Hi all, thanks for taking the time to review the cans, HeadphoneAddict. Very interesting conclusions and musings all round. If I may add a little something to the proceedings; I have both a set of the HD 650s and some of the cheaper Denons, the AH-D1000s and I can certainly relate to some of what has been written in the thread. My own findings are that the 650s definitely need a full sized headamp and basically give far from their best with my own Corda 2Move, which I am otherwise extremely happy with. The Denons, however, truly sing with this little gem of an amp! Their tonal balance sounds very similar to the D2000s, probably a bit less refined, they certainly have some mid-bass colouration though and remarkable as it may seem, the slightly u-shaped frequency response of these cans is flattened out some by being used with the 2Move, adding extension to both ends of the spectrum. This amp/headphone combo sounds simply amazing with my FrankenZero DAC/amp ahead of it! The Denons really rock here, have openness and space you'd never thought they would manage and sound far superior with the 2Move than they do even on the modified Zero's amp, where they are a tad muted and thickened in comparison - the bass hump becomes more noticeable and the treble a little peaky.
With the 650s, I have found they have come alive when used with an amp of good power, in my case, my highly modified (Frankenized
) KHA II. They are capable of gobs of tight and deep punchy bass and quite extraordinary detail in the mids and top end and a large open soundstage, depending on the music source, of course. Yes, I can see how a description of 'dark' may apply, they are not brightly as lit as some cans are, Grados are a fine example, yet they disguise nothing with it. I have been stunned speechless far too many times to find it a flaw. They communicate 'as-a-piece' both in sound balance and emotionally, probably their finest attribute for me. Mine took many more hours than 50 to break in, more like 250+ before they really treated me.
They have become even crisper and tauter in the bass when my Plinius IIC pre-amp finally started to burn in after it's Nichicon/Black Gate and PIO cap rebuild. The bass is fully capable of plummeting to the deepest depths with see-through transparency the whole way, with effortless power, superb timing and a remarkably even and open top end at the same time. It's taken quite some time to reach this level though and I guess the point is made that they require far more than a portable amp to give of their best. They sound rather anaemic through the 2Move, though certainly clear. I wanted them to sound good through that delightful little amp, but the Denons cream them here and I love 'em!
I am now rather curious to hear what the D2000s might sound like with the 2Move and Frankie (the FrankenZero) on the front end.
I wonder if that same 'trick' with the bass might happen there too? With the 1000s it was as if the whole frequency spectrum had been pulled tighter, if you get my drift, the amount of extra high frequency detail is just extraordinary and smooth with it. You can still hear the slightly thick colouration, yet it seems to have much less of an effect on the music, while adding lower bass punch and tautness at the same time. Brilliant, really.
Hey, I hope I haven't bored any one here and added at least something to the mix, it's terrific that people take the time to do these comparisons, heck, it was Skylab's comprehensive portable headamp review that led me to the 2Move in the first place and I haven't regretted it for a second!!!
Cheers all, S-Man
