[skeptic]

Quote:

The 650's can even tame 20th Century Russia!      
 

Well played sir 

 

[prtuc2]

After acquired the Audio-GD ROC I learned a few things about music.
 
At first I thought my E9 had more powerful than the ROC, but after listen through for hours I realized the E9 wasn't more powerful than the ROC rather it sounds brighter.  The reason that led me to that conclusion is that after listening to the ROC for 4 hours I can still have the headphone intact on my head, while the E9 after about 1hr I need to take it off to relax a little. 
 
The ROC on single end input (preamp) is faster than the E9, so the music separation is better.  Still await for my balanced cable coming in next month. 
 
I must say the E9 is an impressive amp for the money it, what is more impressive is the size of the amp.  The ROC is 7kg (15.4 pounds) vs E9 approximately 1 pound and the dimension is much smaller.  E9 can produce most of the details that the ROC does on single end input, so that actually a surprised.  E9 also have plenty of power to drive most of the headphone out there.
 
Overall, my HD650 is now more enjoyable with the ROC.

 

[ccklone]

Hey Now,

I'll concur that the Roc is very enjoyable with HD650s, even more so when balanced. I switched to a Blue Dragon balanced cable and the detail and clarity jumped out at me. It was a real treat.

--
Finest kind,
Chris

 

[tdockweiler]

Pretty sure i'll finally order another pair of HD-650's on monday. Only returned them due to a defect and nit-picking a little. I was planning on keeping them. I like the HD-600 and how it seems more neutral to my ears, but I just wish the sound out of it could be a tad more clear. It's mostly noticeable with games, but I don't use my HD-600 much for games. When I remove my K702 and put on the HD-600 you definitely notice this too. Sometimes I prefer the HD-600 to the K702 for music, but I like them both. I always felt when it came to how clear the sound was, the HD-650 was more closely comparable to the K702, but obviously they sound totally different.
 
One reason I didn't love MY HD-650 is that it had a tad more bass than I normally like. It seems well controlled and on most music it doesn't bother me. In movies and games it did. One idea I had is that maybe my Asgard adds in a bit of extra bass. Even with that extra bass, 90% of people wouldn't find it a problem, but maybe i'm too picky. I imagined the Asgard is neutral, but maybe this is not the case after all. If it does add some bass, it's probably very minor, but possibly enough to be a problem for me. I did try the HD-650 with some other amps and my Onkyo Receiver, but didn't do a ton of comparisons.
 
I've got an E9 now and it has better synergy with my K702 than my Asgard. Maybe the E9 will add less bass than the Asgard did for my HD-650.
 
I prefer a neutral sounding headphone, but the HD-600 I just can't like as much as the HD-650 in most areas. I miss female vocals on the HD-650 and what seems to be the extra detail and how much more clear the sound is. My favorite female singers sound the best on the HD-650, even more so than my ATH-AD2000! My HD-650 actually had much more treble than my HD-600, which I liked. The HD-600 I had had a more airy and larger soundstage compared to the HD-650, so maybe it had to do with the Asgard. Maybe the E9 will offer a larger soundstage on the HD-650 compared to the E9. Who knows.
 
I guess I also don't need two neutral headphones. HD-650 should still be slightly more fun to listen to than the HD-600. Because of this, the HD-650 and K702 might make a better pair.
 
BTW has anyone tried the HD-600 cable on the HD-650? I read somewhere that it might reduce the bass, but would probably change the sound too much. Strangely I prefer the HD-600 cable on the HD-600 over the HD-650 cable (on the HD-600). Using the HD-650 cable seems to mess with the mids and make them less forward.
 
 

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

After acquired the Audio-GD ROC I learned a few things about music.
 
At first I thought my E9 had more powerful than the ROC, but after listen through for hours I realized the E9 wasn't more powerful than the ROC rather it sounds brighter.  The reason that led me to that conclusion is that after listening to the ROC for 4 hours I can still have the headphone intact on my head, while the E9 after about 1hr I need to take it off to relax a little. 
 
The ROC on single end input (preamp) is faster than the E9, so the music separation is better.  Still await for my balanced cable coming in next month. 
 
I must say the E9 is an impressive amp for the money it, what is more impressive is the size of the amp.  The ROC is 7kg (15.4 pounds) vs E9 approximately 1 pound and the dimension is much smaller.  E9 can produce most of the details that the ROC does on single end input, so that actually a surprised.  E9 also have plenty of power to drive most of the headphone out there.
 
Overall, my HD650 is now more enjoyable with the ROC.

Looking into any balanced DACs?  I'd be interested in hearing your setup if you make it to the next NYC head-fi meet.

 

[prtuc2]

Quote:

Quote:

Looking into any balanced DACs?  I'd be interested in hearing your setup if you make it to the next NYC head-fi meet.

At the moment don't have the money for a balanced DAC, most likely another Audio-GD Reference series.  Not sure about the meeting, do you need to purchase a ticket to attend?

 

[sphinxvc]

Quote:

At the moment don't have the money for a balanced DAC, most likely another Audio-GD Reference series.  Not sure about the meeting, do you need to purchase a ticket to attend?

It's free to attend but it's recommended you donate whatever you can toward the cost of the room or purchase something in the auction they hold (or donate something to the auction).  There are some bargains too, someone walked away with the HRT Music Streamer you have for $60.  HE-4s for $200, etc.
 
Have you looked into the Matrix Mini-I?  It's one of the cheaper balanced DACs out there and has a decent reputation.  I haven't heard it yet but will probably get to demo one sometime around the second week of May.

