[kunwar]

Just some opinions after listening to the HD650 and previous auditions of the HD600
I had a listen to the 650 yesterday via the Headroom Max Home Amplifier (2004) and frankly I am disillusioned, the 650 is veiled in comparison to most headphones I have heard (Even the 600). If they are tuned to deliver sound similar to speakers and If this is how speakers sound then something is wrong with my Speakers cos they are more fun then the 650. As for comfort they are jaw breakers, the clamping even after keeping the headband loose is atrocious.
As for presentation the K501 prances all over it. I am more convinced than ever now that to see any significant upgrade in sound quality, I will have to go after the K1000's.
I was almost going to purchase them with all the hype and praise about sound but ran into a monster electricity bill which prevented me from getting them. Now that I think of it, I would have been extremely unhappy with my purchase.

They sounded the same through all the amps at our disposal i.e. the MAD Ear+ special, Talisman T-3H, DAC1's headamp section and the Headroom MAX 2004.
The Max is a good headphone amp, I would place it about 5-7% above the Talisman Audio T-3H in my current rig. The MAX has all the pros of the DAC1 amp with the capability to smooth out the jaggies that appear on tracks recorded improperly or in a crappy manner. That is where it is better then the DAC1 amp. The MAD Ear+ is a diff. style IMO and sounds a lot warmer yet fun to listen to. Even it could not do much for the HD650. Similar experience from a Rotel RCD1070(HDCD) as a source. Agreed that it is not half the source the DAC1 is but it sounds better than the NAD C542 that I have heard.

The recommendations for the HD650 should have a big sticker advising prospective buyer to try them before buying them. They are not all they are hyped to be.

Kunwar

 

[PATB]

Everything is relative.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATB Everything is relative.

I concur, also maybe you are just looking for something else. I personally think the sennheisers, especially the 600 and 650, are designed like instruments, they sound amazing, the detail and just that enormous sweeping feeling of the stage you get is wonderful for classical music. Laid back and dull is a relative thing, according to the way you are used to listening to music.

Now personally i am a grado man, but i love listening to senns when i have the chance, i actually make sure i dont listen to them too long because i know i will have to buy them and i really dont have money right now! I've had like every grado, 325i coming soon, and one day would love a senn to complement, NOT replace, my listening options. The rock and jazz stuff would get the grados, my classical/opera would get the senns.

 

[PATB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 Now personally i am a grado man, but i love listening to senns when i have the chance, i actually make sure i dont listen to them too long because i know i will have to buy them and i really dont have money right now!

I feel the same way. There are periods of time when I prefer the HD650 over the SR225, there are other periods of time when I prefer the SR-225. Heck, I even like the Zu Mobius on the HD650 sometimes, and the stock cable other times -- on the same amp and source. I almost made the mistake of selling the SR-225 when I thought I was a Senn man. Glad I didn't. Grados and Senns complement each other -- head-fiers should own both. Peace.

 

[kunwar]

Believe me I try hard to allow every headphone to perform and keep an open mind.
With speakers the sound envelopes you when played, These don't do that even.
I like the grado sound but I like the K501 as well which is a completely different cup of tea. The 501 has been compared to the HD650 and the followers find it better than the HD650. The feeling I constantly get from the HD650 is that it hides details, nuances, things such as guitar plucks, the plucking of strings on a harp or even a drummer's stick striking the drums or cymbals. to me it appears artificially distant and nothing like a live performance.

The bass is bloomy at best and not the controlled variety. The treble sucks, the mids don't sound musical. Why then the hype. I mean when driven with the headroom amps it should sound good. right? they are tuned to it if I am not wrong.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATB Grados and Senns complement each other -- head-fiers should own both. Peace.

Didnt i say i dont have money? Now you reminded me about the senns again, i was doing so well forgetting about them...

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

I think the same way, too, but it's probably because I've grown accustomed to the Grado sound.

Grados and Senns both have their merits...now let's stop bashing eachother over their different signature sounds...live in peace, I say!

 

[wali]

Quote:

Why are they SO LAID BACK AND DULLLL

Why the heck are you shouting?

Get another headphone and save us the drama.

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunwar The recommendations for the HD650 should have a big sticker advising prospective buyer to try them before buying them. They are not all they are hyped to be.

Any prospective buyer of the more expensive cans should try to audition any to see if it suites them.

I'm not a big fan of these Sennheisers either. but they will have their followers.

 

[PATB]

Very understandable. The HD650 does not have the WOW factor. I thought they sucked big time the first two weeks I listened to them. But then, I found I can listen to music for long periods of time without getting a headache the next day. Heh, it made me want to keep listening to music. That was both good and bad. Good that I can listen to music everyday much longer, bad in that I became very sensitive to brightness. As far as lost details, I doubt it -- it is all in the mind. I auditioned Meridian DSP7000 and DSP5200 speakers with a G08 last Friday with familiar songs and I didn't think the HD650 was witholding anything. It is just dark, that's all.

I am trying to unlearn the HD650 at the moment so I can justify getting the RS1!

 

[Zoide]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATB The HD650 does not have the WOW factor.

It certainly did for me, at the San Mateo meet. Even *after* listening to the SR-225's, PS-1's, and HP-1000's that were also present there. (I didn't A/B them, though)

PS: If I didn't already have the Sensaphonics, I wouldn't have hesitated to get them. The difference between the 650s at the meet and my memory of the 580s I used to own is huge. Given that I have the Sensas, though, I too am steering in PATB's RS-1 direction.

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunwar The recommendations for the HD650 should have a big sticker advising prospective buyer to try them before buying them. They are not all they are hyped to be.

That applies to every product discussed on this forum, I would think. Moreover, there are many other examples of products discussed on this forum that some people abosultely rave over, and others don't seem to like very much at all.

 

[JaZZ]

kunwar...

...everyone hears differently, especially with headphones. So the HD 650 may just not be the ideal implementation of an earspeaker for your ears. But...

...it seems that the headphone you've tried is not broken in. A clear indication for this is the high clamping force. And the latter is even the main culprit of a dark and veiled sonic characteristic. Try stretching it more if possible until it's comfortable and loose enough, although the loosening effect may be temporary. And then try pressing it against your ears simulating the initial clamping force -- you'll easily hear the sonic difference. What's also important is the wearing position: the lower, the more treble and brilliance. And as mentioned, the drivers need 150-300 hours of break-in to reach their definitive sonic characteristic, which is far from the dull and veiled sound the first impression of a new HD 650 may convey (at least to my ears with my equipment). And there's still the cable option, not to be underestimated. The stock cable sounds dull in comparison to Zu Mobius or Silver Dragon.

Finally, PATB had a good point: «The HD650 does not have the WOW factor.» It's not a Grado, and no break-in and cable will make it one.

 

[kunwar]

the clamping is something of a personal fit issue. Circumaural rounded pads fit me quite well. Anything elongated doesn't work out.

As for the sound, I don't want the senn's to sound like Grado. I know nothing will ever match that signature. People like them obviously they like to listen to them. I just believe that they do nto deserve all the hype heaped onto them. I guess we will keep banging our heads until we drop so yeah forget it.

 

[kunwar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wali Why the heck are you shouting? Get another headphone and save us the drama.

Mate , You would definitely know that I was shouting if I typed something this freaking large. As for drama please keep it in perspective.