about one...

  Not being the most technical guy around, rather the opposite (especially in this thread...), I ask myself how can i get a new firmware into my HDVD 800 once it is available? Anyone care to explain? Thanks!

Quote: I am not really a cable guy, but since I have invested in the HDVD800 i decided to take a shot and ordered an aftermarket cable from Q-Audio to gain:    1. Balanced XLR 4 pin termination    2. Loooonger cable than standard - I need 6 meters for my needs    3. A smoother and...

Quote: I do not understand all technical mumbo jumbo here, so I have to ask. Is there anything special with the new Sennheiser balanced cable (terminated with 4 pin XLR) that makes them better with HDVD 800 than any other balanced cable (terminated with 4 pin XLR) by other suppliers (also...

Quote: So optical/coax is always a balanced signal, you mean?   My Oppo is a NuForce modified version with very good DAC on the stereo output so my plan is to use this. But who knows, the HDVD800 might convert to analogue even better...   The reason I am going for the HDVD800 rather...

A question from a newbie on this forum.   If you want to go the balanced path (XLR), do you have to have the whole signal chain balanced to benefit from the better sound from the Sennheiser HDVD800? In my main rig I have an unbalanced analogue signal from my Oppo BDP to my Primare AVR to the...

Quote: What headphone amp did you use before the Sennheiser? Did the HD650 sound remarkably better with the Sennheiser amp than the old one? (even if not as good as the HD800).   I am asking because I have plans to get the Sennheser amp but keep my HD650...