I have tried the HD 650 in balanced mode with the Cavalli Liquid Carbon and to my ears the balanced mode sounds better. It's more lively, dynamic and even more open sounding than single-ended (normal) mode. The HD 650 is a truly remarkable headphone in that it really scales up with better equipment. I bought my balanced cable from HeadRoom (http://www.headphone.com/products/headroom-4-pin-balanced-stock-hd650-cable).
Yes, I remembered that and took it into consideration. WA3 is $600 plus cost of non-stock tubes (?? I guess between $100-$200). Project Ember 2 is $350 plus tubes seem to be less expensive and you only need one. Of course, if WA3 with specific tubes sounds better than Project Ember then the higher cost would be justified. But I have no idea which one I'll like better.
Many HD-650 lovers will rave about Project Ember; I haven't heard one, personally, but I trust the folks that swear by it. That might be the right way to get started.
Remember: Head-Fi is a marathon, not a sprint. I needed to learn a great deal before I settled on my current playback chain, so start small and build from there.
Many HD-650 lovers will rave about Project Ember; I haven't heard one, personally, but I trust the folks that swear by it. That might be the right way to get started.
Remember: Head-Fi is a marathon, not a sprint. I needed to learn a great deal before I settled on my current playback chain, so start small and build from there.
This is good advice for sure. Also, even if everyone love's the Ember with the 650 doesn't mean that you will. Get out to a meet and audition in person when you can.
My thoughts on X2 vs HD650 vs HD600. - X2 smashed both HD600 & HD650 with detail retrieval, bass and soundstage. Comfort was an issue for me with longer listening sessions and part of the reason I didn't keep as a complement headphone. - HD600 are extremely better in vocals being more prominent and comfort was considerably better. - HD650 I kept my original HD650 which I've had for years which in the end are similar to HD600 but with smoother vocals and a tad less bright. I love the forward vocals which are so smooth and euphoric if that's the right word. The HD800, LCD2, HE500 ALL lacked this!!! Bad vocal sound IMO. Beyerdynamic T1 is the only headphone that I think competes with HD650. I was a hard decision for me because T1 was better detail, clarity, bass with decent vocals. HD650 was better smoother vocal and slightly better comfort - so I kept the cheaper option the HD650. I would love to own both though! Keep in mind with my preferences, the things I rate mostly are comfort and forward yet smooth vocals. I chose HD650 over HD800, LCD2, HE500, HD600, X2. I think HD650 is best for all genres and everyday hours long listening. HD600 vs X2
X2 is much better detail, bass, soundstage. HD600 is better vocal and comfort. I would choose HD600 for everyday hours worth of listening. I would choose X2 for casual listening for EDM, my Greek music (has plenty instruments) and any instrumental/bass/detail focused music.
HD650 vs X2
Again, X2 is much better detail, bass, soundstage. HD650 has way better vocal, smoother vocals and the comfort is much better. Audiophiles will definitely prefer HD650, but casual EDM or detail/instrument based music listeners will love the X2 more because of bass, details.
My thoughts on X2 vs HD650 vs HD600. - X2 smashed both HD600 & HD650 with detail retrieval, bass and soundstage. Comfort was an issue for me with longer listening sessions and part of the reason I didn't keep as a complement headphone. - HD600 are extremely better in vocals being more prominent and comfort was considerably better. - HD650 I kept my original HD650 which I've had for years which in the end are similar to HD600 but with smoother vocals and a tad less bright. I love the forward vocals which are so smooth and euphoric if that's the right word. The HD800, LCD2, HE500 ALL lacked this!!! Bad vocal sound IMO. Beyerdynamic T1 is the only headphone that I think competes with HD650. I was a hard decision for me because T1 was better detail, clarity, bass with decent vocals. HD650 was better smoother vocal and slightly better comfort - so I kept the cheaper option the HD650. I would love to own both though! Keep in mind with my preferences, the things I rate mostly are comfort and forward yet smooth vocals. I chose HD650 over HD800, LCD2, HE500, HD600, X2. I think HD650 is best for all genres and everyday hours long listening. HD600 vs X2
X2 is much better detail, bass, soundstage. HD600 is better vocal and comfort. I would choose HD600 for everyday hours worth of listening. I would choose X2 for casual listening for EDM, my Greek music (has plenty instruments) and any instrumental/bass/detail focused music.
HD650 vs X2
Again, X2 is much better detail, bass, soundstage. HD650 has way better vocal, smoother vocals and the comfort is much better. Audiophiles will definitely prefer HD650, but casual EDM or detail/instrument based music listeners will love the X2 more because of bass, details.
IMO, "better detail" doesn't equate to simply more treble. x2 presents a V shaped frequency response with elevated bass and treble, with somewhat recessed mids. BUT...I don't hear better detail on the x2 over hd6x0. In fact, to me the hd6x0 resolved the music with better details substantially better than the x2. This becomes more apparent the better then amp you put with the hd6x0. ymmv
There are no inherent sonic differences going balanced over SE unless you are running a long distance.
