[DCofficehack]

For the record: I recently acquired an Asgard 3 (with the 4490 dac card) and am really enjoying my HD650s. Compared to what I had before--I used an SMSL AD18 and sometimes a BTR5 (which is quite good)--I find the sound more robust and impactful as well as more revealing. These are, there must be no doubt, really good headphones.

 

[Brubacca]

My Drop HD6xx Shipped. I'll have Friday. I genuinely can't wait. Will run with my TT and Schiit Gungnir MB with Asgard 2.

 

[Brubacca]

My Drop HD6xx Shipped. I'll have Friday. I genuinely can't wait. Will run with my TT and Schiit Gungnir MB with Asgard 2.

Well I'm going to reply to myself. Thank you self for ordering these headphones. I'm on Side A of DMB Crash and its amazing. Yeah I spent a lot more on a speakers based system to get this quality.

If you are on the fence about the HD6XX and you have an amp to drive them its totally worth it. I will say that I'm at about 55% to 60% on thr volume knob of my Asgard 2.(this was on my TT with a low voltage MC cartridge).

For dac (Gumby) I'm on about 25%.

 

[OneOddPhoton]

You are exactly where I was a couple months ago. I had Airpod Pros and Bose QC35IIs, but I wasn't satisfied with the sound. I did some research and determined that I wanted the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones. I learned that a DAC/AMP would improve the sound quality, so my first purchase was a DragonFly Red. I connected it directly to my laptop and iPhone with a camera dongle. I was blown away at the sound. Really great sound for a little over $500 total (This was before I learned about the Mass 6XX sale going on now).

I kept reading and learned about the Chord Mojo. I picked one up cheaply on eBay and I loved that sound even more than the DragonFly Red. I was planning on using the Chord Mojo as a desktop DAC and the DragonFly Red for mobile. Then, I wanted an even more mobile solution so I purchased Shure se846 cheap on ebay and a FIIO BTR5 Bluetooth DAC from Amazon. To feed my addiction, I got a Bottlehead Crack paired with a Schiit Modi Multibit DAC just yesterday. My wife thinks I am crazy, but I guess that just makes me a true audiophile.

So let me compare and contrast the DACs.

The best mobile solution for use with the HD650 headphones would be the DragonFly Red. That's because it has sufficient power and is very easy to connect to your laptop or iPhone. Since it is powered by the laptop or iPhone/iPad, fewest number of cables. But since your iphone or iPad only has one port, you need a separate cable to charge the iPhone or Ipad, but you can get a dongle that allows you to connect the DAC and power.

The FIIO BTR5 is good for my Shure IEMs, but I find it a bit underpowered to drive the HD 650s. I prefer the sound signature of the DragonFly Red over the FIIO BTR5 because I prefer a warmer sound. The FIIO BTR5 is more neutral and clear and lacks bass punch and warmth. But it is a perfect match with my Shure se846s with the black filters.

The best mobile sound is with the Chord Mojo. I will use it as a travelling desktop set up. Wherever I set up my laptop, that is where the Chord Mojo and my headphone stand goes. It requires a lot of cables, it's heavy and gets very hot. But it sounds great.

By far the best sound for me is my permanent home listening solution which is the Bottlehead Crack with Speedball, Cap and Pots upgrades. This combination produces truly glorious sound.

For me, this is not over kill because I like all of the different sound signatures and I have specific use cases for all of the combinations.

Have you not used the BTR5 and the 650s in Balanced mode? Of course you need the 2.5mm balanced connector. I ask because this is what I have used and find the BTR5 has plenty of power to drive my 600s and 650s in balanced mode. No issues with bass and punch.

 

[KPzypher]

Darn it! Why can't I move on?

Every time I say to myself "yep I just found something much better and I won't miss this again," I keep coming back to the HD650 in the end.

Every time I come back to the HD650 after a long pause, I'm surprised by how good the mids sound.

Is it because of the sentimental value as my first real HP that got me into this hobby??


My newfound love with the HD650 begins, yet again.

 

[megabigeye]

Is it because of the sentimental value as my first real HP that got me into this hobby??

That. And also because the mids are amazing.

 

[Spartacus09]

Darn it! Why can't I move on?

Every time I say to myself "yep I just found something much better and I won't miss this again," I keep coming back to the HD650 in the end.

Every time I come back to the HD650 after a long pause, I'm surprised by how good the mids sound.

Is it because of the sentimental value as my first real HP that got me into this hobby??


My newfound love with the HD650 begins, yet again.

