Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread
Jul 4, 2015 at 4:42 AM Post #26,701 of 46,497
  I agree. Ember is working beautifully with the hd650 and Ether for me. It has both power and control. Amazing for such a small package. 

 
Matt, would you mind to write a mine review of Ember with your thoughs about it?
 
Will be interesting for many people to read your findings about this amp paired to HD650 and Ether, since you had/have access to various amplifications for both cans :)
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 4:44 AM Post #26,702 of 46,497
   
Matt, would you mind to write a mine review of Ember with your thoughs about it?
 
Will be interesting for many people to read your findings about this amp paired to HD650 and Ether :)

 
+1
 
I do value Matt's opinion highly.
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 4:44 AM Post #26,703 of 46,497
  Is Hotel California Classic Rock? I'd have put it in the Country Rock genre myself & that's a genre that's not particularly well served by audio engineers, even today. I don't think any Led Zep is particularly well recorded either, to be honest, and I've just discovered I have no Kansas whatsoever
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If we're talking about that era though you could do worse than listen to Silk Degrees by Boz Scaggs. Any track you like really. Wonderful from start to finish. All the instruments have their place in the mix & never seem to be competing in a volume competition. A very sweet recording imho.
 
Year of the Cat by Al Stewart is also recorded beautifully. 1976 was a damned good year
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The Eagles are like THE classic rock band. I've never heard them called country before, actually. O_o 
 
I'm kinda stunned anyone would call Levee not well recorded considering it's biggest claim to fame is how unique its sound is. There have been dozens of articles written on how that whole album was recorded actually. 
 
Won't disagree on Silk Degrees though. Really nicely recorded. REALLY nicely. 
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 4:48 AM Post #26,704 of 46,497
   
The Eagles are like THE classic rock band. I've never heard them called country before, actually. O_o 
 
I'm kinda stunned anyone would call Levee not well recorded considering it's biggest claim to fame is how unique its sound is. There have been dozens of articles written on how that whole album was recorded actually. 
 
Won't disagree on Silk Degrees though. Really nicely recorded. REALLY nicely. 

 
I do like Led Zep & I do like that sound but the drums do eventually get swallowed up. I think it's really hard to be objective when talking about music from that era, at least for me anyway. So many memories. I'm not even going to mention Hawkwind
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Get yourself a copy of Year of the Cat. That's an outstanding recording, even by today's standards. It's in my top 5.
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 4:53 AM Post #26,705 of 46,497
Eh, I'm sure it's recorded well, but it's not my genre at all really. XD I respect a lot of those musicians and appreciate how they sound, but this is what I got going right now:
 

 
Jul 4, 2015 at 5:10 AM Post #26,706 of 46,497
  Eh, I'm sure it's recorded well, but it's not my genre at all really. XD I respect a lot of those musicians and appreciate how they sound, but this is what I got going right now:
 


 
Wow! That was going so well - right up to the one-minute mark
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Not my cup of vodka at all.
 
If you like drums you might want to check out Russian Circles. That's a band who know how to record drums.
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 5:19 AM Post #26,707 of 46,497
   
Does When the Levee Breaks count? I mentioned it once already but it bears repeating because it's known as one of the best drum recordings of all time. A lot of Zepp sounds awesome actually. Toss in The Who's "Who Are You" while we're at it. To my ears, both of these sound incredible. Who Are You is much less "roomy" than Levee Breaks so that should help with the contrast. Add Kansas's "Carry On My Wayward Son" while we're at it.
 
The difference you gotta listen for isn't how LOUD, for example, the kicks are. They tend to be mixed low in a lot of classic rock because drummers were just "support", but how what's there sounds. 
 
Those sound a lot better to me. Tons crisper, less flat. 

Thanks. I now agree with you about Hotel California. It didn't stand to comparison too well. It really doesn't scale well. Sounds fine on most gear, but it's not a good audiophile recording.
 
Carry On My Wayward Son was pretty nice and open.
I didn't find the heavily-produced Levee Breaks impressive though. Placing a pair of Beyerdynamic m160 mics (designed for mostly string instruments) to capture drum sound in a stairwell might sound fun and original but for it to last through the whole song... I don't know, it was just tiring. 
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 6:22 AM Post #26,708 of 46,497
 
I doubt there is anyone at all who have listened to this amp here because the company is so small but has anyone ever listened to the HD650 paired with the Graham Slee amps?
I love especially the 650 paired with their Solo SRG2 and the Ultra Linear


Sennheiser used to demo the hd650 with the Graham Slee Solo. I had one and liked it, but nowadays, I'm not so sure that it's great value for money. I saw some performance figures way back for the Solo compared with something else, and it put me off the Solo so I sold it. Mine actually went to China!! (As opposed to the other way around
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I have both an Ember and Polaris and if anything, I slightly prefer the Polaris with it. Power managent seems easier on the Senn and the sound is slightly less 'fruity' than the Ember. On the face of it, many would prefer the Ember and then continue on to go through a barrage of tubes which to me always suggests that they want improvements. The Ember is impressive alongside the Polaris which doesn't sound quite so 'flashy'.

It's that ordinary kind of sound that I actually like. It sounds a fraction cleaner and has less of a tubey flavour, although it is voiced to emulate a tube sound but has less of it. So it's not as 'sqeaky' as some ss amps and has a roundness about its sound that isn't quite as much as the Ember.

I feel that the hd600 is better with the Ember and the 650 with the Polaris.

That's just my preference though, but thought I'd try and let you know why to help you with choices.


how do u compare speedballed crack with polaris/ember for hd650s...??
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 7:37 AM Post #26,709 of 46,497
I don't use the BW setting much tbh. I just leave it on wide. The effect is ro roll the treble down slightly so if you had a pair of sharp sounding headohones, you can take the edge off the top and stop it screeching. That's really not necessary on rhe Senn HD650 so high bandwidth is fine.


I agree with the 650 as smooth as silk, non-screeching. I intend the Polaris to be my one "specialty" amp, just for the 650. Like an Air Force One...for Headphones...Fly Like An Eagle, as Steve Miller played it 
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Thanks.
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 8:05 AM Post #26,710 of 46,497
Jul 4, 2015 at 8:22 AM Post #26,711 of 46,497
I agree with the 650 as smooth as silk, non-screeching. I intend the Polaris to be my one "specialty" amp, just for the 650. Like an Air Force One...for Headphones...Fly Like An Eagle, as Steve Miller played it  :beerchug:

Thanks.


Crikey, sorry about the typos. Ipads can be painful!!!

I use the Polaris mainly with the HD650 tbh. The other amp that is fabulous with it, but expensive is the Ifi Micro. I use that outside in the garden with another HD650 woth a short lead on it.
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 8:25 AM Post #26,712 of 46,497
Crikey, sorry about the typos. Ipads can be painful!!!

I use the Polaris mainly with the HD650 tbh. The other amp that is fabulous with it, but expensive is the Ifi Micro. I use that outside in the garden with another HD650 woth a short lead on it.


I didn't see any typos....0624h here anyways. Early type, me.
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I treasure my 650; it does very well with my present amps. But at the asking price, Polaris is hard to resist as a specialty amp for my 650. Should be good.
 
thanks
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 8:28 AM Post #26,713 of 46,497
 
HD-650 are middle of the road, the M50 on the left, Grado on the right.
If you want a Grado with bass, try a SennGrado
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Senngrado... im new the thread here but there is probably a mod somewhere doing exactly that no?
 

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