[cskippy]

You might be better served implementing your own EQ to suite your preferences. Use a couple different measurement sites to get a broad overview of what your headphones frequency response is like then make tweaks from there.

 

[80smusicboy]

Bought a brand new HD650 yesterday. Excellent headphone as we all know.
I connected it to my Marantz PM7005 integrated amplifier with DAC and also tried the headphone out of my 8 year old Asus Laptop and guess what?
Almost no difference whatsoever in sound between the two devices. If anything the voices were clearer and more upfront on the laptop.
I used to have a FiiO E10 DAC/Amp before and I couldn't tell the difference (in SQ, not volume) from my laptop as well.
Either I don't have golden ears or the difference is being overblown.

 

[DavidA]

Bought a brand new HD650 yesterday. Excellent headphone as we all know.
I connected it to my Marantz PM7005 integrated amplifier with DAC and also tried the headphone out of my 8 year old Asus Laptop and guess what?
Almost no difference whatsoever in sound between the two devices. If anything the voices were clearer and more upfront on the laptop.
I used to have a FiiO E10 DAC/Amp before and I couldn't tell the difference (in SQ, not volume) from my laptop as well.
Either I don't have golden ears or the difference is being overblown.

I can tell the difference between my BH Crack and Lyr2 very easily but I wouldn't call it big difference since not everyone that I know will notice the differences. Its possible that what someone calls a "huge" improvement might be considered a small difference by another, its all relative and I think many overstate differences and since we also have different scales on how we rate differences it makes it even more difficult.

If your Asus laptop is a gaming laptop it probably has a good audio section and it might be one reason you don't notice much difference. I used to have 2 ROG motherboards and they had very good audio sections and could drive my HD700, HE400 and SRH-1840 very easily.

 

[Odin412]

Bought a brand new HD650 yesterday. Excellent headphone as we all know.
I connected it to my Marantz PM7005 integrated amplifier with DAC and also tried the headphone out of my 8 year old Asus Laptop and guess what?
Almost no difference whatsoever in sound between the two devices. If anything the voices were clearer and more upfront on the laptop.
I used to have a FiiO E10 DAC/Amp before and I couldn't tell the difference (in SQ, not volume) from my laptop as well.
Either I don't have golden ears or the difference is being overblown.

One of the things to be aware of in this hobby is that many people IMHO use big words to describe small changes. Speaking for myself, I can hear the sound differences from different amps and DACs using the HD650, although the differences can sometimes be small.

The contributors to differences in sound quality in order of priority to my ears are:
1. Headphones
2. Amps
3. DACs

(To some there's a fourth category with cables etc., but I don't hear any differences so I don't worry about any of that.)

To my ears there's a big step in audibility between each of these - meaning that the differences between DACs are smaller to my ears than the differences between amps. Of course, YMMV, as always.

 

[MWSVette]

One of the things to be aware of in this hobby is that many people IMHO use big words to describe small changes. Speaking for myself, I can hear the sound differences from different amps and DACs using the HD650, although the differences can sometimes be small.

The contributors to differences in sound quality in order of priority to my ears are:
1. Headphones
2. Amps
3. DACs

(To some there's a fourth category with cables etc., but I don't hear any differences so I don't worry about any of that.)

To my ears there's a big step in audibility between each of these - meaning that the differences between DACs are smaller to my ears than the differences between amps. Of course, YMMV, as always.

Agreed.

Also in the 4th category would be tubes, fuses, vibration isolation, magic paper and the like...

 

[LazyListener]

not everyone that I know will notice the differences. Its possible that what someone calls a "huge" improvement might be considered a small difference by another, its all relative and I think many overstate differences and since we also have different scales on how we rate differences it makes it even more difficult.

This^. I wish more people understood this instead of arguing with others about the level of differences they hear with the same equipment.

 

[DavidA]

One of the things to be aware of in this hobby is that many people IMHO use big words to describe small changes. Speaking for myself, I can hear the sound differences from different amps and DACs using the HD650, although the differences can sometimes be small.

The contributors to differences in sound quality in order of priority to my ears are:
1. Headphones
2. Amps
3. DACs

(To some there's a fourth category with cables etc., but I don't hear any differences so I don't worry about any of that.)

To my ears there's a big step in audibility between each of these - meaning that the differences between DACs are smaller to my ears than the differences between amps. Of course, YMMV, as always.

Agreed.

Also in the 4th category would be tubes, fuses, vibration isolation, magic paper and the like...

I would put tubes before or equal to DACs but agree with the rest of your 4th category

 

[cskippy]

Don't forget source: PC (prebuilt, custom, built for audio?), Mac, CD player, turntable. Source can have a big impact on sound.

