[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Quote:Originally Posted by Th3irdEye 

On a side note... are the HD650's even the way to go now day's? They have been out for a while now right? Anything better around the same price?

 
 
Do not worry about the age of the design.  If you hang around audio long enough, you'll see that there are a number of classic products that have been around for decades and are still some of the best performers.  Take a look at Stereophile's Top 100 Products.  You'll notice lots of designs that are 20, 30, 40 or more years old.  Good design holds up and you'll find classics in even the best systems.  The sales literature and hype make a big fuss over the latest'n'greatest, but audio has been stagnant for a long time.
 
The HD-650 is like that.  It's a descendant of the HD-580, which has been around for years and has become something of a reference.  By the way, you should look for a used HD-580 or HD-600, too, if you want to save money.  The HD-650 might be the newest and most expensive, but the other two are very similar.
 
Yes, you will need an amplifier to run one of these.  The good news is that you can find a lot of good used ones on the market.  Last I checked, there a Dynalo/Gilmore Lite or two in the For Sale Forum and I think there's an Eddie Current EC-01 in there, too.  Those would be excellent with Sennheisers.  I would not use a computer soundcard.  One popular soundcard only gives you about 170 mW of power, while a Gilmore Lite will give you a full Watt, or 1,000 mW.  Not to mention a much, much cleaner power supply on the audiophile amps.  You can easily hear the difference if you attend a meet.
 
Another option is building your own amp.  It's not that hard, but you'll have to put some time in.  There's also a great DIY Forum here that will help you along.  One inexpensive and excellent amp you can buy as a kit is the Bottlehead Crack.  There are a few dozen other DIY designs to choose from, too.
 
If you pick up a used amp around $200-$250 and get a used HD-600 for $200, you'll have an excellent system for relatively little money.
 

 

[KnightK]

Yeah, I agree with Uncle Erik. The HD 600s are a viable option as well. (Read up on the differences between 600/650.) I also second the opinion to not go balanced yet, if ever. You don't have enough money to do it justice and, more importantly, it's not necessary to get awesome sound out of the 600/650s. Many single-ended setups sound stunning and easily beat cheaper balanced rigs.
 
Another thing to mention is to take it slowly and treat it as a musical journey. You won't find your perfect headphones, amp, and DAC at first and that's virtually guaranteed. Once you accept that fact, you will find the journey inspiring and eye-opening, instead of frustrating and regretful. That's why the idea to buy used, at least at first, is nice to save money. So, read up and buy prudently based on your interests. Then, you can alter your approach based on your impressions and evolving tastes.

 

[maruzen]

thank you Uncle Erik for that bottlehead crack info! i just might try that out on my vacation 

 

[Th3irdEye]

What do you guys think about using a Zero DAC, USB from my laptop with the headphones? Would that work? I don't have many options to get audio out of my laptop. Its USB or a headphone jack... or hdmi to my TV.

 

[moouers]

I just recently bought the HD-650 phones as well. I had been using the HD-280's for probably six years before that. I got the 650 phones a week or so before my amp and DAC arrived in the mail, so I was playing them "unamped" from my old Kenwood CD player or Asus laptop's onboard sound. Both could certainly drive the phones LOUD, certainly enough to cause hearing damage, and they sounded great. Then my amp and DAC came in the mail and there was such an immediate difference in sound. Yeah, they could go louder with the amp (not that I would want to, though the ability to play classical music at less than half volume with much room to spare, rather than maxing out the volume of the onboard to get the same level, is really nice). What really changed with the sound was the incredible amount of detail, clarity and overall atmosphere and musicality. I mean, my goodness...what an incredibly joyful setup to really be involved with the music. So, don't be afraid to play the headphones without a dedicated amp or amp/DAC combo. They'll still sound great, you'll just have an incredible epiphany to look forward to in the future.
 
For what it's worth, I kept watching the price on the HD-650's on headphone.com and they eventually went on sale for $350. They're back up to $500 now, but it might be worth it to wait for another sale, at least wait until your patience can't last any longer. Amazon has one in stock through JetAudio for $329, but I have no idea if they're an authorized retailer for Sennheiser. If they're not, I doubt Sennheiser will uphold the warranty should something happen.
 
As for an inexpensive amp pairing, I have no idea what others consider expensive or not. I'm using the Little Dot MKIII/Little Dot DAC_1 combination, which is very inexpensive compared to quite a few other setups. It sounds absolutely fantastic. (http://littledot.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=62111f66ccd96b42501b4bee1fc3888b). Take a look at the user Pencham and his review of the MKIII on these boards. It's very helpful.
 


 
Quote:

So I have been reading a bunch on this website the past few days and I decided that it might be beneficial to sign up here and post some questions for these obviously knowledgeable people. I currently have a pair of Tritton AX Pro's which have a total of 8 drivers in them (4 on each side for a 5.1 surround sound effect). I have come to find out however that the build quality is not all that great and that because there are more drivers in them they are smaller and of poorer quality. I have been heavily looking at the Sennheiser HD650's for a while now. I don't really have any experience in higher quality headphones besides the Tritton's that I have been using for gaming but I really do love something that sounds great. When I first switched to the Tritton's from my old crappy $15 headphones I was amazed. I got chills from the difference in quality. It gave me such a great sensation. But as I looked farther down the rabbit hole, into the world of high quality audio hardware I found that I was really missing out on what is out there. That's when I found that many people say that the HD650's are some of the best in their price category. I'm not about to make the leap to a $1000 pair of headphones but I would be willing to save up and drop $400-$500 on something like the HD650's. There are only a few gaps to fill in after that. One, what is the best way to set these up with what I have. I would be using my laptop mostly. Or I could conect them to my TV somehow (not sure how that works) as I usually have my laptop hooked up to it via HDMI. I have a Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Surround 5.1, which is basically an external usb soundcard. I think that it also qualifies as a DAC although i could be wrong. Again, not very well versed in this stuff but I love great sound. I've also been looking at amplifiers but it seems like getting the headphones AND a decent amp will break the bank a little. Anyone know what the decoder box I have with my Tritton's will do for me on this front? I'm guessing nothing but it doesn't hurt to ask. It has 5.1 analog outputs (front, surround, and ctr/sub, all 3.5mm jacks) on it's side so I don't really know. Anyone know of any amps that will work well with the HD650's that isn't really expensive?

On a side note... are the HD650's even the way to go now day's? They have been out for a while now right? Anything better around the same price?

Thanks in advance guys. I know that I'll get a lot of good info here.

 

[Jespiir]

The HD-650 is definitely a nice set of cans. But depending on your taste, and what kind of gear you will use to drive it there might be better options.
 
First of, I think that the suggestion by several before me in this thread is spot on: you really need some kind of DAC/amp to get the HD-650 into potential. If you want headphones that run directly from your laptop there are headphones that don't suffer as much from not being amped properly. So if you decide the HD-650 is your sound the try to get a decent DAC/amp into the budget.
 
As an alternative to the 650s I have to mention the Denon AH-D2000. They should be fairly the same retail price.
I will not try to pass judgement on which one of these are the 'best', because they sound so totally different.
But putting some time into testing a couple of more cans than HD-650 will either make you more sure that it's the way to go,
or you find something else you like.
 
As DAC and amp solution the uDac-2 from NuForce must be worth a look Very much sound quality for a low price...

 

[bscott]

the Denon's retail for about $120-$150 less than the 650's at the moment.  Just an FYI

 

[Th3irdEye]

Thanks again for all the good feedback everyone. Its appreciated very much. Just waiting on cash for my purchases now while considering alternatives.