[ztreb185]

Looking for headphones similar in sound signature to the HD 650.  Dark, laid back, and warm.  Can be open or closed but needs to be cheaper in price!

 

[MattTCG]

Not really...maybe hd600

 

[idletime1213]

PX100-II

 

[fabio-fi]

I know a couple but they lack on soundstage. I assume its important for you? 

 

[applehead]

ATH-ESW9 if you want a portable

 

[sinphase]

what do you constitute as cheaper? If you email the guy who runs razor dog, I hear he'll sell as low as $290. I got mine from him for $350, totally don't regret it. 

 

[dyl1dyl]

 The HD-600 is kinda similar. Or even a HD-580 if you can find one.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Hifiman HE-400, I'm on a huge ortho kick right now and all their products really kick ass haha

 

[Magick Man]

From what I heard, but I have no direct experience with them, the Fisher FA-011s sound a lot like HD650s. They're ~$170 w/ shipping.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/545368/review-fischer-audio-fa-011-off-the-deep-end

 

[IEMCrazy]

HD600 is cheaper and is literally the exact same drivers and housing as the HD650 but with a different paint job.   They are voiced different, and the drivers are placed at a slightly different distance to the ear.  HD650 has a slight mid-bass hump and a dip at around 2khz that makes it more "fun", or more "veiled" or just makes it "warmer" depending on who you ask.   HD600 is mostly flat throughout.  
 
Neither is better than the other, they just offer different sounds for different preferences.   I'm quite fond of my HD650 as an all-rounder, but there are many folks here who prefer the HD600 and dislike the slight distance the HD650 puts between you and the stage.  The HD600 was designed as a monitor/mastering headphone for classical recording, the HD600 was a "fun" modification made to the 600.  
 
Sennheiser used to advertise the HD650 as having more bass to appeal to modern music styles (i.e. making it more of an all rounder to more tastes) but that advertising of more bass has since disappeared from their marketing materials and instead they promote it as just being "better."
 
So if you don't mind losing some of the distance and warm lushness of HD650 and gaining some neutrality, HD600 may be what you're looking for.
 
Aside from that, they're pretty unique at that price point.  You can get back to similar signatures with some of the orthos....LCD2's, maybe HE-500s.   But at $1000 and $700, I don't think that's what you're looking for.   And that doesn't even cover the required super amp....
 
 

 

[Zuglufttier]

Quote:

HD600 is cheaper and is literally the exact same drivers and housing as the HD650 but with a different paint job.

No, the drivers are not the same.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

No, the drivers are not the same.

No?  I remember the debate went back and forth on that for a while, but I thought the standing result was that they were the same with different placement/voicing (and, obviously, have different part numbers as a result of the voicing differences.)
 
Are they actually different materials/designs beyond just the tuning changes? 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Looking for headphones similar in sound signature to the HD 650.  Dark, laid back, and warm.  Can be open or closed but needs to be cheaper in price!

Take any bassy headphone and reduce treble by 3~5db from 5khz to 10khz and you're getting close.
 
 

From what I heard, but I have no direct experience with them, the Fisher FA-011s sound a lot like HD650s. They're ~$170 w/ shipping.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/545368/review-fischer-audio-fa-011-off-the-deep-end

 
This is not accurate. I have both. The FA-011 is a bright headphone by comparison. Otherwise the mids & bass are similar. But the treble is actually very bright on the FA-011. It's starkly contrasted in that sense to the HD650.
 
Very best,

 

[Zuglufttier]

Quote:

 
Are they actually different materials/designs beyond just the tuning changes? 

So, they are different Have a look here e.g.: http://www.sgheadphones.net/index.php?showtopic=10012
 
Pictures from the older HD525 and HD600, they look almost the same. They don't create a completely new design every few years... They are always only small changes. The smaller 5x5 line of headphones by Sennheiser use other drivers as well as the HD700/800 obviously

 

[PANGES]

By "cheaper," how much cheaper do you mean? I know sometimes HD650's can come up in the FS section in the higher $200's/low $300's.