[sridhar3]

Quote:

I got my HD650 in the mail yesterday, and I was really enjoying the sound. It blew anything I'd ever listened to out of the water. Very pleasant, very comfortable.
 
Today, my E7/E9 arrived.
 
Wow. Just wow. I didn't think I could get this kind of sound of out a pair of headphones. Up until now, I had been debating if it was really worth the price tag, but call me a convert.

Welcome to Head-Fi.  Sorry about your wallet!

 

[MrScary]

I got my HD650 in the mail yesterday, and I was really enjoying the sound. It blew anything I'd ever listened to out of the water. Very pleasant, very comfortable.
 
Today, my E7/E9 arrived.
 
Wow. Just wow. I didn't think I could get this kind of sound of out a pair of headphones. Up until now, I had been debating if it was really worth the price tag, but call me a convert.

Yeah the 650's were my first high end headphone I still have them 4 years later and still love them
welcome

 

[BigBallinGPR]

Today, I am loving my new HD650's. I'm brand new to the world of "Hi-Fi" but I can already tell that this is going to turn into a hobby that won't play nice with my wallet

.  I am blown away by just what I have now, I'm running them off of a creative x-fi titanium(Yea I know that they can't fully power them), but I'm used to skullkandys and listening to mp3 files straight off my ipod so its a whole new world to me.
Tomorrow my NuForce Icon HD comes in the mail and I cannot wait to compare the sound quality pre and post DAC/Amp combo'ed. I had no idea there was a community out there like this, and am really glad I found out about it. Thanks for all the info you guys supply on here, It helped me purchase what I think is a solid combination with the cans I bought for the budget I have. Can't wait til tomorrow!!!

 

[MrScary]

Today, I am loving my new HD650's. I'm brand new to the world of "Hi-Fi" but I can already tell that this is going to turn into a hobby that won't play nice with my wallet

.  I am blown away by just what I have now, I'm running them off of a creative x-fi titanium(Yea I know that they can't fully power them), but I'm used to skullkandys and listening to mp3 files straight off my ipod so its a whole new world to me.
Tomorrow my NuForce Icon HD comes in the mail and I cannot wait to compare the sound quality pre and post DAC/Amp combo'ed. I had no idea there was a community out there like this, and am really glad I found out about it. Thanks for all the info you guys supply on here, It helped me purchase what I think is a solid combination with the cans I bought for the budget I have. Can't wait til tomorrow!!!

hahaha tommorrow you will want to upgrade and your wallet will be emptier haha it never stops

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

Today, I am loving my new HD650's. I'm brand new to the world of "Hi-Fi" but I can already tell that this is going to turn into a hobby that won't play nice with my wallet

.  I am blown away by just what I have now, I'm running them off of a creative x-fi titanium(Yea I know that they can't fully power them), but I'm used to skullkandys and listening to mp3 files straight off my ipod so its a whole new world to me.
Tomorrow my NuForce Icon HD comes in the mail and I cannot wait to compare the sound quality pre and post DAC/Amp combo'ed. I had no idea there was a community out there like this, and am really glad I found out about it. Thanks for all the info you guys supply on here, It helped me purchase what I think is a solid combination with the cans I bought for the budget I have. Can't wait til tomorrow!!!

Welcome to Head-fi.  Sorry about your wallet!

 

[shaunybaby]

After a hard day of working, coming home and listening to the 650,s is just a breath of fresh air.

i keep on loving them more and more each day i really should get an extension cable i really hate having to take them off to make a cup of tea and i have stopped having tea just because of that reason, but these headphones are great and do everything well and of late i have been having five hour listening periods and the 650,s sound great at all volumes and never have tired my ear,s.

I think i will never want to get rid of this headphone.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

After a hard day of working, coming home and listening to the 650,s is just a breath of fresh air.

i keep on loving them more and more each day i really should get an extension cable i really hate having to take them off to make a cup of tea and i have stopped having tea just because of that reason, but these headphones are great and do everything well and of late i have been having five hour listening periods and the 650,s sound great at all volumes and never have tired my ear,s.

I think i will never want to get rid of this headphone.

