[kman1211]

Yea, the change went almost unnoticed. Only small in terms of of the height of the pads and the way that they compress, but enough to make the HD650 sound a little less thick. Many complained of it being 'veiled' and the pads see that off really nowadays.

The only reason I noticed so much was that my old pads were really tired and I was too tight to buy new Senn ones. So I bought some cheaper Chinese ones. They were fairly low and I noticed that the sound wasn't quite so good. I stayed with it for a while but decided in the end to get the real thing. It made a big difference to the sound and when I mentioned it on DIYAH, Solderdude had already measured the new pads and compression levels and he described what I was hearing.

Yeah, it seems like it. Yeah, the HD 650 sounds less lush than my HD 600. It doesn't sound all that similar to my HD 600, it sounds more like the DT 150. I do like the HD 650 slightly more than the HD 600 but I also realized the HD 650 doesn't really have a place in my headphone stable. Honestly the HD 650 sounds too much like the DT 150, so I decided to return the HD 650 today because I like the DT 150 slightly more and the thing is closed. 

 

[iancraig10]

I use the DT150 a lot as a workhorse. Great headphone.

 

[lawrecedent]

I've perceived burn-in with some headphones, dacs, amps and most certainly tubes. I didn't notice a significant change in the 2 HD650s I've owned though. Wear on the pads and acclimatising to the HD650's flavour are likely reasons for the perceived changes people embellish.

I've owned two pairs of HD650 quite close to each other (sadly not close enough to A/B test them together). One were a used pair with many hours of use which I sold and a brand new pair which I have kept. I have not perceived directly any differences between them at all. What I loved about the original pair that I missed after having to sell them for financial reasons I still found in the second brand new pair. Probably 100 hours+ down the road the most significant changes have occured with changes in amp and dac. However, the colour and tone of the headphones remains the same to my (admittedly less than golden) ears.
Although I still would like to try some planars at some point in the future because I am interested in how that technology affects the sound I am training myself to be satisfied with my current set up. The HD650's really are that good and I'm finding upgrading is making less and less difference for larger and larger amounts of money. I'm going to be rational about this hobby and put the brakes on a bit to save my wallet

 

[lawrecedent]

Yes, you may hear a difference, but it may not be a big difference.

I would say definitely, running them out of my Note 3 at full volume they are still quite quiet with noticeable loss of dynamics and punch in the sound. I too was skeptical about the need for amps but that evaporated after my first amp purchase. Yes you can run the headphones without but you will only experience peak performance with more juice running through them.

 

[TeddyShot]

Just recieved my new Sennheiser HD 650s after waiting a month and a half from returning an older pair. The older pair was the one with the Silver Box packaging. After opening the new ones I was suprised to see a few small differences on the headphones from the previous pair I owned. The Main difference is the small square hologram is located on the right side instead of the left:


Old Pair


New Pair



Besides that the dampening material appears to be slightly darker silver compared to the older much brighter material, but that may just be from lighting conditions. Though you can't really tell in these photos since I had to put the headphones closer to the outside light due to poor lighting inside the room. Also there's a small center bump on each of the small panels that say "HD 650" that are located right below each side of the headband, but it is possible I didn't notice this before on the older ones I had.

 

[Billheiser]

So, in sum, no differences.

 

[MattTCG]

 
So, in sum, no differences.

 
lmao...

 

[TeddyShot]

So, in sum, no differences.

Yeah lol, it looks all cosmetic to me, just like the new packaging. But I'll see if there's any difference in sound once these properly burn in.

 

[Billheiser]

Yesterday my headphones were stolen, and the thief left an EXACT replica in its place.  I'm going to listen to it, after burn in, to see what subtle differences there will be.

 

[crafft]

mine don't have a hologram, must be a limited edition pair

 

[castleofargh]

as if a headphone was to sound good only after confirming it's a genuine pair. all this tells a lot about the subjective confidence in sound quality.

 

[HPiper]

They added the hologram to thwart would be counterfeit phones according to the website. I had no idea Sennheiser was having that much trouble with counterfeiters of their phones.

 

[donlin]

Yeah lol, it looks all cosmetic to me, just like the new packaging. But I'll see if there's any difference in sound once these properly burn in.

Give it at least 900 hours.

 

[castleofargh]

  They added the hologram to thwart would be counterfeit phones according to the website. I had no idea Sennheiser was having that much trouble with counterfeiters of their phones.

anything that sells well and for years is interesting to make copies of. you don't take the risk of the product's production being stopped after 3months, and the fakes are easier to hide in the middle of hundred of thousands originals around the world.
from a fake maker perspective, I guess I would try to copy every single senn product. (hoping I didn't put all my thief money on the hd700)

 

[Guidostrunk]

Lol

Give it at least 900 hours.