Marleybob217
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,705
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- 91
This is a review of the HD 650 + the e9 connected to my laptop via a traktor audio 2 DAC.
Directly compared to: Mackie mr8 mk2 studio monitors and DT770 pro 80 ohm.
I am a drummer so I know how the drums are supposed to sound, bass: kick drum - mids: snare - highs: hi-hat and other cymbals.
The HD650 and the e9 have been in my posession for about two weeks now, and I have listened to them a lot!
So I bought the HD650 to complement my studio monitors since well, they make sound, and not everybody likes sound (neighbours, girlfriend). This was supposed to be done by the dt770 pro's but they really weren't up for the task.
What I didn't like in the dt770 were the recessed/thin mids, the harsh and sibilant treble and the bloated and ugly bass.
Also the bass deformed the mids, and the sound was not tight at all and started deforming quite fast.
HD650:
So like everybody else here on head-fi I researched my a** off to find a headphone that was fantastic for not too much money.
That was when I stumbled upon the HD650, supposebly a deep and warm sounding headphone, that wasn't too fast, had a veil and is incredbly hard to drive.
Well all of these properties are heavily over exaggerated or just not true at all.
-It sounds deep, the bass goes really low, and this is very good with ALL music since it does not exaggerate the bass but just let you hear what is in the recording.
-It sounds pretty warm, but not because it has too much bass, but because it hass really fantastic full mids.
-It is fast, maybe not the fastest, but more than fast enough for every genre.
-I have only heard the veil sort of when I connected the headphone directly into my DAC, and even then it wasn't that bad. When the hd650 is connected to the e9 it is not veiled at all, just an urban legend that originated by people whom(?) didn't amplify it well enough.
-My DAC makes it go really loud, like ear deafening levels loud, it does lack detail and it get's more muddy when connected this way (still sounds better than the dt770 pro 80 ohm though). Even through the iphone the volume is loud enough(not really loud though).
Needless to say I really enjoy these headphones and was pleasantly surprised by how much these stereotypes were exaggerated.
So here is my own impression of the HD650 amped to the e9:
Next to my studio monitors they sound pretty neutral, they probably aren't as neutral but really not bad.
Treble: just a pleasure to listen to, very much detail, good sparkle, not as much as the mackie's but still more than enough.
The hi-hats in the song a-punk by vampire weekend just sound so realistic.
Mids: this is where most headphones really scr*w up making it impossible for me to fully enjoy the music.
The HD650's have really full rich mids, with great detail. The song You are a tourist by death cab for cutie has a really cool guitar motif that starts at around 45 seconds in the song that sounds really full and penetrating. The HD650 also convey's the snare drum really beautifully in this song with a powerful attack.
For vocals I listened to the song video games by lana del rey and all I can say it sounds really natural and effortless.
Bass: Well it goes really low, even at 20 hz it makes my ears shake (testsounds.com) while my studio monitors don't go much lower than 40 hz. So in bass quality the HD650 wins over the mackie's.
The bass itself is not bloated or over pronounced at all. If I want my ears to shake I have to turn the bass up quite a bit with the EQ, but with a good bass boost it has just as much bass as the dt770 while maintaining excellent quality.
The bass in the song space time by delta heavy sounds fenomenal with the HD650's, you can really hear the deep extension of the bass here.
Kick drums are well defined (tight) and palpable, the song into the mirror by minus the bear is a good example.
Soundstage: Very natural, not too big but not small either, perfect for me.
SPL: This is something many reviewers leave out of the review, I find this to be one of the most important features of a headphone.
Some songs like vandals by dirtyphonics just need to be listened to in loud levels. With the DT770 pro I couldn't enjoy the music at loud levels since it would deform really badly, the HD650 does not deform and maintains it tightness even at extreme volume's.
I believe the specs say it is about 103 db, but I know it can go much louder than that.
People often say full size speakers will always be better than headphones, this is what I have to say about that:
While speakers are able of making your complete body shake with bass they do have less soundstage (in my opinion!). Since speakers are usually infront of you sounds will never appear to be coming from the back like it is possible with headphones.
Final verdict: I searched for something that could replace my mackie studio monitors, and I have succeeded. The sound quality is about the same, the monitors have slightly more sparkle in the treble but the HD650 has a better bass extension, and a nicer soundstage in my opinion.
This set-up is really perfect for me and is an amazing allround performer. I honestly don't think it get's much better than this, at most 5% but you will end up paying thousands of dollars more.
