AmbientRevolut
Aka: TakashiMiike
Warning: Incomplete Trades.
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Posts
- 83
- Likes
- 11
Hi all, I recently traded my Markl Modded d2000's for a pair of hd650's this is going to be my comparison between the two (I will not compare to gear I have not owned)
A couple disclaimers, i am a skeptic by nature and have tried to separate myself from the large amount of auto suggestion so that I can remain unbiased and formulate my own opinions instead of having them formulated for me.
Now with that out the way, the MD2000's were a great (and my first) headphones. I had had them for over a year and was looking for something different.
The first test I did was call my girlfriend on skype. You may be asking why. Well with my MD2000's her voice was sibilant through the skype call. With the hd650's her voice is smooth and like she sounds in real life, with no sibilance (I can finally listen to her talk again
) No voice is sibilant in real life, so this to me, is a more accurate and non fatiguing presentation of high-mids.
Now my first real test with music was some emancipator. The first thing I noticed with the hd650 is how TEXTURED they are, especially in the low range. The low notes no longer sound just like low notes, they sound like they have a sort of texture, and are coming from an actual instrument, instead of a more electronic flat bass note sound.
As I began to listen more I noticed this across the entire spectrum, compared to the MD2000's there is so much more texture from every note.
The next thing I noticed is that the sound stage is much larger than the MD2000's (possibly because of the hd650's open nature). I feel a lot more like I am actually there, the singer in front of me, performing for me. The sound stage is great, I can pinpoint where sounds are coming from beyond just what driver on the headphone they are coming from, it sounds immersive instead of just left ear right ear.
In terms of SQ these are my observations:
Bass: The MD2000's have powerful impactful bass, however in comparison the bass lacks a lot of texture. The HD650's bass is so textured it is truly a treat to listen to. I also notice how the bass (and other spectrum's) is not fatiguing at all, for some reason after wearing the denons for a few hours, I had to take them off, I couldn't listen anymore, this is not so with the hd650's I can't pinpoint why this is, only that it is so.
Mids: Listening to voices, trumpets, pianos etc, on the HD650's is incredible. The mids on this phone are truly bliss. They are immersing in sound stage, they have so much texture just like the lows. Looking back on my MD2000's music sounded like just notes, sounds reproduced as a note on a spectrum (don't get me wrong they are still great phones, but looking back this is how I feel). With the hd650's they sound so beautifully textured, I don't know how else to put it.
Highs: In comparison, the highs of the hd650 are mellow. This makes my entire music collection listenable again. I noticed with my MD2000's I was heading for the skip button every now and then because of ear grating sibilance with female vocals (and I love female vocals). Especially with Morcheeba and January, 2 great artists which I found hard to listen to with my MD2000's.
Overall, I absolutely love these headphones, I will say it again and again, textured, textured, textured. They are so mellow, non fatiguing, in my opinion natural (there is a difference between neutral and natural).
I felt that the md2000's were a good representation of the LA2000's, and with the flaws in the highs, and now (looking back) the lack of texture, and fatiguing nature I am glad I did not continue up the line (how much can wooden cups really change the sound signature, and even If cables did anything, I don't think it could make up for these flaws)
As always take my review with a grain of salt, I try to separate myself from auto suggestion and placebo, this is all from my perspective as best I can. Also I struggle with audiophile semantics, so I apologize If my review wasn't clear or was too repetitive. I will gladly answer any question.
-A R
A couple disclaimers, i am a skeptic by nature and have tried to separate myself from the large amount of auto suggestion so that I can remain unbiased and formulate my own opinions instead of having them formulated for me.
Now with that out the way, the MD2000's were a great (and my first) headphones. I had had them for over a year and was looking for something different.
The first test I did was call my girlfriend on skype. You may be asking why. Well with my MD2000's her voice was sibilant through the skype call. With the hd650's her voice is smooth and like she sounds in real life, with no sibilance (I can finally listen to her talk again
Now my first real test with music was some emancipator. The first thing I noticed with the hd650 is how TEXTURED they are, especially in the low range. The low notes no longer sound just like low notes, they sound like they have a sort of texture, and are coming from an actual instrument, instead of a more electronic flat bass note sound.
As I began to listen more I noticed this across the entire spectrum, compared to the MD2000's there is so much more texture from every note.
The next thing I noticed is that the sound stage is much larger than the MD2000's (possibly because of the hd650's open nature). I feel a lot more like I am actually there, the singer in front of me, performing for me. The sound stage is great, I can pinpoint where sounds are coming from beyond just what driver on the headphone they are coming from, it sounds immersive instead of just left ear right ear.
In terms of SQ these are my observations:
Bass: The MD2000's have powerful impactful bass, however in comparison the bass lacks a lot of texture. The HD650's bass is so textured it is truly a treat to listen to. I also notice how the bass (and other spectrum's) is not fatiguing at all, for some reason after wearing the denons for a few hours, I had to take them off, I couldn't listen anymore, this is not so with the hd650's I can't pinpoint why this is, only that it is so.
Mids: Listening to voices, trumpets, pianos etc, on the HD650's is incredible. The mids on this phone are truly bliss. They are immersing in sound stage, they have so much texture just like the lows. Looking back on my MD2000's music sounded like just notes, sounds reproduced as a note on a spectrum (don't get me wrong they are still great phones, but looking back this is how I feel). With the hd650's they sound so beautifully textured, I don't know how else to put it.
Highs: In comparison, the highs of the hd650 are mellow. This makes my entire music collection listenable again. I noticed with my MD2000's I was heading for the skip button every now and then because of ear grating sibilance with female vocals (and I love female vocals). Especially with Morcheeba and January, 2 great artists which I found hard to listen to with my MD2000's.
Overall, I absolutely love these headphones, I will say it again and again, textured, textured, textured. They are so mellow, non fatiguing, in my opinion natural (there is a difference between neutral and natural).
I felt that the md2000's were a good representation of the LA2000's, and with the flaws in the highs, and now (looking back) the lack of texture, and fatiguing nature I am glad I did not continue up the line (how much can wooden cups really change the sound signature, and even If cables did anything, I don't think it could make up for these flaws)
As always take my review with a grain of salt, I try to separate myself from auto suggestion and placebo, this is all from my perspective as best I can. Also I struggle with audiophile semantics, so I apologize If my review wasn't clear or was too repetitive. I will gladly answer any question.
-A R
