[DeathDomokun]

Haha it does seem that way! I think I'll be happy with any of them, I just don't know which to get! >.<

 

[T.F.O.A]

Depends on where you live, if there's a store that you can go for audition that would be best. But that being said, I just got myself HD650 - Graham Slee Solo SRG II - Dacport LX, and these 3 play well together, really well.
 

 

[DeathDomokun]

Australia.. The only store I've seen that you can audition headphones was JB Hi-Fi, and they were only low end Sennies.
I haven't brought the E7/E9 yet, because if I don't get new cans it'd be pretty wasteful for my HD448's, so I wouldn't be able to amp them anyway.
Also, the HD600/HD650's are the only ones I could imagine being found here, no way would I expect to find Denons or Beyers here, nor Fischer Audio

 

[Bonobo Loco]

Quote:

Well, you seem to have come to the place that will try to convince you to go for the HD650!

Seriously... how would you choose? I'm torn between the Denon D5000 and the HD650. Other than open/closed, I have no idea how to make the decision any easier. 

 

[logwed]

Quote:

Seriously... how would you choose? I'm torn between the Denon D5000 and the HD650. Other than open/closed, I have no idea how to make the decision any easier. 

 
I pretty much went with my gut when I bought my HD650s 3 years ago. I have no regrets, they're still my favorite headphones that I've ever owned.

 

[Bonobo Loco]

Quote:

 
I pretty much went with my gut when I bought my HD650s 3 years ago. I have no regrets, they're still my favorite headphones that I've ever owned.

I'm feeling the same "gut" feeling. I think I'm gonna have to take the dive. Everything I've heard tells me they're just what I'm looking for... wish I could test them out somewhere here in Seattle... hard to find a lot of this high end stuff in the stores.

 

[Tilpo]

 
I pretty much went with my gut when I bought my HD650s 3 years ago. I have no regrets, they're still my favorite headphones that I've ever owned.

At the time I was deciding between getting an HD650 and an AKG K701. I also just went with whatever 'felt' right intuitively, and hence choose the HD650's.
I love these headphones as they are so incredibly laid back. Music becomes a sort of intangible sweet feeling floating around my head, instead of a fluid that is pumped in my eardrums with great force. It might make them less well suited for critical listening, but they are the mid-fi cans for prolonged listening.

 

[logwed]

Quote:

. It might make them less well suited for critical listening, but they are the mid-fi cans for prolonged listening.

I actually like them best for critical listening. Instead of having headphones be like HEY LOOK AT THESE HIGHS AREN'T THEY NICE, I get to explore the music, focus on whatever I want to no matter where it is in the mix. 
 
I totally agree though, it's awesome that the music becomes something that you get to sample, rather than having it blasted into your skull.

 

[GetsugaSSJ]

How do these headphones stack up against the DT 880 600 ohms? In the market for my first set up cans and am stuck between these two.

 

[ac500]

I've written more extensive comparisons, but put simply: The HD650 is technically better, but the two have different sound signature preferences.
 
HD650: MUCH better bass. Better mids, better treble. Neutral-ish bass IMO except for a midbass boost, recessed treble.
 
DT880: Neutral treble, neutral mids, recessed bass (IMO).
 
Both are natural sounding and excellent choices. Also keep in mind the comfort differences: HD650 is better for large heads and ears due to superior headband comfort and larger earcups vertically, while the DT880 is better for medium or smaller heads because it clamps less. 
 
The DT880s rather flat sound signature is very appealing in some ways, but ultimately the HD650 is a small step ahead of it in sound quality IMO (a big step ahead in the bass department). I also prefer the HD650 sound signature in terms of just pure easy and musical listening -- the HD650 has beautiful liquid lows that I've not heard elsewhere yet (except for LCD2 of course) and still manages treble detail and quality better than the DT880 to my ears.

 

[GetsugaSSJ]

Well that seems to point to the 650 then, haha. I forgot to mention I mainly listen to metal, will that affect it at all? I heard the HD650 allows for clearer vocals which is something I really want but am unsure if it can withstand the sheer cacophony of sounds, lol. Thank you for your informative post!
Quote:

I've written more extensive comparisons, but put simply: The HD650 is technically better, but the two have different sound signature preferences.
 
