[iancraig10]

The fact that the word 'veil' was used shows that plenty of reading from the past has been going on.

The hd650 is a 'darker' sounding headphone, but not veiled. Smoother treble than hd600 and heavier bass. Doesn't go as low into sub bass as I'd like.

I do wonder where the advice to use a Fiio e12a has come from and now the veil. If anything, a Fiio amp might make it even warmer, so whoever the 'expert' is, he may not be quite right imo.

 

[Arniesb]

The fact that the word 'veil' was used shows that plenty of reading from the past has been going on.

The hd650 is a 'darker' sounding headphone, but not veiled. Smoother treble than hd600 and heavier bass. Doesn't go as low into sub bass as I'd like.

I do wonder where the advice to use a Fiio e12a has come from and now the veil. If anything, a Fiio amp might make it even warmer, so whoever the 'expert' is, he may not be quite right imo.

I have E12 which is quite dark, but with it i expected to be darker by a huge amount...

 

[iancraig10]

Yes, I have an e12 as well but compared to some of my other amps, it is actually quite warm. Amps don't tend to sound massively different really, but there are slight changes.

O2 is thinner sounding by comparison. A bit sterile perhaps. Some like it's cleaner sound with the hd650 which is why I suggested it to the guy who seems set on the 12a.

I also use a Neco amp which is also thinner.

The Ifi Nano is in the middle, I think.

One of my favourites is the Ifi micro idsd. It has bags of power and makes the hd650 seem like a portable headphone. The Senn becomes really lively with stronger dynamic attack on good quality recordings.

I have a few other portables, but I'm sure that the E12 is the warmest that I use.

 

[joebobbilly]

  Fiio E7+E9 with the HD650 here, couldn't be happier

Congrats! My first rig for the HD650 was the E09k + E17. It was a very very satisfying combo and offered the flexibility of the E17 as a portable dac/amp for my iems during the commute.
 
I'd recommend though that if you plan to upgrade your chain later... upgrade the DAC first. It will likely bring out greater resolution in from you music. The Fiio DACs are friendly with a warmer sound, but in my experience they do lack in resolution once you work your way up and try some more advanced DACs with better implementation.

 

[oatp1b1]

I have only tried my HD650's with two different amplifiers, the Schiit Magni and my current HA-160D. The difference is pretty significant imho, as I didn't really like its sound when I had the M&M stack. It was kind of thin and unengaging. but when I turned on the music the first time on my Burson I couldn't help but crack a smile on how wonderful they sound together. No signs of any veil, and they are clearly not underpowered (9/10 o'clock on high gain).
 
Starting the weekend with this record, it's fantastic if you're into the cello.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

  I have only tried my HD650's with two different amplifiers, the Schiit Magni and my current HA-160D. The difference is pretty significant imho, as I didn't really like its sound when I had the M&M stack. It was kind of thin and unengaging. but when I turned on the music the first time on my Burson I couldn't help but crack a smile on how wonderful they sound together. No signs of any veil, and they are clearly not underpowered (9/10 o'clock on high gain).
 
Starting the weekend with this record, it's fantastic if you're into the cello.

 
Burson's great.
 
But do yourself a favor. Ditch Yo-Yo Ma. Do Pierre Fournier or Jacqueline Du Pre, for these Suites.
 
cheers

 

[Faber65]

I fully agree with you guys: Burson matches very well with the HD650.
Even the new Supreme Sound (Burson) Lycan works nicely with the HD650.
A very recommended combo IMHO.
The only problem of Burson is they are not as good as other brands in marketing, or they are less "connected".

 

[CanadianMaestro]

^  When they've got a great product, "marketing" isn't needed.

 

[knorris908]

 
Congrats! My first rig for the HD650 was the E09k + E17. It was a very very satisfying combo and offered the flexibility of the E17 as a portable dac/amp for my iems during the commute.
 
I'd recommend though that if you plan to upgrade your chain later... upgrade the DAC first. It will likely bring out greater resolution in from you music. The Fiio DACs are friendly with a warmer sound, but in my experience they do lack in resolution once you work your way up and try some more advanced DACs with better implementation.

 
I too own the FIIO E17.  I love it, but replaced it as my portable solution with my iFi iDSD Micro.  Better AMP, and MUCH better DAC.  The E17 was and is quite respectable for a combo DAC/AMP, but the iDSD Micro just does things so much better.  (Minus BASS BOOST, which the e17 does quite well, and a little better.)  Detail, resolution, separation, and POWER/fullness goes to the iDSD hands down though.
 
It drives my HD-650s almost as well as my SCHIIT Audio ASGARD 2 desktop while running on battery power!  Not bad when you can compare a portable against a good Class "A" amp favorably....

 

[HiAudio]

I have to post this here because I found it's interesting: Post # 20922 by me and post # 20947 by Sorrodje.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-impressions-thread/20940
 
me:
Whoever has both HD 800 and HD 650, please tell me how to find the difference between using them. I had listened to different type of music using the two phones, I have not found much difference. Thanks in advance. Here is my setup:
 
Windows 8.1 foobar 2000 play FLAC --> USB to DAC-19 --> regular RCA --> HDVA 600 --> stock cable to both HD800 and HD650
 
Is my HD 650 that good? Didn't I bring out the good from the HD 800? Do I have hearing problems 

 
 
Reply from Sorrodje
Yes. You nailed it , the 650 is that good and competes with TOTL headphones including HD800.  I still think the HD800 is a better headphone on many points ( more precise, more bass and treble extension, faster, clearer, more resolving) though. but IMO and IME , HD650 and 800 share some family genes and the 650 still offers Hi end sound at Mid-fi price.  
 
