[Mr Rick]

 
Love the last line, I'm the same way, proper tools for the job!

And if the tool doesn't fit the job you can always give it to a GF.

 

[chuckwheat]

  And if the tool doesn't fit the job you can always give it to a GF.

Unless she is also looking for the right one in your collection for the job XD.

 

[pietcux]

  Give me 10 years, I'll tell ya then. XD
 
I've heard multiple people say that over many many hours, they sound more refined and open. How long of age are you thinking?

10 years probably, because the driver is a little bit long in the tooth.....
 

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  What can I say, I'm a Beyerdynamic fanboy...

 
That's all I needed to read...

 

[YtseJamer]

Wow the HD650 are only $279 @ BuySonic today!  (I bought one pair 

)
 
https://www.buysonic.com/products/sennheiser-hd-650/

 

[DavidA]

  Wow the HD650 are only $279 @ BuySonic today!  (I bought one pair 

)
 
https://www.buysonic.com/products/sennheiser-hd-650/

Just ordered a second one for my son, said he liked it better than the EL8 that a friend of his has.

 

[Kodhifi]

I think I hit a nerve.
 
Megaphone out "Attention lovers of HD650. Nobody is saying it's a bad headphone. Your cornflakes contain milk and corn and flakes, no pee."
 
I didn't know how old the Beyerdynamic drivers are, that's pretty cool. You can also own them for less than $200, or if you like metal accents you can splurge on the $300 premium range. My personal opinion is that given the 650 is the same price as something like the newly designed and mass produced HE400, it's got stiffer competition than it did say 10 years ago when it was new. That maybe if they ditched the display box and chopped the price, they would sell more and people would feel like they were getting a better headphone to dollar ratio. Especially when many of you state you absolutely need a $500 Lyr amp to make them shine. I'm not trying to upset anybody, but if you took away my headphone collection, gave me $300 and said "buy 1 pair" I'd buy the HE400s,
 
Lets keep it civil, I like the 650's they are well rounded and fit well in my collection, and I think they aren't such a great bang for the buck, especially when amping is considered. My opinion, yours may differ.

 

[raybone0566]

The 650's aren't the only cans that require amping. Mid tier and high end cans need adequate amping to reach full potential.

 

[Shaffer]

I think I hit a nerve.

Megaphone out "Attention lovers of HD650. Nobody is saying it's a bad headphone. Your cornflakes contain milk and corn and flakes, no pee."

I didn't know how old the Beyerdynamic drivers are, that's pretty cool. You can also own them for less than $200, or if you like metal accents you can splurge on the $300 premium range. My personal opinion is that given the 650 is the same price as something like the newly designed and mass produced HE400, it's got stiffer competition than it did say 10 years ago when it was new. That maybe if they ditched the display box and chopped the price, they would sell more and people would feel like they were getting a better headphone to dollar ratio. Especially when many of you state you absolutely need a $500 Lyr amp to make them shine. I'm not trying to upset anybody, but if you took away my headphone collection, gave me $300 and said "buy 1 pair" I'd buy the HE400s,

Lets keep it civil, I like the 650's they are well rounded and fit well in my collection, and I think they aren't such a great bang for the buck, especially when amping is considered. My opinion, yours may differ.

Maybe if you had a real amplifier, a comparable source and source material, folks would take your impressions more seriously. Just sayin'.

 

[Rdrcr]

  I think I hit a nerve.
 
Megaphone out "Attention lovers of HD650. Nobody is saying it's a bad headphone. Your cornflakes contain milk and corn and flakes, no pee."
 
I didn't know how old the Beyerdynamic drivers are, that's pretty cool. You can also own them for less than $200, or if you like metal accents you can splurge on the $300 premium range. My personal opinion is that given the 650 is the same price as something like the newly designed and mass produced HE400, it's got stiffer competition than it did say 10 years ago when it was new. That maybe if they ditched the display box and chopped the price, they would sell more and people would feel like they were getting a better headphone to dollar ratio. Especially when many of you state you absolutely need a $500 Lyr amp to make them shine. I'm not trying to upset anybody, but if you took away my headphone collection, gave me $300 and said "buy 1 pair" I'd buy the HE400s,
 
Lets keep it civil, I like the 650's they are well rounded and fit well in my collection, and I think they aren't such a great bang for the buck, especially when amping is considered. My opinion, yours may differ.