That's where they excel, low fatigue and comfort. I've listened to Wagner's Ring cycle which is approx 14hrs long a few times (over a couple of days) with my 650's marvelous!
 
 
 

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

That's where they excel, low fatigue and comfort. I've listened to Wagner's Ring cycle which is approx 14hrs long a few times (over a couple of days) with my 650's marvelous!
 
 
 

Wow, that's quite a marathon.

 

[serious7]

Quote:

 


Isn't the STX a $200 sound card? That's pricey for a sound card.
 
If you listen to music from a computer, then I see no point in owning the BCL. Mine has a DAC and USB connection, but it's when the BCL is hooked up to my SACD player that it shines. It's a world of improvement over my Headroom Micro. Sennheiser specifically chose the Lehmannaudio Black Cube Linear to drive the HD650 and 800 at shows. And I agree with you, the BCL does have great construction!
 

 

 
 
 

 
 

The purpose of the on board  dac is to play music on the computer is it not? I love the construction of the BCL. I just dont hear any audible difference from my STX on board amp. There is ONE difference however. It's a lot more soothing with the BCL.  
 

 

[mackat]

 
Quote:

I got my HD650 in the mail yesterday, and I was really enjoying the sound. It blew anything I'd ever listened to out of the water. Very pleasant, very comfortable.
 
Today, my E7/E9 arrived.
 
Wow. Just wow. I didn't think I could get this kind of sound of out a pair of headphones. Up until now, I had been debating if it was really worth the price tag, but call me a convert.

Just curious, what level on the e9 do you use. in o'clock.

 

[tdockweiler]

Today I've discovered something really useful... Don't like how a headphone sounds? Buy a new amp! I've now done this twice. I always heard people say over and over how an amp will never make you like or dislike a headphone as long as it's adequately powered. I now don't believe this is true. I first heard this when my D2000 on my Asgard didn't feel as if it had recessed mids, but other people say it did and that the Asgard couldn't magically alter it's signature that much.
 
I was never impressed with the K702 out of the Asgard, so I bought an E9 and then found myself loving them for gaming this time around and disliked them before. They were slightly better for music, but everything felt so distant and like I was listening to music in a hangar.
 
With the HD-650 I didn't love them out of the Asgard or E9. E9 made them more neutral, but I found them kind of lifeless and music wasn't as engaging and fun to listen to as compared to the Asgard. So I connected them to that Total Airhead and found out that I preferred them out of a silly $99 Portable amp over an E9 and Asgard. The mids really came alive with the Airhead. No clue how a portable amp could do this.
 
So I bought the Headroom Micro Amp thinking it would drive them even better and hopefully retain the same signature I heard on the Airhead. I received it today and I was shocked how tiny the thing is! It's HALF the size of the E9! I had no clue when I bought it. At first I was thinking there was NO WAY such a tiny thing could drive an HD-650 or K702 well enough. Turns out it really makes them sound amazing and drives my K601, K702 and HD-650 with ease. Main reason I bought the Micro Amp is a lot of research I've done on it (goo K702 synergy) and how much I love my Total Airhead. I also believe Headroom amps are made in the USA. The Airhead I've owned forever and it's my favorite portable amp.
 
Ok, I don't know if it's just coloring the headphones or improving it, but it makes my K702 sound so totally different, but so much better. The biggest difference is that now the mids are now more forward. OK, I won't go into the differences, but it really made the K702 so much better than I can now enjoy them more for all genres. Female Vocals now don't like like I'm listening to them from 2 1/2 rows back...or listening to music in an airplane hangar!
 
I can now confirm it's a perfect match for the HD-650 also. Makes my E9 and Asgard look bad, but of course those are much cheaper. I think the sound is now like it should be. For the first time ever I've had a song on the HD-650 give me goosebumps. That never happened before somehow. So far it hasn't added much bass or anything else. I think though it improves the mids a little and they sound a tad more forward. The HD-650 is definitely a lot brighter sounding out of the Micro Amp then the E9 and Asgard. My K702 are going to get 100 hours of burn-in because they're kind of fatiguing due to the treble. They're only at the 30-40 hour mark. I made sure it wasn't the amp.
 
