[tylernm]

I've got both the new versions of the hd600 and hd650 running through a solid state KICAS Caliente coming out of my X-fi xtreme-music sound card. The source aint great but its enough to give an impression of the difference between the two. I've tried the hd650 stock and defoamed. It doesnt make much difference but helped the treble a smidgeon The hd650s are warmer with less upper-midrange and high-freq detail. The hd600s have more treble energy which I dig. There seems to be more instrument separation in the hd600s. The hd600s seemed "boring" to me at first but it's clarity allows me to find new parts of songs i've heard hundreds of times.

The hd650s really have a groove going for them from their upper bass accentuation. This seems to lend a warm/muddy/thick "wall of sound" to many recordings, but its sounds huuuge with certain rock recordings. Unfortunately it can detract from vocals a bit. The airiness of the hd600s is what makes them a better all-arounder for me. Another thing that makes the hd600s stick out as killer headphones is their natural presentation. Listening to live concerts on the hd600s sounds more realistic than on the hd650 to me. Either way both headphones have a bit of an acclamation period.

Guitar solos are more easily heard on the hd600s and you can also hear more pick/attack details and crispness on stringed instruments. Drums sound snappier on the hd600s. The hd650s do have killer warmth; however, I found the lack of treble kept me reaching for the volume knob which is a big no-no. I've recently been using the hd600s more. Cheers.

 

[Quaddy]

nice to see you passed the audiohile test and prefer the 600 to 650

its a curveball for sure and many have failed its model incrementing cleverness

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif nice to see you passed the audiohile test and prefer the 600 to 650 its a curveball for sure and many have failed its model incrementing cleverness

x2

 

[aimlink]

^bump

So how many use these two cans as complementary cans, rather than happening to own both at one point or the other and ending up preferring one over the other?

Does the HD600 sound very similar to the K70x? I read this in another thread but am skeptic since the K702's sound VERY different to the HD650's while I'm getting the impression here that the HD600's are different to the HD650's, though not VERY different.

I really love the HD650's laid back and relaxed presentation. However, there are times when I'd prefer a less warm and more transparent presentation. The K702's do this to an extent, but the highs can be a bit harsh at times.

 

[Ridleyguy]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/images/smilies/smily_headphones1.gif[/img]

According to Stefan AudioArt:

"The Sennheiser HD600/580 stock headphone cable is MUCH better sonically than the Sennheiser HD650 stock cable. The HD650 stock headphone cable uses considerably more signal polluting dielectric which degrades the audio signal. If you want to improve the overall sound of your HD650's, change the stock headphone cable to the HD600/580 stock headphone cable. That improvement just scratches the surface as far as how much sonic improvement the E-Series cables offer the Sennheiser HD650, HD600 and HD580 headphones."

 

[donunus]

This is an old thread but I totally agree with the hd600 cables sounding better than the hd650 cables. I was using my hd600s with the comparison BTW.