[DavidA]

@nivram51, as a musician how do you feel the HD-650 renders music compared to other headphones you have listened to?  Also, welcome to these pages

 

[connieflyer]

@nivram51 Welcome to our humble discussion group

 

[Krutsch]

@nivram51  Welcome to Head-Fi ... sorry about your wallet. 

 

[painted klown]

  Go for it bro, and as long as it's fun have a ball.
I'm a major firearms collector and sport/target shooter. I started out doing my own ammo reloading for the cost savings but eventually got into it as a hobby all it's own. A lot of friends ask me "man that's a lot of work, looks like a major PITA", What can I say, I enjoy it, it's relaxing for me to be sitting at the press cranking out ammo, experimenting with different loads for improved accuracy, etc. 
As long as you enjoy it, do it.
As far as vinyl, I won't go there, it would only start a war with the analog-philes
But Rice Krispies are better saved for breakfast.  LOL

 
OK, I literally JUST pulled the trigger!
 
I hope I like it.

This is a good overview of the family of tubes compatible with the new Vali 2 - http://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm

No doubt a Vali 2 tube-rollers thread will emerge to help guide you. If not, the Lyr 2/Valhalla 2 tube-roller threads could be of some help, as those amps also utilise the same input tubes.

Don't stress too much about imbalances. Just find reputable sellers who test and back the glass they sell.

The Vali 2 is cheap and utilises a single tube. There are a lot of great sounding tubes you could explore, from the megabuck rare unicorns to more common types that'll only cost you some loose change.

Thanks for the link. That's a good read, and very informative.
 
I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning last night, trying to learn as much about tubes as I could in one night. LOL!
 
Anyway, it appears to me that all of the tubes that can be used in the Vali 2 seem to be in the same "family" so-to-speak. It also looks like they are considered to be pre-amp tubes (makes perfect sense, given the application) and if I am not mistaken, any tube in this same family can be swapped for any other tube within the family (not sure what the actual term is, but that's how I understand it).
 
What I mean by this is that when I search on tube sales websites, the tubes listed on the Schiit website (6DJ8, 6922, ECC88, 2492) all seem to be pretty much clumped together. This is what lead me to think they are in a family together, and why I concluded that they can all be swapped out for one another. Most websites even have 2 or more of these designations listed for a single tube.
 
Do I have that correct?
 
nivram51: Welcome to the forum! Glad to have a new member aboard. It looks like you have a lot of experience in both live music and audio gear! 

 

[EinZweiDrei]

don't know if it's just me but if i close my eyes and analyze
what im listening  to sometimes i mistake the vocalist's breath for my own.

 

[fuzzybaffy]

Picked up the ol' HD-650 again, after fawning over my newly acquired TH-900 for a while. 
 
I just love the Sennheiser sound. It seems to me almost every other headphone manufacturer likes to adulter the sound to have their own "stamp" on it, but Sennheiser just likes to present sound as "normal" and "standard" as possible. It just makes for really long, easy, enjoyable listening sessions. 
 
I won't say that I like the HD-650 more than the TH-900, and it definitely isn't as good as the TH-900 in technical performance, but the HD-650 just reminds me how I love the Sennheiser sound. The HD-800s is definitely next on my to-buy list. 

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Go for it bro, and as long as it's fun have a ball.
I'm a major firearms collector and sport/target shooter. I started out doing my own ammo reloading for the cost savings but eventually got into it as a hobby all it's own. A lot of friends ask me "man that's a lot of work, looks like a major PITA", What can I say, I enjoy it, it's relaxing for me to be sitting at the press cranking out ammo, experimenting with different loads for improved accuracy, etc. 
As long as you enjoy it, do it.
As far as vinyl, I won't go there, it would only start a war with the analog-philes
But Rice Krispies are better saved for breakfast.  LOL

 
OK, I literally JUST pulled the trigger!
 
I hope I like it.

This is a good overview of the family of tubes compatible with the new Vali 2 - http://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm

No doubt a Vali 2 tube-rollers thread will emerge to help guide you. If not, the Lyr 2/Valhalla 2 tube-roller threads could be of some help, as those amps also utilise the same input tubes.

Don't stress too much about imbalances. Just find reputable sellers who test and back the glass they sell.

