[willowbrook]

Did the amp section not live up because of technical weaknesses or sound signature?

 
After listening for some more hours, I think it's great actually. I haven't really heard any expensive amps, so I can't really comment on that...

 

[willowbrook]

I can't get ASIO to work now...I activated ASIO with the driver that audio-gd provided. I installed the asio component on foobar2k, but nothing shows up...restarted my computer, nothing...

 

[Surlias]

Yeah they really need to get the firmware/drivers/whatever is causing the problems fixed. I wonder if this is an issue with Mac which doesn't require a driver

 

[Stillhart]

  I can't get ASIO to work now...I activated ASIO with the driver that audio-gd provided. I installed the asio component on foobar2k, but nothing shows up...restarted my computer, nothing...

 
I had problems with ASIO on my NFB-15 so I just use WASPI instead.  Pretty much the same thing...

 

[willowbrook]

   
I had problems with ASIO on my NFB-15 so I just use WASPI instead.  Pretty much the same thing...

 
So many driver problems...also I am getting these pop/crackling noises when I switch track or play something. It goes away after like 10 seconds, but it is very annoying. I am starting to wonder if the gear is actually worth it because of so many driver problems.

 

[willowbrook]

All day, I was able to listen to HD600 and compare directly with HD650 right after that. I was very surprised to hear that they actually sound very very similar. I was about to let the HD650 go and listen to my HD600 happily ever and after, however I now find that HD650 has a fuller sound and better instrumental separation than HD600. It is also easier and more enjoyable to listen to for long periods of time. It must be the recessed bass of HD600 which gave a kind of fatiguing long listening session. When I first heard the HD650, I felt it to be too warm for my taste, however after listening to HD600 for a long time, it is extremely similar. Constantly switching, it is hard to spot differences, but the most obvious ones can be heard easily. The HD600 lacks bass compared to HD650 which gives a too forward feeling of mid and highs and that makes it hard to listen for long periods. Also, HD650 has a recessed treble, just a little bit which gives it a smooth sounding presentation suitable for listening to bad mastering etc. You can also enjoy the music without getting ear piercing sounds once in a while.
I would have to listen to them a little bit more to definitely decide which one to let go and it will be a very hard decision.
The only way for sure I guess is to actually listen to both of them instead of reading people's impressions.

 

[Surlias]

  All day, I was able to listen to HD600 and compare directly with HD650 right after that. I was very surprised to hear that they actually sound very very similar. I was about to let the HD650 go and listen to my HD600 happily ever and after, however I now find that HD650 has a fuller sound and better instrumental separation than HD600.

 
I appreciate you keeping us posted on your impressions of the HD 600 and 650, because I'm in the midst of the same debate. I have the 650 and I've been trying to decide whether to bother getting a pair of the 600 to compare. After reading your last post, I think I'm going to just stick with the 650. Just doesn't seem like it'll be worth the hassle to compare what by all accounts are two very similar pairs of headphones. I got a nice deal on the 650's anyhow. So thanks for posting! Now I can just sit back and enjoy the music and see how much the sound improves as the 'phones break in.
 
...
 
As far as the whole ASIO/WASAPI debate goes, is it really that much more superior to DS? To avoid the USB driver and mute relay ******** until it gets fixed (hopefully), I'm just connecting optical to my mobo's Realtek chipset and using Direct Sound. I can't really tell any difference, aside from the fact that the user experience is 100% better without any mute interruptions or clicking noises from the amp etc etc. I was even getting an occasional blue screen running USB mode. But in terms of audio, the sound quality is indistinguishable to me. SACD playback via PCM conversion sounds as good as it did running DSD. So what gives? What's the obsession with WASAPI and ASIO?

 

[Stillhart]

   
I appreciate you keeping us posted on your impressions of the HD 600 and 650, because I'm in the midst of the same debate. I have the 650 and I've been trying to decide whether to bother getting a pair of the 600 to compare. After reading your last post, I think I'm going to just stick with the 650. Just doesn't seem like it'll be worth the hassle to compare what by all accounts are two very similar pairs of headphones. I got a nice deal on the 650's anyhow. So thanks for posting! Now I can just sit back and enjoy the music and see how much the sound improves as the 'phones break in.
 
...
 
As far as the whole ASIO/WASAPI debate goes, is it really that much more superior to DS? To avoid the USB driver and mute relay ******** until it gets fixed (hopefully), I'm just connecting optical to my mobo's Realtek chipset and using Direct Sound. I can't really tell any difference, aside from the fact that the user experience is 100% better without any mute interruptions or clicking noises from the amp etc etc. I was even getting an occasional blue screen running USB mode. But in terms of audio, the sound quality is indistinguishable to me. SACD playback via PCM conversion sounds as good as it did running DSD. So what gives? What's the obsession with WASAPI and ASIO?

