[tgh5000]

I bought HD 650s, played through only my Macbook Pro, became unimpressed by them over a period of three months, and sold them off. However, now I miss them. I feel like I wasn't doing something right. Many say an amp would improve the sound, but no one says specifically what aspects of the sound would improve. I am a noob when it comes to audio world. I hope any of you could explain. It would be very helpful if you could give 'with amp and without amp' impressions. Thanks.

 

[AudioThief]

I bought HD 650s, played through only my Macbook Pro, became unimpressed by them over a period of three months, and sold them off. However, now I miss them. I feel like I wasn't doing something right. Many say an amp would improve the sound, but no one says specifically what aspects of the sound would improve. I am a noob when it comes to audio world. I hope any of you could explain. It would be very helpful if you could give 'with amp and without amp' impressions. Thanks.

I'm probably gonna get kicked in the ass by that sound science mod, but honestly an amplifier makes a huge difference. More bass, clarity, details, soundstage - everything improves with amplification on hard to drive cans.

 

[DavidA]

I bought HD 650s, played through only my Macbook Pro, became unimpressed by them over a period of three months, and sold them off. However, now I miss them. I feel like I wasn't doing something right. Many say an amp would improve the sound, but no one says specifically what aspects of the sound would improve. I am a noob when it comes to audio world. I hope any of you could explain. It would be very helpful if you could give 'with amp and without amp' impressions. Thanks.

What was it that didn't impress you with the HD650? was the bass lacking? not enough sparkle in the highs? too much mid range? Even if you are new you should be say what was good or bad about the HD650 that was unimpressive. Also, what were your previous headphones? This might give others a better idea of where you are coming from in terms of what sound signatures you are familiar with and better describe what are the differences when you have an amp.

A good place to start is going here: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/describing-sound-a-glossary.490587/

 

[tgh5000]

What was it that didn't impress you with the HD650? was the bass lacking? not enough sparkle in the highs? too much mid range? Even if you are new you should be say what was good or bad about the HD650 that was unimpressive. Also, what were your previous headphones? This might give others a better idea of where you are coming from in terms of what sound signatures you are familiar with and better describe what are the differences when you have an amp.

A good place to start is going here: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/describing-sound-a-glossary.490587/

I will say the unimpressive part was 'too much expectation.' Probably I expected to be blown away coming from HD 598, but I was not. At the end it was becoming hard to justify the cost. However, I could notice spectacular imaging. I think I was disappointed by the treble. I expected more. Was very satisfied with midrange, and bass was quite fine, though I expected more details in bass (as in Oppo PM3).

May be my question will be, will an amp improve the treble response and add some extension to the bass?

 

[LazyListener]

I will say the unimpressive part was 'too much expectation.' Probably I expected to be blown away coming from HD 598, but I was not. At the end it was becoming hard to justify the cost. However, I could notice spectacular imaging. I think I was disappointed by the treble. I expected more. Was very satisfied with midrange, and bass was quite fine, though I expected more details in bass (as in Oppo PM3).

May be my question will be, will an amp improve the treble response and add some extension to the bass?

Same here. Didn't feel the HD 650 was a big enough improvement over the HD 598, at least not with my current, cheap amps/dacs. Couldn't justify the cost at the time (factoring in a few hundred additional for a new amp), so I returned it. But, I liked it, and may return to it in the future when I'm able to experiment with some amps.

 

[DavidA]

I will say the unimpressive part was 'too much expectation.' Probably I expected to be blown away coming from HD 598, but I was not. At the end it was becoming hard to justify the cost. However, I could notice spectacular imaging. I think I was disappointed by the treble. I expected more. Was very satisfied with midrange, and bass was quite fine, though I expected more details in bass (as in Oppo PM3).

May be my question will be, will an amp improve the treble response and add some extension to the bass?

I had the HD598 before getting the HD650 also but I also had the M/M stack, Bifrost Uber/Lyr2/Asgard2 and Ember when I got the HD650 so my first impressions were quite different from yours. Its interesting that you liked the HD598 out of your MacBook pro since I gave my HD598 to an old GF who loves them and she also uses a MacBook pro, go figure. In your case an amp like the Jot or Asgard2 will be a noticeable difference in sound from the headphone output of the MacBook pro.

