[CanadianMaestro]

  On the pairing of HD 650 with Liquid Carbon amp. Here are some snippets of my reviews after trying this pairing earlier in the summer:
 
"It seemed like the sounds were "always out of your head", and I meant this in a good way. I tested it out with the Ether headphones and my Sennheiser HD 650's, and especially with the 650's I seemed to always get a sound in which each instrument was pristinely placed in it's proper position of the soundstage, almost so that nothing sounded like it was coming from any 1-dimensional place! 

. It accurately reproduced the frequency response low to high, was very lifelike and ever so slightly leaning towards 'musical', had paranormally good soundstage, and maybe what I liked even the most was the impact 'slam' how it handled the likes of drums in a pleasing way. Warren and myself both seemed to agree this is the best amp under $2,000."
 


( full review here and here )
 

Is this a generic statement about your 650? What music did you use?
 
I challenge ANY amp to give the 650 an "out of head" experience that is 1. Naturalistic (not exaggerated) and 2. with classical symphonic tracks, modern orchestra, modern instruments.
 
No amp can turn a $300 HP into a $2-3K one (like HEK or a Stax flagger).
 
There's a lot of hype on HF, and this is one example of it.
 

 
 
Edit:  I'm outta this thread. Will enjoy the 650 for sure. Adios, amigos.

 

[kman1211]

  @whirlwind it looks like your nice tube amp photo is a Glenn OTL amp with a custom tube setup, right? Do you have any opinions or direct experience on how this amp compares to the Felix Audio Elise amp? (of course the tubes used of each will have an impact)
 
Also @kman1211 or others that were mentioning about listening fatigue from the HD 650 on recent pages. Seeing how the 650 is a moderately dark headphone with rolled off highs, it makes me think that either you may be sensitive to certain low frequencies, or that you could be sensitive to listening to sounds on any headphone. Have you also had similar ill results from other headphones in general?

I've owned a lot of headphones and listen to most high-end phones on the market, only some headphones irritate me. Planars and stats don't really bother me at all, dynamics are hit or miss. The Nighthawks are a bit darker and have more bass(with a lot more impact and extension) than the HD 650 but have a similar sound overall and they don't fatigue me one bit. I also don't really have fatigue issues with the K712 or DT 150. Honestly my problems have pretty much been with the HD 600 and the HD 650, the HD 600 being much worse of the two. 

 

[whirlwind]

  @whirlwind it looks like your nice tube amp photo is a Glenn OTL amp with a custom tube setup, right? Do you have any opinions or direct experience on how this amp compares to the Felix Audio Elise amp? (of course the tubes used of each will have an impact)
 
Also @kman1211 or others that were mentioning about listening fatigue from the HD 650 on recent pages. Seeing how the 650 is a moderately dark headphone with rolled off highs, it makes me think that either you may be sensitive to certain low frequencies, or that you could be sensitive to listening to sounds on any headphone. Have you also had similar ill results from other headphones in general?

Yes, it is a Glenn OTL
 
I am sorry, but I have never heard the Elise amp, but I have heard that it is quite good.

 

[DecentLevi]

 
Is this a generic statement about your 650? What music did you use?
 
I challenge ANY amp to give the 650 an "out of head" experience that is 1. Naturalistic (not exaggerated) and 2. with classical symphonic tracks, modern orchestra, modern instruments.
 
No amp can turn a $300 HP into a $2-3K one (like HEK or a Stax flagger).
 
There's a lot of hype on HF, and this is one example of it.
 

 
 
Edit:  I'm outta this thread. Will enjoy the 650 for sure. Adios, amigos.

 
@CanadianMaestro. if you're still reading, or anybody for that matter.
 
First of all, after revising my notes, thinking of my experience with it and all the time that has passed since I've heard this excellent pairing, there is nothing that would correlate this experience to 'hype'. This was just a real life, personal impression that it left on me. Whether or not it's something that could be scientifically tested, or reproducible to others, or whether it abides to some financial value scale or whatever, the fact is that for me, that's how it sounded. And that's all that matters.
 
Headphone listening is a personal thing - what sounds good to one may not sound good to another. Also this is an odd hobby with countless grey areas of which the how / why something may sounds good can't always be explained, and may not sound good to another. Sometimes it seems it shouldn't sound so good - but it does, and it doesn't always have to cost a lot to sound the best. Higher cost does not always dictate better sound.
 