Well, I hated the HD650 sound when paired with the EF-2A and my Yamaha receiver was only marginally better.  
 
Didn't like the HD650 until I paired it with the NuForce HA-200.
 
Sadly, I haven't heard the HE400's so I can't compare.
 
Mike

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Thanks for the impressions vs planars. Speaking to Take Five specifically, I have to say that the cymbals are the most thrilling part of this recording for me. What I've personally found is that listening on vinyl with an ortofon bronze cartridge, the cymbals sound much better than any flac recording I've downloaded. I don't disagree that the ring may sound clearer on planars, but I would also suggest that they would also be breath taking with the 650s and a good amplifier. I use the Woo WA2 with Tung Sol 7236 tubes and find the high end to be very nice.

All of this talk of veiled mids also makes me question how exactly they're veiled. I will say that a lot of newer headphones have artificially boosted certain frequencies, which leads to exaggerated details, but I really disagree that the midrange of the 650s is veiled. I do agree about the visceral impact of the bass with these cans... The bass is already exaggerated as is, but people want it to hit harder, which is fine. I personally don't.

Would you personally say the HE's have non-veiled mids? I found the midrange of the HE-500s to be not as nice or satisfying as the 650s, but I did hear different tonality. To me, it didn't sound as warm or fully euphonic.

Thanks

I own both the HE-500 and HD650 and I keep both of them for a reason. Both of them convey a natural and lush midrange that is to die for on the right system and with the right recordings. They just present their mids differently. HD-6xx have a tonally unique signature that cannot be replicated, but the HE-500s warmth is nothing to scoff at either. But I totally understand people who would prefer one over the other. Something about the Senns is both incredibly natural and yet almost magically otherworldly to my ears. I think it is related to its longer decay. The HE-500s seem to be aiming for verisimilitude and speed, though they are definitely not as fast or as shockingly immediate as the HE-560, which is to say that HE-500s still have that musicality factor like the Senns whereas the HE-560 wants to be as realistic, referenced-grade, and as neutral as possible. The latter comes just slightly short of this with its slight 6khz peak, but I have jumped more than once when I thought that violinist or drummer was right behind me or suddenly beside me.

The Senns are not going anywhere anytime soon from my small collection, nor are the HE-500. I really want my dad to send me his HE-560s though, lol.

Edit: I forgot to add that the HE-500s mids are more resolving due to higher technical capabilities that the older Senn drivers, but I think their treble resolves equally well. In terms of bass, I am waiting on my otl for my Senns finally, but the HE-500s planar bass goes much deeper on my system thus far. To be honest, HE-400s bass is even more impactfull than HE-500s. The former has the most engaging bass of all sub-1 k phones I have heard and easily rivals that of the LCD-2.2 to be frank. It's the mids and treble, along with its very solid bass, that draw me to the 500 over the 400.

With that said, I actually really like the bass on both the HD 650 and 600 as I am not really a bass head in the first place.

 

[Kodhifi]

You know, I may be a Beyerdynamic fan, but I don't get bent out of shape when people say they prefer Sennheiser. I think I stumbled into open warfare and I got better things to do than have my equipment and tastes questioned. Peace.

 

[Poimandres]

Being that it is a hd650 thread one may question why you stumbled into it to rave about the beyers. I am sure your opinions will be welcomed in the beyer thread.....just saying.

 

[Mr Rick]

Being that it is a hd650 thread one may question why you stumbled into it to rave about the beyers. I am sure your opinions will be welcomed in the beyer thread.....just saying.

 
If he owns a set of HD650s he has as much right to an opinion as anyone. The title of this thread is not "Only Sennheiser HD650 Good Impressions." Just saying...

 

[Poimandres]

Indeed nice spin.....kudos. You are missing one key piece however I never said one couldn't relay their impressions here. This thread is for all impressions both good and bad.

He could portray his sentiment towards the beyers in the beyer thread, it would be more tactful and better received than doing so here.