[disastermouse]

Yep same for me. The bass quality was always there but it seems the quatity has increased. Perhaps it's because the bass is more controlled now and therefore more distinct.


 


I'm not a fan of electronic music but sometimes I put on one of the 256kbps dance/techno/whatever stations my ISP streams and the bass has a tactile energy that I find amazing.

 
In my experience, 90% of techno/electronic music is really awful. The other 10% is brilliant!

I can appreciate any genre barring perhaps opera, if there is brilliance in it's creation. O have an anonymous Britney Spears/Shakira/Bee Gees mashup that is amazing. I don't like either 'artist' at all, but the mashup is amazing.

There are some amazing artists/songs that can only be realized with the electronic/techno genre.

 

[disastermouse]

 


Another voice to the fray. Like I've stated before, I believe the HD650 is incredibly dependent on your chain. I perceive quite a change not just rolling opamps but also switching to my RA-1 clone. It boggles my mind when I read people spew dribble when all they have to base it on is driving the HD650 from a portable amp or maybe a "sufficient" amp but from a crappy source. These headphones clearly illustrate the "crap in, crap out" mantra for me.

 
While I find them 'forgiving', there is more than enough clarity with HD 650s to illustrate low bit rates or bad mastering/mixdowns.

 

[harpua]

I'm really impressed with the combination I'm using (HD650's powered by the Nuforce Icon HDP connected to my computer's USB).  The DAC and HP amp in the HDP sound to me way above their price and seem like they were designed for the HD650's.  Excellent synergy, imo.  I find it hard to believe one could do better for a DAC and headphone amp (plus preamp outs) for the $449 the HDP lists for.  Together (playing lossless files) they produce the best sound I've ever heard, (with the possible exception of my Definitive BP2000 speakers when I had the room to have them properly set up, which unfortunately is no longer the case).  So the HD650's and the HDP rescued me. 
 
Although they were great right out of the box, both the 650's and the HDP seemed to get a lot better after about 300 or so hours of use.  And they still seem to be getting better to me. 
 
So for someone who has a $500 budget for HP amp & DAC, I highly recommend the $449 HDP.  (When I got mine, I used a coupon at Crutchfield to get an extra $20 off, so paid only $429 plus free shipping.  Maybe it's still available.)  Anyway, I think the HDP is probably the best audio purchase I've ever made, (aside from the HD650's of course)!

 

[5tranger]

Quote:

I'm really impressed with the combination I'm using (HD650's powered by the Nuforce Icon HDP connected to my computer's USB).  The DAC and HP amp in the HDP sound to me way above their price and seem like they were designed for the HD650's.  Excellent synergy, imo.  I find it hard to believe one could do better for a DAC and headphone amp (plus preamp outs) for the $449 the HDP lists for.  Together (playing lossless files) they produce the best sound I've ever heard, (with the possible exception of my Definitive BP2000 speakers when I had the room to have them properly set up, which unfortunately is no longer the case).  So the HD650's and the HDP rescued me. 
 
Although they were great right out of the box, both the 650's and the HDP seemed to get a lot better after about 300 or so hours of use.  And they still seem to be getting better to me. 
 
So for someone who has a $500 budget for HP amp & DAC, I highly recommend the $449 HDP.  (When I got mine, I used a coupon at Crutchfield to get an extra $20 off, so paid only $429 plus free shipping.  Maybe it's still available.)  Anyway, I think the HDP is probably the best audio purchase I've ever made, (aside from the HD650's of course)!

Heh thanks for the info, I am looking to purchase the exact combo (HD 650 and HDP) in the near future and your post makes me can't wait
 

 

[Nebakanezzar]

WOW! picked up a pair of older version HD650, these things sound amazing! now for an amp...

 

[olor1n]

Quote:

I'm really impressed with the combination I'm using (HD650's powered by the Nuforce Icon HDP connected to my computer's USB).  The DAC and HP amp in the HDP sound to me way above their price and seem like they were designed for the HD650's.  Excellent synergy, imo.  I find it hard to believe one could do better for a DAC and headphone amp (plus preamp outs) for the $449 the HDP lists for.  Together (playing lossless files) they produce the best sound I've ever heard, (with the possible exception of my Definitive BP2000 speakers when I had the room to have them properly set up, which unfortunately is no longer the case).  So the HD650's and the HDP rescued me. 
 
