[mysticstryk]

It's pretty consistent with most recordings. Vocals on my other headphones are very clear also on low volume. On high volume, it all sounds good yes but I don't think that is good for my ears. 

Hd650s are kinda known for how sweet and natural vocals sound. That beautiful midrange is fantastic.

 

[Arniesb]

It's pretty consistent with most recordings. Vocals on my other headphones are very clear also on low volume. On high volume, it all sounds good yes but I don't think that is good for my ears. 

Same problem here, My A20 Amp sound much better than My fiio e12, but at normal listen levels it lack sparkle and air on female vocals, while E12 is not as good, but not lacking at upper frequencies. Well, i guess you cant have lush mids and sparkly up top...

 

[Arniesb]

Hd650s are kinda known for how sweet and natural vocals sound. That beautiful midrange is fantastic.

HD650 does realy have magical mids. After HD650 i never would buy headphones with bad mids.

 

[Krutsch]

I had the WA3 very nice amp indeed but Crack +Speedball better value.

 
I've heard the BH Crack + Speedball at a couple of meets - nice amp, and a great value and cool to look at; but, IMO, the WA3 is its better, assuming the right tubes.

 

[Sal1950]

Women's tights & nylons? This headphone is getting a little too strange for me. What's next, the Bruce Jenner special mod edition? LOL

 
 

 
Don't you mean Caitlyn Jenner special

 
 

 
The Brucie/Caitlyn Mod would likely have a bass-to-treble freq EQ switch. 

Maybe available in two different colors, blue and pink.  

 

 

[Arniesb]

Maybe available in two different colors, blue and pink.  :eek:  

It Would be perfect to have both, but difference is not big enough to buy it... Unless price would be very tempting.

 

[Krutsch]

 
Quote:

So do you prefer them to the 650's? Would you agree they're tuned closely? Warm/dark?

Also John Coltrane - A Love Supreme: the Complete Masters. Blowing my effing mind. Amazing release.

 
The NightHawks seem to be even more polarizing than the HD-700s - the NightHawk thread got mean at one point and people were banned 

 
In general, the jury is still out for me on that one. The NightHawks cannot compare with the mids of the 650s, without a doubt, and the mids can sound recessed.
 
The distortion-free upper registers are really sweet; fantastic separation, especially listening to treble sounds mixed with the warm, richness of the upper bass. What's really interesting about these cans is how well the different frequencies mix - I don't know how to describe it, but it's unique among my collection of 'phones. And, these things are simply without distortion, even when it seems like they should be when improperly amped (overdriven or current starved, as in listening with my OTL at max volume, which causes very audible distortion with my Grados).
 
Anyway, I really love 'em, but they are not for every genre of music. They are sensitive to amp choice, IMO. I test drove cans with a number of different SS amps and was super impressed with how nice the Lehmann Rhinelander sounded, so I bought one; especially with the NightHawks and, even more so, with my Grados, which I've never heard sound so nice with acoustic guitar.

 

[Krutsch]

  For jazz vocalists, try Patricia Barber. Her discs are very well-recorded.
 

 
They are well recorded - especially some of her newer ones enjoyed on a surround system (I think Barber's Modern Cool won a Grammy in the engineering category).
 
For content, however, I prefer old school female jazz vocalists: Ella, Betty Carter, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson and Carmen McRae.
 
For new school: Holly Cole, Lyn Stanley and sometimes Diana Krall.

 

[Sal1950]

Just for grins I went back to post #1 and read thru the first couple pages of posts that started in 9/06. It's interesting and very revealing that a whole list of different members were saying exactly the same things that are being said today, 9 years later. There are VERY few components that I can think of that not only are considered classics, but ones that are still being purchased new in large numbers twelve years after their introduction. I have a feeling that they may still be going strong another 10 years from now.
After all the effort Senn has put into the new Orpheus to create what they believe is the worlds best can, I wonder if they will still be into production 12 years from now?
No matter what anyone thinks there's something about the HD-650s that make them very special!

