The Quality Guru
Blah! he says.
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
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A few months ago I went to a high-end audio shop that had a well-broken in pair of HD-600's (for all practical purposes, let's assume the 580 and 600 are the same 'phones) and I compared them to a comparatively less broken-in pair of HD-650's through a Carlo-modded Gilmore (stepped attenuator, Cardas wiring, etc.) from the new flagship Arcam FMJ CD33 CDP. I was at that shop for a good three hours with my brother (Dan the Audioman). What I found are similar to your findings:
The broken-in HD-600's had a noticeably better sense of 'air' and space between the instruments; it was a truly beautiful sound (though I still preferred my HP-2's). The not-so-broken in HD-650's were comparatively more muddled and 'confused' sounding, with less midbass (a good thing, IMO) albeit a much less clear sense of instrument seperation and decreased airiness.
However, when I went to the recent Chicago meet, I compared equally broken-in HD-600's to the HD-650's (both with Equinox cables) through my Melos and I thought they were both great 'phones. In that setup, with a Cary CDP driving the Melos, the HD-650's sounded better, although the HD-600's weren't far behind. I still can't conclusively say which one I like better now, because I've heard both sound good in different systems with different amounts of break-in! All I can say that I've really learned from this is that the HD-650's can evidently be very different beasts after break in, although I'd really like to spend time with both the HD-600's and the HD-650's before I decide which is The King Dynamic Senn.
The broken-in HD-600's had a noticeably better sense of 'air' and space between the instruments; it was a truly beautiful sound (though I still preferred my HP-2's). The not-so-broken in HD-650's were comparatively more muddled and 'confused' sounding, with less midbass (a good thing, IMO) albeit a much less clear sense of instrument seperation and decreased airiness.
However, when I went to the recent Chicago meet, I compared equally broken-in HD-600's to the HD-650's (both with Equinox cables) through my Melos and I thought they were both great 'phones. In that setup, with a Cary CDP driving the Melos, the HD-650's sounded better, although the HD-600's weren't far behind. I still can't conclusively say which one I like better now, because I've heard both sound good in different systems with different amounts of break-in! All I can say that I've really learned from this is that the HD-650's can evidently be very different beasts after break in, although I'd really like to spend time with both the HD-600's and the HD-650's before I decide which is The King Dynamic Senn.