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I felt that the HD650 scales to amazing heights when paired with some really nice gear. I heard it at CanJam 2015 for maybe the third or fourth time at Vinni Rossi's LIO station. I will tell you that the LIO is like an analog bass boost with the crazy power supply it has.
The HD650 really told an honest tale of how the source sounded. The LIO is full of bass, and also full of digital glare. The HD650 had incredible bass with the LIO, but shrieky and bright highs like a poor HD700. I will definitely say that it was the DAC component of the LIO that had the digital glare. The LIO was almost a success for me but the HD650(which isn't a bright headphone) showed the LIO's weakness.
My only gripe with the HD650 was the clamping force, small earcups (doesn't envelop my ears like Alpha pads), and of course doesn't image like the HD800 or TOTL planars. Still it is one of the best bargains in the Head-fi world and yet some people still prefer it over some of the TOTL headphones I mentioned. It has a very inviting sound and may not be the end all be all of transparency but you won't generally find it hurting your ears (until I heard the LIO)
The HD650 really told an honest tale of how the source sounded. The LIO is full of bass, and also full of digital glare. The HD650 had incredible bass with the LIO, but shrieky and bright highs like a poor HD700. I will definitely say that it was the DAC component of the LIO that had the digital glare. The LIO was almost a success for me but the HD650(which isn't a bright headphone) showed the LIO's weakness.
My only gripe with the HD650 was the clamping force, small earcups (doesn't envelop my ears like Alpha pads), and of course doesn't image like the HD800 or TOTL planars. Still it is one of the best bargains in the Head-fi world and yet some people still prefer it over some of the TOTL headphones I mentioned. It has a very inviting sound and may not be the end all be all of transparency but you won't generally find it hurting your ears (until I heard the LIO)