[LiquidExtreme12]

Well good luck with that. I hope you enjoy using them!

 

[jschristian44]

i did like the day i spent with the ad700, the amount of detail amazed me.  after watching the awesome chase scene in the beginning of james bond casino royale, it felt like i was chasing him.

 

[Reputator]

Wow, if I didn't have the HE-5LE, I'd probably buy these.

 

[WyldRage]

Took the plunge... again. Always wanted to try these out.

 

[Maxvla]

The HD580/600/650 all have detachable cables. This is one of the reasons this line of headphones became an epic line.
 
HD600 can easily be compared to headphones in the $800+ range if the rest of your system is up to snuff.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

FWIR: lower fidelity, different sound signature.

Better fidelity, imo. HD650 is darker more bassy, HD600 is flatter, but still colored.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

well, ive heard of people getting the detachable cords for their hd600's how does this work since the hd600 doesnt come stock with detachable cords do they?  but yeah i found the hd600 for 250 with free shipping and the lowest i saw the hd650's for was 330 shipped on ebay and 450 shipped on amazon.  i dont trust ebay for this kind of stuff so 450 is the price i was looking at.  250 sounds like a great deal, but i hate that paint splattered headband.  wasn't this popular in the 80's?  i think it looks dumb.

It's more of a marbled look in person. It's classy, imo.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

just curious, would this amp be good enough or would i need a 200-300 price range amp
http://www.amazon.com/Rolls-HA43-Pro-Output-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0010BWLMS/ref=pd_sim_e_5

HD600 or HD650 need the most power you can get. Normally people use tube amps with these (my preference), but SS can do the job as well. Try to shoot for 300mW+ output at 300ohm. My current amp is rated at 2W at 300ohm and it's pretty magical.

 

[jschristian44]

yeah i guess marble would be a better word for it.  i just am not fond of it yet.  but i did find out the hd600's cords are detachable.  is the bottle head OTL crack amp a good amp for these headphones?  its in the sub-250 price range which is semi-decent if it is a good amp to have.  how hard would it be to put together if i have soldering knowledge and can follow instructions?

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

I would stick with your ATH-AD700's because they sound really good as they are, even without an Amplifier. The top-end Sennheiser headphones need an Amplifier to power them, otherwise they don't sound as detailed as you would expect.
 
The thing is, the high-end Sennheiser headphones have the potential to sound amazing, just like a set of $400 headphones are supposed to sound, but they need to be paired with a really good Amplifier to get the best out of them. Think of a pair of Sennheiser HD 600/650's as a set of top-end PC Surround Speakers.
 
They have the potential to sound great, but if they are paired with a rubbish Sound Card, your not getting the best out of them!

To add to what you said, if you take a HD600 and use it directly from the source (sound card, etc) they will sound slightly better than the AD700. With a medium quality amp ($200-400 generally) they will sound significantly better. With a higher quality amp pushing out a ton of power, they'll make the AD700 look like toys. No joke. These headphones scale extremely well with better gear.
 
By comparison, the AD700 with a high end amp, sound only marginally better.
 
@js
 
I don't know. I've never built an amp before. You might take a look at the Bottlehead threads in the DIY forum.

 

[jschristian44]

hm i understand that.  but will the soundstage be just as good as the ad700?  would the bottle head crack amp be a good amp to power the hd600.  my budget for an amp would like to see less than 250 if i could.  i wish i could test everything out.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

hm i understand that.  but will the soundstage be just as good as the ad700?  would the bottle head crack amp be a good amp to power the hd600.  my budget for an amp would like to see less than 250 if i could.  i wish i could test everything out.

That amp should be ok. I'm a little surprised it's only rated at 10V, but that should be enough for the price you are paying. OTL amps are the best for this price range to drive high impedance headphones.
 
Also if you can wait for it to form up and happen, you should try to go to the NY Fall meet here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/511725/2010-fall-ny-meet
 
edit missed your AD700 comment. The AD700 has a pretty special sound stage, but what it lacks is bass. With a good amount of power the HD600 will approach the sound stage of the AD700 but will be a much fuller experience all around. Detail will be even better.

 

[jschristian44]

ny is a state away, so im not sure if i want to go that far alone.  the bottlehead amp isn't hard to build is it if i have soldering knowledge?  would anyone trade a nice gateway 24" full 1080p monitor for a bottlehead amp?

 

[Maxvla]

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you get the HD600 and like them, you'll have a solid foundation with which to plan the rest of your gear and the headphones will sound better and better as you change up your gear. I feel supremely lucky to enjoy the HD600 because they are so cheap I could afford a nice amp and the whole experience is like I paid double.
 
@ NY being a state away.. Unless you find a head-fier locally to have a mini-meet, you will need to do some driving to have access to multiple headphones. NY and LA are the best congregations of vast quantities of high end gear. If I lived in your state I would never miss a NY meet if I had to call in sick to work to get there. In my area of the country we have 1 semi-small meet once a year and I have to drive 4 hours to get to it. You have meets happening all over within 2-3 hours of driving. NY, NJ, DC, Philly, Ohio, Detroit, etc. I would love to be where you are.

 

[jschristian44]

i hear the samson s monitor amp is a good match for them and is in the sub 100 price range but i couldnt find it anyplace online.  here is all i found:
http://www.amazon.com/Samson-Four-Channel-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0002I9S12/ref=sr_1_3?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1284865883&sr=8-3
 
would that amp work?
 
as far as the meets, i really dont know anyone on this forum or i would go.  do they have sources and everything to just test the headphones out?  and are these new headphones or burned in ones?  i would love to test the hd800's, but i still want to test out the 600s and 650s if i could.  i would go to a meet in philly but i dont see any for them.  if i knew what the meets looked like, etc i might make one i don't know.