[droido256]

Well, I finally ponied up for a Sennheiser HD-650. Ive been working my can off and well thought I deserved a treat. Here are my thoughts on it after Ive been jammin on the EL-8 open, Sennheiser Momentum BT, the Etymotic ER-4xr, and my various other cans. Im a horrible writer so bear with me.
First the build. Its very light, much lighter than they looked like they would be. The materials feel solid and well made as only I would expect from Sennheiser. The ear cushions are nice and cozy, and they dont get hot(will see when summer comes). The cable is thick, but not a transatlantic comm cable. The box is even well made! Hinged backed, foam lined box that serves well as a storage case.
Ok now onto the sound. These things sound perfect. That’s my summary of it, and surprisingly loud direct from my iphone 7+, much better than I expected for a 300ohm. Currently listening to Apocalyptica SOS (feat Cristina Scabbia) they have a great presentation of the instruments behind her voice, dont “cup” her voice like some headphones do.

Very nice and clear shine to the treble, but no shrill. bass is nice and present but not bloated. Midrange is present and nicely woven into the fabric, not too in your face, not too thrown back. The entire musical presentation is a very tight and well done fabric, that shows the proper colors, highlights and shadows extremely well. The soundstage can range from very narrow, to very wide depending on the song, with every thread of detail showing (bad tracks will not fair well with these. They are very analytical, but not sterile, take Sarah McLaughlin for a example, they capture her airiness, without making it either a humid mess, or so dry it irritates the mind, and ears. Now to the opposite. However if a very poor recording is used, the flaws will be VERY apparent. They keep up hardcore with metal, mellow out go full wide and flow smoothly with orchestra,atmosphere and instrumental, then beef up as needed for electronica.
In the few hours I’ve had with them, they simply blow everything I have away. While yes a amp is definitely recommended to get the most out of them, it is nice to know they work their magic directly from a source with very little penalty. As they do slam the battery hard. I dont get where people get they’re veiled though, to me they’re clear as glass. Nice clear highs with a sometimes startling low end.

 

[SMDEE]

Congrats on the purchase. I, too, thoroughly enjoy the HD-650s. They are not as open or articulate as many others but the soothing warmth of vocals and strings, as well as the lightly restrained high-end, make them a joy to use for hours on end. Pair them with a tube amp like the Bottlehead Crack and you'll forget about all troubles in life while listening to music.

 

[droido256]

Congrats on the purchase. I, too, thoroughly enjoy the HD-650s. They are not as open or articulate as many others but the soothing warmth of vocals and strings, as well as the lightly restrained high-end, make them a joy to use for hours on end. Pair them with a tube amp like the Bottlehead Crack and you'll forget about all troubles in life while listening to music.

Actually trying them out with my little dot amp now and they def sing better. Now just waiting for my Creative E5 to come

 

[sikki-six]

This is what you do next... Get off Head-fi and just enjoy your headphones!

 

[droido256]

This is what you do next... Get off Head-fi and just enjoy your headphones!

Im a multitasker

 

[droido256]

Question. I find the direct drive from the iPhone 7+ Is quite sufficient. It plays the hd-650 quite nicely however do I have to worry about a 300ohm headphone burning out the iphone’s audio system?

 

[MtnMan307]

Question. I find the direct drive from the iPhone 7+ Is quite sufficient. It plays the hd-650 quite nicely however do I have to worry about a 300ohm headphone burning out the iphone’s audio system?

No, I’ve never heard of that happening. The only thing I would do is avoid maxing out the volume on the iPhone.

 

[Sefelt103]

They are very analytical, but not sterile, take Sarah McLaughlin for a example, they capture her airiness, without making it either a humid mess, or so dry it irritates the mind, and ears. Now to the opposite. However if a very poor recording is used, the flaws will be VERY apparent.

I would disagree with you that the HD650 are analytical. They are high quality headphones but not particularly accurate ones. The thick boosted bass makes them coloured headphones that are also quite euphonic. I find poorly mastered material fares quite well compared to other headphones. Which is where their vast popularity comes from. By being slow and smooth they cover up the flaws in many recordings. Although they are 300 ohms they are quite efficient and play noticeably louder than earlier 300 ohm versions. A headphone amplifier is still required for the best experience. As to your question about your iPhone, I don't think anything negative would happen to the electronics, however the draw on the battery won't do much for it but if you were playing intense 3D games there might be even more draw on the battery so I wouldn't let that stop you plugging your headphones in.

