[raybone0566]

Whether it is headphones, amps or DAC's and everything else in this hobby it all comes down to personal preference...

 

Yep, best to try an get to a meet and listen to gear and see what suits you. I've got both and they all get head time. But if I had to choose one it would be tubes. 650 is the only can I have left, sold everything.

 

[PinkyPowers]

I quite like tubes, but I don't have a balanced tube amp right now, so I'm using the NFB-28 as a standalone. It makes the HD6XX sound phenomenal.

 

[raybone0566]

I quite like tubes, but I don't have a balanced tube amp right now, so I'm using the NFB-28 as a standalone. It makes the HD6XX sound phenomenal.

I bought a Jensen pc-2xr. I'm able to use my tube amps through the balanced outs on my gumby. They aren't cheap though. Really isn't that much better.

 

[feinanng]

Is there any worth upgrading $300 for a cable? I tried my friend's balanced cable but i couldnt hear any difference..
I own few amplifiers and i use stocks cable for all my headphones. i could hear these difference but he said some cable for will improve soundstage, bass, or more refined treble..
Im so confuse right now. Maybe someone shed some light to me so i dont walk into hell?

 

[raybone0566]

Is there any worth upgrading $300 for a cable? I tried my friend's balanced cable but i couldnt hear any difference..
I own few amplifiers and i use stocks cable for all my headphones. i could hear these difference but he said some cable for will improve soundstage, bass, or more refined treble..
Im so confuse right now. Maybe someone shed some light to me so i dont walk into hell?

I've got a 300 Forza cable & a100 cable another member here made me. I can't tell one from the other. I really think some buy them for the bling.

 

[feinanng]

I've got a 300 Forza cable & a100 cable another member here made me. I can't tell one from the other. I really think some buy them for the bling.

Maybe because they expected something in return because they paid for something? Its ridiculous he has alot 3.5mm maletomale jack for his amps.. still i couldnt hear any difference..

By the way how does hd650 sounded like if fully powered by amp vs cheap dac?

I currently have fiio e10k, smsl m2, ifi nano ican amp. i could hear their own signature. I use low gains on with 1-2oclock will get to my listening level.. some say these dacamp not capable enough to drive hd650.. im not going tube though.

 

[DavidA]

Is there any worth upgrading $300 for a cable? I tried my friend's balanced cable but i couldnt hear any difference..
I own few amplifiers and i use stocks cable for all my headphones. i could hear these difference but he said some cable for will improve soundstage, bass, or more refined treble..
Im so confuse right now. Maybe someone shed some light to me so i dont walk into hell?

I've had 2 really nice cables, one from Double-Helix and one from Forza, both in the $400+ range due to 3m length.  Great workmanship and beautiful to look at but like @raybone0566 I couldn't tell the difference from decent Mogami and Canare cables.
 
Quote:

Maybe because they expected something in return because they paid for something? Its ridiculous he has alot 3.5mm maletomale jack for his amps.. still i couldnt hear any difference..

By the way how does hd650 sounded like if fully powered by amp vs cheap dac?

I currently have fiio e10k, smsl m2, ifi nano ican amp. i could hear their own signature. I use low gains on with 1-2oclock will get to my listening level.. some say these dacamp not capable enough to drive hd650.. im not going tube though.

I can hear differences with different amps and suggest your $300 for cables would be better spent on an amp.  For me the HD-650 on a BH Crack is one of the nicer pairings in the under $1000.  I've tried to listen to my HD-650 with a Fiio X3ii but the sound is a little thin and does not have the rich tones that a decent tube amp will display.  I haven't heard a e10k, smsl m2 or ifi nano so I don't know if they pair well with the HD-650.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

Is there any worth upgrading $300 for a cable? I tried my friend's balanced cable but i couldnt hear any difference..
 

Spend it on music, lad.
And never doubt your own ears. 

 

[castleofargh]

my version would be more like:
spend it on music, lad.
and always doubt your own ears. but pick what you like anyway.

 

[Unfie]

Oh man, I finally replaced my pads after 5 years. I didn't know pads were supposed to feel so different! Probably should have changed them out 2 years ago...

 

[Solrighal]

  Oh man, I finally replaced my pads after 5 years. I didn't know pads were supposed to feel so different! Probably should have changed them out 2 years ago...

 
It's that time for my pair too. The pads are pretty flattened now after something like 3 years.

 

[Letmebefrank]

Oh man, I finally replaced my pads after 5 years. I didn't know pads were supposed to feel so different! Probably should have changed them out 2 years ago...

It's that time for my pair too. The pads are pretty flattened now after something like 3 years.

If you are interested in "leather" pads you could try the mod I did a while back. Link

I've been using them every day and I like them much better than the stock velour pads.

 

[rikk009]

Those look like pleather pads not leather. The pleather variant is pretty bad, didn't last a year.

 

[Solrighal]

If you are interested in "leather" pads you could try the mod I did a while back. Link

I've been using them every day and I like them much better than the stock velour pads.

 
I remember your post at the time but lost it. Thanks for the link & I'll look into those.

 

[Letmebefrank]

The pleather pads were more for a proof of concept. I plan on ordering sheepskin ones as soon as these start to break down. So far after four months of daily use they still look brand new.