[ohcrapgorillas]

Hey all, I got my HD650 used a while ago and the padding on the top of the headband is basically flattened. I already bought the $20 replacement snap-on pad that fits on Grados and Sennheisers and etc. but I'm using it for my Grados and I don't wanna have two of the same (as ridiculous as that may sound). I'm looking for something to else replace the padding on the top of the headband without having to drop $100+ on a brand new headband from Sennheiser. Any ideas or hacks?

 

[JamieMcC]

Hi all just listed my Crack in the classifieds as have started building my Bottlehead Sex now if anyone is interested or knows someone who might be its been a super match for my HD650's and Beyer T1
 

 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/732374/bottle-head-crack-240v-custom-build
 
Cheers
 
Jamie

 

[Sonic Defender]

  After (unintentionally...) derailing another thread talking about these headphones, I thought I might ask a question here.   How dramatic is the effect that the HD650's curved impedance plot creates with a high output impedance amplifier like the Bottlehead Crack?  The curve should mean that the highs are brought out and the mid-bass increases, but I am struggling to find an answer for how dramatic the effect is.

When I used the Auditor and 650 (Auditor has I think a 9ohm output impedance) I noticed no ill effects, and as I stated before, I quite liked the combination. I sometimes wonder if the effect of impedance mismatching isn't perhaps a little over-stated. I also used a Valhalla and HF2 which on paper would suffer from mismatching, but again I very much liked the combination.

 

[alv4426]

Sennheiser sells replacement foam for like $10. You have to call them though.

 

[new reformation]

When I used the Auditor and 650 (Auditor has I think a 9ohm output impedance) I noticed no ill effects, and as I stated before, I quite liked the combination. I sometimes wonder if the effect of impedance mismatching isn't perhaps a little over-stated. I also used a Valhalla and HF2 which on paper would suffer from mismatching, but again I very much liked the combination.

Thanks for the feedback! I am not really worried about high output impedance amps being mismatched. These cans seem to be designed to use their impedance curve to boost treble and mid-bass. From what I understand, the higher the output impedance the greater the effect. If the auditor had only 9ohm O.I. than I would expect very little change. Basically, the lower the damping factor the greater the effect. Can anyone share their experience with this theory in practice?

 

[castleofargh]

 

  After (unintentionally...) derailing another thread talking about these headphones, I thought I might ask a question here.   How dramatic is the effect that the HD650's curved impedance plot creates with a high output impedance amplifier like the Bottlehead Crack?  The curve should mean that the highs are brought out and the mid-bass increases, but I am struggling to find an answer for how dramatic the effect is.

When I used the Auditor and 650 (Auditor has I think a 9ohm output impedance) I noticed no ill effects, and as I stated before, I quite liked the combination. I sometimes wonder if the effect of impedance mismatching isn't perhaps a little over-stated. I also used a Valhalla and HF2 which on paper would suffer from mismatching, but again I very much liked the combination.

with 9ohm cutting corners and taking 1v for 100db instead of whatever it really is(closer to 0.7v if memory serves), then you shouldn't expect more than 0.1 or 0.2db change in signature. damping factor is good with 9ohm vs 300ohm mini for the headphone, so I would say that you clearly over-estimated what it was supposed to do. 

 
with the Crack the difference from impedance shouldn't be much more than one DB on the bass bump. can't really tell for trebles as the graphs stop after 10 or 12khz. but I think I can safely say that the sound of that amp has more to do with whatever tube is on it, than the headphone FR variation from impedance.
it's the kind of product I would never buy, but a lot of people said it was a great amp for senn headphones. with all the subjectivity that involves, as obviously we're not talking high fidelity signal amplification here, but rather how much people like the resulting sound.
 
 
ps: when we look at something like the shure846 IEM for example, it's another story and the changes will be of several DB with just a little output impedance from the amp. so we can't just look at a graph without checking the magnitude of the values.
 
 
hf2, grado or ety? ^_^

 

[Hokieboy01]

  For anyone looking, I just noticed that these are on sale at Amazon for $387.95
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00018MSNI/ref=s9_simh_gw_p267_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=11JHS297QJ7VGGMRV5S3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

They just went back to 500$
I was so close to pulling the trigger on them.

 

[Amictus]

  Just have to poke my head in and say how much I absolutely adore my 650's.  I've had them for about 4 years now, and they still absolutely blow me away with their precision.  Best pair of headphones I've ever bought in my life.  I use ATH-M50's at work, and while they're nice and don't require an amp, coming home after a long day to throw on the 650's being run by a Schiit audio Bifrost DAC to a Valhalla tube amp, I can't describe the feeling other than pure bliss.  The DAC is a relatively new implementation in my setup as I was running a NuForce Icon for a while as both an amp and DAC, then the Icon into the Valhalla.  Now its straight Schiit and wow, the 650's shine.  Anyways, just wanted to come in and let a few of my impressions go.  I listen to almost exclusively electronic music and nothing has come close to the 650's in terms of clarity and precision as well as overall balance.  

I have spent a straight Schiit evening listening to the HD650s from the Oppo 103 > Gungnir > Lyr with Orange Globes. Worked for Rudolf Serkin and me. Shine; indeed.

 

[icomrade]

  They just went back to 500$
I was so close to pulling the trigger on them.

Contact Amazon support (I'd recommend email, don't call), and explain that before you went to work they were priced at 387.xx or w/e and when you were ready to purchase they had risen back to 500. Essentially ask for a price match (it's worked for me in the past, actually, with this exact item), but give some story or background to play into the rep's empathy.

 

[Krutsch]

  Contact Amazon support (I'd recommend email, don't call), and explain that before you went to work they were priced at 387.xx or w/e and when you were ready to purchase they had risen back to 500. Essentially ask for a price match (it's worked for me in the past, actually, with this exact item), but give some story or background to play into the rep's empathy.

 
Here's another thing to try that's worked for me, when the price is fluctuating like that.  Put it on your wish list (not in the cart) and check it again off-hours with respect to normal shopping times (late at night or early in the AM).  Unless the lister was a one-off, and they're gone, it will move back down again.  I noticed earlier that the listing was direct from Amazon, so you can count on another price drop if you can catch it.
 
I do like @icomrade 's suggestion to call... haven't tried that one.

 

[Hokieboy01]

Thanks for the suggestions. I just checked the used sales and found there is a good price(350) from a reputable seller this time.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

  Sennheiser sells replacement foam for like $10. You have to call them though.

Ah good to know, thanks for the tip

 

[Sonic Defender]

Just curious what people think. Do you feel the 650 is worth $500 new in todays marketplace? I'm not shopping now, just trying to gauge where the Senn aficionados who frequent this thread place the 650 in terms of what price do you feel the cost to performance ratio is solid. Thoughts?   

 

[fallingreason]

  Just curious what people think. Do you feel the 650 is worth $500 new in todays marketplace? I'm not shopping now, just trying to gauge where the Senn aficionados who frequent this thread place the 650 in terms of what price do you feel the cost to performance ratio is solid. Thoughts?   

Yes, especially if you like dynamics.  The lower priced ortho's are giving them a run for their money, but they do not have the the liquid organic sound Senn's have. 
 
If you like the Senn Sound, the 650's with an upgraded cable sound superb for the money, even at MSRP.

 

[Hokieboy01]

  Just curious what people think. Do you feel the 650 is worth $500 new in todays marketplace? I'm not shopping now, just trying to gauge where the Senn aficionados who frequent this thread place the 650 in terms of what price do you feel the cost to performance ratio is solid. Thoughts?   

At least you aren't going to get a biased opinion here.