HD650: MUCH better bass. Better mids, better treble. Neutral-ish bass IMO except for a midbass boost, recessed treble.
 
DT880: Neutral treble, neutral mids, recessed bass (IMO).
 
Both are natural sounding and excellent choices. Also keep in mind the comfort differences: HD650 is better for large heads and ears due to superior headband comfort and larger earcups vertically, while the DT880 is better for medium or smaller heads because it clamps less. 
 
The DT880s rather flat sound signature is very appealing in some ways, but ultimately the HD650 is a small step ahead of it in sound quality IMO (a big step ahead in the bass department). I also prefer the HD650 sound signature in terms of just pure easy and musical listening -- the HD650 has beautiful liquid lows that I've not heard elsewhere yet (except for LCD2 of course) and still manages treble detail and quality better than the DT880 to my ears.

 

 

[jtaylor991]

So, recessed treble is better than neutral treble? Lol
 
Quote:

I've written more extensive comparisons, but put simply: The HD650 is technically better, but the two have different sound signature preferences.
 
HD650: MUCH better bass. Better mids, better treble. Neutral-ish bass IMO except for a midbass boost, recessed treble.
 
DT880: Neutral treble, neutral mids, recessed bass (IMO).
 
Both are natural sounding and excellent choices. Also keep in mind the comfort differences: HD650 is better for large heads and ears due to superior headband comfort and larger earcups vertically, while the DT880 is better for medium or smaller heads because it clamps less. 
 
The DT880s rather flat sound signature is very appealing in some ways, but ultimately the HD650 is a small step ahead of it in sound quality IMO (a big step ahead in the bass department). I also prefer the HD650 sound signature in terms of just pure easy and musical listening -- the HD650 has beautiful liquid lows that I've not heard elsewhere yet (except for LCD2 of course) and still manages treble detail and quality better than the DT880 to my ears.

 

 

[syphen606]

Just ordered a set of HD650's. Have an Fiio E10, a JDSLabs C421 and a JDSLabs CmoyBB 18V with AD8620 opamp.  I'm also building an O2 right now.  Really hoping that somewhere in that gear I have enough to drive these and sound good.  I've really enjoyed my Senn HD558's that I've been using for a while now and it prompted me to get a set of HD650's.  Hoping I'm happy with the purchase once I get them!

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

Just ordered a set of HD650's. Have an Fiio E10, a JDSLabs C421 and a JDSLabs CmoyBB 18V with AD8620 opamp.  I'm also building an O2 right now.  Really hoping that somewhere in that gear I have enough to drive these and sound good.  I've really enjoyed my Senn HD558's that I've been using for a while now and it prompted me to get a set of HD650's.  Hoping I'm happy with the purchase once I get them!

You will find that HD650's are considerably brighter than HD558's, they have much more treble, very sparkly, but not piercing, and much more detail. Mids are about the same, bass is about the same in most cases, even though HD650's are able to produce considerably more of it.
The thing is though, HD650's are much less fun to listen to than HD558's, IMHO. Today, a year and a half after I bought them, my HD558's still make me go WOW sometimes,  HD650's never ever did, not in a single song, no matter which volume I listen at or what kind of mood I'm in.  I can feel ready for a party, once I start listening to 650's, serious face comes on and all the fun is gone.  Thats my only complaint about HD650's.  They aren't dark, they aren't muffled, they aren't slow, they are in fact opposite of all that (at least new models), but it just isn't a headphone that will make you tap your feet or do an air guitar while jumping around in your room until you go too far away from the amp, cable unplugs and speakers automatically start to scream at high volume in the middle of the night...
 

 

[ac500]

As for metal, I'm not sure about the HD650. Unfortunately I did not try the DT880 with metal so I wasn't able to compare, but I do know that for complex guitar pieces, the HD650 being laid back is not quite as nice as a more forward sound like my SRH940. The SRH940 has incredibly detailed treble, which clears up the details and makes the electric guitar crystal clear. The HD650 on the other hand requires a better amp than what I have, in order to clear it up a lot. 
 
Quote:

So, recessed treble is better than neutral treble? Lol

Quality is not the same as Quantity. .
 
The DT880 has better balanced treble in that it's neutral. The HD650 has better quality treble in that it's more detailed and resolving to my ears.