[mcdeeda]

So, i just got an HD650 for christmas, and, after about 1.5 hours of listening, i dislike it

i mean, i like the balance it has, and it has awesome mids and bass, but the music has this "fuzziness" to it that i can't ignore. i think i prefer "analytical" headphones to "musical" ones.

so, now what do i do head-fi? i really like the grado sound and i've wanted to get a pair of Grados that's nicer than my old SR80s, but i'm not sure which? PS500? RS1? Save up for GS1000? and the major question, these won't succumb to the same pitfall that the 650s do, will they?

thanks a ton for the help guys

also, inb4 silver cable, inb4 burn-in, all that nonsense

 

[lee730]

Quote:

So, i just got an HD650 for christmas, and, after about 1.5 hours of listening, i dislike it
i mean, i like the balance it has, and it has awesome mids and bass, but the music has this "fuzziness" to it that i can't ignore. i think i prefer "analytical" headphones to "musical" ones.
so, now what do i do head-fi? i really like the grado sound and i've wanted to get a pair of Grados that's nicer than my old SR80s, but i'm not sure which? PS500? RS1? Save up for GS1000? and the major question, these won't succumb to the same pitfall that the 650s do, will they?
thanks a ton for the help guys
also, inb4 silver cable, inb4 burn-in, all that nonsense

So you burned them in? Also do you have a good powerful amp to drive them. The HD650s aren't easy to drive. From what you are saying, they sound grainy. Unless you are talking about the Sennheiser Veil, which usually comes form improperly amped Sennheisers.
 

 

[mcdeeda]

So you burned them in? Also do you have a good powerful amp to drive them. The HD650s aren't easy to drive. From what you are saying, they sound grainy. Unless you are talking about the Sennheiser Veil, which usually comes form improperly amped Sennheisers.

"grainy" would be a good word for it. they just don't sound as clean as my 702s, Miracles or Pro 900s.

i have tried driving them both from my AlgoRythm Solo/Alo RX Mk2 rig and my Cambridge DACMagic/Schiit Lyr rig, neither sounded, to my ears, as good as my Pro 900s or K702s on those rigs, respectively

i don't really want to get into burn-in, we can leave the existence of that to the Sound Science guys. suffice it to say, i've never noticed an effect from burn-in

 

[lee730]

Quote:

"grainy" would be a good word for it. they just don't sound as clean as my 702s, Miracles or Pro 900s.
i have tried driving them both from my AlgoRythm Solo/Alo RX Mk2 rig and my Cambridge DACMagic/Schiit Lyr rig, neither sounded, to my ears, as good as my Pro 900s or K702s on those rigs, respectively
i don't really want to get into burn-in, we can leave the existence of that to the Sound Science guys. suffice it to say, i've never noticed an effect from burn-in

How long have you ran them then? They do take several hundred hours to settle in. Believe me when I say my IE8s changed drastically within 300 hours of time. You can either listen to them and hear the change for yourself. Or just let them play music continuously with some breaks in between and see if that helps. I think that may be your issue. At least give it a shot before giving up. Burn in doesn't mean you need to use pink noise or such. Just play the music you usually listen to in loops. I recommend using FLAC or high quality music. And if this does happen to solve your issue, then its just opened your eyes to new possibilities...

 

[Head Injury]

He doesn't like the HD650. First everyone is going to have to berate him about burn-in. Watch out mcdeeda, next they'll tell you something's wrong with your ears.

 

[mcdeeda]

How long have you ran them then? They do take several hundred hours to settle in. Believe me when I say my IE8s changed drastically within 300 hours of time. You can either listen to them and hear the change for yourself. Or just let them play music continuously with some breaks in between and see if that helps. I think that may be your issue. At least give it a shot before giving up. Burn in doesn't mean you need to use pink noise or such. Just play the music you usually listen to in loops. I recommend using FLAC or high quality music. And if this does happen to solve your issue, then its just opened your eyes to new possibilities...

as i said, i've only had them for a few hours. i don't really feel up-to-the-task of letting them run for that long, i have like a week before i'd have to return them to amazon or keep them, and, to be honest, i just think they aren't for me

more than anything i was looking for viable alternatives with slightly "cleaner" sound. as i said i was considering the PS500, but i haven't seen any reviews of it so i'm not sure if it's what i'm looking for

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

as i said, i've only had them for a few hours. i don't really feel up-to-the-task of letting them run for that long, i have like a week before i'd have to return them to amazon or keep them, and, to be honest, i just think they aren't for me
more than anything i was looking for viable alternatives with slightly "cleaner" sound. as i said i was considering the PS500, but i haven't seen any reviews of it so i'm not sure if it's what i'm looking for

Maybe look into the HD600. I don't know if I'd call the Grado sound "clean", just bright.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

He doesn't like the HD650. First everyone is going to have to berate him about burn-in. Watch out mcdeeda, next they'll tell you something's wrong with your ears.