 

[donlin]

The NightHawks seem to be even more polarizing than the HD-700s - the NightHawk thread got mean at one point and people were banned :eek:

In general, the jury is still out for me on that one. The NightHawks cannot compare with the mids of the 650s, without a doubt, and the mids can sound recessed.

The distortion-free upper registers are really sweet; fantastic separation, especially listening to treble sounds mixed with the warm, richness of the upper bass. What's really interesting about these cans is how well the different frequencies mix - I don't know how to describe it, but it's unique among my collection of 'phones. And, these things are simply without distortion, even when it seems like they should be when improperly amped (overdriven or current starved, as in listening with my OTL at max volume, which causes very audible distortion with my Grados).

Anyway, I really love 'em, but they are not for every genre of music. They are sensitive to amp choice, IMO. I test drove cans with a number of different SS amps and was super impressed with how nice the Lehmann Rhinelander sounded, so I bought one; especially with the NightHawks and, even more so, with my Grados, which I've never heard sound so nice with acoustic guitar.

I was very excited about the Nighthawks when I first got them, then ended up back on the 650's. Since getting the Oppo HA-1, however, the Nighthawks are sounding really amazing so they are definitely amp dependent.

 

[nivram51]

I just start introducing myself: I am a 64 year old electronic engineer, and I spent some of my working years in acoustic and vibrations field.
I have been an audiophile since the 60, and I have been quite a serious classical guitar and piano player at the time.
I had in the eighties a decent Hi-fi chain: Marantz 1090+ KEF 104 AB+ other Marantz stuff, and a good Satin MC117 (and Koss headphones, gone since log time), and I was really enjoying the use of them with a lot of vinyl recordings at the time. Listening to classical music, classical guitar, rock and jazz and blues, and lately new age and celtic music too.
Then, for working reasons, I kept more and more traveling, and my beloved stuff was lying at home, not to mention piano and classical guitar (by the way, not to mention family too... while I was around the world, quite often buying in the first period vinyl's and later on CD's when it happened to me to be in cheaper areas (for tax reasons mostly). When then I was flying home, I was having a quick hearing session and then on the road again.
When mp3's and iPod came out, I was thrilled by the fact of finally being able to carry with me my music, and of course I jumped in that bandwagon pretty quickly.
Of course, the quality of this listening was quite far from the one I was used to (and my system was on the cheap side, nothing exceptional), but at least there was a listening available.
So, in the years, I've been trying to improve my mobile listening, and I went through several Bose QC15 and QC25 for using on the planes, and a very good in-ear phone Audeo PFE232 (unluckily no more produced). Also I purchase a FIIO amp for the iPod (for the iPhones is not so useful as the volume somehow is better).
But always when I had a chance and I compared to a vinyl on my old stuff at home, there was no comparison and it was always sad to come back to the world of lossy files.
Finally, some months ago, in view of the fact that I could be from then on more at home, I started an extensive search and I tried several headphones, ampli and music files whenever it was possible to find them for testing. And I spent countless hours in Head-Fi blogs, and these have been extremely helpful to me.
As a result, I now have Sennheiser HD650 headphones, and a Marantz HD-DAC1 to drive them.
I am using this equipment to listen to several of my CD that I ripped lossless in the years by connecting my Mac, and also listening to some of my vinyls (both ripped and by connecting the pre of my Marantz to the Marantz DAC).
In these months I also had a chance to listen to some DSD files and of course when I decided to buy the 650s and the HD-DAC1 it was already clear that I would have had a good use with these files.
Maybe I am too fresh with all of this new material to make a deep judgement, but I can confirm by my first listening session what I have read and understood and what I was thinking while buying:
1) the HD650 are at the moment the best I have heard from Sennheiser, and I have checked all of them, but I prefer the bass behaviour of the 650s, and they are more comfortable to wear
2) the HD-DAC1 is a very good device, by listening to it I finally went to some sensations I never had since the first times I was using my Marantz stuff in 1977, it made me almost cry by happiness
3) to start, I purchased some good tracks from Qobuz and I purchased very good classical music tracks from Blue Coast Records, that I had opportunity to listen with other equipments from a friend.
In particular, with a recording of Beethoven Mass in C by San Francisco Symphony released by Blue Coast, I reached the peace of my senses; to be honest, until when I do't know, as I am constantly on the move, and soon I will find little defects in all, but today I am more than happy of the money I spent and I am getting ready to go through the Christmas time with these gifts I made to myself.
Eventually in a few months I will come back with more details on this combination, and also there are quite some friends curious to compare to their equipments, so we will have a good work basis.
 

