[suburbanite]

I just listened to the 650s at my local Best Buy.
 
I listened to some heavy metal out of my Nexus 5 smartphone and was surprised by a couple of things:

1. I got pretty good volume and soundstage
2. I got lots of bass

 
This left me wondering:

1. how much more bass am I gonna get out of these things if I use a desktop amplifier?

 
Wondering if it's gonna be too much.

 

[whirlwind]

  I just listened to the 650s at my local Best Buy.
 
I listened to some heavy metal out of my Nexus 5 smartphone and was surprised by a couple of things:

1. I got pretty good volume and soundstage
2. I got lots of bass

 
This left me wondering:

1. how much more bass am I gonna get out of these things if I use a desktop amplifier?

 
Wondering if it's gonna be too much.

I don't believe it will be too much bass....depending on the amp will determine how good the bass is though.
 
It can overall sound boomy....it can also sound tight and controlled 

 
 
Overall I consider it a great can across the whole spectrum.......the same way haters hate Grado's for the bright treble.....haters hate the HD650 for the dark and lack of treble to some.
 
I would not worry about to much bass....you can EQ a tad of bass out with decent results....adding bass with EQ.....not so much.
 
They are a great can, I would say you will like them if the first impression was good.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

  In terms of sound quality, I love this recording: 24 bit 192Khz ripped from first press vinyl copy of Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits.
And I love Joe Bonamassa as well 

I also had a 24 bit 192Khz rip for some Led Zeppelin albums from vinyl but they sound quite horrible in comparison to the latest HD Tracks' 24 bit 96Khz.

+1 on Brothers in Arms.
Mark Knopfler's Shangri-La, in hi-res is superb as well.

 

[Arniesb]

How hd650 sound with Fiio e12? Dont want to buy it, just curious.

 

[connieflyer]

Mark Knopler is excellent, also found the guitar work by David Gilmour to be exemplar if you don't want to watch the whole video start about 13 minutes in he really starts to show his virtuoso
 

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Unfortunately, I don't want to bother with tube amps for many reasons: I don't want to spend time looking for tubes, warming them up, looking for upgrades, and so on but most importantly, I'm 17 so I can't be spending a lot of time with tube amps, matter how lovely they may be
 
Schiit Bifrost with Uber upgrade would do you very nicely

 

 

[paulguru]

there are a better headphone than 650 as soft reproduction of mids and treble ?
 
Im looking for an headphone for this kind of sound :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-62SiWKJzM
 
There are some better ?
Specially with Hifiman product ...

 

[CanadianMaestro]

  there are a better headphone than 650 as soft reproduction of mids and treble ?
 
Im looking for an headphone for this kind of sound :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-62SiWKJzM
 
There are some better ?
Specially with Hifiman product ...

 
"Soft repro..":  Your upstream gear will shape this as well.
 
HE-560 is great.But different from 650. More transparent. See the 560 thread.
 
But as a relaxed, forgiving, put-your-feet-up-and-relax HP, it's very hard to top HD650 at its price point.
 
cheers

 

[MattTCG]

I would put the he400i and pm-1/2 in a similar category 

  there are a better headphone than 650 as soft reproduction of mids and treble ?
 
Im looking for an headphone for this kind of sound :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-62SiWKJzM
 
There are some better ?
Specially with Hifiman product ...

I would put the he400i and pm-1/2 in a similar category. The 400s is coming out soon and might also fit the bill. That being said, the 650 stills remains my favorite. 

 

[castleofargh]

  there are a better headphone than 650 as soft reproduction of mids and treble ?
 
Im looking for an headphone for this kind of sound :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-62SiWKJzM
 
There are some better ?
Specially with Hifiman product ...

give an actual meaning to what you call "better", then maybe we can talk.

 

[mikoss]

 
On the same subject, what dacs do you use? In my Essence STX - BH Crack Speedball - HD650 system i feel that my soundcard is the weakest link now, even if i like the sound Some suggestions in the 500$ price range would be appreciated, preferably available on the european/international market 

 
If you want a moderately priced combo, I can also recommend the Schiit Wyrd + Modi 2 uber as being resolving and transparent. It works very well feeding tubes. I'm using it with the ZD and enjoy the sound... I would describe it as well detailed and linear from top to bottom... no Modi goo like the original, or muddling of the mids. Others rank it above the iFi iDSD products, but I haven't compared them myself.

 

[paulguru]

 
give an actual meaning to what you call "better", then maybe we can talk.

better means less fatiguing possible with this track.

 

[paulguru]

  I would put the he400i and pm-1/2 in a similar category 
I would put the he400i and pm-1/2 in a similar category. The 400s is coming out soon and might also fit the bill. That being said, the 650 stills remains my favorite. 

400i can be more relaxing in mids and treble than HD650 ?
i thinked it was similar to HD600 .....

 

[kramer5150]

  there are a better headphone than 650 as soft reproduction of mids and treble ?
 
Im looking for an headphone for this kind of sound :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-62SiWKJzM
 
There are some better ?
Specially with Hifiman product ...

I am a big fan of the overall HD650 spectral response... smooth, yet still present upper mids and treble extension.  It is a bit more laid back than my RS1 and K701, but thats a good thing for those times when I want something less shouty.  IMHO its going to be hard to beat in this aspect.
 
Some things I think the HD650 could do better:
>Image/soundstage layering, where the K70x I think reigns supreme in this price range.
>Bass clarity, not a huge flaw mind you given its price point.  But I think it is a differentiator between the 650 and $$$ electrostats.  You could say this about any sub $350 dynamic though.

 

[xkonfuzed]

  there are a better headphone than 650 as soft reproduction of mids and treble ?
 
Im looking for an headphone for this kind of sound :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-62SiWKJzM
 
There are some better ?
Specially with Hifiman product ...

I don't know the answer, but holy crap does that Renault engine sound good. Much better than today's V6 turbo engines 

 
 
Though not all V6's are bad I suppose. McLaren's MP4/4, that was legendary, and it had a V6.