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New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
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I know I'm not the first... but still I hope that my comparison review of these two products is helpful to those interested.
System: NAD 502 CD player with dead display (I KNOW! I need to get a new machine - I'm thinking about one of those combo players ) hooked up direct to a Headroom Max. The cool thing here is that the Max has two headphone outputs, so I could compare the different headphones one after the other very quickly. I left the filter and processing off...
I've been a long-time fan of the HD600, and I've used these headphones with the stock cable and with a Cardas cable for many years. Overall, I really enjoy the speed, sonic accuracy, transparency and good ambience details that these 'phones offer. The few complaints I've had include:
1. Stock cable sucks.
2. Low bass extension seems lacking, or perhaps there's extension but not "support".
3. There's a tiny bit of excessive detail in the upper mids, yielding a somewhat "plasticky" or "grainy" feel on certain source music.
For instance, with string orchestra, there seems to be just a *touch* of harshness on certain passages.
First Impressions of the 650
Immediately upon putting these headphones on, I noticed that they are more efficient than the 600s. As I listened more, I came to think that the greater efficiency might be predominantly in the bass, and that the upper mids might be right at the same level as with the 600s. So to me, at least, it sounds as if the whole sonic balance is tipped up in the bass when compared to the 600.
Strings sound sweeter, no doubt. The edge is gone. There seems to be more overall "support" to the sound, with a richness and involvement not quite present in the 600s. Meatier low strings and the upright bass is clearly more noticeable.
Different styles...
So then I put on some solo piano music (Rachmanninoff Preludes) and noticed very similar things. The attack with the 600s seems slightly over-emphasized, and is more laid-back with the 650s. More bass support, particularly with the really low notes and bass attacks on the piano. Fuller sounding. More involving. More "there". Whereas the 600s give a "in front of your face" perspective, and the ambience sounds clear but somewhat "analytical", the 650s involved me more, and made it seem more like "being there" in the room with the piano. The ambience was very realistic, and sounded "warm" instead of clinical.
I then switched to KD Lang "All You Can Eat" to get a female pop voice and some good, clear production. The track "Acquiesce" has some nice clean bass, clear vocal, and interesting ambient stuff going on. Here, I again noticed the greater support in the lows, slightly more laid back feeling, less sibilance on the vocals. One thing that really stuck out to me, though, was the hi-hat and cymbals. With the 600s, the hi-hat had a "tsst tsst tsst" sound, with more sizzle on top than body. With the 650, there was body to the sound, and more realistic "metal" tones. Smoother. Same with cymbal hits. Very nice!
Onto Symphonic
For the "finale" I listened to a fairly long segment of Mahler's 5th Symphony on Telarc. One of my favorite symphonic recordings, with plenty of weight and clarity, without sounding analytical at all.
The same things were observed here: more support, sweeter strings, more relaxed in the heavy hits (where the 600 could tend to sound just a touch "pinched") but without sounding compressed at all.
Conclusions
First, let me say that I liked the 650 a lot. Overall, I found it to be a more easlily listenable headphone. Once I gleaned enough info as to the differences between these two models, I ended up just relaxing and listening to the rest of Mahler's 5th. This is not common for me! Usually, I listen to a few songs, or a movement of a symphony, etc. But instead, I got lost in the music and just enjoyed it!
The 650 is not perfect, however, For my taste, I would like there to be just a *tad* more extension on the top. But I'm willing to admit that my NAD CD player may be the limiting factor. And I'd also ask for there to be just a *scant* less at 120Hz or so. It just seems that these headphones are slightly to the "sweet" side of things, and I miss a bit of the "speed" of the 600s. However, if I had to pick one or the other, I would choose the 650 in a second. It's just more musical!
PS
A few months ago I listened to the Grado RS1. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of the Grado 'phones because they aren't nearly as comfortable as the Sennheisers. But I liked the sound, and felt that there was a sweetness and involvement that in some ways, the HD600 lacked. Well, I've got news for you. The 650 is the answer... More real than the RS1, and more comfortable.
