[swiego]

I felt much as you did - I got the 650s. They were nice and yet, they were unremarkable somehow. They were not very magical. I couldn't figure out why. I'm very glad that I went to the Chicago head-fi meet because it gave me a chance to plug them into a wide variety of equipment. I was somewhat astonished by the range of feelings I got from different equipment. I eventually found a few pieces of equipment that literally blew me away. They made the 650s feel as though I would have paid $750 for them. They sounded that good. My main takeaway was that you need the right source and a good amp. (Good meaning that it doesn't have to be a four-figure source, just a good one that matches the 650 sound well.)

 

[housecat]

ive been told many times that you get 85% of the sound quality of the high end headphones like the 650 from 497 (i have these) or grado sr60.

the majority of your sound quality improvement is done by simply going to something like the 497.
i dont know if your experience with your equipment would be really anything unexpected.

again, im not one to talk about headphones.. but from what ive been told and read, getting an amp and better source wont be any out of this world leap from what you are hearing now.


please, correct me if im wrong.

i've been implanted with these ideas. but you start paying a whole lot of money for things like the hd650s and getting improvement that pretty much only serious audiophiles will appreciate.. to most people I dont think this is much, or not enough.

HD497=Chevy Corvette Z06, 500hp and exceptional engineering on the relative cheap
HD650=Lamborghini, might outrun the Vette, but the price generally doesnt merit the improvement for most people (generally those people wouldnt be found on places like headfi.org)

I'm in that 497 category. The original poster might be as well.

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by housecat ive been told many times that you get 85% of the sound quality of the high end headphones like the 650 from 497 (i have these) or grado sr60. the majority of your sound quality improvement is done by simply going to something like the 497. i dont know if your experience with your equipment would be really anything unexpected. again, im not one to talk about headphones.. but from what ive been told and read, getting an amp and better source wont be any out of this world leap from what you are hearing now. please, correct me if im wrong. i've been implanted with these ideas. but you start paying a whole lot of money for things like the hd650s and getting improvement that pretty much only serious audiophiles will appreciate.. to most people I dont think this is much, or not enough. HD497=Chevy Corvette Z06, 500hp and exceptional engineering on the relative cheap HD650=Lamborghini, might outrun the Vette, but the price generally doesnt merit the improvement for most people (generally those people wouldnt be found on places like headfi.org) I'm in that 497 category. The original poster might be as well.

Wait til you live with a good/great setup and tell me if you still feel this way. My bet's on "no".

 

[errorich]

An amp and better source will be an "out of this world" leap with 650s. My roommate is no where near an audiophile but when he heard my system for the first time his first response after listening for 10 minutes was "so this is how music is supposed to sound". He has slight hearing damage, and with a proper headphone setup he was able to hear parts of songs he couldn't hear before.

The first time I heard an amped hd650 my mouth dropped and I was floored. I'm a firm believer in amping these headphones and will never go back to listening to them without.

 

[eastside504]

there's been only two "day and night" difference for me:
1. stock ipod buds --> to er4p
2. hd580 from soundblaster --> hd580 to PPA and modded emu0404
Source and amp do make a big difference.

 

[Leporello]

Have you considered the possibility that the HD650s simply are not your cup of tea?

I was never particularly happy with my HD600s, though I could understand why they were so popular. Getting an amp improved the sound very slightly .

My advice: listen to your HD650s and try to get used to their sound. Still not satisfied? Get better headphones.

Amps do not do that much.

Cables are snake oil.


Regards,

L.

 

[Anthrax]

if u really want, u can sell them on here for a fare amount more then u get them for, while giving the buying a decent deal, lol.

 

[housecat]

Seems to be quite a difference in opinion on what an amp will do for the OP.

Glad my wives tale based post got some people to post some truth for this poor fellow.

Guess it comes down to, does the OP want to buy an amp or not to test these?

The whole amp thing has had such contrasting views, and I believe the OP's story.. I bet I'd be let down by getting 650s myself.
Theres no way they have the improvement over my 497s that woudl make me happy.. cuz it'd have to be earblowing.

The answer is clear, he needs to take them into the shop and tell them so far hes been unhappy with them, and woudl like to test them on an amp.
I, for one am interested in his results.

 

[Aman]

If you can't hear the AMAZING difference between the HD650 and the HD497s, then you aren't listening close enough!

One must not listen to the sound overall, but the individual parts.