Personally, I enjoyed the 650 on the Carbon about as much as the HE 1000 which I always tried and enjoyed in a different sort of way. For the music that was used, I can't quote anything but it was a mixture of pop and rock in FLAC from the meet's setup. The DAC and cables used (mentioned in my review linked above) may have also had something to do with how it sounded so great. And yes, to me, it was always 'out of my head' sound.

 

[richard51]

   
Higher cost does not always dictate better sound.
   
 

i  am actually  stunned by my listening of my Fostex TH7-B (60 dollars) versus my he 400 (300 dollars)driven by my Hitachi receiver .... The fostex are different but with superior rendition of instrument timbre .... Hype is in my mind almost always in relation with new products and higher cost...

 

[DecentLevi]

+1 to that.
 
What I'm about to say may turn me into a fool, and is also something that I myself am having trouble accepting... but here it goes:
 
Somehow, I'm noticing much better bass definition / impact and lush mids on my free white Android earbuds than my $40 IEMs. Like I said it sounds funny but hey - my ears don't lie after multiple A/B comparisons at varying times... not to say that's my IEM endgame or anything though! 
 
Anyway back to the HD 650

 

[Solrighal]

  +1 to that.
 
What I'm about to say may turn me into a fool, and is also something that I myself am having trouble accepting... but here it goes:
 
Somehow, I'm noticing much better bass definition / impact and lush mids on my free white Android earbuds than my $40 IEMs. Like I said it sounds funny but hey - my ears don't lie after multiple A/B comparisons at varying times... not to say that's my IEM endgame or anything though! 
 
Anyway back to the HD 650

 
Or, you're deaf.

 

[Sal1950]

Once you get beyond a certain point in price and quality, the differences between the components becomes very subtle. Diminishing returns becomes the name of the game.
More and more everything hinges on personal preference, opinion, and the perceived differences in sound that can be influenced by many other things that what the listener actually thinks he hears.  In the end pay no attention to what anyone says, what the difference in cost is, none of it. If it sounds good and pleases you that's all that counts. Climbing on the train to never ending doubt over if your system can be improved by some next minor change can in the end put you in the position where you're never satisfied and remove the chance of ever enjoying your system again. Remember its "all about the music", not the equipment.

 

[castleofargh]

every time someone tries to reduce the world to something too simple, he's wrong!
 
wait does that mean what I just said is wrong?
 
but then I could still be right!

 

[DecentLevi]

   
Or, you're deaf.

More like my IEMs are bad enough to make the earbuds sound good (which I don't use for music)

 

[Sal1950]

  More like my IEMs are bad enough to make the earbuds sound good (which I don't use for music)

Get some Q-Tips and clean them things out of your ears before you get an infection.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

I have no problem whatsoever with personal preferences. And I've stated this before on several threads. It seems to me, however, that there is some confusion between a "preference" and an "observation". Here is an example of each.
 
Preference: I like vanilla more than chocolate.
Observation: The Earth is flat.
 
In DL's earlier post, he stated that
 
"It seemed like the sounds were "always out of your head", and I meant this in a good way. I tested it out with the Ether headphones and my Sennheiser HD 650's, and especially with the 650's I seemed to always get a sound in which each instrument was pristinely placed in it's proper position of the soundstage,"
 
These are observations. Not preferences. When the observations run against the laws of physics, consensus observations, or both, that's what I have an issue with. He's entitled to express his opinions, I have no problem with that either. But he's used a blanket adverb ("always") that implies that all genres of music sounded "out of the head"; and that's what I have a problem with, since in my experiences, my 650 (which is not technically flawed) has never given me an "out of head" sound with any music. That's fine with me though, since I have my floor system for that.
 
Regardless of viewpoints or sensory distortions (which we are all guilty of, at some time or another...), 650 is a great HP for relaxing with. 
 
All good and well. 

 

[Solrighal]

I recommend Shpongle.

Oot yer heid in nae time at a'!

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Oot yer heid in nae time at a'!

Translation? 

 
jk

 

[iancraig10]

Ahem ..... 'Out of your head in no time' ....... Shpongle that is.