[iancraig10]

I just got in and took a look at my hd650. There is a silver hologram in the right cup, behind the grill, just above the plug entry point.

If yours is new and from Sennheiser, it should have this.

It's just that after a bad experience with the Audio Technica MSR7, I am extremely wary of fake headphones. Best to check that too and if the hologram is missing, send it straight back after letting them know that you will be informing Sennheiser.

I did that with my AT. Instant refund. Didn't even want the headphone back. I took photos of the drivers and sent them to Audio Technica who got on their case.

It's just a bit unusual for a company like Sennheiser to do this, or the headphone has been sent out and is a return, where someone has pulled the leads off and forced them back on again.

 

[80smusicboy]

The headphone is genuine. I'm sure about that.
It has the holograms, it passes the test on sennheiser's webpage, the store only sells genuine products and the headphone has that glorious sound quality.
It's just the cable that came reversed in the plug.

I bought an Hifiman RE0 from them some 7 years ago that I still use. When it was 1,5 years old one of the earpieces separated in two.
I contacted them about that (the warranty in the EU is valid for 2 years) and they refused to help because they were no longer selling their products (now
they do again).
I took my chances and glued the two parts together and it has been fine ever since.
So I might just get a refund and pay some 50 or 60€ more and buy from amazon.

 

[iancraig10]

In that case, it might be a return.

Senn are normally pretty stringent. Hope it goes well for you.

 

[Solrighal]

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.

It sounds to me that your headphones were a demo unit. I find it hard to believe that it happened in the factory where they're probably assembling hundreds every day. I think the switch happened in the shop. I'd return them & ask for a full refund. Buy them somewhere else.

 

[80smusicboy]

They seemed brand new to me but one never knows. The price was great (262€) but it wasn't worth this hassle.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[castleofargh]

If you're talking about CD players with integrated DAC's, it can make a huge difference.

Basically the DAC is the most critical part of everything (yes, also more important than the headphone itself). If I had the choice to either keep the Focal Utopia or the Chord Dave, I will pick the Chord Dave. The HD 800 S + Chord Dave will pull ahead if the Focal Utopia is used on lesser equipment.

I look at the signal an average device can offer, then what some of the generally accepted as great devices can offer and that variation is how much positive change I could expect from picking that kind of device. the louder the defects, the more noticeable any change on them will be.
so which device will have the most distortions between a DAC and a headphone? headphones.
which device will show the most variations in signature from model to model? headphones.

we still need a DAC though ^_^, so it's mostly an attempt at being practical/rational when on a tight budget. now if subjectively you're sure you want a DAC, go get a DAC. a happy camper is the real success here. I personally would prioritize the headphone even if it wasn't the worst element of most playback chains, just to be sure I got a comfy one like... a hd650 maybe? ^_^

 

[80smusicboy]

They seemed brand new to me but one never knows. The price was great (262€) but it wasn't worth this hassle.

Thanks for all the help!

Just read in the terms and conditions of the store that warranty could be claimed directly through the manufacturer. One more good thing to know.

 

[ubs28]

I look at the signal an average device can offer, then what some of the generally accepted as great devices can offer and that variation is how much positive change I could expect from picking that kind of device. the louder the defects, the more noticeable any change on them will be.
so which device will have the most distortions between a DAC and a headphone? headphones.
which device will show the most variations in signature from model to model? headphones.

we still need a DAC though ^_^, so it's mostly an attempt at being practical/rational when on a tight budget. now if subjectively you're sure you want a DAC, go get a DAC. a happy camper is the real success here. I personally would prioritize the headphone even if it wasn't the worst element of most playback chains, just to be sure I got a comfy one like... a hd650 maybe? ^_^

Your average DAC is filled with digital artifects that you probably don't see in measurements. It is audible by harshness and brightness in the sound. Some DAC's like the Chord Mojo try to compensate for these digital artifects by rolling off the treble to make it sounds better by being darker. But it still sounds too harsh as the problem has not been solved. Also the soundstage and pinpoint imaging of average DAC's is quite lacking which is what you also won't see in the measurements.

But if budget is limited (let's say $400), I'd probably buy a wireless headphone as it doesn't need an external DAC or amplifier, they are cheap and portable. Quite surprisingly, I like the B&W P7
Wireless more than the wired B&W P7 (only tested it with an iPhone though, because that is the only way I was planning to use the wired B&W P7).

