Goofy145
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2012
- Posts
- 41
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- 12
I'd like to discuss my impressions of the hd 650's, I just got them today. I hope this helps people who are wondering about what these sound like, or those who are looking to get the most out of their headphones.
I'm not very knowledgeable about audio equipment at all. I still don't understand how different DACs work. I don't understand what amplifiers do besides give me a fancy volume knob. Should I be spending so much on headphones? Probably not. I'd probably be happy with ath-m50s or something similar. But I was curious to know what the hype around higher end headphones was on this forum.
I chose the hd650 for their comfort. I didn't really care if I wouldn't particularly like their sound signature. I knew I could live with them because they were so comfortable, and they really are.
I tried the hd 600s at a store and found them quite bright, but I read the hd650s were a touch warmer so I decided to get those instead.
I plugged them into my schiit modi/ objective 2 amp setup. Unusual to mix the families but odacs tend to be a little pricier.
I read a lot about different amp/DAC combos for these headphones. A lot of people say they like the bottlehead crack with the speedball or other tube amps which can cost you over 350$. A lot of people also get higher end DACs than the modi. I figured I might end up getting the crack with speedball if I wasn't happy with how the hd650s sounded with the o2.
So what did I think? Well, I liked the clarity. Then I raised the volume and found the sound extremely harsh. The bass sounded like it was barely there. I was just getting bombarded with highs and it was awful.
I was ready to accept the fact that I would never be able to raise the volume on my songs because the highs would make me go deaf. This part really made me question how anyone with this setup copes with it. The headphones really sound quite bright.
So after I bought the hd650s, I decided I was probably going to sell my Digizoid ZO2. It's a little mini amp that boosts the bass of anything you plug into it. I've had great experiences with this little device with things like apple earpods and my old mrspeakers mad dogs, which I actually found had enough bass on their own. But I rarely ever used it anymore.
So I thought hey, why not see what the hd650s sound like with my ZO2?
That's when I found the exact sound I was looking for. The bass was exactly where I wanted it, the treble cooled off and let the rest of the songs come alive.
So the moral of this story is that it's really hard to find what you're looking for by going by what other people say. Today I found out I'm probably a basshead because I can't live without that big thump in the background. Should I have gotten hd650s as a basshead? Probably not, but I'm glad I did. I get the comfort I'm looking for and the bass I'm looking for thanks to the ZO2.
I really can't see how the bottlehead crack or another tube amp could add to what I'm experiencing right now, but if I can give them a try I might change my mind.
If you're a basshead and you want comfort, the hd650s can work. But they need something like a ZO2 to give them that boost. Otherwise with neutral amps/dacs like the schiit stack or the objective stuff, it's going to be quite bright.
It really comes down to what YOU are looking for in your music. I'm sure people will think it's a sin to bass boost hd650s, but I couldn't be happier with the sound that I'm getting out of these.
I'd love to hear if anyone else uses the ZO2 with hd650s/hd600s and what they think about it.
TL;DR: Found the HD650s too bright(edit: LACKING BASS, NOT BRIGHT.). Digizoid ZO2 saves the day.
Edit: After some playing around, I've discovered that the reason I found them bright is simply because I was trying to extract more bass by raising the volume which isn't going to work. It was just making the highs uncomfortable because the volume was way too high. By using a bass boost I was able to enjoy the sound without raising the volume so much.
To conclude, they are a fairly neutral headphone with a decent amount of bass, but not enough for me I shouldn't call them bright.
I'm not very knowledgeable about audio equipment at all. I still don't understand how different DACs work. I don't understand what amplifiers do besides give me a fancy volume knob. Should I be spending so much on headphones? Probably not. I'd probably be happy with ath-m50s or something similar. But I was curious to know what the hype around higher end headphones was on this forum.
I chose the hd650 for their comfort. I didn't really care if I wouldn't particularly like their sound signature. I knew I could live with them because they were so comfortable, and they really are.
I tried the hd 600s at a store and found them quite bright, but I read the hd650s were a touch warmer so I decided to get those instead.
I plugged them into my schiit modi/ objective 2 amp setup. Unusual to mix the families but odacs tend to be a little pricier.
I read a lot about different amp/DAC combos for these headphones. A lot of people say they like the bottlehead crack with the speedball or other tube amps which can cost you over 350$. A lot of people also get higher end DACs than the modi. I figured I might end up getting the crack with speedball if I wasn't happy with how the hd650s sounded with the o2.
So what did I think? Well, I liked the clarity. Then I raised the volume and found the sound extremely harsh. The bass sounded like it was barely there. I was just getting bombarded with highs and it was awful.
I was ready to accept the fact that I would never be able to raise the volume on my songs because the highs would make me go deaf. This part really made me question how anyone with this setup copes with it. The headphones really sound quite bright.
So after I bought the hd650s, I decided I was probably going to sell my Digizoid ZO2. It's a little mini amp that boosts the bass of anything you plug into it. I've had great experiences with this little device with things like apple earpods and my old mrspeakers mad dogs, which I actually found had enough bass on their own. But I rarely ever used it anymore.
So I thought hey, why not see what the hd650s sound like with my ZO2?
That's when I found the exact sound I was looking for. The bass was exactly where I wanted it, the treble cooled off and let the rest of the songs come alive.
So the moral of this story is that it's really hard to find what you're looking for by going by what other people say. Today I found out I'm probably a basshead because I can't live without that big thump in the background. Should I have gotten hd650s as a basshead? Probably not, but I'm glad I did. I get the comfort I'm looking for and the bass I'm looking for thanks to the ZO2.
I really can't see how the bottlehead crack or another tube amp could add to what I'm experiencing right now, but if I can give them a try I might change my mind.
If you're a basshead and you want comfort, the hd650s can work. But they need something like a ZO2 to give them that boost. Otherwise with neutral amps/dacs like the schiit stack or the objective stuff, it's going to be quite bright.
It really comes down to what YOU are looking for in your music. I'm sure people will think it's a sin to bass boost hd650s, but I couldn't be happier with the sound that I'm getting out of these.
I'd love to hear if anyone else uses the ZO2 with hd650s/hd600s and what they think about it.
TL;DR: Found the HD650s too bright(edit: LACKING BASS, NOT BRIGHT.). Digizoid ZO2 saves the day.
Edit: After some playing around, I've discovered that the reason I found them bright is simply because I was trying to extract more bass by raising the volume which isn't going to work. It was just making the highs uncomfortable because the volume was way too high. By using a bass boost I was able to enjoy the sound without raising the volume so much.
To conclude, they are a fairly neutral headphone with a decent amount of bass, but not enough for me I shouldn't call them bright.