[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheechoz Well, I guess you can ask yourself if the sound is that much better. If you feel it's not, then heck, leave them on. You can always upgrade the cable, which I am doing.

Well look at my sig. I think there's no cable left which could be considered as an upgrade anymore.

But as I said I removed the foam. I think the drivers will stay clean.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastergill Don't worry, i use my Senns like that since 3 years now with absolutely no problems. If you use them regularly no dust will settle on the drivers. If you plan to store your Senn for more than a month, just put the foam back.

This made me feel better. Thanks!

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu A night and day difference? I think that's a bit of exaggerating. I can hardly hear any difference after removing the foam. There might be some little improvement in high end but that's it. I don't know am I willing to expose the drivers to all the dust and crap for that. How would you characterize the differencies?

Night and day.

 

[Capt. Z]

I don't have the HD650, but the HD600. The HD 600 sounds toooooo dark to me, therefore I only will listen to mine without the foam pads. Actially. I installed the foam pads in my 20 year old Beyerdynamic DT990 which gives the DT990 a much better balanced sound.

 

[cheechoz]

Just trying out my new camera. I'll get better at it!!!

 

[nspindel]

Ok, question....

There's a silk-screen like membrane that stretches across the entire surface of each side of the 650. In the middle, is a circular piece that is obviously some sort of driver. My question is, is that silk-screen thing some sort of driver? Or is it just a dust protector to not let any dust in through the open back?

This silk-like film is the part that I'm really worried about damaging, thinking that it is part of the sound system....

 

[cheechoz]

I believe that the grey screen that you see in the picture, is there for protection, but it might have something to do with the sound. Anyway, stay clear of it!! My ears don't touch it anyway.

 

[nspindel]

Okay, I am happy to report that I learned something today. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: "Honey, do you have an extra pair of black panty hose?"
Wife: "FOR WHO???"
Me: "For me."
Wife: "Let me guess, so you can use them for your headphones?"
Me: "However did you know???"
Wife: "I saw you fiddling with those foam pads, I figured it had something to do with that...."
Me: "Honey, you're so smart...."
Wife: "(grunting)... Second drawer...."
Me: "Thank you dear, love of my life...."
Wife: "You're such a geek."
...... Go upstairs, take out black ones ......
Me: "Honey, these are perfect!"
Wife: "Those aren't panty-hose! Those are knee-highs - I wear those!!!"
Me: "Not any more! Thanks honey....."

So now I know the difference between knee-highs and panty-hose.....

 

[glenmorangie]

i just tried a quick test.....removed foam...didnt really hear a difference. i kept putting foam over my ears and then senns...removing it....putting it back while listening to various treble rich tracks (i dont think there is any difference having it between your ears and the pads or in place under the pads)
i dont hear any change in treble at all and i find it hard to believe such thin open foam has the mass to alter or mute any sound at all.

 

[nspindel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenmorangie i just tried a quick test.....removed foam...didnt really hear a difference. i kept putting foam over my ears and then senns...removing it....putting it back while listening to various treble rich tracks (i dont think there is any difference having it between your ears and the pads or in place under the pads) i dont hear any change in treble at all and i find it hard to believe such thin open foam has the mass to alter or mute any sound at all.

Perhaps. But do you know the difference between knee-highs and panty-hose?

 

[ShaolinRasta]

Just gave it a try and am really pleased with the results. With the foams removed I notice a significantly brighter sound, much more representative of what my gear produces through my speakers. I wonder if this is one of those tweaks with results that vary greatly depending on amp and source?

I'm a newbie to serious headphone listening and have been wondering why everything sounded so different with my HD650/Zu Mobius driven with a Perreaux SXH-1 -- it's a very smooth, elegant sound, but one that is more restrained than what I was used to hearing. My source is a Music Hall CD-25 (Sound Odyssey mod) with Totem Arros driven by a Sugden A21a amp and Dared SL-2000A tube preamp, using silver interconnects. It's a sound that I've been finetuning for awhile to get just how I like it.

I just received my headphone gear this week and was really surprised to find that the HD650s had a noticeably dark coloration. I was starting to wonder whether the combination was right for me when I read Vertigo-1's review and subsequently found this thread. This little tweak has made a huge difference for me -- I'm definitely keeping my HD650s now. Gotta remember to head over to the 99¢ store tomorrow for some black knee-hi's...

 

[glenmorangie]

oh good lord
if the foam made that much of a difference dont you think the engineers at sennheisser would have put a more pantyhose like foam infront of their drivers?
or is it a conspiracy.......biggest headphone company gets lazy with their foam because they think people are too stupid to know the difference?
"it doesnt matter that its our flagship product....lets save 1 penny per 2500 headphones with this inferior foam"

 

[ShaolinRasta]

I don't see it as a conspiracy at all, since I'm quite confident that the Senn engineers know exactly how to produce their house sound. What I'm saying is that all of the components in my system have distinctly warm qualities to them, including my CD player. The combo of my source feeding into the tubey Perreaux and the darker 650s was a little too mellow for me. Removing the thin layer of foam adds back a much needed touch of brightness. I figure some people don't have systems with similar tendencies to mine so the added brightness from this mod isn't as readily apparent to them. The 650s probably sound better with the foams in place in many systems -- the only way to find out is to give it a try.

Besides, this sort of thing is what people have been doing to their Grados since the first SR60 was released -- it must've been more than a decade ago when I cut quarter-sized holes into my pads, and that also produced a clear-cut difference in sound that some liked and others didn't.

 

[2100]

I just took out the foam and must say that there is some difference.

Try taking out both foams, then put both over one side of the drivers between the foam cups and your ears, support the headphones so that the foam does not get deformed. You will notice a difference with 2 layers of foam.

Whether or not you like this change is up to the individual.

 

[glenmorangie]

okay yer both nuts and i will pursue legal action to have you committed.
when the defense questions me i will put a thin layer of foam over my ears and pretend i dont hear
really i tried it again and again and i think i hear some difference but im not sure....my hearing tests well but not perfect
i think i hear clearer overtones on the fiddle but im not sure placebo? dunno

 

[Patu]

Please could someone confirm that the grey screen is there only for protection and it has nothing to do with sound quality. I'm not really sure does my year touch it or not, but I think it doesn't.

I very well understand if someone doesn't hear the difference. It really isn't so big but now I can hear a little boost for trebles when removing the foam.

I think it has something to do with the other equipment people have in their rigs. For example my Rudistor makes 650 sound much more neutral than many other amps. It takes the bass a bit down and adds great amount of speed and punch to it. At the same time treble gets much more audible and airy. I think this makes it harder for me to hear the differencies between foam/no foam.