[Adam78]

I know there is a Sennheiser HD650 appreciation thread, but I would like to give my first hour impression of these guys from a non audiophile perspective.
Before these, my most expensive pair of headphones were $120 Logitec G35s to play games with. with it's artificial 7.1 surround sound, they were pretty impressive. But that wasnt enough. They were lacking...something. I couldn't figure it out. They were missing a je ne sais quoi that I have been forever searching for.
After being pretty upset with a pair of PXC 450's from Sennheiser that I got and then promptly broke, I decided to use the return money as a down payment for some REAL headphones. The, dare I say, overhyped HD650. 
First reaction to picking them up at Best Buy (where I work). "are those for you?" 'Yes, who else would they be for?' "oh, are you a musician?" 'Nope.' "Oh. Then why would you spend so much on headphones?" 'Because I like nice things?' After a few more people questioning the shiny silver box and wanting to know more about them, I get them home. They're beautiful. They're Gorgeous. They're...plastic? I hope they did this as a way to put all they could into those drivers and wires. Why waste margin on build materials and design when you can give the best bang for the buck! 
The actual review: I get home, plug them into my Laptop (I do not yet have an amp or a DAC) I have read that these, being 300ohms require an amp to hear anything from them. This is not the case. Turning my laptop up to the highest volume makes it almost too loud. But what music should I pick?! I want the first song to go through these to be something...majestic. I cant go in haphazardly playing whatever Midi file came on my computer preloaded! 
To the FLAC files I go! Perhaps something from my dubstep folder? Disney songs? No, these need something better. To the orchestra folder! Hit play on the first song I see and...Did you know that musicians took deep breaths before they blow into their woodwinds? It has never crossed my mind before today. You hear fingers move from one string to the other on the harp. Before today, all of this was just noise that happened. You never really thought about the people making it. And this is through a slightly above average soundcard on a gaming laptop. Nothing fancy.
 
I would have to say, these were about as good as I was expecting, and for $320, you couldn't ask for a better headphone. As to the statement for 'overhyping' the 650's as I said earlier, no. You can't really do that. If I am blown away by these using amateur equipment, I can only imagine what they could do on a professional setup. I'll be looking into amps and DACs once I get the money in. Bravo sennheiser, you actually changed the way I listen to music. 

 

[c64]

Stopped reading after " Before these, my most expensive pair of headphones were $120 Logitec G35s "
is harsh but impressions are meaningless unless you have other good headphones to compare to

 

[Redcarmoose]

Cheers, enjoy your headphone experience.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Stopped reading after " Before these, my most expensive pair of headphones were $120 Logitec G35s "
is harsh but impressions are meaningless unless you have other good headphones to compare to

That's a bit degrading c64, everyone needs to start somewhere, I can bet you did once as did I. By what you said you're singling members out due to their collection of headphones (or lack of). I don't think that's how head-fi works and a little unfair from your side, let members speak about their gear and expereinces. 
 

 

[whirlwind]

  I know there is a Sennheiser HD650 appreciation thread, but I would like to give my first hour impression of these guys from a non audiophile perspective.
Before these, my most expensive pair of headphones were $120 Logitec G35s to play games with. with it's artificial 7.1 surround sound, they were pretty impressive. But that wasnt enough. They were lacking...something. I couldn't figure it out. They were missing a je ne sais quoi that I have been forever searching for.
After being pretty upset with a pair of PXC 450's from Sennheiser that I got and then promptly broke, I decided to use the return money as a down payment for some REAL headphones. The, dare I say, overhyped HD650. 
First reaction to picking them up at Best Buy (where I work). "are those for you?" 'Yes, who else would they be for?' "oh, are you a musician?" 'Nope.' "Oh. Then why would you spend so much on headphones?" 'Because I like nice things?' After a few more people questioning the shiny silver box and wanting to know more about them, I get them home. They're beautiful. They're Gorgeous. They're...plastic? I hope they did this as a way to put all they could into those drivers and wires. Why waste margin on build materials and design when you can give the best bang for the buck! 
The actual review: I get home, plug them into my Laptop (I do not yet have an amp or a DAC) I have read that these, being 300ohms require an amp to hear anything from them. This is not the case. Turning my laptop up to the highest volume makes it almost too loud. But what music should I pick?! I want the first song to go through these to be something...majestic. I cant go in haphazardly playing whatever Midi file came on my computer preloaded! 
To the FLAC files I go! Perhaps something from my dubstep folder? Disney songs? No, these need something better. To the orchestra folder! Hit play on the first song I see and...Did you know that musicians took deep breaths before they blow into their woodwinds? It has never crossed my mind before today. You hear fingers move from one string to the other on the harp. Before today, all of this was just noise that happened. You never really thought about the people making it. And this is through a slightly above average soundcard on a gaming laptop. Nothing fancy.
 
