Quadfather
Headphoneus Supremus
I have heard of big Russian and little Russian tubes for the bottlehead crack... Does anyone know those model numbers? And what brand?
Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread
- Thread starter tangsta
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Tuneslover
Headphoneus Supremus
My Massdrop Dekoni ear pads arrived earlier today. Inside the shipping carton I found a really nice Dekoni carton containing the Elite Velour ear pads. The ear pads appear to be very well constructed covered in a tighter weave velour than the fuzzier looking stock Sennheiser pads. Pad thickness is comparable to my NEW HD6XX pads. Construction and design however are quite different.
The Dekoni pads have distinct side walls that protrude straight out of the ear cups. Stitched to the front of these sidewalls is another piece of velour that is flat encircling the oval which presses against your face. This oval flat piece of velour encircling the sidewalls is about 3/4" wide. By comparison the Sennheiser ear pads fan out from the cups with their rounded doughnut type of shape versus the squared off Dekoni design. The Dekoni pads have a slightly narrower opening measuring only 1.5" as compared with the Sennheiser opening width of 1.75". Opening length looks to be about the same for both designs at around 2.5". Due to the slightly narrower Dekoni pad opening it seems like my ears have slightly less room than with the Sennheiser pads, however I simply adjust/wiggle my HD650 (with the Dekoni pads) a tiny bit to ensure that my slightly larger than average ears are properly nestled into the openings.
Dekoni uses memory foam versus whatever foam material is being used in the stock Sennheiser ear pads. The Dekoni foam isn't as firm as the Sennheiser foam. When squishing both makes of pads, the Dekoni ear pads are more easily compressed but due to memory foam the rebound is slow compared to instant rebound you get with the Sennheiser pads. Due to the different construction design of the Dekoni pads, the wide flat face portion of the velour presses evenly against the sides of your face while the sidewalls absorb the clamp force which creates a very good seal. By comparison the Sennheiser pads have a thinner "edge" of the pad coming into contact with the face however the clamp force of the headphone causes the rounded doughnut "side wall" to flatten out across your face to create the seal. Perhaps due to this Sennheiser pad construction design, as well as, the foam material itself there is a more "violent" crushing pressure on the foam in order to achieve the necessary seal. This technique may be why the Sennheiser pads, or more specifically the foam to wear out relatively quick. My 3 year old Sennheiser pads aren't as thick as my new HD6XX pads and they are nowhere as firm either. In fact they are incredibly mushy collapsing onto the plastic connector ring that snaps into the ear cups. As a result the distance between driver and ear opening has collapsed creating less chamber volume.
Construction wise the Dekoni ear pads appear to be sturdier but I suppose time will tell how long they end up lasting. Price wise the Massdrop version of these pads ended up costing $40.99 U.S. which included the cost of shipping (to Canada). For whatever reason there was no tax or brokerage fee charged at Canada Customs (as there was when I purchased the Massdrop HD6XX) so in Canadian dollars these ear pads cost me approximately $53 which made them less expensive had I ordered the stock pads from Sennheiser Canada.
As for a comparison in sound quality between the Dekoni and Sennheiser pads I'm going to discuss that in another posting once I have had more time with both.
The Dekoni pads have distinct side walls that protrude straight out of the ear cups. Stitched to the front of these sidewalls is another piece of velour that is flat encircling the oval which presses against your face. This oval flat piece of velour encircling the sidewalls is about 3/4" wide. By comparison the Sennheiser ear pads fan out from the cups with their rounded doughnut type of shape versus the squared off Dekoni design. The Dekoni pads have a slightly narrower opening measuring only 1.5" as compared with the Sennheiser opening width of 1.75". Opening length looks to be about the same for both designs at around 2.5". Due to the slightly narrower Dekoni pad opening it seems like my ears have slightly less room than with the Sennheiser pads, however I simply adjust/wiggle my HD650 (with the Dekoni pads) a tiny bit to ensure that my slightly larger than average ears are properly nestled into the openings.
Dekoni uses memory foam versus whatever foam material is being used in the stock Sennheiser ear pads. The Dekoni foam isn't as firm as the Sennheiser foam. When squishing both makes of pads, the Dekoni ear pads are more easily compressed but due to memory foam the rebound is slow compared to instant rebound you get with the Sennheiser pads. Due to the different construction design of the Dekoni pads, the wide flat face portion of the velour presses evenly against the sides of your face while the sidewalls absorb the clamp force which creates a very good seal. By comparison the Sennheiser pads have a thinner "edge" of the pad coming into contact with the face however the clamp force of the headphone causes the rounded doughnut "side wall" to flatten out across your face to create the seal. Perhaps due to this Sennheiser pad construction design, as well as, the foam material itself there is a more "violent" crushing pressure on the foam in order to achieve the necessary seal. This technique may be why the Sennheiser pads, or more specifically the foam to wear out relatively quick. My 3 year old Sennheiser pads aren't as thick as my new HD6XX pads and they are nowhere as firm either. In fact they are incredibly mushy collapsing onto the plastic connector ring that snaps into the ear cups. As a result the distance between driver and ear opening has collapsed creating less chamber volume.
Construction wise the Dekoni ear pads appear to be sturdier but I suppose time will tell how long they end up lasting. Price wise the Massdrop version of these pads ended up costing $40.99 U.S. which included the cost of shipping (to Canada). For whatever reason there was no tax or brokerage fee charged at Canada Customs (as there was when I purchased the Massdrop HD6XX) so in Canadian dollars these ear pads cost me approximately $53 which made them less expensive had I ordered the stock pads from Sennheiser Canada.
As for a comparison in sound quality between the Dekoni and Sennheiser pads I'm going to discuss that in another posting once I have had more time with both.
