[Jack C]

 
Quote:

Quote:

HD800 and 650 are about as different as toast and a tree. 

Thats what people say about the HD 595 vs the HD 650.
 
Yes they are different but not by much.

I would equate the difference among different brands of headphones to be similar to difference among different brands of speakers. I don't know how the HD650 is different or similar to other higher priced Sennheiser headphones as it is the one pair I've listened to. But I have several other similarly priced headphones and they do sound quite a bit different from the HD650.
 
To date, the most satisfying set of headphones/amp I've listened to is a pair of Stax SR-404 driven with an SRM313. This set I was able to get used for less than $700 and was in excellent condition. In second place would be the AKG K702s driven by an E9. All signals are provided by my computer through an E-MU 0404 USB for DAC purposes. 
 
Given the amount of funds you have access to, I implore you to try some different headphones before tossing in the towel and retire with the notion that all these headphones sound the same.  If you have no problems spending $2k+ on a transport, you should be able to spend half that on a very good pair of headphones.
 
Jack

 

[Jack C]

Quote:

 Quote:

 They also appear to sound hollow/tinny and not full/meaty as with speakers. 

 
 
You think that the HD650 is tinny?

 
I am really not sure what to think about that.

Good speakers driven by a good system in a good room is a revelatory experience.  If a listener has such a performance expectation in his mind, the sound by HD650s may come up short.  Headphones sound different from speakers, they do not mimic each other, and offer different listening experiences. I think the OP's primary disappointment is caused by this difference in performance.
 
Jack

 

[MikePio]

Hey OP, before you go on a frenzy here and drop even more money, your current setup should more than nicely optimize your HD650's, regardless of people preaching for you to get a high end amp, and high end cans... the list goes on and on... it will never end. The point is, if you don't enjoy the sound now, changing different headphone will provide you with a different "flavor" of sound, but won't change the fact that it will never sound like speakers, let alone 20,000 dollar ones... I would sell it now, and keep saving until you can get really high end tower speakers, and I assure once you turn it on you will not have the same response as in your headphone setup.

 

[wind016]

You only tried Sennheisers that are practically the same design but different drivers and you say all headphones sound the same.
 
Honestly, the Sennheiser HD800 was the only Sennheiser open headphone that I liked. The HD650 and HD800 barely have any similarities besides both being open. Why get an good transport and mid-tier headphone? You can do a lot better with the cash. Source is important but it comes second over the output device.

 

[ljperez84]

Quote:

..... it's fine you prefer headphones over speakers.everyones different. just enjoy what you have and most of all enjoy your music. that's all it's about right?  

Well said Sir, You should have started from here.  I suggest you to follow your own advice: enjoy what you have, enjoy your music. 

If you insist on headphones, I second that you should try a sound signature apart from Sennheiser

 

 

[CrashBurn]

For the price they are ALL cons. cheap materials made in some factory by someone who does not get paid much. Purposefully making headphones with defects or inferior specs when better and improved headphone would cost the same. It allows them to keep on releasing headphones and making money. It’s called capitalism. 
 
I hear tom say “hey look this xxx has a thinner cable made of xxxxx which allows xxx to pass through and son on…..
Tom is a idiot justifying the cost of trash to himself

 

[Pale Rider]

OP, it is a con game. It's just a voluntary one with eyes and ears open.
 
Having owned mega speakers, and now having left that land for headphones only [save the car and home theater], I completely agree that speakers and headphones sound nothing alike. The sensory and emotional experiences each evokes are completely different. You have received some good advice here. If you insist on headphones, try some different sonic signatures. I recommend you find a quality hi-fi shop and spend some time listening to what they think are good cans. Very good sound, and delightful music, can be had without breaking the bank.

 

[ex0du5]

Personal taste.
 
I hate Sennheisers and Beyerdynamics. I love Grado and Ultrasone.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

For the price they are ALL cons. cheap materials made in some factory by someone who does not get paid much. Purposefully making headphones with defects or inferior specs when better and improved headphone would cost the same. It allows them to keep on releasing headphones and making money. It’s called capitalism. 
 
I hear tom say “hey look this xxx has a thinner cable made of xxxxx which allows xxx to pass through and son on…..
Tom is a idiot justifying the cost of trash to himself

there isn't one thing that isn't a ripoff when capitalism is running society. i completely agree with you.
 

 

[CrashBurn]

Quote:

OP, it is a con game. It's just a voluntary one with eyes and ears open.
 
Having owned mega speakers, and now having left that land for headphones only [save the car and home theater], I completely agree that speakers and headphones sound nothing alike. The sensory and emotional experiences each evokes are completely different. You have received some good advice here. If you insist on headphones, try some different sonic signatures. I recommend you find a quality hi-fi shop and spend some time listening to what they think are good cans. Very good sound, and delightful music, can be had without breaking the bank.

I agree but thiere are other factors. You might like speakers but the distraction of guilt, you might wake the sleeping baby or others might here what your watching might affect how you enjoy something. Headphones offer you a univerce of your own so u prettey much rule

 

[Pale Rider]

Quote:

I agree but thiere are other factors. You might like speakers but the distraction of guilt, you might wake the sleeping baby or others might here what your watching might affect how you enjoy something. Headphones offer you a univerce of your own so u prettey much rule

I completely agree. I think control of the environment—both in the negative and in the positive—are a large part of what headphones are all about. Being able to exclude as many environmental factors as possible [what I mean by the "negative"] and being able to control as many as possible on a smaller, more controlled scale [open air, sealed, IEM, ortho, dynamic, electrostatic, power levels, etc.] are critical factors.
 
I personally have come to prefer the physical and emotional intimacy of headphone listening. The flip side of this is that it is a somewhat solitary experience. Not necessarily anti-social, but even in communal listening sessions, even at CanJams, it is somewhat inevitable that the listening itself is private and solitary.

 

[cck5]

Quote:

Duh, you try 555's and don't like them.  Then you try 595's and don't like them.  Then you try the 650's and don't like them.
 
Maybe time to try another manufacturer.
 
AKG
Beyerdynamic
Grado
 
Among many others.
 

try grado.
 

 

[Nepenthe]

Quote:

there isn't one thing that isn't a ripoff when capitalism is running society.

Yes, a command or planned economy would produce much higher quality, diverse, continually improved, high tech, and inexpensive headphones.

 

[dallan]

.

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

Quote:

there isn't one thing that isn't a ripoff when capitalism is running society.

Yes, a command or planned economy would produce much higher quality, diverse, continually improved, high tech, and inexpensive headphones.

Like the USSR!