 

[voodoohao]

Hi anyone has tried both the HD600s and the HD650s balanced? I've just bought the HD650s used, but the drivers were recently replaced so they're unburnt ( according to the seller ) hoping to hear some opinions from you guys as I can't afford to keep both for long haha

 

[theoandtheb]

Just got my HD650's almost 2 weeks ago and after a good deal of burn in, I can certainly notice an improvement. The changes are subtle but I throughly enjoy them. So far I've only been running them out of my laptop through the PA2V2 which obviously isn't doing the 650's justice. I've heard the Lyr pairs well with them which is what I plan to eventually get. I'm considering the Audinst mx1 as a DAC and to use the amp for now to get me by until I can afford the Lyr. I saw something on here where the 650 and mx1 were paired but other than that, not much. Has anyone else tried the 2 together? Or are there better amp/DAC combos in the Audinst's price range? The Lyr is my main focus so I don't want to spend too much right now.

 

[prtuc2]

Interesting DAC I keep that in mind for future upgrade list, at the moment out of job might pick one up once I start working.  The head-fi meeting sounds interesting too, I might attend one if I am free of course.  Where is the head-fi meeting in NYC anyway?  If it is too far I am not sure I will able to carry 20-30 pounds of audio stuff with me on the subway.

 

[sphinxvc]

PM'd.

 

[Feynman]

I bought a pair for HD650's last week and I am floored by their sound. Maybe it is worth mentioning that this is the first 'high-end' headphones I try out. I have a pair of SR60's and some IEMS, e.g RE0 Superfi 5pro etc, but these are just amazing. Still waiting for my bottlehead Crack amp to show up so I just run the headphones from the jack in my stereo amp but god the sound good. 
 
I have listened to some high end stereos and my father owns a fairly good setup but the detail and feel of vocals and instruments is just amazing. I have been listening to some jazz for the last couple of days and the texture of the double-bass is just amazing. It feels as if this is the first time i listen to music. I wonder how it will sound when I add the amp......
 
Then I have to get a proper DAC and after that some aftermarket cables for the phones, I read on headfonia that a modded cat6 cable were a very good upgrade for the headphones, the thing is I don't know how to put it togheter, is there a guide anywhere?
 
Cheers

 

[pp312]

If you hadn't already ordered the dedicated amp I'd have advised giving your stereo amp a good workout before making the investment. The assumption that a dedicated amp is always going to beat a good speaker amp is sometimes misplaced. What is your speaker amp anyway?  
 
Sorry, not trying to spoil your anticipation.  I really hope the realization lives up to it.
 
 

 

[rottenhat]

My HD650s arrived on Friday. Unfortunately I was heading out to a gig that night, had to pack for an all-day bike ride, and cook dinner after work but I reckoned I could squeeze in one or two tracks without missing the support band. I settled on one from the new Earth album (as they were the band I was heading out to see) - "Hell's Winter". That proved to be a fortunate choice as it sounded as strikingly different on the HD650s from the SR60s I was using before as the SR60s did the various junk earbuds I was using previously. Earth added a cello player on this album but with the SR60s the cello often merged with bass (Earth tend to have a lot of low-end) - with the HD650s, the separation was clear as day, and the bass sounded huge, a deep carpet of low-end. As far as sound quality goes, I probably would have been better off staying at home to listen to the album instead of going to the gig....
 
It was Sunday before I had a chance to sit down and listen to a couple of albums properly, and I'd started to worry that maybe there was a bit too much bass, but throwing on John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left set my mind at rest. There was no question of Jimmy Garrison overpowering the sound on the Coltrane album (actually, in the ensemble passages he's definitely losing the battle against Coltrane and Elvin Jones) and I've never heard Danny Thompson sound so good as on the Nick Drake album.  Definitely very happy so far...my biggest problem will be deciding what to listen to next, so many albums crowding for attention. I gather there may be a rocky road ahead with burn-in and so forth but if the HD650s ultimately emerge sounding even better than this, I'll more than have my money's worth.  And man, they are comfortable.
 
For the curious, I'm plugging them directly into the headphone jack of a NAD C350 integrated amp and the source is an Arcam CD72 cd player.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

My HD650s arrived on Friday. Unfortunately I was heading out to a gig that night, had to pack for an all-day bike ride, and cook dinner after work but I reckoned I could squeeze in one or two tracks without missing the support band. I settled on one from the new Earth album (as they were the band I was heading out to see) - "Hell's Winter". That proved to be a fortunate choice as it sounded as strikingly different on the HD650s from the SR60s I was using before as the SR60s did the various junk earbuds I was using previously. Earth added a cello player on this album but with the SR60s the cello often merged with bass (Earth tend to have a lot of low-end) - with the HD650s, the separation was clear as day, and the bass sounded huge, a deep carpet of low-end. As far as sound quality goes, I probably would have been better off staying at home to listen to the album instead of going to the gig....
 
It was Sunday before I had a chance to sit down and listen to a couple of albums properly, and I'd started to worry that maybe there was a bit too much bass, but throwing on John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left set my mind at rest. There was no question of Jimmy Garrison overpowering the sound on the Coltrane album (actually, in the ensemble passages he's definitely losing the battle against Coltrane and Elvin Jones) and I've never heard Danny Thompson sound so good as on the Nick Drake album.  Definitely very happy so far...my biggest problem will be deciding what to listen to next, so many albums crowding for attention. I gather there may be a rocky road ahead with burn-in and so forth but if the HD650s ultimately emerge sounding even better than this, I'll more than have my money's worth.  And man, they are comfortable.
 
For the curious, I'm plugging them directly into the headphone jack of a NAD C350 integrated amp and the source is an Arcam CD72 cd player.

Congrats and welcome to Head-Fi. Very good first purchase I might add. With that setup, you should be enjoying a lot of what the Senns have to offer.