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Jazzthat
New Head-Fier
I have had hd650's for a while , challenging them from an android phone through denon da10 and landing at Marantz hd dac 1 .
These two fellows deliver outstanding dynamics , details and musicality wrapped in a space sound.
I said before here... I have stopped searching for nirvana that is in your head .
Love it !
These two fellows deliver outstanding dynamics , details and musicality wrapped in a space sound.
I said before here... I have stopped searching for nirvana that is in your head .
Love it !
Scutey
Headphoneus Supremus
I too can only agree with the above sentiment.
Tuneslover
Headphoneus Supremus
I have spent the last few days listening to my HD650's with the Massdrop Dekoni Elite Velour ear pads and I must say that I am very happy with this purchase. Comfort, quality and sound are very much to my liking. I have limited my comparison time against my HD6XX with the stock Sennheiser pads because after originally receiving the HD6XX I found that there was a difference in sound between both headphones (even when I traded ear pads between both headphones). I was expecting the HD6XX to sound identical to the HD650 but the HD6XX just sounded a bit brighter to me in the high frequency region. So my intent of doing an informed comparison between ear pads may not be that useful.
However since I did in fact do some comparisons I will offer my thoughts. My set up consisted of Spotify>Bifrost 4490>Lake People G109S. The G109 has 2 headphone outputs which allows for relatively quick switching between headphones. The biggest difference between them is primarily in the bass region in that the Dekoni goes deeper with more body. Also, the soundscape is slightly different in that the Dekoni sounds a bit more intimate, up-close and more personal. The high frequency is ever so softer with Dekoni pads (with the HD650) but this may be because I found the HD6XX brighter sounding from the start. To be clear, there is nothing offensive in sound with either headphone and respective ear pads, both sound excellent but they are easily distinguishable from one another. Do I have a preference? Not really, both are pleasing in their own way however I still prefer a more laid back sound that allows me to listen for extended periods of time without getting listening fatigue so in that regard I might give a slight nod to the HD650 with Dekoni ear pads.
Since receiving my HD6XX I have been predominantly using it with my bedside setup (FiiO X5ii>Modi MB>Project Ember) where I find the HD6XX brighter quality is nicely tempered by the warmish amplification of the hybrid tube of the Ember. Conversely the HD650 with Dekoni ear pads sound very satisfying on my brighter sounding solid state Lake People and Jotunheim amps. So for me I am very satisfied with this configuration of gear and headphones.
I would like to offer just a few more thoughts regarding the Dekoni ear pads. First off, without hesitation I have to say that I really like how my 650's sound with the Dekoni ear pads. They do sound more up front but because the soundscape may not be quite as expansive I feel that I can hear the music a bit more deeply as if I were on stage with the musicians (if that makes any kind of sense). Furthermore, I must admit that I like the slightly more noticeable bass that offers up a bit more punch. It's not overbearing or tubby sounding, in fact it's distinct and tight. The mids sound slightly recessed with the Lake People amp but just fine with my brighter sounding Bimby/Jotunheim combo.
In conclusion, my motivation to try these ear pads was to experiment with what appears to be a better quality (construction wise) product with a different design yet more logical approach. The Dekoni ear pads are physically quite a significant departure from the traditional ("cheapish"??) stock Sennheiser ear pads. Such a dramatic change in ear pads will undoubtedly present a different sound and it does but not as significant as one might think. Although making comparisons is fun and informative, I believe judging a component on it's own merit is what really matters and most importantly how that sound is interpreted by your ears, mind and soul.
As some of you may know I purchased the Loki and have been playing around with it for about a month now on a couple of my setups. Although I like to keep things simple and pure I certainly was intrigued by this equalizer when released by Schiit. Back in the 1970's equalizers were pretty common and I did have a Soundcraftsman that I had on my 2 channel speaker system. So almost from a nostalgic perspective I couldn't resist getting my hands on one of these Loki's. I must admit this little thing is a lot of fun to play with and has a surprisingly good effect. Specifically, I was able to tailor the sound of my HD650's (with my flattened stock 3 year old Senn pads) so much so that they nicely compensated the sound deficiency from those sad sack flattened pads. It's hard to resist going a little overboard with sound tailoring but that's where the default switch on the Loki allows you to get a grip on reality. Thank goodness there are only 4 adjustments knobs! So the reason I brought this device up is that if anyone is considering but is worried about trying the Dekoni pads, I believe that the Loki does a pretty admirable job of modifying the tone of the HD650 enough so to satisfy most. My Loki is currently residing in the 2 channel speaker setup in our living room (which is where I also have my Lake People headphone amp) and this little puppy has helped "correct/improve" the room induced issues to our satisfaction.
So in a nutshell I give the Dekoni Elite Velour ear pads a solid thumbs up. If interested then watch for the next Massdrop offering, I'm most likely going to grab another pair.
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ibage
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I realize it's most likely already been asked, answered, and asked several (possibly hundred) more times, but my HD600 is in dire need of new pads. Does anyone have any recommendations? Im hesitant to go with eBay or Amazon in fear of counterfeit items.
jarnopp
Headphoneus Supremus
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However, if you want to keep the same tuning, you NEED to get the stock pads from Sennheiser.
ibage
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Bah, thanks. I should have seen that...See the post above yours
DJtheAudiophile
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what is a good modern dac and amp under $200 that can power speakers and hd 650 properly?
An interesting request and I'd love to see the recommendations
cswann1
Headphoneus Supremus
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A used AV receiver! I'm serious.
Jazzthat
New Head-Fier
An AV receiver wouldnt cut for me. I have marantz sr7007 which was a flagship a while ago and sadly i must say it just sound so so.
But if on budget an AV is probably best option . On the other hand with AV receiver you will never know how good HD650 really are.
DJtheAudiophile
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what dac and amp would you recommend under $400?
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