If you have a headphone amp that does both SE and balanced, chances are, it will sound best in balanced configuration. This is due to the components and circuitry being implemented... I'm sure the Liquid Carbon sounds best driving the 650's balanced... I know the Geek Out v2 sounds phenomenal in balanced mode vs SE.
Balanced usually affords the most output power in amps that do both SE and balanced, and power generally always sounds better. Nothing to do with volume, more to do with components being used and circuits.
Trust your own ears though... Mathematically, there is no reason to go balanced with the 650's, or give them a crazy amount of power. Practically, form your own opinion.
As for the X2's... Decent headphones. I'd probably take them over most AKG's, but ultimately they sound rough, IMO. Just unrefined sounding... Something unrefined in the mids/treble. They just get congested and can't scale anywhere near the 650's. I've been told to consider that the 650's don't sound nearly as good with entry level amps as TOTL, so I guess that is a caveat to consider. IMO, the $300 or so Geek Out v2 balanced setup competes with TOTL OTL amps, so the caveat isn't much of a deal breaker to me.
most feedbacks can be unreliable anyway as it takes time to change the cables. often the impedance output is higher in balanced mode, sound can change from that alone. and balanced output will be louder so people tend to find them better anyway because of the "louder is better" psycho acoustic effect.
so pinning any felt difference on balanced tech is usually jumping to conclusions(not to mention how trying one balanced output and one SE output isn't exactly a legitimate reason to talk about the designs in general. I've heard balanced output that sounded nothing like the SE, just like I've heard some that were just clean sound. good amp vs bad amp is way more important than single ended vs balanced(and consumer audio tends to call anything with 4pins balanced, more distinctions should be made IMO).
yes the manufacturer making a balanced amp will worry about the balanced design(else why bother doing it?) and often only add a SE output as a utility backup. so if I bought a balanced amp, I would use it balanced.
but there is no clear reason to buy balanced gears when we don't use super long cables(I'm talking tens of meters). that's what the tech is for really. low crosstalk can be found on SE amps, high power output too, so those aren't good reasons to go balanced IMO.
Yes, balanced mode can be very rewarding. That is if the amp you choose inherently performs better in balanced mode. I listen to mine through a Cavalli Liquid Carbon (first run $599), and I'll put it up against any of the other budget friendly amps already mentioned. My next move is a DAC upgrade....
I've noticed significant improvements with each amp I've upgraded to with the 650's. They truly are remarkable headphones. Comes down to ones personal preference how far they want to go with the gear they match with them. As far as balanced goes I had the carbon here for a while and felt it performed much better through balanced mode. Fantastic with the 650's. i still prefer the 650's with a tube amp, but that's just my personal preference.
Balanced is also good for differential implementations. Though is it worth it? True balanced and differential. Require twice the dac and twice the amp. Going differential from dac to amp is good for noise rejection. This can explain the discrepancy in balanced dac and amps.. some are balanced, some are balanced and differential.
650hd's are the most pleasurable and comfortable sounding open back headphones out there.
650hd's scale amazingly with better dacs and amp.
odac is the best dac of all time, anything that sounds different is doing something wrong.
o2 sounds just as good or better than amps costing over a thousand dollars.
650hd + o2dac = the best sound experience.
650hd's are the most pleasurable and comfortable sounding open back headphones out there.
650hd's scale amazingly with better dacs and amp.
odac is the best dac of all time, anything that sounds different is doing something wrong.
o2 sounds just as good or better than amps costing over a thousand dollars.
650hd + o2dac = the best sound experience.
I agree man, I've spent quite a bit of money trying different dacs and amps over the past few months, they usually sounded just like the o2odac or painfully harsh (which i guess means detailed these days :S)
i ended up buying an oppo ha-1, it looks pretty, but thats about it....definitely not worth a thousand dollar upgrade over the o2odac. Got to be careful, the audiophile world, just like the car world - has a ton of misleading information.
650hd's are the most pleasurable and comfortable sounding open back headphones out there.
650hd's scale amazingly with better dacs and amp.
odac is the best dac of all time, anything that sounds different is doing something wrong.
o2 sounds just as good or better than amps costing over a thousand dollars.
650hd + o2dac = the best sound experience.
and I'm always right so I can make entire lists of extreme claims coming out of nowhere.
and mum is the best mum in the world. ^_^
and sour cream is the best pringles in the world.
I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but this one is gold.
650hd's are the most pleasurable and comfortable sounding open back headphones out there.
650hd's scale amazingly with better dacs and amp.
odac is the best dac of all time, anything that sounds different is doing something wrong.
o2 sounds just as good or better than amps costing over a thousand dollars.
650hd + o2dac = the best sound experience.
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