[Max F]

Quote:

Do you get this from, say, redbook-quality FLACs? I can't seem to get this even with 650s and my DLIII. What amp do you have? Maybe I need a better amp..but my current one is capable as I got out-of-head soundstage from this one reel tape I have.

 
Sorry, what i meant from sound outside the body was that I prefer speakers to headphones.

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

 
Sorry, what i meant from sound outside the body was that I prefer speakers to headphones.

I have yet to hear headphones that create a soundstage and image like my Vandersteens! But, I really really love my HD650's! I ripped the Cars Candy-O last night to .WAV with JRiver 17 last night and ran it through the Dragonfly DAC. It was great fun and very well mastered. Sometimes it is just fun to have both options. It is also practical to have a great way to listen at any volume late at night when everyone else is asleep. 

 

[longbowbbs]

I had a couple of hours to play with some toys at my dealer. 
 
  
 
My 650's with the Toxic Cable Silver Poison's and the HD800's with Entreq custom cables. Burson HA-160DS Amp/DAC MBPro with iTunes and Amarra 2.4.1
 
The 650's sounded like I was in the coffee shop sitting a couple of rows from the stage. The 800's sounded like I was in a big hall near the back row. Cavernous and almost anechoic. I listened to a variety of music; Steely Dan, Alan Parsons, Diana Krall, Alison Krause, Chris Cornell...I had the same basic perspective regardless pf which artist I listened to. The Entreq's did improve the 800's over stock. I also had access to a pair of HD700's but the 650's with the Toxic's were so similar that I actually put them away to focus on the 650/800 comparison. Ultimately, I actually preferred the 650's as I like the intimate coffeeshop vs back row of the hall. Soundstage was massive with the 800's but at this point, too sterile for me. The 800's and the Entreq cable were both BRAND new. Each taken out fo the box for me to play with. I have 1000+ hours on the 650's and over 500+ on the Toxic Cables, so there is a clear issue to consider there. The Burson was also basically new, but it was a control as it's use was equal in the comparison. Fun to spend the time.
Thanks to the folks at HiFi Heaven in Green Bay for their patience and friendly assistance.  

 

[iamonthestereo]

Gentelman, i am a total sennheiser nub and have only bought HD 650 recently. For me it almost finished the puzzle.
My current setup
 
Cambridge Dacmagic ->  Rega Ear  -> HD 650
 
I need a decent amplifier.
For my tastes Rega Ear is too bassy and muddy with these phones, i also tried Rhinelander - that one was better, with more forward and lively mids, that i like, and less and more restrained and fluid bas. Still Rhinelander was a little too bassy for me.
 
What i need from the amp:
I want to try balanced connection, so balanced inputs and balanced amplification.
Also rca input.
I hate tubes.
Enough power to drive Sennhs obviously!
 
Sound that i want to achieve - tonally balanced, more mids without mud, lesser bass. I want a mediocre tight punchy bass. Close chamber intimate soundstage. Still i want EDGE from sound, if it bites - it should bite. I dont like too much smoothness.
 
AMP budget 500$
 
Please recommend balanced cable dor Senheiser for my demands. Not too pricey.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

You might want to looking into an amp that will help lighten the HD650 then, I'm listening to both my DT880s and HD650 right now, and to be honest, I prefer acoustic music on the DT880s. I'm not saying they're bad on the HD650, its just that when I listen to acoustic I tend to try to just listen to the instruments (I'm a guitar player) so I don't focus much on the vocals.
 
For live acoustic (meaning just guitars really) the HD650 is a bit warm. The guitars are bit meshed together. However, I enjoy the studio version much more on the HD650 than the DT880. Its really engaging and fun to listen to.
 
You could always tube roll and try to find the right sound for you, but that will be through trial and error.
 
I guess the best example that I can think of, is that the HD650 with the Valhalla makes John Mayer's Strat in slow dancing in a burning room sound more Les Paul like (at least to me). That is what I guess the warm feeling is best described from me. 
 
But I analyze music a bit differently from people so that's the best I can really give on my input lol I would suggest if you can, try to audition different amps! I would probably lean towards a more neutral to bright amp to pair with the HD650, especially for acoustic. I think I kinda understand now what people mean when they say the HD650 are a bit warm. 
 