 For one Head Injury he says he finds them grainy. I've never heard of the HD650s being grainy in any way. If anything they are very smooth full size cans. Now if hes talking about the veil, that tends to come from improper amping but that doesn't seem to be the case as hes mentioned some pretty good sources. I'm actually trying to help him and your smart ass comments aren't helping, maybe you do have a head injury after all? It could very well be that he just doesn't like the sound but it doesn't hurt to run the cans in for a while to prove that's not the case. Or will the world end if he runs them in head injury? You are the Deity of Audio, aren't you?
 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

as i said, i've only had them for a few hours. i don't really feel up-to-the-task of letting them run for that long, i have like a week before i'd have to return them to amazon or keep them, and, to be honest, i just think they aren't for me
more than anything i was looking for viable alternatives with slightly "cleaner" sound. as i said i was considering the PS500, but i haven't seen any reviews of it so i'm not sure if it's what i'm looking for

So you are looking for brighter and less bass, tighter bass. The Sennheiser Signature may not be for you at all so the HD600 may not be a solution either. Currently my home cans are modded Open-back denon 5000s. Not sure if you'd be up to the task of going through those efforts though lol. Extremely detailed and revealing are these cans. Bass is super tight and clean with lots of punch. Treble is very airy and detailed. Mid-range is lush and open. You throw bad recordings at this and it will be a nightmare. Throw good recordings and you'll be in paradise. I still can't get over how revealing these things are. Almost made a mistake and put them up on the for sale forum. Thank goodness I found the mod before I had done so.

 

[mcdeeda]

Maybe look into the HD600. I don't know if I'd call the Grado sound "clean", just bright.

i think i might want a brighter can, actually. i mean, my SR80s are fairly neutral, but the instruments just have this physicality to them. i don't get that at all with the 650s

He doesn't like the HD650. First everyone is going to have to berate him about burn-in. Watch out mcdeeda, next they'll tell you something's wrong with your ears.

hah, i've learned that you have to take things here with a grain of salt

 For one Head Injury he says he finds them grainy. I've never heard of the HD650s being grainy in any way. If anything they are very smooth full size cans. Now if hes talking about the veil, that tends to come from improper amping but that doesn't seem to be the case as hes mentioned some pretty good sources. I'm actually trying to help him and your smart ass comments aren't helping, maybe you do have a head injury after all? It could very well be that he just doesn't like the sound but it doesn't hurt to run the cans in for a while to prove that's not the case. Or will the world end if he runs them in head injury? You are the Deity of Audio, aren't you?

**** just got real. i think i misspoke a bit, they aren't not-smooth, rather they seem to sacrifice detail for SQ. i can see the appeal of this, but it's not the kind of sound i want

 

[lee730]

Quote:

i think i might want a brighter can, actually. i mean, my SR80s are fairly neutral, but the instruments just have this physicality to them. i don't get that at all with the 650s
hah, i've learned that you have to take things here with a grain of salt
**** just got real. i think i misspoke a bit, they aren't not-smooth, rather they seem to sacrifice detail for SQ. i can see the appeal of this, but it's not the kind of sound i want

Well if you are looking for detail my friend I can tell you my modded denons have it in spades. They are also a bit aggressive but I love that about them. They remind my of my former EX1000s but better in all respects.

 

[vyyye]

They aren't flat phones by any means. I tried them as well recently with an amp costing more than double the HD650 price and well, I didn't like it. They're colored in a way I don't like and I suppose same goes for you OP. You could always buy a $1k cable, burn them in for 500h and buy some Brilliant Pebbles but maybe trying the HD600 would be a better option, they are more neutral than the HD650 which might be to your liking.
I haven't tried them personally so can't compare, but graphs and general consensus says they are more neutral.

 

[mcdeeda]

So you are looking for brighter and less bass, tighter bass. The Sennheiser Signature may not be for you at all so the HD600 may not be a solution either. Currently my home cans are modded Open-back denon 5000s. Not sure if you'd be up to the task of going through those efforts though lol. Extremely detailed and revealing are these cans. Bass is super tight and clean with lots of punch. Treble is very airy and detailed. Mid-range is lush and open. You throw bad recordings at this and it will be a nightmare. Throw good recordings and you'll be in paradise. I still can't get over how revealing these things are. Almost made a mistake and put them up on the for sale forum. Thank goodness I found the mod before I had done so.

Well if you are looking for detail my friend I can tell you my modded denons have it in spades. They are also a bit aggressive but I love that about them. They remind my of my former EX1000s but better in all respects.

i'll look into the Denons, seems interesting. thanks.

i'd still appreciate some insight into the Grados, and other options too, if anyone else is willing

 

[mcdeeda]

They aren't flat phones by any means. I tried them as well recently with an amp costing more than double the HD650 price and well, I didn't like it. They're colored in a way I don't like and I suppose same goes for you OP. You could always buy a $1k cable, burn them in for 500h and buy some Brilliant Pebbles but maybe trying the HD600 would be a better option, they are more neutral than the HD650 which might be to your liking.
I haven't tried them personally so can't compare, but graphs and general consensus says they are more neutral.

MAN THE BRILLIANT PEBBLES IMPROVED THE SOUND OF MY RIG x10000000

 

[lee730]

Quote:

i'll look into the Denons, seems interesting. thanks.
i'd still appreciate some insight into the Grados, and other options too, if anyone else is willing

I honestly don't have any knowledge on the Grados but that they tend to be on the brighter side. Someone on the Open-back denon forum who also did the mod himself says the Open-back denons are very complimentary to the Grados with its brighter sound signature after the mod.