[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterR The thing is that there are certain camps so caught up in their routines that any attempt at a rational discussion will be dismissed if not ignored. It's all so predictable. "I don't like HD-650" - "Get a better amp" - "Nonsense, get a Grado" - "No, get a cable" - "Sennheisers are boring" - "No, they're not" - "Yes, they are" - "No, they're not" - "You're an idiot" - "No, you're an idiot" - "No, you..." You could have more interesting discussions with Edbot.

Your mama wears v700's.

Yeah, and there's a few of these hd650 threads popping up, related to cable debate and all. As for my personal experience - I'd like to thank the person who bought and returned the HD650 to iDealsound (discountheadphones.com) after mostly burning them in.

So, as someone who's sampled the platter of different sound signatures in quick succession while trying to decide what attributes were more important than others - dt880, ms2i, hd650... I have to say of these there's no clear best. The dt880 was fine, but too dry on my setup. Heh, we've all read that these need tubes, and I'm strictly solid state. No surprises there. They sounded as I expected they would, and I changed my mind. The ms2i's are an excellent excellent pair of headphones. But for all their detail and ear-grabbing fun, they had some downsides that weren't for me. Firstly, I thought I could live with the soundstage but it turns out I can't. Secondly, the flavor. It was more neutral than the sr325i, but it had a midrange coloration. I think that's where the fun is injected. Now if I didn't have Sensas, I would be happy with that coloration and woulda kept the ms2i's. But I have Sensas if I want intimacy, and a high level of honesty and grooviness/rockingness.

By all the good and bad impressions of the sa5000, I suspected they weren't for me. That left ye old standby of the hd650. I had the hd600s and were happy with them. I had heard the hd650's from this source with a bad amp (project headbox) and had been impressed. So I knew with my current setup, the hd650's would do me no wrong. And they haven't. I have involvement, soundstage, and an all-around natural kind of sound. True it's a bit conjested, but I'll get a cable soon enough. I'm a firm believer though that if you don't like a headphone, mucking around with cables won't help. But I do like the headphone.

So far the hd650's seem to be better all-rounders for different types of music. I'm listening to Samael - Reign of Light ATM. That's not typical Sennheiser music, but they do a better job at it than the 600's did at heavy metal.

If I want better I can plug in the Sensas. The HD650's are doing a good job at that all-around-you sound, while being more forward than the HD600's as well. Past that, I'm in a stage of burn-in where things are sounding good, but I can't past judgement on lows mids and highs solidly.

And this is my experience - from a person who likes many sound signatures. YMMV.

 

[Asterix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong Your mama wears v700's. Yeah, and there's a few of these hd650 threads popping up, related to cable debate and all. As for my personal experience - I'd like to thank the person who bought and returned the HD650 to iDealsound (discountheadphones.com) after mostly burning them in. So, as someone who's sampled the platter of different sound signatures in quick succession while trying to decide what attributes were more important than others - dt880, ms2i, hd650... I have to say of these there's no clear best. The dt880 was fine, but too dry on my setup. Heh, we've all read that these need tubes, and I'm strictly solid state. No surprises there. They sounded as I expected they would, and I changed my mind. The ms2i's are an excellent excellent pair of headphones. But for all their detail and ear-grabbing fun, they had some downsides that weren't for me. Firstly, I thought I could live with the soundstage but it turns out I can't. Secondly, the flavor. It was more neutral than the sr325i, but it had a midrange coloration. I think that's where the fun is injected. Now if I didn't have Sensas, I would be happy with that coloration and woulda kept the ms2i's. But I have Sensas if I want intimacy, and a high level of honesty and grooviness/rockingness. By all the good and bad impressions of the sa5000, I suspected they weren't for me. That left ye old standby of the hd650. I had the hd600s and were happy with them. I had heard the hd650's from this source with a bad amp (project headbox) and had been impressed. So I knew with my current setup, the hd650's would do me no wrong. And they haven't. I have involvement, soundstage, and an all-around natural kind of sound. True it's a bit conjested, but I'll get a cable soon enough. I'm a firm believer though that if you don't like a headphone, mucking around with cables won't help. But I do like the headphone. So far the hd650's seem to be better all-rounders for different types of music. I'm listening to Samael - Reign of Light ATM. That's not typical Sennheiser music, but they do a better job at it than the 600's did at heavy metal. If I want better I can plug in the Sensas. The HD650's are doing a good job at that all-around-you sound, while being more forward than the HD600's as well. Past that, I'm in a stage of burn-in where things are sounding good, but I can't past judgement on lows mids and highs solidly. And this is my experience - from a person who likes many sound signatures. YMMV.

I agree the 650's may sound better with a variety of music. I actually almost entirely focus my listening efforts these days on purely acoustic music, specifically jazz. For me the 650's didn't have as appropriate a character, tone, and balance for jazz (and classical) like the 600's do.

I'm not trying to sound too egotistical when I boast about how the 600's are better than the 650's, but I do feel my opinion is supported by the reasons I have mentioned -- and simply because I prefer that sound. I know we can all get emotional about our Sennheisers, and that's understandable, so maybe a bit of that energy expressed itself in my post before... but I want to express that. Let the world know I love my 600's, and that the 650's don't impress me that much. Another example of how the old can sometimes be better than the new.

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asterix I agree the 650's may sound better with a variety of music. I actually almost entirely focus my listening efforts these days on purely acoustic music, specifically jazz. For me the 650's didn't have as appropriate a character, tone, and balance for jazz (and classical) like the 600's do. I'm not trying to sound too egotistical when I boast about how the 600's are better than the 650's, but I do feel my opinion is supported by the reasons I have mentioned -- and simply because I prefer that sound. I know we can all get emotional about our Sennheisers, and that's understandable, so maybe a bit of that energy expressed itself in my post before... but I want to express that. Let the world know I love my 600's, and that the 650's don't impress me that much. Another example of how the old can sometimes be better than the new.