 

[droido256]

No, I’ve never heard of that happening. The only thing I would do is avoid maxing out the volume on the iPhone.

Hahaha that would be painful if I did that

 

[droido256]

I would disagree with you that the HD650 are analytical. They are high quality headphones but not particularly accurate ones. The thick boosted bass makes them coloured headphones that are also quite euphonic. I find poorly mastered material fares quite well compared to other headphones. Which is where their vast popularity comes from. By being slow and smooth they cover up the flaws in many recordings. Although they are 300 ohms they are quite efficient and play noticeably louder than earlier 300 ohm versions. A headphone amplifier is still required for the best experience. As to your question about your iPhone, I don't think anything negative would happen to the electronics, however the draw on the battery won't do much for it but if you were playing intense 3D games there might be even more draw on the battery so I wouldn't let that stop you plugging your headphones in.

Hahahaha after slammin metal through these, I wouldnt call them slow. Maybe its just my ears but to me lol they are very meticulous with the details, pianos im hearing clearly key “clicks”, fingers sliding on guitar strings, etc. At least compared to the others I have. One thing I do notice is the bass, they can really slam or rumble it out when the song has it. With no signs of “fatigue”. Maybe its just me, and they havnt “burned in” yet. Then again the closest to “summit” price wise lol I have is the EL-8. With the cost of making arrows, the EL-8 is my price ceiling. I wouldnt doubt the HD800 would spank em up and down. But that’s a whole other tier, and one Im not willing to climb until a pay raise (pffft and I dont see that coming).

 

[droido256]

Well after I decided on a whim to swap the chinese power tubes on the little dot mk2 to the Soviet OTK 5, everything is sounding even better. They seem to be playing well with the Ray 5654

 

[Redcarmoose]

Congratulations, great read on the impressions. Getting new headphones is always fun. I have been meaning to get a pair of those for awhile.......maybe 9 years. Lol

 

[droido256]

Congratulations, great read on the impressions. Getting new headphones is always fun. I have been meaning to get a pair of those for awhile.......maybe 9 years. Lol

Never too late, snag em while they still make em lol. This is one headphone I dont regret. The stage on these things are amazing.

 

[bagwell359]

Considering how long and the 600 have been around, a lot of what has happened since can be traced to these two.

Warm, comforting - 650

clean, accurate - 600

Some newer cans have overdone what they do, and I tend not to like those.

Personally I take the 600 over the 650 all day (unless its a horribly boosted treble recording like Jazz on Columbia in the 60'), but I don't like the 800, which seems for sure like the grandchild of the 600.

I hear the 660 and 598 MD are supposed to be interesting...

Good news is the market is growing and we are getting a steady stream of interesting gear.

 

[SilverEars]

Considering how long and the 600 have been around, a lot of what has happened since can be traced to these two.

Warm, comforting - 650

clean, accurate - 600

Some newer cans have overdone what they do, and I tend not to like those.

Personally I take the 600 over the 650 all day (unless its a horribly boosted treble recording like Jazz on Columbia in the 60'), but I don't like the 800, which seems for sure like the grandchild of the 600.

I hear the 660 and 598 MD are supposed to be interesting...

Good news is the market is growing and we are getting a steady stream of interesting gear.

Well, based on my current experience with HD6XX (It's the Massdrop version of the 650), 650 is a great headphone. I do like the tonality, and it doesn't too warm if the amp isn't putting much warmth from the DAC. I recall 600 sounding a bit treble sharp back in the days. HD6XX sounds detailed without being too trebly, and that's the strong suit. The mids are very natural, and realistic sounding if the recording quality is superb. I realized there's a dependency on the DAC when it comes of how well the HD6XX presents itself. I just find Gumby the right DAC for it.

I wouldn't call it covering up recording flaws. The recordings get mastered with different monitors, and it wasn't the intention to sound clinical. Headphone sounding clinical doesn't mean it's transparent, it just means it doesn't line-up with the original mastering level in the treble. Treble from those headphones is relatively boosted in those masterings.