This is what I’m wondering, whats the next exceptional level up from the 6xx while still remaining reasonably economical (anything below about 2k).
I have a jotunheim with the ak dac, so I can't image theres much out there I can't power that with in that price limit.

 

[dhcarquinez]

I'd like to thank head-fi members in general, and posters on this thread in particular, for suggesting the Massdrop HD6xx. As a long-time 2-channel guy, but new to headphones, I came upon head-fi while researching Schiit gear. I didn't really have headphones on my radar, but with 2-channel "dedicated listening" time somewhat limited by recent months of quarantining, I started my research into personal audio, primarily here on head-fi. You helped me make my choice, and so far I'm very happy. Oh, and someone's suggestion to go with 2-day shipping really paid off. It really did seem to speed up the fulfillment at the warehouse, as my order on the evening of 9/15 wasn't supposed to ship until 9/21, but it shipped only 9 hours later, the morning of the 16th. It then traveled from NJ to CA overnight (for only 5 bucks extra!) and would've easily arrived by 9/18 except for (another!) FedEx screw up (but that's another story...). So, thanks again for everyone's insights. I'll post impressions after I've lived with them for a while.

dhcarquinez

 

[GearMe]

Darn it! Why can't I move on?

Every time I say to myself "yep I just found something much better and I won't miss this again," I keep coming back to the HD650 in the end.

Every time I come back to the HD650 after a long pause, I'm surprised by how good the mids sound.

Is it because of the sentimental value as my first real HP that got me into this hobby??


My newfound love with the HD650 begins, yet again.

Yep...special set of cans

 

[rfernand]

Darn it! Why can't I move on?

Every time I say to myself "yep I just found something much better and I won't miss this again," I keep coming back to the HD650 in the end.

Every time I come back to the HD650 after a long pause, I'm surprised by how good the mids sound.

Is it because of the sentimental value as my first real HP that got me into this hobby??


My newfound love with the HD650 begins, yet again.

Hey, some folks are still on the HD600 and refuse to move away... and some of us have different cans for different genres. Have fun

 

[kman1211]

Darn it! Why can't I move on?

Every time I say to myself "yep I just found something much better and I won't miss this again," I keep coming back to the HD650 in the end.

Every time I come back to the HD650 after a long pause, I'm surprised by how good the mids sound.

Is it because of the sentimental value as my first real HP that got me into this hobby??


My newfound love with the HD650 begins, yet again.

Probably because it’s the ideal headphone for you in terms of mids. I wish the HD 600 or HD 650 worked as well for me as it did for others, would’ve saved me a lot of time and money. I wouldn’t say it’s sentimental value, it probably has something subtle you find you’re missing from other headphones.

 

[OneOddPhoton]

Well, I just posted the following to the HD600 Impressions thread:

I have high-end Stax and HiFiman cans and still listen to my 600s and 650s on a regular basis. Particularly when I just want to listen to the music and not the technical (wow) of the cans. They always sound...just right to me.

I think one could easily get a pair of 600s/650s, a decent Amp and call it a day.

But I will add to that, the HD650s do get most of my listening time over a typical month. I would go so far to say that if I had to sell my hi-end headphones and 'only' had the 600s and 650s I wouldn't be sad. Just have some extra money in my pocket!

If you're happy when your Senns, don't BUY into the hype more expensive is better. It truly is diminishing returns.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Have you not used the BTR5 and the 650s in Balanced mode? Of course you need the 2.5mm balanced connector. I ask because this is what I have used and find the BTR5 has plenty of power to drive my 600s and 650s in balanced mode. No issues with bass and punch.

I have not yet tried that. I don't have a 1/4" to 2.5mm adapter for my HD650s, but that is a good idea. Since I primarily use my BTR5 with my se846s I didn't see that as an important need. I use the BTR5 in low gain mode for this use case.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Hey, some folks are still on the HD600 and refuse to move away... and some of us have different cans for different genres. Have fun

I am a crazy music addict. I want to hear the HD600s even thought I am very happy with my HD650s. I will probably purchase a set just so I can know what they sound like and how they are different.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Have you not used the BTR5 and the 650s in Balanced mode? Of course you need the 2.5mm balanced connector. I ask because this is what I have used and find the BTR5 has plenty of power to drive my 600s and 650s in balanced mode. No issues with bass and punch.

How is the sound with this pairing? I primarily listen to my HD650s with a Bottlehead Crack or Chord Mojo. I found the BTR5 to be clean and clear, but lacked suffice bottom end bass and warmth for my liking.