 

[serman005]

Don't forget source: PC (prebuilt, custom, built for audio?), Mac, CD player, turntable. Source can have a big impact on sound.

Indeed.

 

[castleofargh]

Don't forget source: PC (prebuilt, custom, built for audio?), Mac, CD player, turntable. Source can have a big impact on sound.

aside from non digital sources, in most cases the variations should be minimal and way down in the list. of course crap happens sometimes, but let's not make a rule out of some dysfunctional event. if changing the headphone isn't the most significant change of the sound, then the chain probably has some serious fidelity issues.

 

[iancraig10]

One of the things to be aware of in this hobby is that many people IMHO use big words to describe small changes. Speaking for myself, I can hear the sound differences from different amps and DACs using the HD650, although the differences can sometimes be small.

The contributors to differences in sound quality in order of priority to my ears are:
1. Headphones
2. Amps
3. DACs

(To some there's a fourth category with cables etc., but I don't hear any differences so I don't worry about any of that.)

To my ears there's a big step in audibility between each of these - meaning that the differences between DACs are smaller to my ears than the differences between amps. Of course, YMMV, as always.

The biggest and best change I made to my hd650 was to plug it into a Kameleon amp. I have three now for different headphones including a portable version which I use with the HD650. I often sit in the garden with them and the Kameleon amp addresses some of the Senn's problems.

It is basically an amp with an eq module fitted inside, so it can be connected to whatever you want. Solderdude measured the FR of the HD650 and devised a filter to help flatten and extend its perceived response.

So, you lose the mid bass hump, gain a lower sub bass and treble clarity is slightly better too. You end up with a headphone that sounds like it's in another league. Solderdude feels that the only one that he has that betters it on a Kameleon is the HD800 and by just a very small amount. For the HD800, the Kameleon takes the treble spike down.

The bass slam is almost 'feelable' as well. Not the higher mid bass type of bass, but extremely deep, 'thud' type bass that on some music, almost makes the cups feel as though they're jumping up off my ears!!

To me, that has been the largest improvement that I've heard on the hd650 compared to anything else.

The Kameleon is a 'home build' amp and is basically dedicated to one headphone unless you want to keep changing the filter module inside, which is why I have three of them.

To me, the HD650 no longer sounds quite right without the Kameleon. Slightly more 'boxed in' and less open sounding, with a slightly thick colouration. Plus, the lowest bass sounds just aren't there without it.

Another advantage of the Kameleon is that you can use it with any player and you aren't tied to a computer with EQ software. I can use a battery operated Kameleon outside quite happily. It uses two rechargeable 9v batteries to power it and I can tell no difference between my mains driven ones and the portable. The portable one can also be used powered up from a USB mains charger without batteries if you don't need a charge up.

 

[Odin412]

I would put tubes before or equal to DACs but agree with the rest of your 4th category

Yes, I forgot about tubes. To my ears the differences between different tubes is definitely audible. Before I got my Schiit Saga preamp for my speaker system I wasn't really into tube rolling, but that amp has opened my eyes. Going from the stock tubes (very nice, actually) to Tung-Sol and Electro-Harmonix (way too bright) to my current 50s vintage Raytheon tube (yummy) I can finally say that I get what the vintage tube thing is about. Fortunately the Saga has only one tube which helps keep the tube rolling costs down.

 

[LaCuffia]

I find that the HD650 is a great pairing with the Violectric V100. The 650 still maintains that weighty and rich sound but I don't find it "dark" or ...you know that dreaded and cliched descriptor - "veiled."

From what I've read the HD800 is even better with the Violectric - the Sennheiser head engineer himself is said to have recommended the pairing.

I guess something about the Violectric designs is a perfect match with Sennheiser headphones.

 

[serman005]

aside from non digital sources, in most cases the variations should be minimal and way down in the list. of course **** happens sometimes, but let's not make a rule out of some dysfunctional event. if changing the headphone isn't the most significant change of the sound, then the chain probably has some serious fidelity issues.

You are not saying there is a minimal difference between the sonics of a run-of-the-mill, inexpensive CD player and a killer, TOTL CD player, are you? I would not agree with that, personally. FWIW. YMMV, of course.

 

[80smusicboy]

Well, my understanding is that we have different views about what might be a huge improvement in sound quality but that's alright.

Another thing: I pretty sure my HD650 had never been touched before I opened the box but I found that the plugs that connect to the earpieces were inverted, with the letters L and R facing inwards.
I found it odd at first because these are my second HD650 (my first were the black silk version) and on the first set those letters were facing outwards. But I didn't pay much more attention to that until I opened the booklet stating the correct position and then I changed it but didn't notice any difference which makes sense since both drivers had their polarity inverted (and not just one).
Still, they should have been correctly inserted at the factory.