[CanadianMaestro]

  OK people, my poor wallet just took a huge blow. I do not think I will regret this decision, but it is true I was sweating while placing the order. Anyway, thanks for your support guys, without you I couldn't have clicked that "order" button.

 
Let us know your experiences with 650.

 

[JacobLee89]

  OK people, my poor wallet just took a huge blow. I do not think I will regret this decision, but it is true I was sweating while placing the order. Anyway, thanks for your support guys, without you I couldn't have clicked that "order" button.

 
You've made a great decision. I've seen many whom have owned the HD650 and have always voiced their reservations when they sold theirs.
 
Even the generous man whom sold me the ones I currently own, gave himself one last listen to them before boxing and sending it my way.

 

[DDDamian]

   
Even the generous man whom sold me the ones I currently own, gave himself one last listen to them before boxing and sending it my way.

The guy I bought mine from here went to the Audeze EL8's. I saw them on a Canadian website three weeks later. He said the highs were killing his ears. Guess what he's got now? And from chatting with him he has run the gauntlet of mid-to-high price cans and keeps coming back.
 
We get ripped-off here in Canada (even comparing Amazon.com -> Amazon.ca) so used is often a great way to go. At USD$290 you simply cannot go wrong.

 

[DavidA]

  The guy I bought mine from here went to the Audeze EL8's. I saw them on a Canadian website three weeks later. He said the highs were killing his ears. Guess what he's got now? And from chatting with him he has run the gauntlet of mid-to-high price cans and keeps coming back.
 
We get ripped-off here in Canada (even comparing Amazon.com -> Amazon.ca) so used is often a great way to go. At USD$290 you simply cannot go wrong.

Have both the HD-650 and EL8 open, if they were the same price I would get EL8 only because its easier to drive and I can use them with my Fiio X1 or X3 and they sound great.  So with EL8 at $600+ and HD-650 at $300, there is enough to get a good amp (Ember) for the HD-650 and you will have a set of cans better than the EL8 IMO.  I still like the EL8 but think its over priced, my 2 cents.

 

[i luvmusic 2]

Welcome to the club!
 
 I auditioned T1 and HD800 both driven by Burson sometime last year and these two HP sounded bright to my ears specially the T1 it sounded more like my DT880 only brighter to my ears that is why i end up with the HD650.Enjoy yours.

 

[olor1n]

 

  The guy I bought mine from here went to the Audeze EL8's. I saw them on a Canadian website three weeks later. He said the highs were killing his ears. Guess what he's got now? And from chatting with him he has run the gauntlet of mid-to-high price cans and keeps coming back.
 
We get ripped-off here in Canada (even comparing Amazon.com -> Amazon.ca) so used is often a great way to go. At USD$290 you simply cannot go wrong.

Have both the HD-650 and EL8 open, if they were the same price I would get EL8 only because its easier to drive and I can use them with my Fiio X1 or X3 and they sound great.  So with EL8 at $600+ and HD-650 at $300, there is enough to get a good amp (Ember) for the HD-650 and you will have a set of cans better than the EL8 IMO.  I still like the EL8 but think its over priced, my 2 cents.

How comfortable is the EL8 compared to the HD650? I almost impulsively pulled the trigger on the EL8 based on the new form factor alone. Glad I didn't. Being an early adopter can be a hassle as issues manifest only to be addressed with a revision soon after.

 

[DDDamian]

 
Have both the HD-650 and EL8 open, if they were the same price I would get EL8 only because its easier to drive and I can use them with my Fiio X1 or X3 and they sound great.  So with EL8 at $600+ and HD-650 at $300, there is enough to get a good amp (Ember) for the HD-650 and you will have a set of cans better than the EL8 IMO.  I still like the EL8 but think its over priced, my 2 cents.

Did you have any issues with the treble? I'm curious what would be a good step up from my HE-400's as I really do enjoy the planar sound and especially speed, but find the tizzy 9kHz spike of the 400's fatiguing. Looking at sub-$1000 here lol.

 

[arnaud]

I haven't found a HD600 appreciation through so starting here... Long story short, long after having owned HD650s (maybe 10 years ago or so), I got myself tempted again by the HD600 which I found at USD250. 
 
I posted some fresh impressions here , color me bluffed... I think many like me just think nothing happens below 700USD for a pair of phones these days. Well these senns are a stark reminder that flagship sound did not always rhyme with eating pasta for 2 years . Granted, the current low price probably has a lot to do with long vested roi and ever increasing planar fotm. But regardless, I encourage anyone on a tight budget to not hesitate explore what may be the best price/performance headphone sennheiser has ever created.
 
arnaud

 

[olor1n]

  I haven't found a HD600 appreciation through so starting here... Long story short, long after having owned HD650s (maybe 10 years ago or so), I got myself tempted again by the HD600 which I found at USD250. 
 
I posted some fresh impressions here , color me bluffed... I think many like me just think nothing happens below 700USD for a pair of phones these days. Well these senns are a stark reminder that flagship sound did not always rhyme with eating pasta for 2 years . Granted, the current low price probably has a lot to do with long vested roi and ever increasing planar fotm. But regardless, I encourage anyone on a tight budget to not hesitate explore what may be the best price/performance headphone sennheiser has ever created.
 
arnaud

I've noticed a trend in the HD800 thread of newcomers diving off the deep end, without much thought for associated components and the added financial burden of getting the rest of the chain right. It's inevitable that some are left scratching their heads at the praise heaped by those who've invested much more than their time in building a system around such a demanding headphone.
 