 

[Tuneslover]

Need some Schiit Jotunheim advice:

I use my HD 650 for listening to Hip Hop and electronic music, but I'm not getting much bass slam and rumble using either a Maverick Audio D1 or a Chord Mojo. I tested my HD 650 on a Bryston BHA-1 amp and the bass was incredible, but that amp is out of my budget. I have seen so many people say the Schiit Jotunheim is the ultimate pairing with the HD 650, but I haven't seen anything about whether it gives the kind of bass power that is comparable to the Bryston. Does anyone here have experience with the Jotunheim and could say whether the HD 650 can get truly earth shattering bass the way it does with the Bryston? If so, the question is whether I should return my Mojo and get the DAC module in the Jotunheim, or keep the Mojo to use as a DAC for the Jotunheim and an amp/DAC for my IEMs. I have a portable rig for my IEMs already that is decent, but the Mojo is definitely a step up. I would keep the Mojo if the DAC in it is superior to the Jotunheim's, or get another standalone DAC that would pair better with the Jotunheim.

Appreciate the guidance!

I haven't heard the Bryston amp yet but I have read many favourable remarks about it. To me the the Jot (I don't have the internal DAC, I use a Bimby) and the HD650 has pretty satisfying bass. For me I like to hear the bass notes and this system does that. I don't care that there isn't any real sub-bass but there is satisfying quality bass for me. It all depends what satisfying bass is to you though. If you're expecting really deep and dominant bass then you might be a bit underwhelmed. Some of my friends really love bass and to them the Jot/Bimby/HD650 is too thin sounding but that's because they are too used to hearing my 5.1 home theatre system with 15" Paradigm subwoofer. When we get together we really rock out the place...LOL...a pretty unfair comparison to the Jot system though.

 

[GoodBoy]

Is it true HD650 are not good all-rounders and better suited for slower genres of music?

 

[jimmers]

Is it true HD650 are not good all-rounders and better suited for slower genres of music?

No

 

[Solrighal]

^What he said ^.

 

[marts30]

I bought HD 650s, played through only my Macbook Pro, became unimpressed by them over a period of three months, and sold them off. However, now I miss them. I feel like I wasn't doing something right. Many say an amp would improve the sound, but no one says specifically what aspects of the sound would improve. I am a noob when it comes to audio world. I hope any of you could explain. It would be very helpful if you could give 'with amp and without amp' impressions. Thanks.

I sold my HD6XX given I already had the HD800S, but I also missed them so got the HD6XX again. They just offer a different signature, very different to the HD800S. Relaxed with nice mids, very easy casual listening.

 

[GoodBoy]

very easy casual listening.

but what exactly does it mean? most headphones can be described like that... does it mean they've got weak treble? What kinds of music do you prefer on HD650 and HD800? Having pre-ordered HD6xx I feel like these are big uknown can be masterpiece can be a trap...

 

[marts30]

but what exactly does it mean? most headphones can be described like that... does it mean they've got weak treble? What kinds of music do you prefer on HD650 and HD800? Having pre-ordered HD6xx I feel like these are big uknown can be masterpiece can be a trap...

Most cannot be described like that really, if you've heard the HD700 or HD800 you will know how bright those can be. They are not casual listening, they're very analytical and revealing of poor audio.

HD650, the treble is more relaxed - yes. That doesn't mean they're bad... they're extremely popular for a reason. I think both the HD6xx and HD800S are pretty fine all-rounders that do well with most things I throw at them. Considering the HD800S cost 10x as much, the 6xx are a steal.

 

[peter123]

but what exactly does it mean? most headphones can be described like that... does it mean they've got weak treble? What kinds of music do you prefer on HD650 and HD800? Having pre-ordered HD6xx I feel like these are big uknown can be masterpiece can be a trap...

This thread is over 2,500 pages and the HD650's are propably one of the most well known and descirbed headphones on earth so there really shouldn't be much unknown about them.

Whether or not they're right for you only one person on the planet can answer though.........

 

[DavidA]

Is it true HD650 are not good all-rounders and better suited for slower genres of music?

The HD650 are one of the best all-rounders IMO, but its only my opinion which might be different from yours since we don't hear the same and may or may not have the same taste in sonic characteristics.

but what exactly does it mean? most headphones can be described like that... does it mean they've got weak treble? What kinds of music do you prefer on HD650 and HD800? Having pre-ordered HD6xx I feel like these are big uknown can be masterpiece can be a trap...

As the others above have noted there is a ton of info out there on the HD650 since its been a well liked headphone for 10+ years, very few headphones have been around for longer, HD600 and MDR-7506 are 2 of those that I know of which have been around longer.

The only thing you might think about is the rest of your audio chain, to get the most out of the HD650/6XX you should have a decent source/amp to drive them properly which you can find in this thread, and here again what I consider decent and you would consider decent may or may not be the same. The best endorsement for the HD650 is that there are some that consider them an end game headphone.