[JensL]

Ok, a friend was willing to lend me his brand new Sennheiser HD650 for some testing, and I couldn't let that opportunity pass me by.
I used to own the HD600, so I'm very interested to hear if Sennheiser has made any progress.

NB! This is by no means a scientific controlled test, just me having some fun over a few evenings.

[size=small]Sources: [/size]
CD-player: T+A CD 1230 R (Costs $2000 new)

[size=small]Amplification: [/size]
MAD Ear++ with Auricaps, Alps Blue Velvet and an excellent 5-star GE triple-mica 5751 tube. ($435)

[size=small]Cables: [/size]
Just a Cardas 300-B Micro interconnect. Headphone cables are all stock

[size=small]Headphones used: [/size]
- Sennheiser HD650 (Meier-Audio: $440)
- Beyerdynamic DT880 (Meier-Audio: $265)

Please note that I don't think the HD650 was completely burned in, as it only had 10-15 hours on it when I got it.

[size=small]Music used: [/size]
- Roger Waters: "In The Flesh - Live" (2000)
- Faithless: "Sunday 8PM" (1998)
- Nick Cave: "No More Shall We Part" (2001)
- Massive Attack: "Protection" (1994)
- Rage Against The Machine (Their debut album from 1992)
- Mark Knopfler: "Sailing to Philadelphia" (2000)


[size=small]Musical comparisons: [/size]

[size=x-small]Roger Waters: "In The Flesh - Live" (2000)[/size]
HD650: Oh, I like this. Nice, warm sound with excellent bass. Especially the bass seems to be punchier and more fun than the HD600. Still a dark sounding headphone, but isn't as laidback as HD600. Hmm, could there still be a tiny veil here?
DT880: Yes. Directly compared to the DT880, the HD650 is veiled, but it is definitely better than the HD600. The DT880s got a larger soundstage with great details and an airy feel to it. This suits this great live recording very nicely. However, the HD650 got a little more punch in the midbass region, which sounds good here. They both seems to go just as deep, but the Beyer seems to do it with less effort. Hard to explain. I think it is easier to pick out details in the lower bass-region with the DT880.


[size=x-small]Faithless: "Sunday 8PM" (1998)[/size]
HD650: Nice, hefty punch in midbass, which suits this well-recorded techno/ambient CD. Yep, this isn't as laidback as HD600. Nice improvement.
DT880: At first, the lack of the HD650s midbass hump is quite noticable, but after a while I don't think much about it. Strange. Also, on track 10, there's some really low bass-notes that the DT880 seems to handle slightly better. The soundstage has expanded quite a bit, which actually suits this music nicely, as it isn't meant to be intimate (I guess). The DT880 behaves better when the volume is increased.


[size=x-small]Nick Cave: "No More Shall We Part" (2001)[/size]
HD650: Nick's voice got the richness it needs, it's also quite intimate, which is fine here.
DT880: Everything sounds a bit leaner and more distant (wider soundstage). The DT880 picks out more details in the voices. After a while, I tend to appreciate the wide soundstage, even with this type of music. The same goes for the more neutral bass-response. Again, strange. I thought the HD650s midbass hump would make it more fun with Nick.

[size=x-small]Massive Attack: "Protection" (1994)[/size]
HD650: Its midbass hump really get a workout here. It doesn't sound bloated or overwhelming, something which is very easy with this CD.
DT880: As before, the lack of the midbass hump is instantly noticable. After a short while, you realise that the midbass is definitely present, just not as much in focus as with the HD650. And again, the soundstage is wider and airier, which I like with this music. Everything seems so effortless with the DT880. It is fabulous with voices too, both male and female. Again, it's easier to pick out nuances in the bass.


[size=x-small]Rage Against The Machine (Their debut album from 1992)[/size]
HD650: Rocks quite hard, actually. An improvement over the HD600. The midbass hump is at the correct place for this CD. Nice energy to it. Fast and hard bass, just what this CD needs.
DT880: Finally a CD where the neutral bass work against the DT880, and even it improves after a while, I still miss the harder midbass in the HD650. This CD really needs it. Still, I'm very impressed over how effortlessly the DT880 manages to reproduce the entire frequency range. The DT880s wider soundstage doesn't help much here. Details and airiness aren't very important with this raw music.


