Finally getting some quality time with the HD 650s and the Lyr. A couple days ago I tried them with a pair of 1966 RTC E188CCs (Heerlen made), but wasn't too impressed. There was a hint of the infamous "veil." Rather than try that combo again, I rolled in some 1961 Bugle Boy Straight Man tubes, thinking there was a good chance for some serious synergy. Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.
First up was the Definitive Edition Remaster of
Selling England By The Pound, mostly because that's what I'd tried briefly with the RTCs. Maybe I'm more awake, in a better frame of mind, whatever, but it really came alive, "veil" completely lifted. Rotated
Moving Pictures (24/96 version) in, and was impressed. I don't want to compare to the HE-500s yet, but I'm pretty sure they'll win the bass battle there, and maybe the guitar energy battle, as well. We'll see. Now it's
Citizen Steely Dan on shuffle. Hey! There
is bass in these recordings!
I recall having to EQ that just a smidge the last time I listened. If that's "coloration," Sennheiser got it right for my ears.
What I find every time I listen to whatever, the HD 650s
rule with vocals. Is that soundstage and imaging? It's never too in-your-face, just right. Even on the C5 I recall Jon Anderson's voice sounding so... well, like him. The Lyr just enhances this aspect for me. I'm also pretty sure the soundstage and imaging are quite a bit better than the HE-500s', which is plenty wide, but lacks height and depth by comparison (and I've modded my HE-500s to help that out). There was one song... maybe from
Moving Pictures, where a tom roll went from right to left, then circled behind me, but also seemed to arc up, then descend as it rolled around back. Crazy schiit. And there were some maracas or shakers of some sort on
Selling England... that seemed to hang up above my ears, nicely balanced and very well represented. In fact the HD 650s did a great job with the busier sections of that album.
I certainly don't regret getting these, but I didn't get them to replace the HE-500s. Later I'll switch, and maybe roll the RTCs back in after giving the BBs a little time. I did try my bassiest rock tracks (some songs from
Clockwork Angels), and I'm pretty sure the HE-500s will own the HD 650s for impact, but they did fine. And when "The Garden" played, it was as sweet as can be.
Fun stuff now that the Lyr is back in action