[imackler]

  I plan to do a nice little review on the crack vs lyr soon. 

When did you get the crack?!

 

[MattTCG]

Bought it here Saturday. 

 

[GaryPham]

  I plan to do a nice little review on the crack vs lyr soon. 

excited to hear your reviews.  Cheering for team Crack! (although I still haven't finished building my BH crack with speedball yet T.T)

 

[jmttdr]

 
I jumped up from the 595s... NEVER looked back. Other parts of the chain can always be slowly upgraded if you feel the itch later

. As Matt says... really can't go wrong with the HD650.

This is what I am going to do I think, you got me thinking. Will upgrade first and use my 650's alongside my Audioengine D1. Then throw in a dedicated AMP later and hopefully get some great results! 

 

[Amictus]

  Hello all, 
 
Looking through this thread the 650's seem to be held in high esteem. Obviously headphones are a very subjective topic. I had planned on buying a pair, these would be combined to use with my Macbook Pro (2008) with my Audioengine D1 DAC/amp. It has been said by another member of the forum this will drive them fine. Would this be the general consensus? Obviously they are pricey and I don't want to waste my money if they are not going to be driven well.
 
Thanks! 

 
 

  I owned the D1 and compared to the Valhalla it just wasn't getting the job done with the 650's. I would recommend selling the D1 and buying the Schiit Vali. 

 
 

  Hmmm, Well as long as I wouldn't regret the jump from 595's. I have the opportunity to return my D1 as it is brand new and maybe spend a little more on a DAC/amp. It is fundamental though that is has an optical in as I will use my 650's for all things. I have maybe a budget of £200. I am in the UK which limits me unfortunately.
 
Thanks,
 
Jay.

I can vouch for the excellence of the Schiit service to those lost in the UK. Thanks to Schiit and Fedex, my Lyr arrived within a week. It does good things to the HD650s, and there are many folk here who think that the Vali, sorry, Valhalla, is an even better match. This is what Schiit said to me, for what it is worth...
 
Lyr is magic with the Q701s, while Valhalla will struggle. HD650 is a tossup—Valhalla is slightly more open and holographic, but I’d take Lyr’s power and control.
 
If you go with Lyr, get the Tungsram tubes while we have a few left.
 
We ship to the UK all the time.

 

[connieflyer]

I have the 650 and have been using this amp for the last couple of weeks now, and find it really great.  Warm, articulate,dynamic, with a tungram e80cc installed it has brought the treble up and the bass just enough. Tube rolling is a piece of cake as the ember has and auto bias, just insert the tube and away you go.  Check it out here if you like.  They have four different amps that do things just a little different from one another......http://garage1217.com/graphic_design_004.htm

 

[Norway]

I'm a huge fan of HD 650 and Sennheiser, but the price of their new balanced cables, the CH650 S, puts the whole "Beats are overpriced" into serious perspective. I made a balanced 4 pin XLR from a stock cable and a quality Neutrik connector for substantially less. Realizing that there are more exotic after market cables weighing in at far more I do understand the economics of it. Price it low and it will be perceived as having lower quality, price it high and it will be compared to more exotic aftermarket alternatives... However, as a company who prides themselves in excellent engineering I feel it is ill placed to be honest.

 

[FlySweep]

  I have the 650 and have been using this amp for the last couple of weeks now, and find it really great.  Warm, articulate,dynamic, with a tungram e80cc installed it has brought the treble up and the bass just enough. Tube rolling is a piece of cake as the ember has and auto bias, just insert the tube and away you go.  Check it out here if you like.  They have four different amps that do things just a little different from one another......http://garage1217.com/graphic_design_004.htm

 
The Ember is terrific.. I've had one for a couple of months now.. very very enjoyable.. and it doesn't break a sweat driving anything I've thrown at it.  Great choice with the HD650 (as well as the HE-500, HD600, etc.), IME.
 
