[akwok]

So.. are the Sony SA5000's and the Sennheiser HD650s at the extreme opposite ends of the headphone spectrum? It seems to be.. the HD650's are slow and warm, while the SA5000's are fast and bright?

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok So.. are the Sony SA5000's and the Sennheiser HD650s at the extreme opposite ends of the headphone spectrum? It seems to be.. the HD650's are slow and warm, while the SA5000's are fast and bright?

KaaaaChinnng, Head-fi claims another victim and the SA5000's are ordered. I hope you have some weight ot lose...

 

[akwok]

Wait, what?

I'm using the SA5000's right now, ordered the HD650's since people said it would compliment it nicely..

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok Wait, what? I'm using the SA5000's right now, ordered the HD650's since people said it would compliment it nicely..

LOL, they were just trying to get you to spend money. None of the real insiders here actually owns any equipment, Head-Fi was started as an inside joke between Neil and Jude to see how many people they could bankrupt...

 

[OracleGuy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok Too late.. won a pair of HD650's on eBay today, just have to pay (waiting for quote on shipping) and then they're MINE!

Don't worry--the HD650s are great. Now I'm totally jealous! We really will have to get together to do a little comparing.

I think akwok must be vying for the record for going from newbie to top-tier in the shortest amount of time!

 

[akwok]

Hehe.. waiting for it now; paid a very nice price for it, including shipping. ETA is next Monday, the 11th.

 

[MonkeyButt]

Got my new 650s just three days ago. My experience has been sorta funny - my first impression was that they were way too tight and veiled to an extreme. I fiddled with my amp since I knew they were hard to drive (compared to my A900s) and just sat back and tested different types of music. They really grew on me as I listened - for three hours straight. I had to put myself to bed to stop. I figured my experience was due to the cans just needing a little burn in.

Next day - same thing. Initially the 650s sounded tight again but as I listened it went away and just started enjoying the whole experience again. I have read that the burn in process in weird but it could be just be me habituating to the Senn sound.

Today I bought a new cable to complement the 650 sound - the infamous Zu Mobius. Why? I just couldn't live with myself thinking that I was holding these cans back from their true potential. I think I felt bad for them. Poor little guys.

While everyone might not agree on the best replacement cable, everyone (at least consensus) DOES agree that replacing the cable results in superior sound. Plus that stock cord looks like it could be from cheap pair of cans. It just doesn't do it justice.

 

[OracleGuy]

Do you think the Zu Mobius is worth the money? Did it make a noticable difference in the HD650 sound for you?

 

[akwok]

Yeah.. I'm thinking about it too. But $215 for a cable.. :-/.

 

[MonkeyButt]

It was hard to swallow . . . but I did. And it was a bit more for me since I went with the 3 meter <gulp>.

I just ordered them today so not sure on the results in terms if it makes a difference. They do have a 60 day return policy so its pretty liberal. The only thing you have to pay for is shipping.

Just search the Cables, Power, Tweaks, Speakers, Accessories forum and I think you may be convinced. Like I said, not everyone agrees that its the best replacement but other similar quality and genre sounding cables (e.g., Silver Dragon) aren't that much less expensive.

I guess the line is drawn where it hurts on an individual financial level. Not that I have money to throw away but the price difference wasn't substantial enough to sway me away from what I learned from the reviews.

I actually posted a question that asked "is it a necessary upgrade" and virtually everyone (including Andrea

) said no. But after listening a bit, I just wondered what I was missing.

Maybe I pulled the trigger a bit early in the burn in process and could have waited to see the results but impatience got the better of me. Still, burn in or no burn in, like I said, consensus says that making a cable upgrade results in a noticeable difference. So in my case, why wait for the inevitable . . .

 

[dshea_32665]

I know you probably know this, but give the cable at least 100 hours if not 200 burn in. My first Zu I got with my new HD650s, so I thought the burn in was primarily the headphones. I recently had balanced XLR plugs put on my Mobius, but Sean ended up just sending a new cable with the XLR plugs. It took about 150 hours for the dullness and weirdness to give away to the effortless clarity and space I was used to from my first cable.

Enjoy, after your 200 hours. IMHO the stock cable sounds good, but the Zu Mobius takes things to another level, at least for classical music and jazz which is what I listen to.

cheers,
dshea

 

[MonkeyButt]

dshea,

Thanks for the heads up. I am prepared for the cable burn in. I'll try to have more patience with this cable and actually let it burn in before buying another . .