[size=x-small]Mark Knopfler: "Sailing to Philadelphia" (2000)[/size]
HD650: Nice richness to the voices, but are almost a little too thick-sounding at times. Maybe the midbass hump doesn't fit in here? Things seems slightly cramped sometimes.
DT880: Yeah, this is better. Voices are still nice and rich, but not overly so. The wider soundstage suits this CD very nicely, instruments and voices just got more space between them. Again, details in adundance, but not tiring at all.



[size=small]Physical comparisons[/size]

This has been covered by a lot of other people, so I just include some quick thoughts.
The HD650 is almost unchanged from the HD600, but they've done something smart: There's an indentation in the middle of the soft part which rests against your scalp. This helps reducing the infamous "Scalp-burn" phenomena. I'm not particularly bothered with this issue, but it seems to work. Good one, Sennheiser.

The HD650 grips the skull harder than the DT880, and those velvety velour pads on the Beyer ARE more comfortable for my head. The HD650s grip-issue should be easy to rectify with some stretching excercises, I guess.
Both are very comfortable headphones, but I'm a sucker for the Beyer velour.



[size=small]Final thoughts[/size]

It was nice to finally get to try out the Sennheiser HD650. Interesting too.
Sennheiser has definitely improved on the HD600, and made a mighty fine headphone.

But for most of my music, I still prefer the DT880. Its wider soundstage and lovely airiness just makes it more pleasing for my taste. The way it presents the details all over the frequency range is amazing, so effortless and smooth.
Also, it was surprising that I very rarely missed the extra midbass in the HD650. I just gave it some time, then everything fell into place with the DT880. That said, on a few CDs, the extra midbass was needed to spice things up.

The smaller soundstage on the HD650 was also a little surprising, but I guess the DT880s soundstage is wider than most?

I suspect that the HD650 would do better with a solid state amp, especially one on the bright side. My setup isn't dark, but it isn't bright either.

Well, there you have it. My impressions of the HD650. The best dynamic headphone in the world? No, not according to my taste or setup. However, for some, it might just be. It's a damned fine piece of equipment.

Please consider that these findings are mainly based on one persons taste and one headphone setup. Your taste and setup might differ.

Let me know if you've got any comments and feedback. Also, please ask if something is unclear, my english vocabulary is quite limited.

 

[ReDVsion]

Nice review, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about choosing my DT880, but I have one question: How long did you listen to the HD650s, just by themsleves, without trying to compare them to the DT880? What I'm getting at is, your ears may have been very used to the sound of the DT880 which means you wouldn't be giving the HD650 a fair chance.

Edit: in addition, and although I've never had a headphone that made me 'believe' in burn-in, there are a lot of people who say the HD650 needs a LOT of physical burn-in time (as opposed to the psychological burn-in I mentioned above).

Edit2: Did you ever try taking out the foam inside the HD650s to see if you preferred the sound that way? http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...light=HD650%5C

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Nice comparison, though I wish you would have focused on a few more aspects of each headphone than midbass hump and richness.

Also, burn-in is pretty damn critical for the Senns.

 

[JensL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReDVsion Nice review, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about choosing my DT880, but I have one question: How long did you listen to the HD650s, just by themsleves, without trying to compare them to the DT880? What I'm getting at is, your ears may have been very used to the sound of the DT880 which means you wouldn't be giving the HD650 a fair chance.

Well, I actually hadn't used the DT880s for a while, and used the HD650 for a few days for themselves. Then I did the A-B comparing.
I guess I more used to the DT880, but I believe at was quite fair.

Quote:

Edit: in addition, and although I've never had a headphone that made me 'believe' in burn-in, there are a lot of people who say the HD650 needs a LOT of physical burn-in time (as opposed to the psychological burn-in I mentioned above).

Yeah, I've heard that too, and it might be true. When I did the A-B comparing, it had 25-30 hours on it. I didn't notice any significant change soundwise during my time with it.
Maybe I give it a spin when it comes up to 3-400 hours of use.

Quote:

Edit2: Did you ever try taking out the foam inside the HD650s to see if you preferred the sound that way? http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...light=HD650%5C

Nope, they weren't mine, so I didn't want to take too many liberties with it...

 

[gsferrari]

I think this is a good review and im glad you had fun doing it. Makes me wanna plump for the nice used DT-880 thats going on sale on the forums

However - as a HD-650 owner I must add that it takes well over 200-250 hours before they settle down into doing what they do best. Give the HD-650 some serious burn-in and have another shot.

Cheers!

 

[Kirosia]

I thought the maple ear did better with low-z phones, is this correct?