 

[rikk009]

HD650's are a decent headphone. I find them to be a little "veiled" and dark. Replacing the stock foams that cover the drivers with nylon stockings seemed to help by bringing out the treble and punchiness. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not though because I assume the foam is there to dampen resonances that occur in the ear canal.

Yes that's what I did.

 

[castleofargh]

Spoiler: off topic. DAC variations vs headphone variations.

Your average DAC is filled with digital artifects that you probably don't see in measurements. It is audible by harshness and brightness in the sound. Some DAC's like the Chord Mojo try to compensate for these digital artifects by rolling off the treble to make it sounds better by being darker. But it still sounds too harsh as the problem has not been solved. Also the soundstage and pinpoint imaging of average DAC's is quite lacking which is what you also won't see in the measurements.

But if budget is limited (let's say $400), I'd probably buy a wireless headphone as it doesn't need an external DAC or amplifier, they are cheap and portable. Quite surprisingly, I like the B&W P7
Wireless more than the wired B&W P7 (only tested it with an iPhone though, because that is the only way I was planning to use the wired B&W P7).

how many peer reviewed papers have you read where the authors fail to measure any sign of some audio cues but show they're audible in controlled test? I can list the ones I've seen so far in my life:
-
-
and I'm done.

as for lacking pinpoint imaging, objective castleofargh: how can you decide that you're getting the right precise imaging on headphones when most albums are mastered for speakers? subjective castleofargh: I've tried the Mojo once for a minute, it had been running for a while and was pretty hot. that I noticed right away. it sounded nice to me, nothing bad to say really, but it didn't make me think it was a "headstage" revolution. on the other hand I still remember being shocked in the first 10 seconds I tried a HD800(and how I immediately disliked the signature). so even subjectively I don't get you.

anyway, I'd be happy to spend 2.7 eternities developing why I have that view on headphones being the worst and most changing aspect of the playback chain, but maybe we should go make a topic somewhere else? ^_^

 

[ubs28]

Spoiler: off topic. DAC variations vs headphone variations.

how many peer reviewed papers have you read where the authors fail to measure any sign of some audio cues but show they're audible in controlled test? I can list the ones I've seen so far in my life:
-
-
and I'm done.

as for lacking pinpoint imaging, objective castleofargh: how can you decide that you're getting the right precise imaging on headphones when most albums are mastered for speakers? subjective castleofargh: I've tried the Mojo once for a minute, it had been running for a while and was pretty hot. that I noticed right away. it sounded nice to me, nothing bad to say really, but it didn't make me think it was a "headstage" revolution. on the other hand I still remember being shocked in the first 10 seconds I tried a HD800(and how I immediately disliked the signature). so even subjectively I don't get you.

anyway, I'd be happy to spend 2.7 eternities developing why I have that view on headphones being the worst and most changing aspect of the playback chain, but maybe we should go make a topic somewhere else? ^_^

I'm curious to see graphs which show the soundstage capabilities. I haven't seen one graph so far yet. Certain things we cannot measure (yet) and thus have to use our ears
Probably in the future someone will discover how to measure these kind of things.

I wasn't using the Mojo as an example for headstage, because it is quite poor at that department.

But I agree that is getting a bit off topic now since this is the HD 650 thread.

 

[JWolf]

The Massdrop HD6xx drop is going on right now. This means you can get the HD 650 for $250.

 

[LazyListener]

I'm curious to see graphs which show the soundstage capabilities. I haven't seen one graph so far yet. Certain things we cannot measure (yet) and thus have to use our ears
Probably in the future someone will discover how to measure these kind of things.

I wasn't using the Mojo as an example for headstage, because it is quite poor at that department.

But I agree that is getting a bit off topic now since this is the HD 650 thread.

Rtings.com is apparently able to make some measurements with regards to soundstage and imaging. There are likely others that rtings.com doesn't even mention/measure.

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-650

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/sound-quality/soundstage

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/sound-quality/imaging

 

[LazyListener]

The Massdrop HD6xx drop is going on right now. This means you can get the HD 650 for $250.

Just so everyone knows, that delivery is end of December.

 

[BoxingRobes]

Just so everyone knows, that delivery is end of December.

Loved the colorway...but saw the delivery date and F that.