[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia That alone makes it go beyond the FOTM syndrome.

More likely FOTMY ... flavor of the many years to come ...

 

[Cocovitsch]

Return your HD650 et take something like Beyer DT 880...

 

[gsferrari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enverxis You said that you liked both amps with the Sennheiser HD580 here. But everyone is allowed to change their mind

That was before I had heard anything remotely "High End"

 

[NiceCans]

Now I know why I am drawn to this site . . . .
this place is NUTZ

like me

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tingj The problem? They are too soft (dark) in the high end and bloated in the bass. They lack "air" and "transparency". I would describe their sound as "euphonic". Easy to listen to, yes, but uninvolving. -JT

JT, if you can hold out until May, that's when our next big NYC meet is, and everyone is welcome. By then your HD650 should be ready to be plugged into everything head-fi can throw at you.

After that, if you want to get rid of the Senns, at least you know it won't be because of buyer's remorse or some temporary dissatisfaction. Everyone knows I'm a Grado guy, but I admit that the HD650 is a fine can, and through my Solo it had plenty of tight (but not punchy) bass. But at the end of the day I still find it boring, and wish to put on my old Joe Grados, which are more neutral than a John Grado, but still have enough fun factor for me.

Oh, and the fact that the headband just doesn't click out far enough. My apologies to the people at the mini-meet who had to click those things back after I was done with em.

 

[hentai]

haha don't make this thread into another 'defend creek' themed thread again,

just joking . Anyway if you really dislike the hd650 , i may be willling to buy it from you. Don't diss the hd650 too fast , give it a try , you may like it in the end.
A leopard will never change its spots , so do headphones. You can try other amps 1st , if the darkness or dullness is still there then change headphones. But i believe no matter what amps and/or cables you use with the headphone , the darkness is still there, its a question of more/less , not have or don't have.

either embrace the darkness or welcome to the bright side (Grados)

 

[antonik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tingj Incidentally, I run them with a Meridian 508.24 CD player and Creek OBH-11 headphone amp.

OBH-11 is not a good match for your Sennheisers, plain and simple. HD650 (and same applies to HD580 and 600) needs a low output impedance amplifier. Unfortunately, OBH-11 has 220 Ohm output impedance and this is the main reason for a poor sound of your 650's . OBH-11 is a very old design (over 10 years) and was made mostly for Grado phones.

Cheers

Alex

 

[Xoton]

You may have already tried this, or someone may have already suggested this...but have you tried by-passing the amp altogether? Straight from the headphone jack? If it is the Creek...then you should hear some improvement in some of the trouble areas.

It's very likey that the amp is dampening the sound, I guess. Plus I do know the burn-in on these cans is "infamous."

I seemed to enjoy the Senn Sound (580s) most while watching TV! Big explosions...with rich voices, big open soundstage etc. Music -- I might enjoy the Etys more...more analytical and focused and detailed I suppose.

 

[gsferrari]

After some thinking I believe it will be more cost effective to ditch the HD-650's and get something like the Grado SR-225 or Alessandro MS2/Grado SR-325...

 

[reidme]

I don't know as much as the others in this forum, but I tried out the Grado SR325s vs. the 650s, and they sound very different. I chose the 650s but it was close (not because they sounded the same). The Grados were much more lively but to me seemed to color the sound a bit. The 650s are very laid back. If you don't like the 650s I think the Sr325s are worth checking out. Amps just give you more of what you're already hearing, and I'm not sure about cables...haven't taken that bait yet.

 

[Born2bwire]

My own advice would be to get a better amp if not for the sole purpose of bringing the rest of the system to the same level as your cans and source. Even if you do not stick with the HD650's, I think you will benefit greatly with a better amp considering your Meridian. I would try to do a demo of an amp from someone like Todd and do so within a timeframe so that you can still return the Senns. If you still do not like the Senns, I would try for something in the Grado's (the complete opposite end of the spectrum) over the DT880's. To me, the DT880's sound extremely close to the Sennheiser sound and if you didn't like how the HD650's sounded then I do not think you'll find what you'll be looking for with the DT880's.

 

[iamdone]

I had the hd650/zu with a PPA w/diamond buffer and thought it sound pretty good but was still missing something. I thought about upgrading my source to a Benchmark DAC1 might do the trick but I always wondered about the Grados. It turns out I'm a Grados fan and sold the hd650/zu. The hd650 have such lush sound and space that only the top of line RS-1 seemed to compete with it in those categories.

I agree that a different amp can change and improve the sound, but going to a whole new headphone will make the biggest change for better or worse.

 

[Natsuiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Born2bwire My own advice would be to get a better amp if not for the sole purpose of bringing the rest of the system to the same level as your cans and source. Even if you do not stick with the HD650's, I think you will benefit greatly with a better amp considering your Meridian. I would try to do a demo of an amp from someone like Todd and do so within a timeframe so that you can still return the Senns. If you still do not like the Senns, I would try for something in the Grado's (the complete opposite end of the spectrum) over the DT880's. To me, the DT880's sound extremely close to the Sennheiser sound and if you didn't like how the HD650's sounded then I do not think you'll find what you'll be looking for with the DT880's.

I would agree with getting a better amp. I find that the 650s are quite hard to drive and I'm not a fan of the creek amp. However, I would disagree completely that the 880s sound like the 650s. To me the sound completely different. While the 880s sound more to the neutral side of the spectrum, and possibly even a bit bright, I find the 650s to be extremely dark with rolled off highs.

 

[Born2bwire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natsuiro I would agree with getting a better amp. I find that the 650s are quite hard to drive and I'm not a fan of the creek amp. However, I would disagree completely that the 880s sound like the 650s. To me the sound completely different. While the 880s sound more to the neutral side of the spectrum, and possibly even a bit bright, I find the 650s to be extremely dark with rolled off highs.

To me the DT880's sound close to the HD600's but the bass of the HD650's certainly differentiates the two. I just think that if he's unsatisfied with how the HD6XX series sounds that going to Grado's would be a far greater departure than going to the DT880's. Personally, if for some reason I would want to get a different set of cans I would go for the DT880's hands down.

One more thing, if you are not truly in the market for a new amp, I would still demo one but go for something high-end like the HR-2 (after glancing at Todd's site). That way you can at least hear the HD-650's to their full potential and no longer will have people bugging you about getting a better amp before dropping the cans altogether.

 

[Blitzula]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman I am aware that the GL is a much better amp than the Creek, but changing the amp, even one as good as any Gilmore, will not change what he actually thinks of the headphone. The headphone has a certain house sound that cannot be rid of, so you would have to face the light, and return it for something that you can enjoy no matter what expensive equipment is plugged into it.

Listen to Aman, not to all of the people telling you to change your amp (unless you can audition one at no cost). I'd change to the Zu cable before anything if you feel that you really want to spend more money on anything.

What you described is how many view the HD-650 sound signature, including me. It's good at what it does, but you have to like what it does.