How is the bass slam? How is bass extension? How is the midrange? Is it natura, netural, musical, or colored? How are the highs? Are they bright, dull, rolled off? Is the soundstage airy? Can you hear the different positions of all the instruments?

Also, get a better source and amp for those things NOW, because you were much better off getting a low-impedence headphone with the setup you have now, and even most of those would be a stretch. You are not going to be able to push a Shure E2C to its limits with a laptop soundcard.

 

[Shatter]

A friend of mine upgraded from an unamped MS1 to a HD650 with a gilmore lite and an E-MU 404 per my reccomendation(of course, even the MS1 was recommended by me). He is NOT hellbent on hi-quality audio, still, he is thrilled with the value of his $800 system. He says it's ALMOST WORTH the money when compared to the 100$ MS1s. And it's not burnt in, yet

. Oh, and he, among other things, likes rap and underground rock... his system still amazes him. I'll ask him about using unamped, but i don't think he's done that experiment yet

So I think there

 

[RHMMMM]

When I first got my HD650's I thought they were a piece of crap, but I let them burn in for a while and used them with my PPA...I sold my Sony CD3K's later because I liked the HD650's so much.

Give them a chance, I know you're pissed..I was at the beginning too!

 

[Natsuiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by housecat ive been told many times that you get 85% of the sound quality of the high end headphones like the 650 from 497 (i have these) or grado sr60. the majority of your sound quality improvement is done by simply going to something like the 497. i dont know if your experience with your equipment would be really anything unexpected. again, im not one to talk about headphones.. but from what ive been told and read, getting an amp and better source wont be any out of this world leap from what you are hearing now. please, correct me if im wrong. i've been implanted with these ideas. but you start paying a whole lot of money for things like the hd650s and getting improvement that pretty much only serious audiophiles will appreciate.. to most people I dont think this is much, or not enough. HD497=Chevy Corvette Z06, 500hp and exceptional engineering on the relative cheap HD650=Lamborghini, might outrun the Vette, but the price generally doesnt merit the improvement for most people (generally those people wouldnt be found on places like headfi.org) I'm in that 497 category. The original poster might be as well.

I own both the 650s and 497s. The 497s may be a good starter phone, but I would say they are less than 50% of what the 650s are. But I guess it would depend on your set up. The better your source and amp, the greater the difference between them.

The sad thing with the 650s is that generally, the supporting equipment will cost more than the headphones themselves.

 

[kramer5150]

Doesnt he also need a stout amp, just to burn them in properly (if nothing else)? I would question whether they're even remotely burned in yet given the fact that they appear to be so underpowered.

My thinking is~100 hours of underamped burn in is more like 60 minutes (possibly less) of amped burn-in.(??)


Am I way off base
?????
Garrett

 

[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by housecat Seems to be quite a difference in opinion on what an amp will do for the OP.

Not really, anyone who owns the 650s or has used the extensively knows that they sound better with an amp than straight out of a soundcard or portable, even though they may get loud of of a soundcard or portable.

I don't count everyone who knows what they are talking about agreeing as a disagreement. I don't mean to sound elitist but obviously you have to have experience with the equipment in question to have a valid opinion.

Quote:

Theres no way they have the improvement over my 497s that woudl make me happy.. cuz it'd have to be earblowing.

IMO, the difference between the 650s and 497s is as big as the difference between ipod earbuds and 497s. I don't have to guess, I've heard all three.

Perhaps, instead of dissing the 650s blind, and dissing quality sources and amplification blind, you can attend a head-fi meet and come to your own conclusions.

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard IMO, the difference between the 650s and 497s is as big as the difference between ipod earbuds and 497s. I don't have to guess, I've heard all three. Perhaps, instead of dissing the 650s blind, and dissing quality sources and amplification blind, you can attend a head-fi meet and come to your own conclusions.

I've heard all three too, and I pretty much agree with everything you say - if anything, you under-emphasize the difference between the 497 and 650. To me the difference between a 497 (granted I've only heard these on low to mid-fi sources) and a meridian/PPA/Zu-driven 650 is much larger than the distance from ipod buds to the 497.
Quote:

HD497=Chevy Corvette Z06, 500hp and exceptional engineering on the relative cheap HD650=Lamborghini, might outrun the Vette, but the price generally doesnt merit the improvement for most people (generally those people wouldnt be found on places like headfi.org)

Sorry, but the 497 is no 'vette. More like a stock civic (not si)