[hodgjy]

I have several cans in my collection, but the HD650 will never be sold off. They are my change of pace cans when I just want to chill out and relax. Smooth and comforting.

 

[johthor]

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.

I also own both of these HD650 and HE500 in my collection.  I agree with your evaluation of these HPs completely.  I often spend an entire listening system with one or both of these HPs.  The 650s have the edge in comfort for long sessions, but I often get so involved with the music when listening to the 500s that I forget that I have them on.  Many times I have decided that one of these wonderful HPs is better than the other only to change my mind and hour later.  I have two setups that sound very good indeed with either of these HPs.  They are Violectric V800/V200 and HRT MS II+/Bottlehead Crack.  I bought the Bottlehead Crack specifically to use with the HD650 but was pleasantly surprized at how well the HE500s sounds out of this amp.  The Violectric stack is of course a much more expensive setup (and my latest acquisition), but to be honest I could happily live with either setup for these two remarkable HPs.  Happy listening everybody.

 

[Mani ATH 87]

I found the HE400's to be a better value then the HE500's at the time I purchased them. Things are a bit different now with the newer models and what not so the 500's have become a better value, and the the 400's have come down even further in price.
 
500's are a better headphone all around, but to my musical tastes the 400's present a more appealing sound signature at a cheaper price.

As someone mentioned above, I agree that the 650's are a great compliment to go along with the HE400's.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

I also own both of these HD650 and HE500 in my collection.  I agree with your evaluation of these HPs completely.  I often spend an entire listening system with one or both of these HPs.  The 650s have the edge in comfort for long sessions, but I often get so involved with the music when listening to the 500s that I forget that I have them on.  Many times I have decided that one of these wonderful HPs is better than the other only to change my mind and hour later.  I have two setups that sound very good indeed with either of these HPs.  They are Violectric V800/V200 and HRT MS II+/Bottlehead Crack.  I bought the Bottlehead Crack specifically to use with the HD650 but was pleasantly surprized at how well the HE500s sounds out of this amp.  The Violectric stack is of course a much more expensive setup (and my latest acquisition), but to be honest I could happily live with either setup for these two remarkable HPs.  Happy listening everybody.

You have a very very nice system for each of your headphones. Thats wonderful. Im waiting on my otl to be built and shipped so I can finally hear the HD650 working at its maximum capacity.

Do you find you prefer each can for different genres?

 

[m8o]

I paired my HD650 with an amp that fits that bill today. The McIntosh MHA100.

 

[Kodhifi]

  Owning both the HE-400 and HD-650 I think they make great complimentary headphones.

Same here. Different enough going from one to the other, takes a few hours of head initialization.

 

[DavidA]

 
Same here. Different enough going from one to the other, takes a few hours of head initialization.

Most of the time I tend to switch headphones and amps rather quickly during a listening session, used HD-650, HD-700, HE-400 and SennGrado this afternoon along with Lyr2, Ember and UD-301 amps during this 4 hours session. 
Sometimes I will just kick back and listen for a few hours with just one headphone and amp, usually drinking wine with my girlfriend while she has a headphone on also but we are listening to the same source, probably why I have mostly open headphones so we can still talk a little.
Okay, the wine is starting to take over and girlfriend want to go have a few drinks with friends, cheers

 

[Krutsch]

 
Same here. Different enough going from one to the other, takes a few hours of head initialization.

 
One way I've been able to speed up that process is to use music tailor-made for, and familiar with, the given headphone.
 
So, for example, when I am in mood for smash-mouth music, I switch to Grado and queue-up something heavy/fast (e.g. Fallujah, Pantera); for classical or jazz, I switch to the HD-700s and queue-up a well-worn classical piece (usually Dvořák: String Quintet, Berlin Philharmonic String Quintet or Dave Brubeck Quartet "Time Out"); for female vocals, classic guitar rock or grunge, et al., it's the HD-650s and I reboot my brain with Cream "Wheels Of Fire" or Korn "MTV Unplugged".
 
