[Melanter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can anyone comment on which amp to get for these; choosing between: Little Dot MKiii HiFiMan EF2 Dark Voice 336 MP-301 6V6 Mini Amplifier Any input on any comparison would be much appreciated!

Just putting it on the new page.

And saying that you don't necessarily have to have tried all of them. Any two or three would be cool just to know how they compare with one another. Or even how you think they would compare based on what you've read.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melanter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or even how you think they would compare based on what you've read.

Never ask that. As if there weren't already 1000 opinions from people who have heard the damn things

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixdown110 /img/forum/go_quote.gif He could be lying.

hahaha nah If I was rich I would probably keep more cans but as of now the profile says it all. I only keep the basics that I need. Also, too many headphones might actually be bad for the music and will tend to make me reach for different cans for different songs etc... Not good for pure musical enjoyment. It takes the soul out of the musical experience.

 

[jms91]

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement headband for the HD650??

I purchased the Hd650 from a fellow head-fi member but he replaced the headband with a worn HD600 headband. The padding is worn and doesn't really look right with the Hd650... Any help with by appreciated!

 

[gbacic]

I think you have to call up your local Sennheiser distributer and they can sell you one. I might be wrong though.

What is the most complementary headphone to the HD650 that is in about the same price range (D2000 (modded or unmodded), K701, DT880, Grado 325, etc)?

 

[MomijiTMO]

I'd say the k701 or the dt880.

 

[gbacic]

how do the k271 (k272 hd, i've heard they are the same, just different pricing and looks) compare to the K701?

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbacic /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... What is the most complementary headphone to the HD650 that is in about the same price range (D2000 (modded or unmodded), K701, DT880, Grado 325, etc)?

Since you ask, here are the actual sets of complementary phones that I've owned/used and currently own/use to cover the broad set of musical genres in my listening.
When I had two complementary phones in about the $200 - $300 price range to cover it all, I chose the Grado SR225 (stock) and the Senn HD600 (Cardas aftermarket cable). For a small amount of time, I had the SR225 (stock) and the HD650, and was very happy with how the two together covered everything that I wanted to listen to. What I very much appreciated about the SR225, teamed up with either of the upper-mid pricerange Senns (HD600 or HD650) is, not only how they differ (thus broadening the range of sounds which can be optimally listened to), but how much they have in common as well (preserving a continuity of listening experience when switching between them). In those days, I also had a AKG K501 which, since getting the HD600, barely got used, so I sold them off. To my ear, the SR225 and the HD600/650 made a really good complementary pair of listening tools to cover well the full range of my listening, which is pretty broad: acoustic classical, folk, ethnic, ambient through acoustic/electronic jazz, Rock (classic, Brit, progressive and some european symphonic metal), Goth, Shoegaze, Dream Pop, dance/trance, and on through a wide range of electronica from ambient through experimental. In all of these genres, it is of critical importance to me that human voice be portrayed as credibly "present", providing its full range of musical and emotional content as richly and compellingly as possible.

In the several years since moving to the HD650, I've also grown toward owning three phones, each (including re-cabling or aftermarket cable and mods) costing in the $700 - $800 range. And they are:
HD650 (ALO 18AWG Jena Cryo aftermarket cable), ALO modded SR225 (Becote cups, 18AWG Jena Cryo recable), ALO 780 (Ultrasone HFI 780 with some mods made by ALO: additional vibration damping added, the internal diode board removed and, you guessed it, 18AWG Jeno Cryo recable).

These are the phones that are "getting everything done" for me. When you find the complementary phones that "do it all" for you, please post back to let us in on what you have discovered. It would be appropriate for this thread if one of them were the HD650, and it would also be appropriate for this thread if you were to let us know which phone, for you, perhaps were to replace the HD650. There is always plenty of interest in, "OK, so I've got the (you name it phone), What Next?"

 

[RickEC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbulack /img/forum/go_quote.gif For a small amount of time, I had the SR225 (stock) and the HD650, and was very happy with how the two together covered everything that I wanted to listen to.

I concur that. Out of my range of phones, if I am to keep minimal sets for wide coverage, they would be my Senn and Grado. No more, no less.

 

[Stoney]

I compared the pre-2007 HD650 today with the post-2007 (the one with metal mesh replacing the black silk as visible from the outside). Yes, it is brighter and more extended. I'd like to try them at home. I used the same cable for both, balanced.