 

[whirlwind]

  I just start introducing myself: I am a 64 year old electronic engineer, and I spent some of my working years in acoustic and vibrations field.
I have been an audiophile since the 60, and I have been quite a serious classical guitar and piano player at the time.
I had in the eighties a decent Hi-fi chain: Marantz 1090+ KEF 104 AB+ other Marantz stuff, and a good Satin MC117 (and Koss headphones, gone since log time), and I was really enjoying the use of them with a lot of vinyl recordings at the time. Listening to classical music, classical guitar, rock and jazz and blues, and lately new age and celtic music too.
Then, for working reasons, I kept more and more traveling, and my beloved stuff was lying at home, not to mention piano and classical guitar (by the way, not to mention family too... while I was around the world, quite often buying in the first period vinyl's and later on CD's when it happened to me to be in cheaper areas (for tax reasons mostly). When then I was flying home, I was having a quick hearing session and then on the road again.
When mp3's and iPod came out, I was thrilled by the fact of finally being able to carry with me my music, and of course I jumped in that bandwagon pretty quickly.
Of course, the quality of this listening was quite far from the one I was used to (and my system was on the cheap side, nothing exceptional), but at least there was a listening available.
So, in the years, I've been trying to improve my mobile listening, and I went through several Bose QC15 and QC25 for using on the planes, and a very good in-ear phone Audeo PFE232 (unluckily no more produced). Also I purchase a FIIO amp for the iPod (for the iPhones is not so useful as the volume somehow is better).
But always when I had a chance and I compared to a vinyl on my old stuff at home, there was no comparison and it was always sad to come back to the world of lossy files.
Finally, some months ago, in view of the fact that I could be from then on more at home, I started an extensive search and I tried several headphones, ampli and music files whenever it was possible to find them for testing. And I spent countless hours in Head-Fi blogs, and these have been extremely helpful to me.
As a result, I now have Sennheiser HD650 headphones, and a Marantz HD-DAC1 to drive them.
I am using this equipment to listen to several of my CD that I ripped lossless in the years by connecting my Mac, and also listening to some of my vinyls (both ripped and by connecting the pre of my Marantz to the Marantz DAC).
In these months I also had a chance to listen to some DSD files and of course when I decided to buy the 650s and the HD-DAC1 it was already clear that I would have had a good use with these files.
Maybe I am too fresh with all of this new material to make a deep judgement, but I can confirm by my first listening session what I have read and understood and what I was thinking while buying:
1) the HD650 are at the moment the best I have heard from Sennheiser, and I have checked all of them, but I prefer the bass behaviour of the 650s, and they are more comfortable to wear
2) the HD-DAC1 is a very good device, by listening to it I finally went to some sensations I never had since the first times I was using my Marantz stuff in 1977, it made me almost cry by happiness
3) to start, I purchased some good tracks from Qobuz and I purchased very good classical music tracks from Blue Coast Records, that I had opportunity to listen with other equipments from a friend.
In particular, with a recording of Beethoven Mass in C by San Francisco Symphony released by Blue Coast, I reached the peace of my senses; to be honest, until when I do't know, as I am constantly on the move, and soon I will find little defects in all, but today I am more than happy of the money I spent and I am getting ready to go through the Christmas time with these gifts I made to myself.
Eventually in a few months I will come back with more details on this combination, and also there are quite some friends curious to compare to their equipments, so we will have a good work basis.
 

