[Karlosak]

It took much effort to save enough money, but finally they are here! Here comes my first impression:

Right out of the box the sound wasn't so impressive (in comparison to my "old" HD600). The bass was a bit bloated and the highs were quite missing. But after several hours of intensive burning-in with loud bass-heavy music everything improved: The bass is strong and deep (much better and more enjoyable than with HD600) and still very well separated from mids. Everyone speaks about bass as the biggest difference between HD600 and HD650 (and I agree with that) but to my surprise, the highs was the thing that struck me most. The way they are presented is simply astounding... They are so clear, detailed, sparkling and still non-obtrusive. Cymbals are great.

I'm still more and more fascinated how well this phone can portray instruments. I have never heard violin, trumpet and piano played so well through headphones. Also this is the first time I heard the applause of the audience right and undistorted. The voices are superb too.
I have about 30 hours on them and really can't complain. Now, I can't imagine that they should sound even better after full burning-in (100+ hours)...

P.S.: This phone is really liable to burning-in period. If you want to buy them and listen to them e.g. by the dealer, be sure that they have been played enough. The difference "IS" night and day.

P.S.2: I've read many times that the difference between HD600 and HD650 could be heard just on $$$$$ equipment. That's not true. Even on my "mid-fi" rig the difference is quite obvious.


just my 2 eurocents...

 

[danaa]

Congratulations and glad you're enjoying your new headphones. Enjoyed your review, especially your impressions as they break in. Will be very interested in hearing more as you make the journey to complete break in.

 

[dolifant]

I love my Senn 650s too. The bass is exceptional, but the overall detail is what astounds me. I am hearing subtle sounds of breathing by pianists playing Chopin, even a slight squeak of a pedal! Jazz is excellent, with Ray browns bass playing depicted note for note, no smearing. But...defective , poorly recorded material is ruthlessly depicted as well. You hear all the noise.

I hope you have a good headphone amp or a preamp for your speaker system that has a good headphone output. The senns need to be powered properly to get the full impact.

 

[davidmiya]

Great setup you got there... It's exactly what I had before I got curious about tubes. Though, judging from the difference I hear. The PPA comes within 80% a lot of the high end stuff for a fraction of the cost.

 

[musicmaker]

yes, they are wonderful headphones. I do agree with your comments. Mine's at 45 hours or so now. I've owned the 580s and 600s previously and the 650s have proven to be a really really nice upgrade. At first, I seemed to miss the highs of the 600s but after some serious burn-in I am so happy with the highs on the 650s. It's so refined, accurate and more realistic with so much detail. The bass is just outstanding.. I find the 650s better suited to different types of music than the 600s.

Enjoy them !

 

[rsaavedra]

Congratulations!!! I agree with your impression on how violins sound on them. Mine are still going through break-in, have been playing music through them continuously since last Thrusday night, normal volume, little Perreaux driving them. Yesterday night I tried them on and listened kind of critically to some violin (Perlman's rendering of Pananini's capricces), fantastic!

 

[JaZZ]

Congrats, and welcome to team HD 650!

Quote:

...the highs was the thing that struck me most. The way they are presented is simply astounding... They are so clear, detailed, sparkling and still non-obtrusive. Cymbals are great.

I too love these highs, and I still think they're sweeter than from any other headphone I've heard so far. But actually everything is great with this headphone, there's no real weakness, and it's hard to judge certain frequency ranges in an isolated manner because everything is so coherent.