Although they were great right out of the box, both the 650's and the HDP seemed to get a lot better after about 300 or so hours of use.  And they still seem to be getting better to me. 
 
So for someone who has a $500 budget for HP amp & DAC, I highly recommend the $449 HDP.  (When I got mine, I used a coupon at Crutchfield to get an extra $20 off, so paid only $429 plus free shipping.  Maybe it's still available.)  Anyway, I think the HDP is probably the best audio purchase I've ever made, (aside from the HD650's of course)!

I'm glad you enjoy your setup but I feel it would be a disservice to not metion the Audio-GD Fun,Sparrow and NFB11/12, particularly the smaller NFB models if you're on a tighter budget (the 11 has an ES9018 dac while the 12 has dual WM8741). Only issue is that they're working through a huge back order at the moment.

 

[sphinxvc]

Sigh, I'm hoping my decision to order the Audio GD Fun over the HDP was the right one.  It's been over a week and I still haven't gotten a tracking number yet!  I keep oogling over the HDPs transportable-ness.  Desktop / Bedroom / Vacation rig all in one.  If it weren't for the reviews claiming the HDPs sound a bit bright I would've ordered one.  On the bright side, my HD650s are right around the corner.

 

[disastermouse]

Quote:

Sigh, I'm hoping my decision to order the Audio GD Fun over the HDP was the right one.  It's been over a week and I still haven't gotten a tracking number yet!  I keep oogling over the HDPs transportable-ness.  Desktop / Bedroom / Vacation rig all in one.  If it weren't for the reviews claiming the HDPs sound a bit bright I would've ordered one.  On the bright side, my HD650s are right around the corner.

Don't agonize - you'll soon be trying other stuff too.  This will likely not be your final purchase of an Amp/DAC if you really get into this hobby.

 

[olor1n]

Yep. Irrespective of what others say about the HDP or what I state about the Fun (yes I have been very vocal) at the end of the day only you can determine what's right for your ears. You may not even like the HD650's sound signature

.

 

[jaakked]

Yes!
 
X2

 

[jaakked]

Sorry for my enthusiasm,I was referring to the HDP.
 
Love it with my HD650s.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Don't agonize - you'll soon be trying other stuff too.  This will likely not be your final purchase of an Amp/DAC if you really get into this hobby.

 And it will all end in tears and tinnitus.

 

[pigmode]

On eBay the main "authorized" dealer with the deals right now is sonic_sense-pro_audio, with their auctions starting at $332.75.
 
 
 

 

[harpua]

Quote:

Sigh, I'm hoping my decision to order the Audio GD Fun over the HDP was the right one.  It's been over a week and I still haven't gotten a tracking number yet!  I keep oogling over the HDPs transportable-ness.  Desktop / Bedroom / Vacation rig all in one.  If it weren't for the reviews claiming the HDPs sound a bit bright I would've ordered one.  On the bright side, my HD650s are right around the corner.

I think the brightness thing wrt the HDP may have been overstated a bit.  Imo, the HDP is very detailed and transparent, with good sense of air and space, plus a nice deep sound stage. The bass has great extension and impact, with rich mids and sparkley crisp treble, to be sure. But yet overall it's still a little to the warm side of neutral, imo, especially after it has been well and truly burned in.  The sparkley crisp treble (I guess that's what some have quite reasonably referred to as "brightness") is also part of what makes the HDP synergize particularly well with the HD650's, imo. 
 
I'm not sure of the price of the Audio GD Fun or other options and have no idea how they compare.  I'm just saying that I think the HDP is a great deal for someone who wants to spend around $500 (or a bit less) on a combo DAC/HP-amp (with pre-amp outs and a variety of input options) that has particularly good synergy with the HD650s.   I only brought it up because I thought someone specifically mentioned a budget of $500 somewhere back a ways and I thought the HDP was a pretty good fit with that.
 
The small form factor is a great bonus that was especially important for me because I plan to take it along with my laptop and HD650's whenever I travel.  (Don't want to ever be without them for very long anymore.)  Also, I currently have very little room on my cramped and already crowded desktop, so that was another important consideration for me.  It's all worked out very well and I wouldn't have known about either the HDP or the Senns if not for this great forum.

 

[Blisse]

I died listening to bad quality Youtube videos. I love these headphones.
 
I'm also considering the HDP, but figure I can hold off any more major purchases until later. I'm using the uDac-2, and quite liking it, but I feel like I'm missing something.