Bright, Neutral, Warm.. I love em all  

I could see that being that way on an OTL tube amp.  Although one thing to keep in mind with new production Valhallas is that you can now tube roll.  My experience with Lyr tells me the amazing fun you can have with that feature and change your sound up any time you'd like.  My more neutral Tungsram  tubes give me that sound that you're talking about...brighter, more acoustically true, etc.  My Mullards give me that lush warm midrange for vocals and the like, and my warmer Matsus give me that somewhat dark, liquid "better than life" kind of tube amp sound.  There's lots of tuning you can do that way.  I think Valhalla really needs to be reevaluated with that significant new feature.

 

[schaaf]

I went ahead and bought the Valhalla. It should be here tomorrow. It really did seem like the best amp in my price range, and now that it has the added benefit of being rollable, it should work out just fine. I was hoping to find more people that had the newer Valhalla that had done a little rolling with it to get their impressions, but it seems like a lot of people are still under the impression that it's not rollable.
 
Mr. Tom just started a Valhalla rolling thread so hopefully we can get that off the ground and running. I'll be sure to post my (probably noobish sounding) thoughts when I get to spend some time with it.
 
 
S-

 

[imackler]

Quote:

I went ahead and bought the Valhalla. It should be here tomorrow. It really did seem like the best amp in my price range, and now that it has the added benefit of being rollable, it should work out just fine. I was hoping to find more people that had the newer Valhalla that had done a little rolling with it to get their impressions, but it seems like a lot of people are still under the impression that it's not rollable.
 
Mr. Tom just started a Valhalla rolling thread so hopefully we can get that off the ground and running. I'll be sure to post my (probably noobish sounding) thoughts when I get to spend some time with it.
 
 
S-

I'll be excited to hear what you think with the HD650, even with the stock tubes. 

 

[schaaf]

Ha!
 
Just replied to your comment in the Valhalla Thread.
 
Like I say there, I'm not sure I'm the best at describing what I'm hearing, but I'll do my best and post some early impressions..
What's the consensus on HD650 and burn in? Yes? No? Maybe? Listen to them while they burn?  It's my understanding the tube amp wil need to burn in a little so I could kill two birds with one stone.
 
 
S-

 

[jtaylor991]

Quote:

Ha!
 
Just replied to your comment in the Valhalla Thread.
 
Like I say there, I'm not sure I'm the best at describing what I'm hearing, but I'll do my best and post some early impressions..
What's the consensus on HD650 and burn in? Yes? No? Maybe? Listen to them while they burn?  It's my understanding the tube amp wil need to burn in a little so I could kill two birds with one stone.
 
 
S-

I think my 650s benefited from some hours of burn in, the soundstage went from non existent (directly from left and right, and far away) to kinda good (I was on an E7) after a few hours.

 

[schaaf]

I think I commented on how great the soundstage was compared to the HD555's but I think now that I've listened a little more, that I was actually experiencing greater separation of the instruments rather than the soundstage. 
 
Granted these impressions are/were based on brand new 650s with less than an hour straight out of the iMac. I'll let them burn in with the Valhalla tomorrow.

 

[sridhar3]

Your ears will "burn in" as they get accustomed to the sound.  Just listen and have a good time.  

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

Ha!
 
Just replied to your comment in the Valhalla Thread.
 
Like I say there, I'm not sure I'm the best at describing what I'm hearing, but I'll do my best and post some early impressions..
What's the consensus on HD650 and burn in? Yes? No? Maybe? Listen to them while they burn?  It's my understanding the tube amp wil need to burn in a little so I could kill two birds with one stone.
 
 
S-

 
There's some burn-in but they're not K702s!  I think the O2 amp designer did measure some burn-in difference with HD650s.   However I wouldn't worry about burn-in.  After my old HD650's that had probably about 2000 hours on them blew and I replaced the drivers, they sounded odd to me at first.  Within a few days of listening to a CD a day they sounded like normal.  So I think there's stiffness to the drivers for a few hours but otherwise just put them on your head and listen.
 
Tubes on the other hand can have some more interesting burn-in if they're new.

 

[Blackmumba]

Quote:

I find that the D2000 are bright in the treble and quite sibilant as well at times. I have to EQ the treble down from 5khz upwards and it still hurts my ear drums after a short amount of listening.

 
This was my exact thoughts, the D7000's really smoothed out that bright treble and turned out to be much more hidef

 

[olear]

Is the HD600 more energetic Vs. HD650?  And, how does the DT880 compare?

 

[madbull]

The DT880 is much more neutral compared to the HD650, and has less bass quantity. Of course, HD650 has less treble than Beyers, at least the ones I know, DT880 and T1.
The HD600 I never heard unfortunately.