[xRaptorxPunisher]

Do the pre 2014 HD 650s also have that 5k ring?

Nope, they sounded fantastic very smooth, they almost had a slight dip but voices had such a lovely tone, very lush and enjoyable.

 

[kman1211]

Newer HD650's I absolutely agree with you. I'm a big fan of the pre black box HD650's because they were gorgeous sounding. I tend to prefer the sound of larger driver planars however.

All my HD 650’s had the newer box, never had one with the old silver ridged box and never had one with the black film over the driver instead of the silver film. But having heard an old German made HD 580 (probably the best HD 6xx line headphone I heard) I found the HD 6xx line have been getting worse overtime. They’ve been losing their musicality. Old Senns are so musical, the newer HD 650 is brighter and is lacking some of the addicting sweetness older pairs had, even comparing early black box ones to current ones. The newer HD 600 though, talk about an incredibly boring headphone, like all the soul is sucked out of the music. The HD 660 S brings some of the musicality back but it has a different set of issues. Honestly nothing wrong with a slight dip, rather a dip in upper mids than a rise in it imho. I guess be wary of silent revisions/pad changes on headphones. It worked out well for the T1.2, but not with the HD 650.

Though speaking of pads and revisions, I do wish I could get a hold of the hybrid pads again. Wish they shipped the carbons with all three sets of pads considering it had a price increase and lost a second cable.

 

[funkle II]

I recently got a pair of the drop hd6xx, mostly as a right of passage. Nothing about the description of the sound characteristic was very compelling based on my tastes, but it seemed like I should be acquainted with the 650s as a point of reference if anything. Now I am wondering if I should track down an older set of 650s. How would I know what I am looking for? Pre 2014?

 

[kman1211]

I recently got a pair of the drop hd6xx, mostly as a right of passage. Nothing about the description of the sound characteristic was very compelling based on my tastes, but it seemed like I should be acquainted with the 650s as a point of reference if anything. Now I am wondering if I should track down an older set of 650s. How would I know what I am looking for? Pre 2014?

I have an Romanian made (sign it’s the newest version) HD 6XX, it’s a good headphone and will get you acquainted with the HD 600 family sound. I’d say this HD 6XX sounds better than my last HD 650. The forwardness of the mids may take you by surprise coming from the Hawks and most headphones in general. Of the current HD 6xx headphones I like the controversial HD 660 S the most actually due to its sheer engagement factor and despite some of its problems, but my favorite overall is probably older HD 580’s. If you ever find the upper mids much adjusting the fit, breaking them in; and letting the pads wear in I found solves that issue for the most part, also finding the right amp pairing, etc for them too.

Older pairs do sound a bit different but they are still in the same vein. The difference could partly be pads as I believe Sennheiser did tweak them at least once or twice. An older HD 650 comes in a silver box, the even older black driver ones also come in a silver box but the headphones have a black screen which can been seen through the grill. My experience with different HD 650’s is not as dramatic as my experience with the T1 for instance.

 

[groucho69]

Sure is lot of non NH talk here lately

 

[funkle II]

What are you guys liking for amps? In addition to the Burson Conductor v1 I've had for years, I just got two new amps: THX AAA 789 and a Violectric HPA V200, both quite different sounding. The THX has the best control over the (what I consider to be) misbehaving mids. I need to spend some more time verifying this, but my gut is that the humble AQ Dragonfly Black was the most engaging of all of them with the NH/NO. I was using this with Tidal & Qobuz lossless for vacation & late night listening on my ipad. Maybe it was just the magic of the Caribbean backdrop. I've always been impressed with that little guy. This is tempting me to pick up a Red or Cobalt.

 

[kman1211]

What are you guys liking for amps? In addition to the Burson Conductor v1 I've had for years, I just got two new amps: THX AAA 789 and a Violectric HPA V200, both quite different sounding. The THX has the best control over the (what I consider to be) misbehaving mids. I need to spend some more time verifying this, but my gut is that the humble AQ Dragonfly Black was the most engaging of all of them with the NH/NO. I was using this with Tidal & Qobuz lossless on my ipad. I've always been impressed with that little guy. This is tempting me to pick up a Red or Cobalt.