Does anyone know where to find the best price for HD650 with no warranty worries? Does it have to be an authorized dealer to have warranty coverage?

BTW, the HD800 was better in every way but two: The lower treble is far too forward, incisive, bright. Voices lost their illusion of reality and became hi-fi and (on some systems at the meet) brash. I could not live with that, despite the deeper, better bass, better sense of space and reverberation, and more detail. Just unaccepable. The other problem: they fall off if you lie on your back.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoney /img/forum/go_quote.gif BTW, the HD800 was better in every way but two: The lower treble is far to forward, incisive, bright. Voices lost their illusion of reality and became hi-fi and (on some systems at the meet) brash. I could not live with that, despite the deeper, better bass, better sense of space and reverberation, and more detail. Just unaccepable.

That would be a deal breaker for me as well. Was the 800 fully burned in?

 

[Stoney]

It was several units at the Norcal meet, one of which was fully balanced, each with different amps. The best of the three in terms of minimal brightness came from a Beta22. Well, the reel-to-reel with Zana Deux was a bit dark to begin with and sounded a bit dull with my headphones, better with the HD800. But tonally, the HD800s vocals were just not quite of-one-piece, so I just couldn't live with it. The illusion of a head and chest singing in front of you was lost.

I'm sure others will disagree... perhaps break in wasn't finished, perhaps matching of cables and amps is critical... but from the reviews I've read, I'm not alone.

The HD650 (mine is the darker, older version, plus I heard a brighter newer version) tends to have treble that blends better with the midrange, and rises out of a blacker background. I'm not saying that "black" is "truer," because it seems to "cut off" some air, reverberation and low level detail. But, it is a subtractive and soothing error, whereas the HD800 was an additive, irritating error.

Besides, my SCD-XA5400ES has leaned toward the sharp and bright (it took well over 500 hours of break in to become flat finally, but not completely "relaxed"... high-feedback opamp sound), so I'd be hesitant to combine the HD800 with the 5400. Maybe a more relaxed, smooth sounding player would be more complementary.

 

[SP Wild]

Interesting comments regarding the HD650 and HD800. This is why I love the HD650, it is the only headphone I have heard that comes closest to recreating "reality" from a recording as oppossed to accuracy in recreating the recording.

"reality" to me is referenced to my days of drumming in a band - performing for a massive audience is a one-off after thorough practise sessions in an intimate surrounding where we listened to each other and played to an audience of only us. The music was "here" not "there". "there" is what the audience heard, we never actually knew what the audience heard, only what "we" heard, because we play to "us" and not really "them".

On the other hand, Hip-hop and techno is created differently, whereby the recording is the performance in most cases. People seeking to recreate the "audience" perspective are perhaps best served with phones that excell at recreating the intricancies of reverberations and such exhibited by performance venues.

But I doubt the audience is in a position to understand the joy of playing music evolved from those intimate sessions where music exists only for the players and to truly understand one must not only step onstage but must interactivelly play a part in its construction. The most efficient way is to be a drummer - we all know we were unable to expend the resources needed to become "real" musicians.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stoney /img/forum/go_quote.gif I compared the pre-2007 HD650 today with the post-2007 (the one with metal mesh replacing the black silk as visible from the outside). Yes, it is brighter and more extended. I'd like to try them at home. I used the same cable for both, balanced. Does anyone know where to find the best price for HD650 with no warranty worries? Does it have to be an authorized dealer to have warranty coverage? BTW, the HD800 was better in every way but two: The lower treble is far to forward, incisive, bright. Voices lost their illusion of reality and became hi-fi and (on some systems at the meet) brash. I could not live with that, despite the deeper, better bass, better sense of space and reverberation, and more detail. Just unaccepable. The other problem: they fall off if you lie on your back.

J&R usually has the "new" HD650s at good prices... and... they're very reliable re: warranties... as is Senn. You might even "make them an offer" if you want to save a few more bucks - they often will take it. B&H, likely is another great option.

 

[Stoney]

The best new price I found so far was an Amazon partner:
Amazon.com: Sennheiser HD650 Open-Air Dynamic Audiophile Headphone: Electronics

I saw a few more around $350 here and there.

Sennheiser HD 650 hd650 PROAUDIOSTAR - eBay (item 110500613848 end time Mar-02-10 16:46:13 PST)

Buy Sennheiser HD650 Audiophile Open Dynamic Stereo Headphone - Deals and Prices