You get the idea, but I find that resetting to a new can goes a lot faster if I start with something I've listened to a lot with the given headphones.
 
EDIT: BTW, I've found this especially valuable when listening to something new for the first time. Not only does it re-init my noodle, but it also gives the tubes plenty of time to warm up.

 

[DavidA]

  I have several cans in my collection, but the HD650 will never be sold off. They are my change of pace cans when I just want to chill out and relax. Smooth and comforting.

Jay, have you tried any other amps besides your HA-501 with the HD-650?  I've ordered a Crack + speedball since it was on sale to keep me busy for a few days, little burned out on golf from the last few weeks.

 

[hodgjy]

 
Jay, have you tried any other amps besides your HA-501 with the HD-650?  I've ordered a Crack + speedball since it was on sale to keep me busy for a few days, little burned out on golf from the last few weeks.

I have not, even though I own several other amps. Based on how the headphones sound, I can tell I wouldn't like the pairing with my other amps. Well, I'm sure they would pair great with my Asgard 2, but that amp is a less refined and redundant amp with the TEAC, so I haven't tried. My WA3 is woolly to begin with, so that would be a nightmare pairing. I've read great things about about the Crack with Speedball, so I'm sure you'll love that.

 

[chuckwheat]

So day 5 with the 650s.
I really like them.
I notice that when I first put them on to listen to music, I instantly notice the "darkness" they have, and I'm quick to wonder where the detail is. Within a few minutes of listening to them, it seems I adjust for the warmer bass and my ears get tuned to hear the detail that is actually there. I have to listen harder to hear the little details, but in doing so, the music pulls you in deeper, and it's a nice experience . It kind of reminds me of a recital hall, where the walls echo and absorb some of the frequencies, maybe masking some of the original sound, but it creates a lovely image and stage in my mind.
I've found them excellent for just about every genre. They seem to be more song-specific rather than genre-specific.
And the headband has loosened up a little bit. These are the comfiest headphones I've ever had on my head! I forget I'm wearing them. Really light-weight, and the soft fabric (i fear it will wear out extremely quickly) is so much nicer than the pleather i'm used to.
And they look really nice

 

[DavidA]

  So day 5 with the 650s.
I really like them.
I notice that when I first put them on to listen to music, I instantly notice the "darkness" they have, and I'm quick to wonder where the detail is. Within a few minutes of listening to them, it seems I adjust for the warmer bass and my ears get tuned to hear the detail that is actually there. I have to listen harder to hear the little details, but in doing so, the music pulls you in deeper, and it's a nice experience . It kind of reminds me of a recital hall, where the walls echo and absorb some of the frequencies, maybe masking some of the original sound, but it creates a lovely image and stage in my mind.
I've found them excellent for just about every genre. They seem to be more song-specific rather than genre-specific.
And the headband has loosened up a little bit. These are the comfiest headphones I've ever had on my head! I forget I'm wearing them. Really light-weight, and the soft fabric (i fear it will wear out extremely quickly) is so much nicer than the pleather i'm used to.
And they look really nice

Are you using an amp with them?  If so, which amp?

 

[chuckwheat]

Are you using an amp with them?  If so, which amp?

The only amp I have XD
Magni 2 Uber

 

[DavidA]

The only amp I have XD
Magni 2 Uber

I have the original Magni and it was ok with the HD-650, read that the Magni2 is much improved so you should be good.  If you ever think about a new amp for the HD-650 I would suggest either a Lyr2 or Project Ember, I have both and they pair really great with the HD-650.  I've ordered a bottlehead crack the other day since they are having a sale and have heard that its even better for the HD-650.

 

[krsk77]

Hey,

A little bit off topic. I'm still doubting about which headphones I would like the best and would fit the music I listen (mostly electronic, drum & bass, trance etc.) to the most. It's either senn HD650, HD600, beyer DT990 or DT880 (or something else that you might suggest and is a fairly popular set of cans so that it's easy to find used)...so I need your opinions. I would also consider the HiFiMan HE-400 or the HE-400i but I can't find them used (for a good price) in my country.

Thanks in advance for answers.