So I think it's safe to say this is the best resulting sound I've gotten out of my HD-650. It's quite a powerful tiny amp. On High Gain I only need to put the volume at the 40% mark. Very similar to the E9. I might do a review of this amp later, but I'm not the best as doing amp reviews. Headphones are bad enough. The only negative is that the amp is kind of pricey, but with the sound I'm getting it's hard to complain.
 
I also have my bulk wire coming in tomorrow. I'll see if I hear a difference with going from the stock HD-650 to a Canare cable. Probably not, but maybe. I wanted to get some Double Helix cable, but it's a lot more and I'll wait until later when I get better at building my own cables. I actually only learned how to solder about 2 months ago when my DJ100 died. I'm getting pretty good now at least. Amazing all the stuff you can learn online with Google and Youtube. I also just bought some "Helping Hands" for $10 on Amazon, so that should help a ton with building new AKG and HD-650 cables. Not looking forward to soldering those tiny Sennheiser connectors though. At least I know not to ignore using the flux!

 

[Shahrose]

I personally don't like the Asgard for the HD650s. I think these cans scale nicely with better quality amps. Power isn't everything, quality matters more IMO, unless you're running something really hard to drive like orthos, K1000s, or Stats. My favourite cheap amp/DAC combo with the HD650s *by far* is the Musiland 02US. Plug the cans straight into the high impedance 1/8" jack and prepare to be blown away. For the price, nothing comes close. Its DAC and amp alone aren't the best, but the combination through the headphone outputs is excellent and synergizes well with the 650s (especially when they are recabled with any decent aftermarket copper cable). I'm going to try the Yulong U100 sometime to see if it's really better than the 02US as a cheap all-in-one solution.
 

 

[tdockweiler]

It's not horrible and quite decent for the HD-650 to me, but I just wasn't a huge fan of that combination. Strangely though I loved the HD-600 with the Asgard! I thought it was a perfect pair. I also loved the Asgard with the D2000. I HATED the D2000 with portable amps and un-amped.
 
Guess I will end up selling off my E9 and Asgard. I'll probably wait a week to make sure my Micro Amp doesn't explode from over-use first. Guess I can keep the E9 for bedroom use.
The Asgard doesn't drive the K601 and K701 well. Someone told this to me before and I didn't want to believe them

I think it was someone who was using the Matrix M-Stage for his K702.
 
For those that want a nearly neutral sounding amp, the E9 is probably a good match. It does alter the mids very slightly on the K702 though I think.
 
Ugh, I hope I don't ever get myself interested in even more expensive amps. I don't even want to know what a $1500 amp will do for the HD-650.
 
Ok, this is strange, but one weird thing I noticed is that with the Micro Amp it's now super easy to spot all the garbage tracks in my collection. There is not many and 95% of my collection is lossless.
 
 
Quote:

I personally don't like the Asgard for the HD650s. I think these cans scale nicely with better quality amps. Power isn't everything, quality matters more IMO, unless you're running something really hard to drive like orthos, K1000s, or Stats. My favourite cheap amp/DAC combo with the HD650s *by far* is the Musiland 02US. Plug the cans straight into the high impedance 1/8" jack and prepare to be blown away. For the price, nothing comes close. Its DAC and amp alone aren't the best, but the combination through the headphone outputs is excellent and synergizes well with the 650s (especially when they are recabled with any decent aftermarket copper cable). I'm going to try the Yulong U100 sometime to see if it's really better than the 02US as a cheap all-in-one solution.
 

 

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Today I've discovered something really useful... Don't like how a headphone sounds? Buy a new amp! I've now done this twice. I always heard people say over and over how an amp will never make you like or dislike a headphone as long as it's adequately powered. I now don't believe this is true. I first heard this when my D2000 on my Asgard didn't feel as if it had recessed mids, but other people say it did and that the Asgard couldn't magically alter it's signature that much.
 
I was never impressed with the K702 out of the Asgard, so I bought an E9 and then found myself loving them for gaming this time around and disliked them before. They were slightly better for music, but everything felt so distant and like I was listening to music in a hangar.
 