 
Optical is "limited" to 24/96 (or 24/192?), both more than enough for most normal folks.  I use my NFB-15 with WASPI over optical and it sounds fantastic.
 
And yes, I can absolutely hear the difference between WASPI and DS.  WASPI and ASIO, not really, tho ASIO is supposed to be better on paper.
 
The main benefit to me of using WASPI, separate from the SQ bump, is that it can be set to bypass all sound processing on your sound card.  This lets me leave on things like SBX Surround for when I'm gaming, but have it bypassed when I'm listening to music. Not super useful to everyone, but certainly handy to many.

 

[SpirosG]

I can't get ASIO to work now...I activated ASIO with the driver that audio-gd provided. I installed the asio component on foobar2k, but nothing shows up...restarted my computer, nothing...

 

[SpirosG]

Before you install the drivers, you should first put them in a folder directly under C: ...
This seems strange, but it is clearly stated in audio-gd directions, and for some reasons that i don't understand does the job correctly... then you 'll able to see the asio in foobar....

 

[willowbrook]

Before you install the drivers, you should first put them in a folder directly under C: ...
This seems strange, but it is clearly stated in audio-gd directions, and for some reasons that i don't understand does the job correctly... then you 'll able to see the asio in foobar....

 
I am just going to stick with WASAPI...
 

   
I appreciate you keeping us posted on your impressions of the HD 600 and 650, because I'm in the midst of the same debate. I have the 650 and I've been trying to decide whether to bother getting a pair of the 600 to compare. After reading your last post, I think I'm going to just stick with the 650. Just doesn't seem like it'll be worth the hassle to compare what by all accounts are two very similar pairs of headphones. I got a nice deal on the 650's anyhow. So thanks for posting! Now I can just sit back and enjoy the music and see how much the sound improves as the 'phones break in.
 
...
 
As far as the whole ASIO/WASAPI debate goes, is it really that much more superior to DS? To avoid the USB driver and mute relay ******** until it gets fixed (hopefully), I'm just connecting optical to my mobo's Realtek chipset and using Direct Sound. I can't really tell any difference, aside from the fact that the user experience is 100% better without any mute interruptions or clicking noises from the amp etc etc. I was even getting an occasional blue screen running USB mode. But in terms of audio, the sound quality is indistinguishable to me. SACD playback via PCM conversion sounds as good as it did running DSD. So what gives? What's the obsession with WASAPI and ASIO?

 
Yes, my final advice is that if you got the HD650, don't bother getting the HD600 unless you can have them both. If you are that curious, you can always sell one back, but I think that will be too much of a hassle. HD600 is basically a bit higher treble, recessed bass and forward sounding mid and highs compared to 650. It does not sound as fun as 650, but it does sound very natural. It can be fatiguing to listen for long periods, so I think in the end HD650 is the way go unless you really want  something like the 600.

 

[Surlias]

   
Optical is "limited" to 24/96 (or 24/192?), both more than enough for most normal folks.  I use my NFB-15 with WASPI over optical and it sounds fantastic.
 
And yes, I can absolutely hear the difference between WASPI and DS.  WASPI and ASIO, not really, tho ASIO is supposed to be better on paper.
 
The main benefit to me of using WASPI, separate from the SQ bump, is that it can be set to bypass all sound processing on your sound card.  This lets me leave on things like SBX Surround for when I'm gaming, but have it bypassed when I'm listening to music. Not super useful to everyone, but certainly handy to many.

 
I installed the WASAPI output component, dunno if I can hear any real difference (using optical). One thing I had to do though was activate the Resampler DSP because it was failing playback on a 24-bit FLAC recording with 88.2 KHz sample rate. So I set the resampler DSP to target 96 KHz, and now it's working. Seems silly to have to do. It would be so nice if the damn USB input wasn't so buggy!

 

[Surlias]

Has anyone done any experimenting with the oversampling options (via the jumpers on the mainboard)? Especially with the Sennheiser HD 650's? Not sure if the headphones make any difference in what setting is most effective.

 

[willowbrook]

So, I just kept having this problem of sudden stops and clicking sounds in random parts of songs and I became really annoyed for a few days. However, after a simple USB port switch, the clicking noise completely faded and the output is very clean. If anyone is having problem similar like me, I suggest switching USB port or a driver update for them if switching does not fix the problem.

 

[Stillhart]

  So, I just kept having this problem of sudden stops and clicking sounds in random parts of songs and I became really annoyed for a few days. However, after a simple USB port switch, the clicking noise completely faded and the output is very clean. If anyone is having problem similar like me, I suggest switching USB port or a driver update for them if switching does not fix the problem.

 
Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I've heard other folks complain that USB3 seems to have issues and USB2 ports work better.  This was on a different DAC so YMMV.