[Sutton]

OK, I've been using my HD650s for nearly 10 years. They are awesome and I love them.

What I'm looking for is a similar quality headphone that does something completely different to the HD650.

Brands them I'm considering are Beyerdynamic (heard they have great bass?) and AKG (heard they are SUPER detailed?)

The music I want to sound the best on them is Pink Floyd and Radiohead, everything else is secondary.

 

[Geezer Rock 001]

From my limited experience, depending on which amp you are using for HD 650's, you might want to consider something that is hard to drive like your 300 ohm Senns. If your amp has external gain switches then you can ignore that suggestion.

I just added a HE 400i to my small collection. I am very impressed by them. You can pick a new pair up for $219 on Amazon. IMO it may be one of the best sound for your $ values out there.

 

[Me x3]

AKG K702 will give you considerbly bigger and more layered soundstage, along with more sparkle and overall flatter and clearer bass response.
While HD650 is slighlty cohesive in its presentation the K702 shines in terms of sound separation.
Nice complementary headphone without the need of breaking the bank.

Beyerdynamic DT880 (600 Ohm) is a very neutral and extended headphone. It has a similar tuning to HD800/S.
The bass on DT880 is flatter, similar to K702/HD800. In other words clearer with less mid-bass presence relative to HD650.
Upper midrange on DT880 is smoother than on both HD650 and K702 and the treble is more sparkly and extended.
The soundstage is not as big or layered as K702's but it's still a tad roomier relative to HD650.
Tons of air in this headphone since the treble is wonderfully extended.

These two heapdhones are more unforgiving than HD650 so they will shine with quality masters.
Both very different from HD650 so it could take some time to get used to any of them after 10 years with HD650.

 

[Sefelt103]

Beyerdynamic DT880 will come as a bit of a shock compared to the Sennheiser HD650. Less bass, less colour, less thick in bass/midrange, bigger soundstage and whereas the HD650 is dark with less treble the DT880 has an inherent brightness due to its sound quality it also emphasises the treble.The DT880 drivers are quite fast whereas the HD650 is slower and smoother. With a neutral amplifier you will get quite close to what was recorded with the DT880 which might not be pretty on some older/poorly mastered material.

 

[luckybaer]

I own the HD650, DT880, and K601. The DT880 and K601 are quite different from the HD650. I think the DT880 would be a nice compliment to your HD650.

 

[FastAndClean]

DT1990

 

[Deaj]

DT1990

This.

 

[kman1211]

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home, don't have the HD 650 anymore but I am using the HD 660 S as a complimentary headphone with the Amiron.

 

[Laurenesi]

How about the HE4XX? I've been looking for some planar magnetic headphones to complement my HD6XX's and was looking for the Quad ERA-1. However, Massdrop is currently testing a EU warehouse, which made the HE4XX available for a reasonable price. It appeared from reviews that the HE4XX's are overal warmer headphones, bassier with a wider soundstage, which are characteristics which could be improved on the HD6XX's. On the other hand I think the HD6XX's have quite a warm sound signature all ready.

As some back ground information. I've got the HD6XX's now for a few months and I think they're overal very good sounding headphones. I like the general sound of it (I like listening to each type of music on it), however there are some characteristics which could be improved. While listening to hiphop or EDM, the bass might get a bit lower and the highs a bit brighter. While listening to more "musical" genres (in other words types of music which make more use of real instruments instead of electronic/computer), the sound stage/differentiation could be a bit better.

What do you think? Is the sound signature of the HE4XX and the HD6XX headphones too similar to call them complementary to each other and, if so, what other planar magnetic headphones would you recommend and why?

 

[SonyFan121]

..and Radiohead, everything else is secondary.

Radiohead?! They are one of my favourite bands. Some of their albums are so well recorded/produced that they are good to test headphones with.
Here are a few headphones I would recommend for listening to Radiohead;
Beyerdynamic T70 250 ohm
Denon AH-D5000
Sony MDR7510
AKG K712

 

[441879]

How about the HE4XX? I've been looking for some planar magnetic headphones to complement my HD6XX's and was looking for the Quad ERA-1. However, Massdrop is currently testing a EU warehouse, which made the HE4XX available for a reasonable price. It appeared from reviews that the HE4XX's are overal warmer headphones, bassier with a wider soundstage, which are characteristics which could be improved on the HD6XX's. On the other hand I think the HD6XX's have quite a warm sound signature all ready.

As some back ground information. I've got the HD6XX's now for a few months and I think they're overal very good sounding headphones. I like the general sound of it (I like listening to each type of music on it), however there are some characteristics which could be improved. While listening to hiphop or EDM, the bass might get a bit lower and the highs a bit brighter. While listening to more "musical" genres (in other words types of music which make more use of real instruments instead of electronic/computer), the sound stage/differentiation could be a bit better.

What do you think? Is the sound signature of the HE4XX and the HD6XX headphones too similar to call them complementary to each other and, if so, what other planar magnetic headphones would you recommend and why?

I don’t have an HE4XX, but I do have its brother the 400i. The 400i is an unbelievable bargain for the price so I’m betting that’s true for the 4XX too. Both are great examples of planar magnetic performance (deep, solid, bloat free bass, highly detailed and fast) for a bargain price.The HD6XX and HD650 are great examples of dynamic driver performance (dynamics, soundstage) at a bargain price. To me that means they’d be very complementary.

If you do it you’re going to need a versatile amp. Something able to deliver enough voltage to drive high impedance phones, and enough current to satisfy relatively low impedance planars.

Edit: Your rHead should work great.

 

[chimney189]

This might sound surprising, but the HD 58X has extended highs and boosted sub-bass.. something that the HD 650 is missing terribly.