 

[Distroyed]

You definitely need more burn-in time on the 650's. The midbass hump nearly disappears once it hits the ~300 hour mark.

 

[Ross]

I agree with the comments that the 650s need a lot of burn in - I have two pairs, and both took months to sound their best. I also have a pair of DT880s, and I like these phones a great deal, but I have to say that I prefer the 650s. Their sound is just fuller, richer and more colourful. The 880s are a bit more spacious and detailed, as well as having a lighter, airier sound, but I don't necessarily regard these as virtues (especially the latter) and prefer the richness of the 650s. For example, a couple of nights ago I was listening to Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert, a solo piano recording (and a fantastic piece of music), and was switching between the 650s, the 880s and the 990s (250 ohm). While the 880s had the most spatial information, the 650s had the most musical information, in their ability to reproduce the harmonics, texture and decay of each piano note, and had a fullness and a musicality that I did not hear in the 880s. That said, the 880s are still very fine headphones and I could happily use them for all my of listening if (for some reason) I was compelled to do so.

 

[kenneth]

I had a new pair of HD 650s for a few weeks now. Does the sound of these headphones actually improve (change) or is it a case that ones preception of the headphones change with use, while the headphones remain the same? I do not think my headphones are changing with use but my impressions of them certainly are. I now realize there is little difference between the upper end of the HD 600's and the HD 650s. Because the the mid and lower range of the 650's is that much more solid, the impression is that the HD 650's are darker. For the same reason, the 650's sound slower then the 600's by two or three metronome markings though they are not.
Still, if a used pair of DT-880s came up at a greatly reduced price, I would grab them, just to have a good contrasting pair of headphones.

 

[NeilPeart]

I find psychological burn-in to walk hand-in-hand with physical burn-in. As the diaphragms stretch and expand (and the cables do their dielectric thing) our minds slowly grow accustomed to a sound if we agree with it. While I do prefer a DT880 to a stock HD600 (even though the dryness bothers me at times), the HD650 is clearly better in nearly every regard (IMO, of course). Throw in the Zu and bye bye DT880!

 

[bangraman]

I prefer the HD650 to the DT880, but by a small margin. I think the DT880 are the best value in high-fidelity headphones at this time.


Neilpeart has a point. I haven't compared the two side by side, but long-term psychological 'burn-in' in my opinion has more of an effect than physical burn-in. Trawl through the forums and Tuberoller aside, I think you'll probably notice the 'OMGthesephonesarethebestintheworld' comes mainly from people for whom the HD650 is their most major headphone acquisition (and therefore the most frequently used) so far.


Unfortunately the psychological conditioning isn't something you can't A-B since your relative listening leanings will be biased towards either phone depending on which you're accustomed to, and that's why I like to keep listening notes and hang onto stuff for quite a long time... and that's why meet impressions are relative at best, and invalid from an ownership point of view.

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia I thought the maple ear did better with low-z phones, is this correct?

I heard the Ear+ with grado 225's and senn 650's recently and I thought the amp sounded very good with either headphone. I did slightly prefer the low impedence sr-225 and I usually like the 650 a little better. Still the Ear+ did a good job with either; its a nice amp.

 

[JensL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover I heard the Ear+ with grado 225's and senn 650's recently and I thought the amp sounded very good with either headphone. I did slightly prefer the low impedence sr-225 and I usually like the 650 a little better. Still the Ear+ did a good job with either; its a nice amp.

I haven't tried any Grados with my Ear++, but I don't think it necessarily "prefers" low-impedance phones. After all, it was voiced using the HD600. Maybe it just works better with Grados than many other amps?

Also, when I compared the MAD to the Rega Ear, I noticed that the MAD definitely brings forth the midrange. Maybe this doesn't work too good with the HD650? The DT880 was colder-sounding with the Rega.


When it comes to the burn-in phenomena, I think it is real, but maybe not as pronounced as many tend to believe. Your ear and mind definitely "adapts" to the sound during listening. When I used only the HD650, I didn't take much notice of the midbass hump, it was only when A-B compared to the DT880.

What I mean is that if you don't do A-B comparisons with other phones during the burn-in phase, it's hard to say how the sound really is changing.

...does that make any sense at all?

 

[3lusiv3]

Thanks for the review. It reaffirms that the DT880 are not for me.

 

[tourmaline]

Burn in for the hd650 is critical!

it takes quite some time to burn in and will open up considerably!
the soundstage will improve quite alot.