[ccash]

Burn-in log #2. Stardate, well, you can see the date.
 
I'm at 75 hours. The 3-6 kHz region is becoming pronounced to the point that they're getting a little harsh with some material at higher volumes, but this is actually a good sign to me -- it says that things are changing. The bass is slightly tightening up and becoming less mushy. Lack of treble sparkle has not changed.
 
Does this sound in line with what some of you have experienced at 50--100 hours? Of course, I could just be full of crap, or maybe my ears are hearing a little differently today.

 

[Solrighal]

That's pretty much my experience. Something seems to happen around 200 hours though that's very obvious to me. There is much better seperation at this point.

 

[Hellenback]

Originally Posted by joebobbilly /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

Had the E09K/E17 combo for the HD650 for a while... it's honestly very solid indeed for the price to performance ratio at the time of it's release. That said though... the HD650 can scale up more and get better... my own personal experience with the Lyr+Bifrost and Mjolnir+Gungnir can confirm this.
 
As to the whole balanced thing... just let your ears decide. Please refrain from posting links to this study blah blah and that study if you haven't experienced it yourself... that stuff belongs in the sound science thread anyways. Perhaps the science behind the aspect of "balancing" an amp doesn't (on it's own) provide benefits... perhaps the amps that are balanced are simply built better... but from an experiential standpoint, for the 2 balanced amps I have listened to (older Headroom balanced amp and Schiit mjolnir)... both did indeed present very black backgrounds and noticeable benefits to thesoundstage. Thus it would be fair to say that the HD650 seems to play well with balanced amps.

 
Thanks for your comment. Although I know it was not specifically directed at or related to mine, I really didn't feel like arguing science with links as it's pointless. I'm not an audio scientist/engineer so pretty much just go with what sounds best within my price range.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

That's pretty much my experience. Something seems to happen around 200 hours though that's very obvious to me. There is much better speciation at this point.

 
I am amazed at how quickly you reached 200 hours...

 

[Vinylman98]

Hi,
 
I have a question about my older pair of 650's. I have had these for about 7-8 years now
and they have the older dark colored drivers. Has anyone updated their headphones
to the new light colored driver and was there any appreciable difference?
 
Another question. Has anyone tried the HD-600 drivers? I just wanted to try
something different possibly.

 

[Solrighal]

I am amazed at how quickly you reached 200 hours...

That's less than ten days on repeat.

 

[MattTCG]

I'll make a quick post about my findings with a new pre-amp I have on loan. I'll try to keep my excitement in check as I'm pretty impressed by this one. Most of you know that I'm a big proponent of the Crack amp and feel that it is the amp to pair with the 650 if you want to extract every last bit of performance from this setup. 
 
Over the weekend I attended a small meet here in Atlanta and got to try the "Quickie" by bottlehead. The is a simple battery powered preamp that comes in a kit like all the other BH stuff. I was very skeptical about the quickie tbh. I didn't like the idea of disposable battery. And then, this may sound trite, but I didn't want to muck up my desk with more gear and more cables. 
 
The changes with the quickie came in two parts...better sound stage and improved sub bass impact. The sound stage improvement is modest but appreciable. The real change is in the sub bass. There were two of us who heard the quickie in front of the crack. I brought the 650 and he had the 600. We both had the same reaction. We couldn't believe the change. 
 
The member who brought the quickie was gracious enough to loan it to me and I'm in the process on doing some real testing at home in a quite environment. 
 
More to come...

 

[Solrighal]

Interesting. So is this the Quickie + Crack or Quickie on its own?

 

[MattTCG]

The Quickie is a pre-amp and has no hp out. It must be connected in front of an amp in the chain. I've been testing for about a day. Another day or so and I'll put it in front of the lyr and see how it does there. I'd like to test on my speaker setup as well. 

 

[element23]

Have been using HD650 for a year, I use them much more frequent than my T5p! Now I decide to sell my T5p
 
HD650 is much more comfort than T5p to me!

 

[Mad Max]

  Hi,
 
I have a question about my older pair of 650's. I have had these for about 7-8 years now
and they have the older dark colored drivers. Has anyone updated their headphones
to the new light colored driver and was there any appreciable difference?
 
Another question. Has anyone tried the HD-600 drivers? I just wanted to try
something different possibly.

 
You can try upgrading if you want, and newer drivers will most likely last 7-8 years longer than the ones that you currently have, hahaha.  I've read that the older drivers sound a bit "slower" or something.  It's probably only a few slight differences overall.
 
I wouldn't bother with HD600 drivers if you already have 650.  If you want something different, try HD700, T90, T1, or HD800 instead.  You can also revive your HD650 with new earpads if the ones that you have are very squished and worn.

 

[B-Dawk20]

I dunno what I'll do if my 650's don't come in tomorrow T______T. I need them!

 

[Krutsch]

  Burn-in log #2. Stardate, well, you can see the date.
 
I'm at 75 hours. The 3-6 kHz region is becoming pronounced to the point that they're getting a little harsh with some material at higher volumes, but this is actually a good sign to me -- it says that things are changing. The bass is slightly tightening up and becoming less mushy. Lack of treble sparkle has not changed.
 
Does this sound in line with what some of you have experienced at 50--100 hours? Of course, I could just be full of crap, or maybe my ears are hearing a little differently today.

 
I didn't know I was supposed to be logging my hours w/ my new 650s 

 
After, let's say 25 hours of listening, I went back to my Grado RS2i to compare recent tracks.  Wow, what a difference.  Lots of signature Grado detail, initially, but then I was quickly reaching for the volume knob to dial down the harsh, bright sound.
 
The journey...

 

[Lorspeaker]

  I'll make a quick post about my findings with a new pre-amp I have on loan. I'll try to keep my excitement in check as I'm pretty impressed by this one. Most of you know that I'm a big proponent of the Crack amp and feel that it is the amp to pair with the 650 if you want to extract every last bit of performance from this setup. 
 
Over the weekend I attended a small meet here in Atlanta and got to try the "Quickie" by bottlehead. The is a simple battery powered preamp that comes in a kit like all the other BH stuff. I was very skeptical about the quickie tbh. I didn't like the idea of disposable battery. And then, this may sound trite, but I didn't want to muck up my desk with more gear and more cables. 
 
The changes with the quickie came in two parts...better sound stage and improved sub bass impact. The sound stage improvement is modest but appreciable. The real change is in the sub bass. There were two of us who heard the quickie in front of the crack. I brought the 650 and he had the 600. We both had the same reaction. We couldn't believe the change. 
 
The member who brought the quickie was gracious enough to loan it to me and I'm in the process on doing some real testing at home in a quite environment. 
 
More to come...

 
I have something like this on my hd650 setup...it is a CSP2+  as a pre-amp to a dv336se
The soundstage can be altered by using the vol knob on either one of the two tubeamps
Loads of FUN !! 
 
( for those who have spare amps lying around, plug it into the chain n give it a whirl ) 

 

[HiSenn5]

  Hi,
 
I have a question about my older pair of 650's. I have had these for about 7-8 years now
and they have the older dark colored drivers. Has anyone updated their headphones
to the new light colored driver and was there any appreciable difference?
 
Another question. Has anyone tried the HD-600 drivers? I just wanted to try
something different possibly.

Burn-In = Pads. There is no difference between the "old" and the "new" ones.