Great first post....welcome 

 

[Quinto]

  I just start introducing myself: I am a 64 year old electronic engineer, and I spent some of my working years in acoustic and vibrations field.
I have been an audiophile since the 60, and I have been quite a serious classical guitar and piano player at the time.
I had in the eighties a decent Hi-fi chain: Marantz 1090+ KEF 104 AB+ other Marantz stuff, and a good Satin MC117 (and Koss headphones, gone since log time), and I was really enjoying the use of them with a lot of vinyl recordings at the time. Listening to classical music, classical guitar, rock and jazz and blues, and lately new age and celtic music too.
Then, for working reasons, I kept more and more traveling, and my beloved stuff was lying at home, not to mention piano and classical guitar (by the way, not to mention family too... while I was around the world, quite often buying in the first period vinyl's and later on CD's when it happened to me to be in cheaper areas (for tax reasons mostly). When then I was flying home, I was having a quick hearing session and then on the road again.
When mp3's and iPod came out, I was thrilled by the fact of finally being able to carry with me my music, and of course I jumped in that bandwagon pretty quickly.
Of course, the quality of this listening was quite far from the one I was used to (and my system was on the cheap side, nothing exceptional), but at least there was a listening available.
So, in the years, I've been trying to improve my mobile listening, and I went through several Bose QC15 and QC25 for using on the planes, and a very good in-ear phone Audeo PFE232 (unluckily no more produced). Also I purchase a FIIO amp for the iPod (for the iPhones is not so useful as the volume somehow is better).
But always when I had a chance and I compared to a vinyl on my old stuff at home, there was no comparison and it was always sad to come back to the world of lossy files.
Finally, some months ago, in view of the fact that I could be from then on more at home, I started an extensive search and I tried several headphones, ampli and music files whenever it was possible to find them for testing. And I spent countless hours in Head-Fi blogs, and these have been extremely helpful to me.
As a result, I now have Sennheiser HD650 headphones, and a Marantz HD-DAC1 to drive them.
I am using this equipment to listen to several of my CD that I ripped lossless in the years by connecting my Mac, and also listening to some of my vinyls (both ripped and by connecting the pre of my Marantz to the Marantz DAC).
In these months I also had a chance to listen to some DSD files and of course when I decided to buy the 650s and the HD-DAC1 it was already clear that I would have had a good use with these files.
Maybe I am too fresh with all of this new material to make a deep judgement, but I can confirm by my first listening session what I have read and understood and what I was thinking while buying:
1) the HD650 are at the moment the best I have heard from Sennheiser, and I have checked all of them, but I prefer the bass behaviour of the 650s, and they are more comfortable to wear
2) the HD-DAC1 is a very good device, by listening to it I finally went to some sensations I never had since the first times I was using my Marantz stuff in 1977, it made me almost cry by happiness
3) to start, I purchased some good tracks from Qobuz and I purchased very good classical music tracks from Blue Coast Records, that I had opportunity to listen with other equipments from a friend.
In particular, with a recording of Beethoven Mass in C by San Francisco Symphony released by Blue Coast, I reached the peace of my senses; to be honest, until when I do't know, as I am constantly on the move, and soon I will find little defects in all, but today I am more than happy of the money I spent and I am getting ready to go through the Christmas time with these gifts I made to myself.
Eventually in a few months I will come back with more details on this combination, and also there are quite some friends curious to compare to their equipments, so we will have a good work basis.
 

Welcome

  you made a good choice on the HD650, love mine for classical and Jazz  I am a sucker for Marantz as well

(use a PM11S2 amp for my Harbeth speakers)

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
They are well recorded - especially some of her newer ones enjoyed on a surround system (I think Barber's Modern Cool won a Grammy in the engineering category).
 
For content, however, I prefer old school female jazz vocalists: Ella, Betty Carter, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson and Carmen McRae.
 
For new school: Holly Cole, Lyn Stanley and sometimes Diana Krall.

Shirley Horn.
 
Barber doesn't have the top vocal skills of the lot -- in fact, she mumbles and isn't really singing much of the time. But her lyrics are very original and are a treat to hear, along with her quartet. Companion is my fav album of Barber, along with Mythologies.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

welcome @nivram51.  Sounds like you've had quite a musical journey and the 650s are the proverbial "end of the rainbow" as far as HPs are concerned 

. Enjoy!