System: NAD 502 CD player with dead display (I KNOW! I need to get a new machine - I'm thinking about one of those combo players ) hooked up direct to a Headroom Max. The cool thing here is that the Max has two headphone outputs, so I could compare the different headphones one after the other very quickly. I left the filter and processing off...
I've been a long-time fan of the HD600, and I've used these headphones with the stock cable and with a Cardas cable for many years. Overall, I really enjoy the speed, sonic accuracy, transparency and good ambience details that these 'phones offer. The few complaints I've had include:
1. Stock cable sucks.
2. Low bass extension seems lacking, or perhaps there's extension but not "support".
3. There's a tiny bit of excessive detail in the upper mids, yielding a somewhat "plasticky" or "grainy" feel on certain source music.
For instance, with string orchestra, there seems to be just a *touch* of harshness on certain passages.
First Impressions of the 650
Immediately upon putting these headphones on, I noticed that they are more efficient than the 600s. As I listened more, I came to think that the greater efficiency might be predominantly in the bass, and that the upper mids might be right at the same level as with the 600s. So to me, at least, it sounds as if the whole sonic balance is tipped up in the bass when compared to the 600.
Strings sound sweeter, no doubt. The edge is gone. There seems to be more overall "support" to the sound, with a richness and involvement not quite present in the 600s. Meatier low strings and the upright bass is clearly more noticeable.
Different styles...
So then I put on some solo piano music (Rachmanninoff Preludes) and noticed very similar things. The attack with the 600s seems slightly over-emphasized, and is more laid-back with the 650s. More bass support, particularly with the really low notes and bass attacks on the piano. Fuller sounding. More involving. More "there". Whereas the 600s give a "in front of your face" perspective, and the ambience sounds clear but somewhat "analytical", the 650s involved me more, and made it seem more like "being there" in the room with the piano. The ambience was very realistic, and sounded "warm" instead of clinical.
I then switched to KD Lang "All You Can Eat" to get a female pop voice and some good, clear production. The track "Acquiesce" has some nice clean bass, clear vocal, and interesting ambient stuff going on. Here, I again noticed the greater support in the lows, slightly more laid back feeling, less sibilance on the vocals. One thing that really stuck out to me, though, was the hi-hat and cymbals. With the 600s, the hi-hat had a "tsst tsst tsst" sound, with more sizzle on top than body. With the 650, there was body to the sound, and more realistic "metal" tones. Smoother. Same with cymbal hits. Very nice!
Onto Symphonic
For the "finale" I listened to a fairly long segment of Mahler's 5th Symphony on Telarc. One of my favorite symphonic recordings, with plenty of weight and clarity, without sounding analytical at all.
The same things were observed here: more support, sweeter strings, more relaxed in the heavy hits (where the 600 could tend to sound just a touch "pinched") but without sounding compressed at all.
Conclusions
First, let me say that I liked the 650 a lot. Overall, I found it to be a more easlily listenable headphone. Once I gleaned enough info as to the differences between these two models, I ended up just relaxing and listening to the rest of Mahler's 5th. This is not common for me! Usually, I listen to a few songs, or a movement of a symphony, etc. But instead, I got lost in the music and just enjoyed it!
The 650 is not perfect, however, For my taste, I would like there to be just a *tad* more extension on the top. But I'm willing to admit that my NAD CD player may be the limiting factor. And I'd also ask for there to be just a *scant* less at 120Hz or so. It just seems that these headphones are slightly to the "sweet" side of things, and I miss a bit of the "speed" of the 600s. However, if I had to pick one or the other, I would choose the 650 in a second. It's just more musical!
PS
A few months ago I listened to the Grado RS1. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of the Grado 'phones because they aren't nearly as comfortable as the Sennheisers. But I liked the sound, and felt that there was a sweetness and involvement that in some ways, the HD600 lacked. Well, I've got news for you. The 650 is the answer... More real than the RS1, and more comfortable.