I actually surprisingly like the Hawks with the Beyerdynamic Impacto Universal(which I got free with the Amiron Home I bought). I actually bought 3.5mm female to 2.5mm male adapter cords to allow it to work with the hawks.

 

[volly]

Sure is lot of non NH talk here lately

Just finished listening to some Deadmau5 (2011) this morning....soooo good!


NH's and coffee with music, equals best start to the day! Let's go!


Deadmau5

 

[funkle II]

NH's and coffee with music, equals best start to the day! Let's go!

Darkvoice works with these?(!) That is really a surprise.

 

[jaco61]

The NH are powered here with JDS Labs Atom, clean and powerful. A Shiit Heresy is ordered for my second system with TV, curious how both amps perform in comparison. I expect I will not be able to keep them apart.

 

[BubbaJay]

Well it has literally been about a year since I've listened to my NH because I have other headphones I like more but since I have a new desktop setup I thought it you be good to see how they sound now.

I don't remember them sounding as clear as they do and I believe that has to do with my SMSL SP200 THX amp. All my headphones have sounded cleaner and clearer with this amp and the NH is no exception. They don't sound as dark as before and the highs have more detail to them now. I feel the soundstage has also improved with better imaging as well. It's crazy that an amp can make such a big change in the SQ of a headphone but it goes to show you just how good the THX tech is, it truly is a game changer in headphone amp architecture.

 

[gammarayson]

I need a 3 or 4 meter cable for my Nighthawk Carbons as the stock cable is much too short for me. Please can I have some recommendations for a good, not too pricey alternative, preferably from Europe? Many thanks!

 

[volly]

Well it has literally been about a year since I've listened to my NH because I have other headphones I like more but since I have a new desktop setup I thought it you be good to see how they sound now.

I don't remember them sounding as clear as they do and I believe that has to do with my SMSL SP200 THX amp. All my headphones have sounded cleaner and clearer with this amp and the NH is no exception. They don't sound as dark as before and the highs have more detail to them now. I feel the soundstage has also improved with better imaging as well. It's crazy that an amp can make such a big change in the SQ of a headphone but it goes to show you just how good the THX tech is, it truly is a game changer in headphone amp architecture.

I hear it is a great amp, congrats! Heck of an affordable amp!

 

[funkle II]

I did some A/B testing last night between the AAA 789, HPA V200 & Dragonfly Black. The V200 I believe was resulting in warm X warm, Mids became a bit too syrupy, and sounded the worst of all my amps. the AAA exhibited the best accuracy, & control over the lower frequencies, but there is something about the combo that I found unpleasant & fatiguing in the upper mids. The Dragonfly on the other hand (per my initial thoughts) was the most pleasing, with the mids sounding very natural. But it does not have the grip on bass of the AAA. It is sort of annoying that the $100 Dragonfly is more listenable than the $500-1000 amps I have recently invested in. My Burson Swing is feeding the 2 amps. I will try the AAA with my W4S dac2v2 to see if there is any change.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

I did some A/B testing last night between the AAA 789, HPA V200 & Dragonfly Black. The V200 I believe was resulting in warm X warm, Mids became a bit too syrupy, and sounded the worst of all my amps. the AAA exhibited the best accuracy, & control over the lower frequencies, but there is something about the combo that I found unpleasant & fatiguing in the upper mids. The Dragonfly on the other hand (per my initial thoughts) was the most pleasing, with the mids sounding very natural. But it does not have the grip on bass of the AAA. It is sort of annoying that the $100 Dragonfly is more listenable than the $500-1000 amps I have recently invested in. My Burson Swing is feeding the 2 amps. I will try the AAA with my W4S dac2v2 to see if there is any change.

I heard from a few reviewers that the THX 789 (although very powerful, detailed, and well-measuring) sounds cold and rather sterile. So I am not surprised that it's not a pleasant listen. It was based on these observations that I decided not to buy it. They say the same about the SMSL SP200, so apparently it's a feature of the THX 789 technology.