I really think HD650,600 and 800 sound more similar than different despite the different FR in treble area.  HD800 is more the younger, stronger ,faster young brother where HD600/650 are the older ones , less athletic, less fast , with growing bellies. But , women know that sometimes bellies are less fancy but more comfortable right ? 

 

[Faber65]

I too own the FIIO E17.  I love it, but replaced it as my portable solution with my iFi iDSD Micro.  Better AMP, and MUCH better DAC.  The E17 was and is quite respectable for a combo DAC/AMP, but the iDSD Micro just does things so much better.  (Minus BASS BOOST, which the e17 does quite well, and a little better.)  Detail, resolution, separation, and POWER/fullness goes to the iDSD hands down though.


It drives my HD-650s almost as well as my SCHIIT Audio ASGARD 2 desktop while running on battery power!  Not bad when you can compare a portable against a good Class "A" amp favorably....

iDSD is the top in terms of versatility and SQ is out of question at that price range.
Again, there are so many good products in the market nowadays that it's not easy to make a compromise between SQ, main usage and budget available.
Recently I had the opportunity to have a long listening session to the SMSL/VMV stack and I found it not bad at all as well.
The local shops here sell the stack with cables as well for about 380$.

http://world.taobao.com/item/43979413120.htm?spm=a312a.7700714.0.0.Lji9LJ#detail

http://smsl-audio.com/index.php?c=msg&id=1299&
http://smsl-audio.com/index.php?c=msg&id=1274&
http://smsl-audio.com/index.php?c=msg&id=1309&

But the small Dac/amp V2 can be found at about 140$.
http://smsl-audio.com/index.php?c=msg&id=1262&
http://world.taobao.com/item/43730253239.htm?spm=a312a.7700714.0.0.Lji9LJ#detail

 

[Solrighal]

  I have to post this here because I found it's interesting: Post # 20922 by me and post # 20947 by Sorrodje.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-impressions-thread/20940
 
me:
Whoever has both HD 800 and HD 650, please tell me how to find the difference between using them. I had listened to different type of music using the two phones, I have not found much difference. Thanks in advance. Here is my setup:
 
Windows 8.1 foobar 2000 play FLAC --> USB to DAC-19 --> regular RCA --> HDVA 600 --> stock cable to both HD800 and HD650
 
Is my HD 650 that good? Didn't I bring out the good from the HD 800? Do I have hearing problems 

 
 
Reply from Sorrodje
Yes. You nailed it , the 650 is that good and competes with TOTL headphones including HD800.  I still think the HD800 is a better headphone on many points ( more precise, more bass and treble extension, faster, clearer, more resolving) though. but IMO and IME , HD650 and 800 share some family genes and the 650 still offers Hi end sound at Mid-fi price.  
 
I really think HD650,600 and 800 sound more similar than different despite the different FR in treble area.  HD800 is more the younger, stronger ,faster young brother where HD600/650 are the older ones , less athletic, less fast , with growing bellies. But , women know that sometimes bellies are less fancy but more comfortable right ? 

 
I can't speak from experience as I've never heard the HD 800 but that's the first time I've ever read anyone saying it sounds similar to the HD 650. Strange.

 

[HiAudio]

   
I can't speak from experience as I've never heard the HD 800 but that's the first time I've ever read anyone saying it sounds similar to the HD 650. Strange.

 
Yes, they are very similar or close to me. But I only had the HD 800 for less than a month and only finished the setup two days ago and have not listened extensively. I am not good at telling difference. But I do feel they are both different from AKG K712 Pro which is close to HD 650 level on price and preference by mass consumers.

 

[DavidA]

The HD-650 an HD-800 are not similar sounding to me, the HD-700 is much closer sounding to the HD-800.  I'm using a BH Crack and UD-301 DAC to drive both the HD-650 and HD-800.  The biggest difference is the resolution, frequency range and sound stage of the two.  But I still like the HD-650 for more types of music that I listen to, the HD-800 is not forgiving of sub standard recording and can sound to clinical at times while the HD-650 will still let sub standard recordings pretty good.
I would say that the K7XX is close in sound to the HD-650 and also the SRH-1840, not that the K7XX and SRH-1840 are driven by Bifrost and Ember.

 

[Pokemonn]

  The HD-650 an HD-800 are not similar sounding to me, the HD-700 is much closer sounding to the HD-800.  I'm using a BH Crack and UD-301 DAC to drive both the HD-650 and HD-800.  The biggest difference is the resolution, frequency range and sound stage of the two.  But I still like the HD-650 for more types of music that I listen to, the HD-800 is not forgiving of sub standard recording and can sound to clinical at times while the HD-650 will still let sub standard recordings pretty good.
I would say that the K7XX is close in sound to the HD-650 and also the SRH-1840, not that the K7XX and SRH-1840 are driven by Bifrost and Ember.

I own Teac UD-501 DAC. it sounds digital, thin, non organic non analogish. Teac DACs phone out sound very bad too. so I dont recommend Teac DACs.
Teac DAC + unmoded HD800 combo sounds very harsh, almost unlistenable IMO.
I recommend Denon SACD Player build in DACs, they sounds very analog, very smooth, no harsh treble, deepest black back ground ive ever heard. paird modified HD800 and HD650 very beautifuly.