Those people are better off looking to the HD600/HD650 IMO. For less than the cost of the HD800, a full system can be purchased that can present the HD6x0's at, or close to their best. The gratification of hearing these cans in full flight would be much greater than hearing an HD800 severely bottlenecked by inadequate components in the chain... IMO, YMMV, and all that jazz.

 

[Kodhifi]

  Did you have any issues with the treble? I'm curious what would be a good step up from my HE-400's as I really do enjoy the planar sound and especially speed, but find the tizzy 9kHz spike of the 400's fatiguing. Looking at sub-$1000 here lol.

I have the same issue with my 400's. Love em but only in small doses. I used the DT990 a few years and THAT treble didn't bother me even with no EQ so if the 400 bugs me it's pretty severe. I'm going to try rolling some different tubes on the lyr and see if I can roll some of that treble off. If all else fails I can always use EQAPO and make a new HRTF 0db profile.

 

[DDDamian]

 
I have the same issue with my 400's. Love em but only in small doses. I used the DT990 a few years and THAT treble didn't bother me even with no EQ so if the 400 bugs me it's pretty severe. I'm going to try rolling some different tubes on the lyr and see if I can roll some of that treble off. If all else fails I can always use EQAPO and make a new HRTF 0db profile.

I have my 400's paired with the S.E.X amp which brings great air and space to any cans I've plugged in (including the 650's) but maybe isn't ideal for the 400's for that reason. Tube-rolling is limited on that amp due to the tube choice used. The C4S (constant current biasing) upgrade helped significantly with bumping the bass.
 
Don't get me wrong - I love the sound and speed of the HE-400's once the treble's dampened a touch but overall they just can't keep my attention for hours with genre's the 650 excels at. Still a good compliment which is what I got them for.
 
I'm really tempted to tap the HE-560 - was just running through reviews and comparisons for it - while listening to the 650;s
 
BTW all - thanks for the Angus and Julia Stone recce - excellent sound and music! Wish their self-titled album wasn't mastered so damn hot (-14db replaygain!! DR only 5 - very poor for that style) but it still pulls it off. Very nice listen!

 

[Kodhifi]

  I have my 400's paired with the S.E.X amp which brings great air and space to any cans I've plugged in (including the 650's) but maybe isn't ideal for the 400's for that reason. Tube-rolling is limited on that amp due to the tube choice used. The C4S (constant current biasing) upgrade helped significantly with bumping the bass.
 
Don't get me wrong - I love the sound and speed of the HE-400's once the treble's dampened a touch but overall they just can't keep my attention for hours with genre's the 650 excels at. Still a good compliment which is what I got them for.
 
I'm really tempted to tap the HE-560 - was just running through reviews and comparisons for it - while listening to the 650;s
 
BTW all - thanks for the Angus and Julia Stone recce - excellent sound and music! Wish their self-titled album wasn't mastered so damn hot (-14db replaygain!! DR only 5 - very poor for that style) but it still pulls it off. Very nice listen!

Did you get a chance to check out Barnaby Bright? Also if you like the Angus and Julia Stone sound you might also dig Jose Gonzalez. This is a cover he did of fellow Swedes The Knife's Heartbeats.

 

[DavidA]

  Did you have any issues with the treble? I'm curious what would be a good step up from my HE-400's as I really do enjoy the planar sound and especially speed, but find the tizzy 9kHz spike of the 400's fatiguing. Looking at sub-$1000 here lol.

To me the EL8 does not have any treble issue, was more like a lack of treble when I first got it.  It was about 48-72 hours before it finally sounded a little like my LCD-2f.  It doesn't have the nice lows and doesn't go as deep, also the mids are not as smooth and the highs are a little more forward that the LCD-2f.  I got the EL8 for when I travel since I can drive it easily, don't use it much at home.
 
As for a "good step" up from the HE-400 for under $1K, I like the HE-560 or LCD-2f (I drive these with Lyr2) if you want to stay with the planar sound.  If looking for a complimentary headphone I would say HD-700 or Grado RS2e (or build a SennGrado, love this combination and so easy to build).
 
Since you have some great amps (Crack and SEX) you could try many different headphones to get a great pairing.  I just finished building my Crack (will install speedball later) and it rocks with the HD-800, HD-650 and DT-990.  I decided on the Crack vs the SEX because of the tube rolling, the Crack will use the driver tube from the Ember so half the battle is won for me.  Also, after having the Ember and being able to change the output impedance I felt like the SEX would be a duplication of sorts.
 
Hope that helps you, have a great weekend

 

[DavidA]

 
How comfortable is the EL8 compared to the HD650? I almost impulsively pulled the trigger on the EL8 based on the new form factor alone. Glad I didn't. Being an early adopter can be a hassle as issues manifest only to be addressed with a revision soon after.

They are pretty comfortable, not as good as the HD-650 mostly because of the weight and the leather vs velour pad covering.

 

[DDDamian]

Thanks, you actually made me smile! It feels good already, and I am sure it will only get better over time!

I sense an un-boxing post incoming

@DavidA, thanks for the thoughts on planar upgrades. I went back and re-read the email from the gent who sold me these to go to the EL-8's before ditching them and returning to the 650: he actually said it was the dip in the treble that he disliked and I had mis-read it for a spike as it's hard to imagine a dip "killing my ears". That's more in line with your impressions on is treble.

I've hit the point where for each pair I get now one must go (my sig doesn't include all I have lying around, more what I use) so I think I'll start watching for a pair of HE-560's and start rotating pairs out. Really appreciate your input and congrats on the Crack!