Oh absolutely. I can see why someone would prefer the HD600's. Hey, they did me no wrong and were the headphone to last longest before being sold.

I also agree that newer doesn't mean better - being a huge fan of the 15 year old orginal dt990's... a different beast from the new ones.

 

[cmling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpw OMG! Just try another amp. Any other amp. Even my Headroom Total Bithead! You owe it to yourself man. Those are great cans and you're not giving them their due. CPW

I *have* a Total Bithead and am toying with the idea of buying the HD 650 phones.
I am using Grado SR 80s right now and find that the Total B. is doing a wonderful job, but now I want even more! And: I can get the HD 650s for about 280 dollars here, which seems VERY cheap.
Worth a try?

Thanks,
Charley

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmling I *have* a Total Bithead and am toying with the idea of buying the HD 650 phones. I am using Grado SR 80s right now and find that the Total B. is doing a wonderful job, but now I want even more! And: I can get the HD 650s for about 280 dollars here, which seems VERY cheap. Worth a try? Thanks, Charley

What source will you be using? Also, if this is for portable on-the-go kinda use, the HD650 would be a bad idea.

 

[cmling]

Wow, that was a fast answer! Thank you.
Practically exclusively the computer USB 2.0 port with the drivers the T.B. installs. (That's why I got a Total Bithead.)

Charley

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmling Wow, that was a fast answer! Thank you. Practically exclusively the computer USB 2.0 port with the drivers the T.B. installs. (That's why I got a Total Bithead.) Charley

I think you should try the HD580 first, to see if you like the sennheiser HD 5/6** sound. Some love it, some hate it. Plus, the 580 goes for quite cheap nowadays second-hand.

Also if you need isolation or don't want to disturb others closeby (i.e same room), open phones like the senns may not be appropiate.

 

[cmling]

Thanks for your advice. Disturbing others won't be a problem. (I take it the neighbors won't be bothered!)

But I am glad to hear that the Bithead is apparently capable of handling the Sennheiser 5/6** needs.

Happy listening to all of you nice people,
Charley

 

[plainsong]

I wouldn't get the 580's for a tbh unless I knew I was going to upgrade sometime in the next year. Yeah the tbh can drive it, but not with the kind of authorita I would like if it were my only source.

I'd go for a relative of the dt531 myself.

Or the ms1's or ms2i's. Grados know how to party and the tbh loves nothing if not a good party.

 

[Andrea]

cmling, I would go straight with the HD650 -- or, if you wanted to keep it entirely safe (pairing with the amp), and cheaper, you should try the HD595.

 

[plainsong]

If I'm not mistaken, this person has the same question on another forum.

If it's the same member, he already tried and disliked the hd595. If it's just a coincidence, then sure why not? Just because I think they're a hyped hd500 doesn't mean that others don't like em.

 

[Andrea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong If I'm not mistaken, this person has the same question on another forum. If it's the same member, he already tried and disliked the hd595. If it's just a coincidence, then sure why not? Just because I think they're a hyped hd500 doesn't mean that others don't like em.

If so, he may still consider the HD650 part of my post.

Never heard the HD500. You should note that apparently the HD595 is much more liked/loved around here, and perhaps, like I do, considered "the best you can buy around 200$", than irrevocably 'damned'... This should make some sense, even for the sceptics.

 

[cpw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong I wouldn't get the 580's for a tbh unless I knew I was going to upgrade sometime in the next year. Yeah the tbh can drive it, but not with the kind of authorita(sic) I would like if it were my only source.

I assume by "source" you mean amp?
I drive my HD600 as well as my HD650 w/ my TBH and find it does quite well. It ain't the last word by any means but truthfully, I think it sounds so good that I often use it to listen to mp3s off my laptop w/ the Senns rather than the HR-2 w/ airtunes that's only 2ft away. The HR-2 reveals all the shortcomings of the files but like you said, the TBH makes it more like a party. Great product for laptops. For my iPod I like the SR-71 that just landed on my doorstep yesterday!
All a bit OT but I wouldn't worry about the TBH's ability to drive Senns. Works OK for me.
CPW

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpw I assume by "source" you mean amp? I drive my HD600 as well as my HD650 w/ my TBH and find it does quite well. It ain't the last word by any means but truthfully, I think it sounds so good that I often use it to listen to mp3s off my laptop w/ the Senns rather than the HR-2 w/ airtunes that's only 2ft away. The HR-2 reveals all the shortcomings of the files but like you said, the TBH makes it more like a party. Great product for laptops. For my iPod I like the SR-71 that just landed on my doorstep yesterday! All a bit OT but I wouldn't worry about the TBH's ability to drive Senns. Works OK for me. CPW

I called the tbh a source since you plug it into the laptop and it becomes an external soundcard/amp.

I agree that it's fine, but if it's your only source? You have other options to plug into, so no big deal for you.

I don't know, if it was the only thing I had to plug into, wouldn't there be better matches to the tbh than the Senns?

 

[cmling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong If I'm not mistaken, this person has the same question on another forum. If it's the same member, he already tried and disliked the hd595. If it's just a coincidence, then sure why not? Just because I think they're a hyped hd500 doesn't mean that others don't like em.

Not this person. I once asked about cables and - of course - received very informative replies.

Thank you for all your comments! I'll let you know what happened, if you like, of course.

Charley