Thanks for reading!
Directly compared to: Mackie mr8 mk2 studio monitors and DT770 pro 80 ohm.
I am a drummer so I know how the drums are supposed to sound, bass: kick drum - mids: snare - highs: hi-hat and other cymbals.
The HD650 and the e9 have been in my posession for about two weeks now, and I have listened to them a lot!
So I bought the HD650 to complement my studio monitors since well, they make sound, and not everybody likes sound (neighbours, girlfriend). This was supposed to be done by the dt770 pro's but they really weren't up for the task.
What I didn't like in the dt770 were the recessed/thin mids, the harsh and sibilant treble and the bloated and ugly bass.
Also the bass deformed the mids, and the sound was not tight at all and started deforming quite fast.
HD650:
So like everybody else here on head-fi I researched my a** off to find a headphone that was fantastic for not too much money.
That was when I stumbled upon the HD650, supposebly a deep and warm sounding headphone, that wasn't too fast, had a veil and is incredbly hard to drive.
Well all of these properties are heavily over exaggerated or just not true at all.
-It sounds deep, the bass goes really low, and this is very good with ALL music since it does not exaggerate the bass but just let you hear what is in the recording.
-It sounds pretty warm, but not because it has too much bass, but because it hass really fantastic full mids.
-It is fast, maybe not the fastest, but more than fast enough for every genre.
-I have only heard the veil sort of when I connected the headphone directly into my DAC, and even then it wasn't that bad. When the hd650 is connected to the e9 it is not veiled at all, just an urban legend that originated by people whom(?) didn't amplify it well enough.
-My DAC makes it go really loud, like ear deafening levels loud, it does lack detail and it get's more muddy when connected this way (still sounds better than the dt770 pro 80 ohm though). Even through the iphone the volume is loud enough(not really loud though).
Needless to say I really enjoy these headphones and was pleasantly surprised by how much these stereotypes were exaggerated.
So here is my own impression of the HD650 amped to the e9:
Next to my studio monitors they sound pretty neutral, they probably aren't as neutral but really not bad.
Treble: just a pleasure to listen to, very much detail, good sparkle, not as much as the mackie's but still more than enough.
The hi-hats in the song a-punk by vampire weekend just sound so realistic.
Mids: this is where most headphones really scr*w up making it impossible for me to fully enjoy the music.
The HD650's have really full rich mids, with great detail. The song You are a tourist by death cab for cutie has a really cool guitar motif that starts at around 45 seconds in the song that sounds really full and penetrating. The HD650 also convey's the snare drum really beautifully in this song with a powerful attack.
For vocals I listened to the song video games by lana del rey and all I can say it sounds really natural and effortless.
Bass: Well it goes really low, even at 20 hz it makes my ears shake (testsounds.com) while my studio monitors don't go much lower than 40 hz. So in bass quality the HD650 wins over the mackie's.
The bass itself is not bloated or over pronounced at all. If I want my ears to shake I have to turn the bass up quite a bit with the EQ, but with a good bass boost it has just as much bass as the dt770 while maintaining excellent quality.
The bass in the song space time by delta heavy sounds fenomenal with the HD650's, you can really hear the deep extension of the bass here.
Kick drums are well defined (tight) and palpable, the song into the mirror by minus the bear is a good example.
Soundstage: Very natural, not too big but not small either, perfect for me.
SPL: This is something many reviewers leave out of the review, I find this to be one of the most important features of a headphone.
Some songs like vandals by dirtyphonics just need to be listened to in loud levels. With the DT770 pro I couldn't enjoy the music at loud levels since it would deform really badly, the HD650 does not deform and maintains it tightness even at extreme volume's.
I believe the specs say it is about 103 db, but I know it can go much louder than that.
People often say full size speakers will always be better than headphones, this is what I have to say about that:
While speakers are able of making your complete body shake with bass they do have less soundstage (in my opinion!). Since speakers are usually infront of you sounds will never appear to be coming from the back like it is possible with headphones.
Final verdict: I searched for something that could replace my mackie studio monitors, and I have succeeded. The sound quality is about the same, the monitors have slightly more sparkle in the treble but the HD650 has a better bass extension, and a nicer soundstage in my opinion.
This set-up is really perfect for me and is an amazing allround performer. I honestly don't think it get's much better than this, at most 5% but you will end up paying thousands of dollars more.
Thanks for reading!
