[paolo99]

Was really looking forward to them but they distort way before you get to 11 o clock on the volume control and the sound is muddy and tangled. I bought them from a dealer on ebay and I'm starting to think that they may not be authentic, although the dealer has 100% feedback on 530 transactions. BTW I use a Cambridge 640a Azur amp. Any ideas what's going wrong?

 

[JefferyK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paolo99 Was really looking forward to them but they distort way before you get to 11 o clock on the volume control and the sound is muddy and tangled. I bought them from a dealer on ebay and I'm starting to think that they may not be authentic, although the dealer has 100% feedback on 530 transactions. BTW I use a Cambridge 640a Azur amp. Any ideas what's going wrong?

My guess is that the gain on your amp is too high.

Jeffery

 

[adhoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paolo99 Was really looking forward to them but they distort way before you get to 11 o clock on the volume control and the sound is muddy and tangled. I bought them from a dealer on ebay and I'm starting to think that they may not be authentic, although the dealer has 100% feedback on 530 transactions. BTW I use a Cambridge 640a Azur amp. Any ideas what's going wrong?

regarding distortion: sounds like your amp's headphone section is unable to muster up enough current despite the relatively high headphone impedance. strange.

or perhaps gain is set too high?

regarding the 'muddy and tangled sound': sounds like an inferior opamp to me. ime, after trying out an OPA637, everything else seemed muddy and muddled. ymmv.

 

[Jahn]

i've heard good things about the gilmore lite/HD650 combo. i'm glad to hear that they can live in harmony with the classic MS-2 in your possession.

to keep true to the grado flavor, i recommend the zu mobius cable with the HD650. i compared that cable to the cardas and (black? silver? i forget) Dragon cable, and the Zu had the best bass and forward/clear presentation.

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paolo99 Was really looking forward to them but they distort way before you get to 11 o clock on the volume control and the sound is muddy and tangled. I bought them from a dealer on ebay and I'm starting to think that they may not be authentic, although the dealer has 100% feedback on 530 transactions. BTW I use a Cambridge 640a Azur amp. Any ideas what's going wrong?

Provided that the headphones are perfectly alright, it may be that your Cambridge amp is unstable when driving a high impedance load perhaps? - while the muddy sound should depend on a too high impedance of the amp's headphone out. I can tell you that I don't experience anything alike with my cheap Pioneer amp you see below here.

 

[JMcMasterJ]

I just got my HD-650's today too and they sound fantastic already.

I can't wait to hear them once well burned in.

My only complaint so far is that stupid silver cardboard box cut my finger.

 

[Lippy]

Thanks for the well-wishes on my new 650.

As for aftermarket cables, I'm getting the impression that the Zu heightens the high end and though clarifying, it also brightens the sound?

I don't want to brighten these phones with the aftermarket cable, plus the GL is a very transparent amp that really doesn't need any help in the high end, per se.

Anyone had any time yet with the 650 cabled with the new Blue Dragon V2?

 

[JefferyK]

Don't overlook the Cardas aftermarket cable: It makes the overall image more coherent without boosting either frequency extreme. That said, I actually rather like the stock 650 cable, and swap pretty frequently.

It took a few months, but I finally seem to have hit a break-in/amp/cable sweet spot with my 650s, and I am just loving them. Out of curiosity, I bought a pair of Grado 225s a few weeks ago, and they sound thin and shrill in comparison.

Jeffery

 

[S_Dedalus]

I just bought Mikey01's recabled 650's, plugged em in, and wow, these sound great. My first thought was, "What veil?", my second was, my grado's might be taking a back seat.

 

[perplex]

when he sings "she's got electric boots" does it actually sound like "boots".. on my $20 earphones it sounds like "she's got electric BOOBS" haha