[Billheiser]

I have read rather consistent negative impressions of the HD650 by those pairing it with Schiit Valhalla, Asgard and Lyr amps. As a matter of fact, I don't recall any positive comments for this combination. I am not intending to cast shadows on either the HD650 or Schiit amplifiers, but I am curious if there are favorable impressions of this combination? I ask this out of curiosity, since I own HD650 cans and considered the Valhalla amp.

Strange, I have read particularly positive comments about 650 with all of those Schiit amps.  Seems like especially good "synergy" with them.  Personal experience with my hd600's is they are fantastic with Valhalla 2.  Have heard, for short periods of time, the 650 with Asgard and Lyr, and they were great, well matched combos.

 

[Dill]

Strange, I have read particularly positive comments about 650 with all of those Schiit amps.  Seems like especially good "synergy" with them.  Personal experience with my hd600's is they are fantastic with Valhalla 2.  Have heard, for short periods of time, the 650 with Asgard and Lyr, and they were great, well matched combos.

and im pretty sure Jason said somewhere the 650 was used in developing the Schiit Asgards...

 

[torta]

How do I check 650 have the latest drivers?

 

[spiderking31]

Thanks for your comparison. I love my HD650s, so this reenforces the value of that headphone purchase. Another claimed concern with the HD800s was the possibility that their detail may increase perceived flaws of lesser quality audio. I am not sure if this is correct, or if HD800 and HD650 would be roughly equivalent in that respect?

the hd800 didn't make recordings sound bad at all! Believe it or not, hd800 didn't bring out any flaws as the hd800's brought out about the same detail, and neither one made the recording sound "bad" because of their "revealing" nature

 

[Dill]

How do I check 650 have the latest drivers?

The latest drivers use a white silk baffle material..the old ones were black or dark greyish.

 

[Krutsch]

  The HD650 is 2.5x the price of HD598, is it 2.5x better than the HD598? Definitely no, diminishing returns is already applicable here in this $180 to $450 region.
 
Is the HD800 3x better than the HD650? Probably not. But why did I get the HD800 instead of just sticking with mid-fi? It's like what Sennheiser said, because "Good enough, is never good enough".
 
 
PS: If you're buying a car, would you listen to the opinion of someone who have driven it, or someone who actually owns it? For me, I'd give more weight to the opinion of the owner, because they actually live with it, thus they would knew the pros and cons better 

 
 

 
Well, I own both cans and the answer is an absolute 'YES', the HD650 really is worth 2.5x the HD598.  But you won't get to that place with a quick listen at a meet or in a shop; you need to own the 650s for a period of time and acclimate to their sound.
 
That said, I would weight the opinion of someone that has listened to a LOT of different headphones, as opposed to worrying about ownership or test driving.  When you own one or two pairs, you really don't know what you don't know until you hear other products (say, like, at a meet or with friends).

 

[Uncle AL]

Strange, I have read particularly positive comments about 650 with all of those Schiit amps.  Seems like especially good "synergy" with them.  Personal experience with my hd600's is they are fantastic with Valhalla 2.  Have heard, for short periods of time, the 650 with Asgard and Lyr, and they were great, well matched combos.

I was hoping for first-hand impressions since I considered buying the Valhalla and would be nice for feedback from those who own Schiit amps and HD650. Buying more and more headphones and amps is a danger all head-fiers face

 

[Uncle AL]

Pack your LD in your backpack...walk into the shop,
Whip it out onto the table,
Point to the HD800 with a detrrmined look...
The salesman will love ya.

Ooooh... Sounds tempting.. New audiophile store opening, couple months.. may check it out.. It's like walking into a candy store, so, bit dangerous, but worth it lol

 

[icomrade]

I was hoping for first-hand impressions since I considered buying the Valhalla and would be nice for feedback from those who own Schiit amps and HD650. Buying more and more headphones and amps is a danger all head-fiers face

Own a Valhalla 2 and HD650. Awesome combo, very neutral sounding amp that worked great with SE846s as well as my Senns.

 

[spiderking31]

Well, I own both cans and the answer is an absolute 'YES', the HD650 really is worth 2.5x the HD598.  But you won't get to that place with a quick listen at a meet or in a shop; you need to own the 650s for a period of time and acclimate to their sound.