With the HD-650 I didn't love them out of the Asgard or E9. E9 made them more neutral, but I found them kind of lifeless and music wasn't as engaging and fun to listen to as compared to the Asgard. So I connected them to that Total Airhead and found out that I preferred them out of a silly $99 Portable amp over an E9 and Asgard. The mids really came alive with the Airhead. No clue how a portable amp could do this.
 
So I bought the Headroom Micro Amp thinking it would drive them even better and hopefully retain the same signature I heard on the Airhead. I received it today and I was shocked how tiny the thing is! It's HALF the size of the E9! I had no clue when I bought it. At first I was thinking there was NO WAY such a tiny thing could drive an HD-650 or K702 well enough. Turns out it really makes them sound amazing and drives my K601, K702 and HD-650 with ease. Main reason I bought the Micro Amp is a lot of research I've done on it (goo K702 synergy) and how much I love my Total Airhead. I also believe Headroom amps are made in the USA. The Airhead I've owned forever and it's my favorite portable amp.
 
Ok, I don't know if it's just coloring the headphones or improving it, but it makes my K702 sound so totally different, but so much better. The biggest difference is that now the mids are now more forward. OK, I won't go into the differences, but it really made the K702 so much better than I can now enjoy them more for all genres. Female Vocals now don't like like I'm listening to them from 2 1/2 rows back...or listening to music in an airplane hangar!
 
I can now confirm it's a perfect match for the HD-650 also. Makes my E9 and Asgard look bad, but of course those are much cheaper. I think the sound is now like it should be. For the first time ever I've had a song on the HD-650 give me goosebumps. That never happened before somehow. So far it hasn't added much bass or anything else. I think though it improves the mids a little and they sound a tad more forward. The HD-650 is definitely a lot brighter sounding out of the Micro Amp then the E9 and Asgard. My K702 are going to get 100 hours of burn-in because they're kind of fatiguing due to the treble. They're only at the 30-40 hour mark. I made sure it wasn't the amp.
 
So I think it's safe to say this is the best resulting sound I've gotten out of my HD-650. It's quite a powerful tiny amp. On High Gain I only need to put the volume at the 40% mark. Very similar to the E9. I might do a review of this amp later, but I'm not the best as doing amp reviews. Headphones are bad enough. The only negative is that the amp is kind of pricey, but with the sound I'm getting it's hard to complain.
 
I also have my bulk wire coming in tomorrow. I'll see if I hear a difference with going from the stock HD-650 to a Canare cable. Probably not, but maybe. I wanted to get some Double Helix cable, but it's a lot more and I'll wait until later when I get better at building my own cables. I actually only learned how to solder about 2 months ago when my DJ100 died. I'm getting pretty good now at least. Amazing all the stuff you can learn online with Google and Youtube. I also just bought some "Helping Hands" for $10 on Amazon, so that should help a ton with building new AKG and HD-650 cables. Not looking forward to soldering those tiny Sennheiser connectors though. At least I know not to ignore using the flux!

It's great when you find synergy with the 650's, they can be sooo revealing and detailed. And that soundstage! Ofcourse its all a matter of preference but I would recommend trying a Hybrid tube amp next. I used to use the Creek 21SE for my 650's and I was happy with the sound for years; detailed, refined, great timing, but it wasn't until I tried tubes that my jaw dropped! it was the soundstage that improved tenfold over solid state.  
 
I'm keen to hear how you get on with your new recable
Cheers
 

 

[mpistrich]

Hello,
 
I got my HD 650 three days ago as a replacement for the HD 555. I ordered them in combination with the FiiO E7 + E9. At first I tried the HD 650 without an amplifier, and I was completely blown away. I didn't expect such an upgrade from the HD 555 even without an amp. I then tried the HD 650 with the E7 and E9 and I can just say: Wow! Listening to music with these new cans is like a completely new experience.
I heard that the HD 650 need time to burn in. Is this really true, or is it just the listener who gets used to the new cans? I believe that my headphones get better, but it could just be that I get used to them.
 
What I also recognized is that low bit rate mp3's are now a pain to listen to 

, so I am going to upgrade my music collection to FLAC.
I definitely don't regret that I bought this headphone! (although my wallet regrets it 

)