The Vali 2 is cheap and utilises a single tube. There are a lot of great sounding tubes you could explore, from the megabuck rare unicorns to more common types that'll only cost you some loose change.

Thanks for the link. That's a good read, and very informative.
 
I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning last night, trying to learn as much about tubes as I could in one night. LOL!
 
Anyway, it appears to me that all of the tubes that can be used in the Vali 2 seem to be in the same "family" so-to-speak. It also looks like they are considered to be pre-amp tubes (makes perfect sense, given the application) and if I am not mistaken, any tube in this same family can be swapped for any other tube within the family (not sure what the actual term is, but that's how I understand it).
 
What I mean by this is that when I search on tube sales websites, the tubes listed on the Schiit website (6DJ8, 6922, ECC88, 2492) all seem to be pretty much clumped together. This is what lead me to think they are in a family together, and why I concluded that they can all be swapped out for one another. Most websites even have 2 or more of these designations listed for a single tube.
 
Do I have that correct?
 
nivram51: Welcome to the forum! Glad to have a new member aboard. It looks like you have a lot of experience in both live music and audio gear! 

This thread will be a big help to you, enjoy your journey and mostly...have fun  

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/790828/official-schiit-vali-2-thread

 

[nivram51]

It is easy to be better than in ear, wireless, noise suppression headphones, and I had mostly those.
All these categories have reasons to be purchased, to listen while doing sports ot flying or just traveling.
The latest on ear wired headphone I had was in the 90's.
I am very satisfied of the 650s for home listening, if compared not to what I had before, which is not comparable, but to what I have listened in the last weeks prior to purchase my ones.
Togheter with the HD-DAC1 these are perfect for my taste, warm enough and with a good spatial distinction, and I hope not to find a better headphone or amp shortly, I will carefully avoid to test new ones for a while, let's say at least until 2016, you know...my wallet need to stay out of trouble for a while!

 

[polyrhythm66]

do you guys think it's a good deal to pay $220 for a pair of hd650 with aprox 200 hours usage? sorry if it's the wrong thread to ask.
 
thanks!

 

[mysticstryk]

It is easy to be better than in ear, wireless, noise suppression headphones, and I had mostly those.
All these categories have reasons to be purchased, to listen while doing sports ot flying or just traveling.
The latest on ear wired headphone I had was in the 90's.
I am very satisfied of the 650s for home listening, if compared not to what I had before, which is not comparable, but to what I have listened in the last weeks prior to purchase my ones.
Togheter with the HD-DAC1 these are perfect for my taste, warm enough and with a good spatial distinction, and I hope not to find a better headphone or amp shortly, I will carefully avoid to test new ones for a while, let's say at least until 2016, you know...my wallet need to stay out of trouble for a while!

Unless you plan to audition $1k+ flagships on equally expensive gear, you'll be hard pressed to find something else that would absolutely put the hd650 to shame IMO.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

  do you guys think it's a good deal to pay $220 for a pair of hd650 with aprox 200 hours usage? sorry if it's the wrong thread to ask.
 
thanks!

If it's physically and electrically intact, I would.  Great deal if so. 

 

[connieflyer]

Sounds good to me, if like CanadianMaestro says in good physical condition, I have two pair, the first one I bought in Dec 2012, and then along came a 12 hour sale and got another pair Jan this year.  Older pair sound just as good as the new pair, so I would not worry about time on drivers,

 

[mysticstryk]

Sounds good to me, if like CanadianMaestro says in good physical condition, I have two pair, the first one I bought in Dec 2012, and then along came a 12 hour sale and got another pair Jan this year.  Older pair sound just as good as the new pair, so I would not worry about time on drivers,

Really a testament to Sennheisers engineers. We still have Hd580s floating around from 20 years ago.

 

[ubs28]

Unless you plan to audition $1k+ flagships on equally expensive gear, you'll be hard pressed to find something else that would absolutely put the hd650 to shame IMO.

 
I think my Shure SE846 is superior to the HD650 imo and doesn't really require expensive gear to run. 

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   

at triple the 650's price, anything goes.
 
I had an SE425, and I didn't last one month with it. Too bright, over-ear loop was annoying. Didn't bother trying to audition higher Shures.