That said, I would weight the opinion of someone that has listened to a LOT of different headphones, as opposed to worrying about ownership or test driving.  When you own one or two pairs, you really don't know what you don't know until you hear other products (say, like, at a meet or with friends).Ok....I own the sennheiser hd650, sennheiser hd595, and sennheiser hd280 pro.....I used to own the hifiman he-400, but gave those to my girlfriend....I honestly love my hd650's! Like I said, I owned 4 pairs, but now own 3....I've heard many different models already, including Stax SR-009's....I love my hd650, and yes, they're worth the extra money over the hd595...and yes, I've heard the hd800 a few times already, and have even listened to the audeze LCD-X, and yes, the hd800 sound anemic, more natural? Alittle...better detail? Not really....I preferred my hd650's the most! Over the audeze and the hd800....The only thing that made me almost faint when I listened? Was the Stax SR-009! That's the truth.....people that blow $1500? You must really be looking to be popular, because that ain't worth $1500....The hd650's are incredible! Trust me! Try listening to the hd650's with a binaural recorded CD! I have over an hour and 15 minutes of pure binaural recordings, and I'm ready to pass out EVERY TIME I listen to this CD with my hd650's! Good recording with the hd650's? Sounds good....epic recording? EPIC SOUND outta your hd650!

 

[Amictus]

I was hoping for first-hand impressions since I considered buying the Valhalla and would be nice for feedback from those who own Schiit amps and HD650. Buying more and more headphones and amps is a danger all head-fiers face

Well, I have a hum problem with my Lyr. Quite loud, an A a little flatter than 440, which Schiit couldn't find when I sent it back to them. Despite that, I use it with my HD650 because the music sounds so fabulous. I am assuming that that the hum is something to do with my electrical installation here in the UK. I can certainly vouch for the HD650/Lyr synergy. I'm listening to it now. I'm also wondering about a Woo WA-22 as a way of getting the result without the wretched hum. 

 

[JamieMcC]

  Well, I have a hum problem with my Lyr. Quite loud, an A a little flatter than 440, which Schiit couldn't find when I sent it back to them. Despite that, I use it with my HD650 because the music sounds so fabulous. I am assuming that that the hum is something to do with my electrical installation here in the UK. I can certainly vouch for the HD650/Lyr synergy. I'm listening to it now. I'm also wondering about a Woo WA-22 as a way of getting the result without the wretched hum. 

 
You might want to try having a sort out of your cables rerouting power so it clear of your RCA leads it can also help if you twist your rca inputs round each other as they lead into to the amp. Not saying it will cure your hum but its something quick and easy to try.

 

[spiderking31]

Well, I have a hum problem with my Lyr. Quite loud, an A a little flatter than 440, which Schiit couldn't find when I sent it back to them. Despite that, I use it with my HD650 because the music sounds so fabulous. I am assuming that that the hum is something to do with my electrical installation here in the UK. I can certainly vouch for the HD650/Lyr synergy. I'm listening to it now. I'm also wondering about a Woo WA-22 as a way of getting the result without the wretched hum. 

just a tiny bit if advice...do you have your amplifier hooked up near any other electronics? Including your source, DAC, or just anything electronic? That just might be why. Because tube amps are notorious for picking up electrical noise through the tubes I hope this helps

 

[62ohm]

Since when does getting a $1,500 audiophile headphone makes you popular? Barely anyone even knows they exist 

 
Quote:

  No confirmation bias supporting purchase decision then?

 
The thing is, I didn't bought the HD800 as an upgrade to the HD650, it's the other way around. I bought the HD650 long after the HD800 cause I wanted to have a dark sounding, relaxing can and the Audezes are too heavy for me. 
 
 
PS: Don't mean to bash on the HD650, but comparing the HD650 to TOTLs is plain stupid. There's a comparison of many TOTLs here http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/one-enthusiasts-take-top-line-headphones-state-flagships and the HD650 scored D (66.7%). It fails the bass linearity test, not enough air and sub-bass distortion. I quite love my HD650, but there's a reason why it is not a TOTL flagship.

 

[Amictus]

   
You might want to try having a sort out of your cables rerouting power so it clear of your RCA leads it can also help if you twist your rca inputs round each other as they lead into to the amp. Not saying it will cure your hum but its something quick and easy to try.

 
 

just a tiny bit if advice...do you have your amplifier hooked up near any other electronics? Including your source, DAC, or just anything electronic? That just might be why. Because tube amps are notorious for picking up electrical noise through the tubes

I hope this helps

Thank you, folks! I'll try all that. I always seem to have problems with Schiit. My Gungnir seems to hate France but is fine here in London. My Lyr... well, I'll let you know. Thank you both so much for taking the time to post your ideas.