[Rdrcr]

  Which amp? 

 
Perhaps not everyone's flavor but;
The Nuforce HA-200 was the amp that brought my HD650's to life.  I'm now using a Bryston BHA-1 without complaints.  

  
 
Mike

 

[HerrWallen]

Which amp? 

I already had the Ifi Micro ICAN SE and that drives them well, making me hear differences in both chain and source-material even if it is on the slightly polite side of things.
That and the Aune T1SE as dac will keep me going while I save up for an bottlehead..

 

[CanadianMaestro]

   
Perhaps not everyone's flavor but;
  I'm now using a Bryston BHA-1 without complaints.  

  
 
Mike

Yeah, that's the one.

 

[jasonb]

I'm really liking my HD650, and this whole new setup as a whole. My system is an Acer Chromebook R11 usb out to a JDS Labs ODAC feeding a Schiit Audio Magni 2 Uber which is of course powering the HD650. The amp and DAC are on an "end Table" next to my recliner, so it's a very relaxing setting. My music is either Flac, and some random old high bitrate MP3 on a 200GB SD card, or Tidal HiFi. The Chromebook makes everything very simple, buts it's just enough. It plays music and streams music without any issues. I also have Ubuntu on this chromebook as well, but only for the purpose of using an external CD drive to rip audio CD's onto it. The HD650 is both fun and relaxing, but is still capable of sounding detailed on a good clean recording. It still seems to show all the detail that the Q701 does, just more politely. The Magni 2 Uber and ODAC seem to be a great source and amp for the HD650, with the ODAC known to be a tad bright and detailed, and the HD650 known to be a bit warm. The Magni2U has plenty of power, and on high gain I'm using it in the 9-10 o'clock area on the volume dial. I could definitely use low gain on the amp with the HD650 and still be in the 12-1 o'clock area, but I've been using it on high gain so far. 

 

[LazyListener]

@jasonb
 
So how does it compare to the LG V10?

 

[jasonb]

This setup is definitely better. Not sure how to put it in words yet, but it's better. I'm not sure if the ODAC is technically better than the 9018 that's in the V10, but to my ears it sounds just as clean and detailed. I know the ODAC is using an older chip. The Magni definitely is much more powerful.

 

[RiflemanFirst]

Wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar with the HD650s (or any other headphones really.) When I first started using the HD650s with my Vali 2 amp, I had the volume knob around the 12 o'clock position with hi-gain and Windows volume at 100%. In the past week, I've found myself using the HD650s with the Vali 2's volume adjusted lower to the 10 o'clock position and all other settings the same. Is this just a result of "getting used to" the HD650s or could this be a result of breaking in? Curious to see what other listeners have to say.

 

[mks100]

Could be Environmental.  The HD 650 is extremely open and sounds from your HVAC, Appliances, etc. could have caused you to listen at a higher volume initially.  I listen to my HD 650 between 11 O'Clock & 12 O'Clock on Low Gain typically.  I just received the HD 650 this past Thursday and have been burning them in with my XLO Reference Recordings "System Burn-In Track" for the past 4 days and listening on and off.  I listen to my HE-400i at similar levels.  The only variance as to how loud I listen is Environmental.  Trying High Gain I dialed it back to 9 O'Clock.  Anything below 9 O'Clock on High Gain may result in Channel Imbalance so I just use Low Gain.  Hope that helps.

 

[Solrighal]

What's an "HVAC"?

 

[jimmers]

What's an "HVAC"?

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning

 

[Fearless1]

Heating ventelation air conditioning

 

[RiflemanFirst]

  Could be Environmental.  The HD 650 is extremely open and sounds from your HVAC, Appliances, etc. could have caused you to listen at a higher volume initially. 

 
Good point. It has started to get warmer here and the heat definitely isn't kicking in, especially today. That probably explains the need for less volume.

 

[MikeW]

how does the 650 compare to thr 400i

 

[Russin]

  how does the 650 compare to thr 400i

 
Just did some aggressive listening between the two yesterday. Amped via JDS Labs C5D running 320kb MP3s off my phone.
 
The interesting thing that I picked up on - despite both being fantastic headphones, the 650s are strong in perfectly the right area to bring out the 400i's only real "weakness."
 
If you listen to 20 low-to-mid-fi headphones in any given shop and then throw on the 400is, you'll rate them near the top due to their precision across the spectrum with fantastic bass extension - but the clarity and details in the upper mids on the 650 really lets you appreciate the "gap" in the 400is between the well-defined bass and the precision highs.
 
The 400i gives a very intimate feeling, but the seamless transition from the mids into the highs on the 650s seems to open them up into substantially more space. In fact, if you listen to the two headphones back to back, it will nearly have you saying that the 400is sound muffled (but again - put on any other headphones to cure yourself of that illusion).
 
Are you familiar with that sensation of upper mids "coming over the top" so-to speak? For an example of what I mean, play Thriller through a few pair of headphones, and wait for the moment when the synth first kicks in with the recognizable riff (around 37 seconds).
 
On a really open, airy pair of headphones, that moment is euphoric - you suddenly feel all of the headroom explode into the upper mids and the space expands dramatically.
 
The 650s have that feeling on always.
 
I actually ended up with the 400is because I wanted to take a planar adventure, but I definitely find myself thinking about those sweet sweet 650s.

 

[paradoxology]

 
I actually ended up with the 400is because I wanted to take a planar adventure, but I definitely find myself thinking about those sweet sweet 650s.

I have both the HE-400i and the HD 6XX (HD 650) and I prefer the HD 6XX for most music. It simply covers all the bases.