I would have to say, these were about as good as I was expecting, and for $320, you couldn't ask for a better headphone. As to the statement for 'overhyping' the 650's as I said earlier, no. You can't really do that. If I am blown away by these using amateur equipment, I can only imagine what they could do on a professional setup. I'll be looking into amps and DACs once I get the money in. Bravo sennheiser, you actually changed the way I listen to music. 

 Congrats.  You bought yourself a great pair of headphones.
 
They will sound even better after listening for 200 hours or so.
 
When you get an amp, that will even take them up another notch.
 
Enjoy your purchase.

 

[Adam78]

Stopped reading after " Before these, my most expensive pair of headphones were $120 Logitec G35s "
is harsh but impressions are meaningless unless you have other good headphones to compare to

To be honest, my most expensive pair of headphones were actually a $350 pair of Sennheiser PXC450's. But seeing as I had them for a month until they broke, I went with the logitecs, which are ones I still own and use every so often. If you read past that, you may have seen me mention the 450's.

 

[SunTanScanMan]

Congrats on your purchase. I found your post enjoyable to read. My first headphone moment similar to that you described was with the Audio Technica AD700X. 
I enjoy the intimacy to the music that headphones bring to the listener. Late night listening is a habit that I have picked up since getting into headphones, and I feel is one of the great pleasures in life.
 
The HD650 was my most recent purchase, and I listen with it a great deal. What I like most about it is its tone. 
Classical music, which I listen to mostly, is very nice with the Senns. 
 
I'm guessing you're having a lot of fun going back and rediscovering your music collection again 

 

 

[terry parr]

Adam 78:  your post brings back memories for me of when my headphone listening journey began (as it will for anyone else here on the board who reads your words).  all of us here remember the joy of that new-found discovery of listening deeper into the music, and hearing details in the music that we never knew were there before.  that is, until we made the decision to, as you said in your post, to "spend so much on headphones."   
 
the comments of c64 notwithstanding, everyone here on this board "started somewhere", as was mentioned earlier.  personally, i didn't appreciate his comments, but i'm reminded of the old adage:  "give a man a mask, and his true self shows."  comments such as his arn't typical here (although there is a healthy give-and-take of opinion on this site, and sometimes some passionate disagreements, too.   which is fine.  i enjoy reading these types of posts, where people may disagree, (sometimes strongly), as long as the exchange of opinion is respectful.  and most times, it is).
 
just try to remember this pursuit is a journey, not a destination, as they say.  and one that should be enjoyed along the way.  (although searching for "just the right" type of associated equipment can be frustrating at times!)
 
enjoy the HD-650's!
 
and welcome to "the club!"

 

[gyzimaki]

Huh, I remember the times I spent with my HD650s back in the day, like it was yesterday. I didn't care if I looked like a dork, had them around with me anywhere I went, hooked up to my iPod Video 5.5. And yes - once you get such headphones, you totally rediscover music. On a whole new level - someone before me described it with a lovely term - intimacy with the music. You feel more connected to the music, more in touch with your emotions. It envelops you, it gets you back on your feet when you're feeling gloomy and down, it becomes a sanctuary.
 
Enjoy the headphones and be good to them. They deserve it. And you deserve the joy, associated with having them.

 

[Koolpep]

  Stopped reading after " Before these, my most expensive pair of headphones were $120 Logitec G35s "
is harsh but impressions are meaningless unless you have other good headphones to compare to

 
Sorry, don't understand why you then bothered to post this. It's offensive and disrespectful over a fellow head-fi member who is kind enough and starts a thread with his experiences. It might not be relevant for you, but he didn't write it for you, so maybe not writing anything would have been good. I mean, when you buy your first Porsche - can't you have and share an impression? Or can you only do that when you have already owned a Ferrari, I wonder?
 
Thanks for your impression @Adam78 

 

[turbo87]

My question is how did get them for $320

  don't these retail for $500?

 

[ricksome]

Enjoy your 650's and disregard c64 as others have said

 

[TJochum24]

  My question is how did get them for $320

  don't these retail for $500?

I'm going to second that lol.  I new pair for $320, whaaaaaaaaat?  Sign me up

 

[Adam78]

Haha, I work for Best Buy. As you may or may not know, Best Buy's employee discount is Cost. So whatever markup they would apply to items does not factor in. The store buys them for $320, so that's what I get them for! I work at a bank now making better money, but am staying there part time JUST for the discount. As well as the people I work with, it's a pretty great place actually.

 

[Adam78]

And thanks for all of your replies! These sound amazing. I cant wait to open the soundstage a little more with a good amp/dac setup! Classical music while I'm surfing the net sounds great, and alt rock sounds great while I relax at night. In fact, listening to John Williams' movie pieces blew me away! 
 
I know the debate about headphone 'burn in' but I figured it couldn't HURT the phones at all, In fact, if anything, it'll let me know if they were a bad pair from the factory sooner before my warranty runs out! So while I have been at work they have been on a sweeping pink noise 10 hour track. Not sure if I can tell a difference, but seeing as the source is currently just a laptop, I didnt expect to.