[castleofargh]

what? nobody using the hd650 as a slingshot or to go down a zipline?
maybe we need to open a new topic "99 ways to misuse a hd650"

  then someone will make a photoshop pic of "mosh girl meets hd650" and we go viral!!!!!

 

[Solrighal]

Hello, i was wondenering if the HD650 is an upgrade to the AKG Q701. i have had my Q701 for a few months and like them but before that i came from Sennheiser HD595s and i loved the sound and feel of them and felt they were really detailed sound stage. im probably a pretty big noob about headphones and amps i just ordered a Fiio e11k to help push my Q701. Im just curious whats people opinions on upgrading to the HD650s. i mainly just use them for gaming a little for music. thanks

I came from the Q701 to the HD 650 and although I still own the Q701 it's been relegated to the role of mixing headphone. For listening to pre-recorded music it's far, far better than the Q701 to my mind. The Senn's have a much smoother tonality with just as much detail. They're not in your face and if you compared the two side by side you might find the Q more impressive but, to live with, the 650 is far superior in my opinion. Having said that I confess I have a real issue with the fierce treble delivered by the Q and you might be quite comfortable with it.

On the other hand you say you're going to be using them for games and I'd have to say the Q701 is pretty good in that role. It's easier to place sounds on the Q in my opinion.

The HD 650 is a million miles more comfortable to wear for long periods & I doubt many could argue against this. The Q701 for me is an instrument of the devil if worn for anything more than 20 minutes.

If you were in a position where you could buy the HD 650 and use it for music whilst retaining the Q701 for gaming (or music production) then you'd have the best of both worlds. If it has to be one or the other then you'll have to decide for yourself which role is most important - music or gaming.

See if you can get a listen to the 650 first or buy from a retailer with a good returns policy.

Good luck.

 

[TeddyShot]

Something I miss about my 598s were the angled drivers. So before putting the 650s on my head, I twist the driver pods to the angle of my 598s. They sound a bit more like my 598s I think and the soundstage improved a bit, or maybe I'm just thinking that.

Now I know yall are going to say I'm crazy, but I've found the 650s treble harsh at times more so than my 598s, maybe it's just the Cayin C5 or they need more burn in. Note: I'm 17 and can hear high frequencies very well however.

 

[wazzupi]

*flame away* let em burn in I don't even know how that is possible, it's actually incomprehensible(to me) to say the HD-650 has any form of harshness in highs *treble*.

 

[Solrighal]

*flame away* let em burn in I don't even know how that is possible, it's actually incomprehensible(to me) to say the HD-650 has any form of harshness in highs *treble*.

+1

 

[thejsm]

I heard some pretty bad harshness in my HD650's once. Realized I was listening to a 2khz test tone.

 

[new reformation]

Perhaps it is a combination of the solid state amp and the music being played.  Some tracks that I have seem like they use a reverb effect on the master that produces a kind of harsh resonance that builds in the ear.  What quality files are you listening to?

 

[Duncical]

  Hello, i was wondenering if the HD650 is an upgrade to the AKG Q701. i have had my Q701 for a few months and like them but before that i came from Sennheiser HD595s and i loved the sound and feel of them and felt they were really detailed sound stage. im probably a pretty big noob about headphones and amps i just ordered a Fiio e11k to help push my Q701. Im just curious whats people opinions on upgrading to the HD650s. i mainly just use them for gaming a little for music. thanks

Huge upgrade I own both, its not a contest. If you just plan on using the HD650s for gaming I wouldn't bother. If you listen to a lot of music I'd without a doubt get HD650s, I love them.

 

[TeddyShot]

Perhaps it is a combination of the solid state amp and the music being played.  Some tracks that I have seem like they use a reverb effect on the master that produces a kind of harsh resonance that builds in the ear.  What quality files are you listening to?

Im listening to Spotify with Extreme 320kbps quality off my iPod using a Fiio L9 cable to my Cayin C5 amp to my 650s.

Huge upgrade I own both, its not a contest. If you just plan on using the HD650s for gaming I wouldn't bother. If you listen to a lot of music I'd without a doubt get HD650s, I love them.

I tried playing some Battlefield 4 multiplayer with my 650s, and compared to the 598s I didnt feel any tactical disadvantage. The only difference was sounds such as footsteps and explosions sounded closer to me, but I quickly got used to that (I'd say that it actually sounded much more naturaly spaced on the 650). The extra detail of the 650s actually proved an advantage as I heard the most subtle details, for example: in one sequence I was walking into an inhabited enemy outpost (in the map with the huge storm and ship that crashes in). As I slowly walked in through an area with bushes and other heavy foliage, I heard from the right a very weak sound of someone crawling prone. I raced towards the sound, and sure enough 10 meters away was a sniper, preparing to fire at a teammate. Besides this they are also a hell of a lot more fun with battlefield 4 than my 598s, with the Bass boost on my C5, each gunshot and explosion has this beautiful oomph that I can feel on my outer ear that's extremely immersive.

Just my experience with them. Note that the Cayin C5 is known to give the sense of a large soundstage, and of course I was using a Turtle Beach DSS for virtual surround sound.

 

[ns6490]

If anyone's looking for a pair, HD650s are on sale for $295 from Adorama. Apply code SD12212014.
 

 

[raybone0566]

Dean Martin+ HD650= euphoria, never heard music sound this good IMO.

 

[donlin]

Im listening to Spotify with Extreme 320kbps quality off my iPod using a Fiio L9 cable to my Cayin C5 amp to my 650s.

The low quality source combined with an entry level amp could certainly result in a grainy treble, even on 650's.

 

[TeddyShot]

The low quality source combined with an entry level amp could certainly result in a grainy treble, even on 650's.

I tried it with some FLACs and it did sound better, but the difference isn't huge. But now that I think of it, I only experienced the harsh treble in the first couple hours of using them.

Is the Fiio L9 plus iPod Touch not a good combo? By that I mean am I missing out on a lot?

 

[Yellowjacket]

I've had my HD650s for just over a year and I love them. The thing is, I'm not sure I can tell the difference between their amped and unamped sound. Playing FLAC versions of these songs, I can't really tell the difference using my iPhone 6 directly or iPhone 6 -> Onkyo receiver.
 

 

 

[knorris908]

  i'm thinking about upgrading my DAC. i know it's been said many times the HD650 scales incredibly well with amplifiers but what about a dac? can i expect better scaling going from the ODAC to the uber bifrost gen 2 usb?

I'm surprised no one else has beaten me to answering this, so if I may:
 
I have the FIIO e17 which is a sizeable improvement over my integrated  Soundblaster RECON 3D Soundcard's DAC.  But the iFi iDSD Micro is even a larger amount better than the FIIO e17.  Plus the fact that the Apple iPads and iPhones we have all benefit from using the iDSD Micro's DAC as well.  I love the sound I get out of my iBASSO DX90's dual DACs, but have to say that the iDSD Micro connected coaxially does a slightly better job than just using the iDSD Micro as an AMP out of the DX90's LINE OUT or headphone jacks (Tried both, just to be sure.)
 
The DAC in the iFi iDSD Micro is magic to my ears, but the amp is no slouch, and PLENTY powerful, but it's REALLY the DAC to my ears that earns the iDSD Micro the reported status of 85-90% of a Chord Hugo with less than 1/5 of the cost from more than one source.  (Some reviewers who feel that way can even be found right here on Head-Fi.)
 
I routinely bypass the AMP in the iDSD Micro, and use the RCA-OUTS to my ASGARD 2 AMP with my HD-650's and the sound is just glorious to my ears.
 
Best of luck in your search!
 
Ken N.