I love that Tungsram E80CC tube you mentioned (I've got the 12AU7 & ECC85 versions, as well).  It's built incredibly well and is one of my favorite E80CC/12BH7 tubes.  Believe it or not, the Tungsram E80CC take a long (and I mean long) time to fully break in.  For the longest time, it had that very clean, bright, almost 'solid state'-insipred sound (stereo-typically speaking).  In time, it'll sound much warmer, liquid, lush, and intimate... which is quite reminiscent of its 12AU7 cousin's signature.  I've had the Tungsram E80CC since March 2013.  Being that it's one of my favorite tubes, I used it quite often since then (with the BH Crack).. I noticed the changes in it's signature approx. a month ago.  I was quite surprised!  Despite the sig change, the HD650 still sounds wonderful with it.

 

[jmttdr]

   
 
 
 

I can vouch for the excellence of the Schiit service to those lost in the UK. Thanks to Schiit and Fedex, my Lyr arrived within a week. It does good things to the HD650s, and there are many folk here who think that the Vali is an even better match. This is what Schiit said to me, for what it is worth...
 
Lyr is magic with the Q701s, while Valhalla will struggle. HD650 is a tossup—Valhalla is slightly more open and holographic, but I’d take Lyr’s power and control.
 
If you go with Lyr, get the Tungsram tubes while we have a few left.
 
We ship to the UK all the time.

I think I am going to go in the tube amp direction. I like/can afford the likes of Valhalla. It sounds like it pairs well with the 650's!

 

[jmttdr]

I've decided to do it and buy a pair of 650's, after Xmas is out the way of course. A man must fulfill his geek-ish tenancies. Photography, gaming and now audio. At least two can go hand in hand. I will go with this setup I think:
 
Mac>>Audioengine D1>>tube amp(Valhalla)>>650's
 
Thanks for all your feedback! 

 

[Amictus]

I think I am going to go in the tube amp direction. I like/can afford the likes of Valhalla. It sounds like it pairs well with the 650's!

I don't think that you will regret buying the 650s. They sound great with my Lyr, and also sound great with my solid state 'Lovely Cube'. The tubes bring greater, er, everything, actually. My Q701s, pace Nick at Schiit, are not great with either amp, except with recordings that really suit them. I think that you should do well with the Valhalla as far as the 650s are concerned - but get the 650s whatever happens, unless you can spend much more money on mad perfection at the end of the $€£ rainbow...

 

[connieflyer]

   
The Ember is terrific.. I've had one for a couple of months now.. very very enjoyable.. and it doesn't break a sweat driving anything I've thrown at it.  Great choice with the HD650 (as well as the HE-500, HD600, etc.), IME.
 
I love that Tungsram E80CC tube you mentioned (I've got the 12AU7 & ECC85 versions, as well).  It's built incredibly well and is one of my favorite E80CC/12BH7 tubes.  Believe it or not, the Tungsram E80CC take a long (and I mean long) time to fully break in.  For the longest time, it had that very clean, bright, almost 'solid state'-insipred sound (stereo-typically speaking).  In time, it'll sound much warmer, liquid, lush, and intimate... which is quite reminiscent of its 12AU7 cousin's signature.  I've had the Tungsram E80CC since March 2013.  Being that it's one of my favorite tubes, I used it quite often since then (with the BH Crack).. I noticed the changes in it's signature approx. a month ago.  I was quite surprised!  Despite the sig change, the HD650 still sounds wonderful with it.

When I started out with the 650's I was using the asus xonar stx sound card and it sounded quite good.  After a bit I ran the optical out to my Harmon-Kardon avr 510 that was back here.  That change up made a good increase in pleasurable sounds as well.  But after getting the Project Ember, well, to put it mildly, my wife may finally have found a legal reason for divorce after 43 years, as I refuse to come out from under my headphones much.  Missed dinner one night, she called I didn't hear, she laughed, I ate leftovers!!

 

[Tman5293]

My HD 650s did a photo shoot today:
 

 

[jmttdr]

Nice composition on the top shot.

 

[Tman5293]

Nice composition on the top shot.

 
That one spent a little more time in Photoshop than the others. If you know what I mean......